The Enemy of the World

The Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are enjoying themselves on a beach in Australia in 2018 when the Doctor is subject to an assassination attempt. The controller of the would-be assassins, an agent named Astrid Ferrier, rescues them by helicopter. She takes them to her boss Giles Kent (Bill Kerr). There, they learn that the Doctor is the physical double of Salamander, a ruthless megalomaniac who is dominating the United Zones Organisation. Salamander has ascended to power by concentrating and harnessing the sun's rays to generate more crops, but is set on increasing his power. Kent, who was once Deputy Security Leader for North Africa and Europe, reveals that he had crossed Salamander, who ruined him and removed his various allies. Kent's only remaining ally with any authority is Alexander Denes in Central Europe. When Kent's home is surrounded by troops led by Security Chief Donald Bruce, the Doctor is persuaded to impersonate Salamander to save his companions and to gather more information on his designs.

Bruce is a bully who intimidates those in his path, but the Doctor's impersonation is strong enough to persuade him that he is Salamander—even though the real Salamander is supposed to be at a conference in the Central European Zone. Bruce leaves, albeit with suspicion, while the Doctor turns on Kent, realising he called Bruce there himself to test the impersonation. The Doctor is not yet convinced Salamander is a villain, but Kent presses ahead with a plan. Jamie, Victoria, and Astrid are to infiltrate Salamander's retinue while he's still in the Central European zone, via Denes' support, and gather evidence on Salamander. Meanwhile, Kent and the Doctor will travel to Salamander's research station in Kanowa to gather intelligence there.

The real Salamander warns that a dormant volcano range in Hungary is about to explode. Denes does not believe this is possible and resists the calls to send pre-emptive relief. By now, Jamie, Victoria, and Astrid have reached the Central European Zone. Jamie tries to infiltrate Salamander's retinue, while Astrid contacts Denes for a meeting. Jamie manages to get himself promoted to Salamander's personal staff by preventing a bogus attempt on the Leader's life, and also ensures Victoria is given a position as assistant to Salamander's personal chef. When Astrid meets Denes, she tells him of the two spies who have entered the Leader's staff.

Salamander works on Denes' deputy, Fedorin, to turn him against Denes. Fedorin is a weak man and gives in to Salamander's blackmail easily, but is scared when he hears the prediction that Denes will soon be killed and Salamander will be asked to take over the Zone following the imminent natural disaster. On cue, an earthquake begins as the promised volcanic eruption starts. Donald Bruce arrives but is unable to mention the Salamander in Australia issue before Denes returns to the palace too, blaming Salamander for somehow engineering the volcano. Salamander responds by saying Denes failed to heed his warnings on the volcanoes and is thus negligent and must be removed from office. Denes is arrested, and Salamander tells Fedorin to poison him before he can be brought to trial and repeat his allegations. When Fedorin fails to do so, Salamander uses the poison on him instead.

Meanwhile, Donald Bruce has started to have serious suspicions about the situation. He evidently does not trust Salamander, and tries unsuccessfully to get Jamie to explain the Australia incident. Another man with suspicions is Theodore Benik, Salamander's unpleasant deputy, who has heard from Bruce that Salamander was supposed to be in two places at one time. He visits and intimidates Giles Kent, but the Doctor stays hidden while the unsolicited visitor is there destroying Kent's property.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Victoria use their new roles in the palace to get close to Fariah, Salamander's food taster, hoping to gather information on the Leader's intentions. Jamie also causes a diversion to try to facilitate a rescue attempt on Denes by Astrid. However, things fall apart and Denes is shot dead. Though Astrid escapes, Jamie and Victoria are arrested. This prompts Bruce to ask Salamander in private about his relationship with Jamie and his presence with him and Kent in Australia—which prompts Salamander to decide to return to Kanowa immediately and unmask the impersonator.

Astrid returns to Australia too and contacts the Doctor and Kent to tell them of the outcome of the botched rescue attempt. Fariah has followed Astrid and makes contact with her, Kent and the Doctor, telling them that Jamie and Victoria have been brought as prisoners to the Kanowa Research Centre. Fariah also hands over the file made by Salamander to blackmail Fedorin—which finally convinces the Doctor of Salamander's evil. However, before they can act, the building is raided by Benik and his troops and Fariah is killed and the file recovered. The others escape.

Salamander, Benik and Bruce meet at the Centre and realise the severity of the situation. When he is alone, Salamander dons a radiation suit and enters a secret lift, which transports him to a secret bunker. In the bunker are a group of people who believe Salamander has just ventured to the surface of the allegedly irradiated planet to look for food. He claims to have found a safe new food stock to sustain them after their five years below ground. He also urges them to continue fighting the war against the surface by using technology to create natural disasters. Most of the people accept this, but one, Colin, urges Salamander to take him to the surface the next time, even though no one who has accompanied Salamander there has ever returned.

