Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos

Distinguished actor Tim Piggot-Smith makes an early television appearance as Captain Harker. He would later appear as Marco, friend to Duke Giuliano, in the season fourteen story The Masque of Mandragora.

THE CLAWS OF AXOS - When an alien ship lands near the English coast and sends out distress signals Doctor Who and the Brigadier go on board to meet the crew. These are the Axons, humanoid, friendly and beautiful - like golden statues. They explain that they need the hospitality of earth to rest and regenerate themselves, and in return they offer a gift of Axonite, a material with miraculous properties which could solve many of earth's problems. The Doctor's suspicions of the visitors are confirmed when Jo tells him how she saw an Axon evolving out of the wall of the ship. He discovers that the vessel, the Axons, and the Axonite are all parts of one living creature, Axos; a parasite which will absorb all living energy on a planet, leaving a dead world. The Master has brought Axos to destroy both the earth and the Doctor. When he learns of the Axos' desire for the secret of time travel, the Doctor uses his Tardis to force the monster into a time loop. The Master, however, may have escaped to fight again. *By episode: Episode 1 - The crew of an alien spaceship seems friendly, and offers Earth a gift of Axonite, the source of their organic growth technique, which absorbs energy to recreate any given substance. Jo is astonished to see the wall of the spaceship give birth to a tendril which evolves through various monster stages to assume the beautiful golden humanoid shape which characterizes all the rest of the crew. Episode 2 - In the Doctor's laboratory, the Axonite is activated by a cyclotron and the Doctor realizes that everything to do with Axos is part of one single organization: organically grown parts of the spaceship, which is a living creature. Episode 3 - Human greed rapidly distributes Axonite around the world, where it will suck dry every last particle of energy and every cell of living matter on Earth. The Master, who originally brought Axos to Earth, agrees to help destroy it. Episode 4 - The two Time Lords reactivate a time machine, which arrives within Axos where Doctor Who links drive systems and carries the parasite ship with him into a time loop. The Doctor manages to break out of this time trap - and so, he fears, does the Master.

mysterious object approaches Earth, alerting the Third Doctor (John Pertwee) and UNIT that they face another possible threat from outer space. Are the gold-skinned aliens who claim to bring great gifts to humanity as peaceful and benevolent as they first appear? If so, why is the Doctor's archenemy, the Master, on board their spaceship? Originally transmitted March 13-April 3, 1971, this four-part adventure has been digitally remastered and is loaded with special features from the BBC archives.

Cast
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Captain Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
Jo Grant - Katy Manning
Sergeant Benton - John Levene
1st Radar Operator - Michael Walker
2nd Radar Operator - David G March
Axon Boy - John Hicks
Axon Girl - Debbie Lee London
Axon Man - Bernard Holley
Axon Woman - Patricia Gordino
Captain Harker - Tim Piggott-Smith
Chinn - Peter Bathurst
Corporal Bell - Fernanda Marlowe
Filer - Paul Grist
Hardiman - Donald Hewlett
Pigbin Josh - Derek Ware
Technician - Royston Farrell
The Master - Roger Delgado
The Minister - Kenneth Benda
Winser - David Savile
Production Credits
Director - Michael Ferguson
Action/Stunts - HAVOC stunt group
Assistant Floor Manager - Roselyn Parker
Costumes - Barbara Lane
Designer - Kenneth Sharp
Film Cameraman - A A Englander
Film Editor - Bob Rymer
Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
Make-Up - Jan Harrison
Make-Up - Rhian Davies
Producer - Barry Letts
Production Assistant - Marion McDougall
Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
Studio Sound - Dave Kitchen
Title Music - Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Visual Effects - John Horton
Writer - Bob Baker
Writer - Dave Martin