The Green Death

The Green Death
by Robert Sloman
Originally Broadcasted: May 19th-June 23rd, 1973

While The Doctor is planning to visit the exotic planet Metebelis III, Jo Grant has something more down to Earth on her mind. Global Chemicals is pumping heavily polluted waste into the mines of Llanfairfach and the miners are suffering deaths of a green nature. Things are further complicated when giant maggots are discovered, along with the rather musical and maniacal BOSS of Global Chemicals...

The Green Death is yet another fantastic Jon Pertwee serial. I said in my review of The Mutants that I think Jon Pertwee's era is the closest the show ever got to consistent perfection, and The Green Death is another fine example of this. This story is Katy Manning's last as Jo Grant, and her departure is shown in a way that isn't often shown in the classic series, in that The Doctor is visibly upset by Jo's increased distancing throughout the serial. First she doesn't want to go with him to Metebelis III, and then she rather quickly falls in love with Professor Jones and leaves The Doctor forever. The realization of the giant maggots was actually done rather well for 1970s Doctor Who. Now they're obviously hand-puppets, but they somehow look real and menacing. The idea of using a oil industry as the big bad guy was an interesting one, and really showed how far ahead of its time Doctor Who was. Talks of global warming 20 years before Al Gore. The BOSS and his human pet Stevens make for interesting villains. The way they process their staff is really creepy, and a lot of their lines still give me shivers even though I've seen this story countless times. Stevens' realization of how wrong what there doing is at the end of Episode Six is rather poignant, and you actually feel for him when he's shown crying right before blowing up. The scene right at the very end of the story with The Doctor driving off in Bessie after leaving Jo forever (well at least until his Eleventh incarnation) is a piece of pure Doctor Who magic.

Luke's Rating: 9/10