The Green Death Episode Six

The one where the Doctor and Jo go their separate ways...

When the maggot is killed after eating Nancy's fungus it's only a matter of time before we see the final elimination of the deadly creepy-crawlies. It's a convenience that the saliota orbis fungus is the very substance needed to kill the maggots, and that it's been under everybody's noses all along. But there's a poetic neatness to it, that Wholeweal's effort to sustain the future of humankind is the very thing that puts a stop to the deadly products of a chemical pollutant.

But the danger isn't over yet. As the Doctor and Benton scatter fungus into the paths of the maggots - seen on another appalling mix of location, CSO studio and toy car - there's a new threat to vanquish, namely a giant fly! A maggot pupated and spawned a flying pest, which proceeds to harass our heroes on back projection. The fly model looks quite impressive, with its blood red compound eyes, and poses an icky threat when it spurts green goo at Bessie's windscreen. Luckily, the Doctor's wearing his Inverness cape and manages to bring the fly down. "What a beautiful creature," says the Doctor, channeling the very spirit of Doctor Who (more particularly the 21st century version).

The Doctor finally cracks the serendipity puzzle by working out that Jo's "happy accident" in the lab led to the discovery of a cure for the green death. The Doctor leaves Nancy in charge of concocting the enzymes needed ("I'm not just a mum here, you know") while he returns to Global Chemicals to try and stop BOSS before 4pm.

BOSS plans to link up with seven other Global Chemicals computers across the planet to activate the "slave elite" and become ruler of the world (today, that's called The Internet). By now, BOSS is a completely raving megalomaniac, humming Wagner, quoting Oscar Wilde and referencing Andrew Marvell ("time's winged chariot"). BOSS is a very well read and cultured computer, but its grip on sanity is well and truly loose and the fallibility and vulnerabilities of humans have begun to infect its thought processes. I've said it before, but John Dearth does such a good job as BOSS. It would have been too easy to have BOSS speak like a typical monotone computer, lacking emotion or nuance, but the fact BOSS speaks and thinks like a human being, with emotion and ego, is genius.

It makes BOSS's demise at the self-destructive hands of Stevens all the more powerful, because you can almost feel sorry for the computer in its death throes. As it fizzles away, it appeals to Stevens for help: "Stevens, my little sentimental friend. My frieeeend..." It's really sort of sad.

Jerome Willis is also great as Stevens struggles against BOSS's conditioning. After everything he's been party to, he sees that things have gone too far, and fights back against BOSS. Foreshadowing the memorable last line of Warriors of the Deep, he appeals: "No! There must be another way!" The last we see of Stevens, he is slumped motionless, staring blankly ahead, but there's still life in there somewhere, albeit a life left devastated by what's been done to him and what he has done himself. Anyone who's ever seen Global Conspiracy, a special feature on The Green Death DVD, will know that Stevens does indeed live to see another day...

By the way, I love the crazy Pop Art visual effects over the top of BOSS's demise, the picture scrolling through bold reds, blues and greens in a relentless tip of the hat to Andy Warhol. It's very beautiful.

I'm not sure it's a good thing that Global Chemicals blows up. I mean, it's one way of getting rid of a megalomaniacal super-computer, but let's not forget it's a chemical factory. Blow it up and the chemicals blow with it. Heaven knows what further pollution is unleashed when the factory goes bang, and nobody seems very concerned.

The final five minutes of The Green Death episode 6 are legendary in Doctor Who fandom, and with good reason. Jo Grant's departure is probably one of the most emotional, heartbreaking and tear-jerking moments in the programme's entire history. The script, direction and performances are packed with meaning and sincere emotion. You can see it, hear it, feel it... it's one of the most powerful scenes ever in Doctor Who - more so if you've just watched the Pertwee era through in quick succession like I have. Jo Grant leaving is like a punch to the chest for fans who've come to love the coupling of Pertwee and Manning.