When the Doctor and his friends return to Kent's caravan they are soon discovered by Donald Bruce, who has traced their car. Bruce affirms he is a servant of the world government, not Salamander, and shows he can be persuaded that the Leader is, in Astrid's words, a traitor, blackmailer and murderer. The Doctor and Bruce reach a deal: they will travel to the Research Centre, where the Doctor will impersonate Salamander to gain more evidence, while Kent and Astrid are kept under guard; but if no evidence is found they will all be arrested for conspiracy. Bruce and the Doctor leave, and shortly afterward, Kent and Astrid escape their captor by means of a ruse.

In the shelter, the promised new food has arrived and the people unpack it. However, one of them, Swann, finds a stray newspaper clipping and realises there is normal life on the surface rather than the continuing nuclear war they had all been told. He confronts Salamander, who agrees to take him to the surface to show him the world is now full of hideous, depraved mutants and their actions in causing natural disasters are helping to wipe them out. Swann is unmoved but agrees to go the surface without revealing his concerns. This incenses Colin, a young man whose request to go to the surface had been denied.

Benik begins to interrogate Jamie and Victoria. Bruce and the Doctor, acting as Salamander, interrupt him and send him away. The Doctor, pretending to be Salamander, questions his companions and the result further convinces Bruce to trust the Doctor.

In the grounds of the research centre, Astrid finds Swann. He had been bludgeoned by Salamander. Before he dies, he tells Astrid about his friends in the bunker. She hurries to them, and is attacked by the frightened people, but Colin stops them. Astrid tells them there is no war, and convinces them of Salamander's treachery.

Meanwhile, Benik, suspicious, discovers the guard at the records room has yet to see Salamander emerge. He returns to Bruce and the others, asks for "Salamander's" signature on some papers, and leaves. The papers show a discrepancy in how much food is needed for personnel and how much is coming in.

Bruce and the Doctor have Jamie and Victoria released from the centre, and the Doctor instructs them to head back to the TARDIS and wait for him there. He heads off alone and accesses the Records Room, where he impersonates Salamander. A visitor soon arrives—Giles Kent—who has a key to the secret room. In the ensuing conversation with "Salamander", he reveals his true nature.

The arrival of Astrid, Colin and Mary further incriminate Kent, for it was he who took the people down to the bunker in the first place for an "endurance test". Kent and Salamander were allies all along, and the Doctor reveals he had been slow to support Kent because he feared he was being used to topple Salamander for Kent to take over. Kent flees into the cave system beyond the Records Room after they learn the tunnel is planted with explosives. Donald Bruce tries to break into the records room to help the Doctor, but Benik causes trouble, and Bruce has him arrested.

Kent encounters Salamander in the tunnels and they argue. Salamander fatally shoots his one-time ally. As he dies, Kent throws a switch, blowing up the cave system, damaging the station above. Fortunately, the people in the bunker survive, and Astrid leaves to rescue them.

Salamander, shaken and bleeding from the explosion, approaches the TARDIS where Jamie and Victoria wait. They mistake him for the Doctor. Pretending to be shaken, Salamander asks Jamie to use the controls for him. Jamie's suspicions are proven correct when the real Doctor arrives. There is a struggle, and Salamander uses the controls of the TARDIS, sending it spinning out of control, the door still wide open. Salamander is blown out of the TARDIS and into the vortex. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria then hang on for dear life as they try to prevent the same fate from happening to them.

This was the last story to be produced under the aegis of Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman, who left his position as Head of Drama at the BBC upon the expiration of his contract at the end of 1967. The four key production roles for this story were all taken by men heavily involved in the development of Doctor Who. Author David Whitaker had been the show's first script editor; Barry Letts, directing the show for the first time, later became the show's producer (for the majority of the Jon Pertwee era), executive producer, and occasional script writer; script editor Peter Bryant became the show's producer from the next story; Innes Lloyd was the show's current producer, but left after this story.[5][6]

Much like the First Doctor serial The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966), this serial was influenced by the lead actor's desire to play roles other than the Doctor. Initially, it was planned that Troughton's two characters would meet more than once, but due to the technical complexity, there was eventually only the one confrontation scene, at the story's climax (utilising editing and a split-screen technique). Barry Letts planned six split-screen shots. He called for a matte box to mask half of the camera lens, having read about the technique used for old Hollywood films. The film was rewound after the first take and Troughton was then filmed in his other costume. However, after the first such shot, the camera jammed, and no more split-screen takes were filmed. Later, Letts mentioned this to Derek Martinus, director of the preceding story, who brought Letts up to date with the contemporary technology of filming normally then using an optical printer to combine the material.[5]

Due to British television's shift from 405-line technology to 625-line, in preparation for colour transmissions, going into effect for all BBC shows from 1 January 1968, it was long believed that the switch-over for Doctor Who from 405 lines to 625 came as of Episode 3 of this serial; however, upon the recovery of the other five episodes of the serial, it was discovered that Episodes 1 and 2 were in fact made at 625 lines prior to the official switchover.[7][8] The now-disproved notion of the switch-over occurring at Episode 3 was most likely due to an error in documentation.[9]

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• The Enemy of the World at BBC Online
• Photonovel of The Enemy of the World on the BBC website
• Doctor Who Locations – The Enemy of the World