And so much of the power of the scene is in Pertwee's performance. He's quiet, understated, softly-spoken. Pertwee must have had all sorts of emotions running through his mind when they recorded it, but he makes sure the Doctor feels the same way too. The Doctor's world started to fray at the edges back in episode 1 when Jo chose to go to Wholeweal over joining him on a jaunt to Metebelis III, but this is where it's all been pointed - and he knows it's been coming.

When Cliff haphazardly proposes to Jo, the game is up, and the Doctor almost retires into a shell for protection. The news is broken to everybody else, and it's telling to see that flash of disappointment cross Captain Yates's face before he congratulates Jo. There was never really any romance between Jo and Mike, but it was sometimes implied he had a soft spot for her, and it's lovely to see it given a place here. You can also see Mike looking thoughtful before being pulled away by the Brigadier to the celebrations. It's little things like this which prove how much care and thought went into these final scenes.

The final farewell is heartbreaking. Just the Doctor and Jo speaking gently in close-up, the Doctor deflecting his emotions by joking about making Jo a scientist, or asking her to save him some wedding cake (there's a heartbreaking understanding between them that he won't be attending the wedding). "Don't worry Doctor, I'll look after her," promises Professor Jones before taking her away to the party, leaving the Doctor alone, champagne in hand, looking wistful. He drinks the glass down, takes one last look at his best friend, then leaves. Director Michael Briant times Pertwee's departure perfectly, with the door closing behind him as Manning looks round to find him gone. It makes my spine tingle just writing about it.

When you think about it, Jo Grant is the only real friend the Third Doctor has had. Liz Shaw was more of a colleague than a companion, and the military types at UNIT were more acquaintances then pals. The Brigadier is the closest to being a friend, but there's always that line in the sand between them, drawn by the barrel of a gun. The two men would probably get on better outside of work, but this is never really explored (at least, not until the 1980s, but as it's with different Doctors, it's not the same dynamic).

The Third Doctor has lost his best friend, the one person who shared his enthusiasms, the one who respected and adored him, who made him laugh. The Doctor hasn't been this alone since Season 3 back in 1966, and as he leaves the Nuthutch and climbs into Bessie, he is the lonely traveller once more. A man alone, with sights to see and battles to win, but now without his Josephine Grant. It's truly heartbreaking. The Doctor is clearly devastated, perhaps even numbed, as he drives off into the sunset in a beautiful final shot as the theme tune fades sensitively in and Doctor Who's tenth series draws to a bittersweet close.

The Green Death is a masterpiece of the Pertwee era, infused with the love, care, attention and devotion that the cast and crew shared at that time. Doctor Who would never be the same again. The loss of Roger Delgado and the departure of Katy Manning meant it was the end of an era, but this story encapsulates all that is great about the UNIT years. And if anybody ever says classic Doctor Who wasn't emotionally mature, they surely haven't seen The Green Death, because even half a century after it was made, it still has the power to tug on the heartstrings and beckon a tear...

And so Doctor Who's anniversary series was over, exactly five months before the birthday itself. Season 11 would start just three weeks after the actual tenth anniversary, but before that, Doctor Who's Saturday teatime slot would be filled by Wimbledon, silent comedies from Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon, Disney, and The Generation Game. But the Doctor would be back... and with a new friend.

Incidentally, Doctor Who's official tenth anniversary was Friday, November 23rd, 1973, and although there was no Doctor Who content that day, there were faint connections, such as The Clangers episode Music of the Spheres, Jackanory read by Season 1 guest star Ronald Pickup, and The Wombles narrated by Bernard Cribbins (fittingly, in Doctor Who's 5.40pm slot).

First broadcast: June 23rd, 1973

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Jo's farewell scene is timeless.
The Bad: That awful mix of location, studio and model footage yet again.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★★ (story average: 7.7 out of 10)

"Now listen to me" tally: 28 - the Doctor says it twice to Stevens when he's trying to break BOSS's hold over him.
Neck-rub tally: 13

NEXT TIME: The Time Warrior...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode One; Episode Two; Episode Three; Episode Four; Episode Five

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-green-death.html

The Green Death is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Green-Death-Special/dp/B00CX3FTA8