540 Full Circle: Part One

EPISODE: Full Circle: Part One
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 540
STORY NUMBER: 112
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 25 October 1980
WRITER: Andrew Smith
DIRECTOR: Peter Grimwade
SCRIPT EDITOR: Christopher H. Bidmead
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 5.9 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy (Full Circle / State of Decay / Warrior's Gate)

"This isn't Gallifrey!"

While travelling to Gallifrey the Tardis passes through something. The scanner shows them on Gallifrey but stepping outside they find themselves on a lush forest world. At a nearby riverside a group of teenagers are trying to steal fruit but witness the arrival of the Decider Draith & Dexeter who examine the fruit finding traces of an insect egg. The teenagers, a group known as the Outlers, retreat to their cave where their leader Vash is joined by Adric, his younger brother who wants to join them. They challenge him to steal the riverfruit. As he does the lakes start to bubble and a mist forms: the Mistfall that the Deciders fear. The Deciders summon their people back to the starliner giving them two hours to comply. Draith witnesses Adric stealing the fruit and pursues him. They tussle and Draith falls to the ground. Citizen Logan searches for his daughter, a member of the Outlers. Draith is sucked into the water instructing Adric to tell Dexeter they have come full circle. A fleeing Adric find the Tardis and is let on board by the Doctor & Romana. As they treat his injuries the Starliner is sealed with Logan's daughter and Decider Draith still missing. The Doctor & K-9 investigate the mist, and while at the waters edge witness creatures rising from it......

A bit of a game of two halves, with both halves being good. Firstly something has happened to the Tardis: it believes it's on Gallifrey, where th Doctor and Romana were summoned to at the end of the previous story Logopolis, when it obviously isn't.

Secondly where they are has some odd stuff going on with mist and monsters suddenly appearing. Lots of questions. And some continuity dropped in too:

DOCTOR: Well done, K9. Well, now we've dropped off our Earth friend we can be on our way.
ROMANA: You've made up your mind, then?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. We can't resist a summons to Gallifrey. Anyway, I'm so looking forward to seeing how Leela and Andred are getting on. You can meet your twin, K9. You know Romana, it. Romana?

At the end of Meglos the Doctor and Romana left Tigella with the Earthling that Meglos had been possessing, his return is mentioned at the top of the show. Leela was the Doctor's companion prior to Romana who remained on Galifrey, marrying Commander Andred of the chancellery guard. The original K-9 stayed with them!

ROMANA: You'd better take this.
ADRIC: Oh, a homing device.
ROMANA: Yes. It'll help you find your way back to the Tardis.

We'll be seeing the homing device again, oddly enough in a story written by the director of this one!

This story was written by Andrew Smith, a teenage fan of the show, and is his only produced script for the series. You can hear him interviewed in Toby Hadoke's Who's Round Number 3

The director is first timer Peter Grimwade. He'd risen through the ranks at the BBC, serving as a production assistant on Spearhead from Space, The Dæmons, Robot, Pyramids of Mars, The Robots of Death (where he gave his name to the medical name for Robophobia, Grimwade's syndrome) and Horror of Fang Rock. He's almost certainly the best new director found at this stage of the season and ends up directing Tom Baker's swansong Logopolis, returning to direct Kinda and Earthshock for Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor as well as writing Time Flight, Mawdryn Undead & Planet of Fire. He should have directed the final story of Peter Davison's second season, Warhead, but when that gets cancelled he accidentally sets in motion a chain of events which sours relationships behind the scenes with considerable consequences.

It's also the debut of Matthew Waterhouse as Adric. Waterhouse was also a fan of the show, having a letter published in an early issue of Doctor Who Weekly (#3 if I recall correctly but seeing as the issue is in a box, in the loft and under my Big Millennium Falcon I ain't getting to it any time soon!).

Adric's brother Vash leads the Outlers, a band of teenage rogues separating themselves from society. There's five of them here: Tylos, Vash & Keara at the front and two more unnamed at the back. One of them is played by Terry John Wood while the other is Nick Staverson. I think Staverson is on the left as I've a vague memory of what he looked like when he was Harry in No. 73. They run off back to the Starliner in this episode and are seen onboard as citizens for the rest of the story.

In this episode only is Leonard Maguire playing Decider Draith. IMDB shows him to have had a long career, I don't recall seeing him in anything else. He's stunt doubled by Stuart Fell, who by this point had already filmed his role in the following story State of Decay.

Last time I blogged this story I wrote:

Adrian Gibbs, playing Rysik (who I assume is one of the humanoids living in the Starliner)

Thanks to the dialogue transcript for this episode I've worked out that he's the man to the left of the picture. Adrian Gibbs will return to Doctor Who in four stories time playing The Watcher in Logopolis and then as an extra in Black Orchid. For completeness sake his friend on the right, who gets more dialogue, is Omril played by Andrew Forbes

There's LOTS of Starliner Citizens in this story. The following are in just the film sequences in this episode only:

Mike Mungarvan had been a Mutant in The Mutants, a Guard in The Face of Evil, a Gallifreyan (IMDB says an Outsider/Outcast Time Lord) in The Invasion of Time, a Druid in The Stones of Blood, a Gracht Guard in The Androids of Tara, a Dalek Operator in Destiny of the Daleks, a Louvre Tourist & Plain Clothes Detective in the Louvre in City of Death, and one of the Pangol Army in The Leisure Hive. He returns as Crewman Kilroy in Warriors' Gate, a Kinda Hostage in Kinda, one of Ranulf's Knights in The King's Demons, a Soldier in Resurrection of the Daleks, a Jacondan Guard in The Twin Dilemma, a Resistance Fighter in The Trial of a Time Lord: Mindwarp, the Duty Officer in The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids, a Lakertyan / Tetrap / Genius in Time and the Rani and a Policeman in Silver Nemesis. He's also been in the new series once as a Passer By in The Christmas Invasion. He was in Blake's 7 as a Prisoner in The Way Back & Space Fall, an Alta Guard in Redemption, a Customer / Gambler in Gambit, a Helot in Traitor and a Rebel Technician / Federation Trooper in Blake, making him one of the few people to appear in the first and last episodes of that series. He was also in Fawlty Towers as a Hospital Orderly in The Germans, The Sweeney as a Constable in Victims and The Professionals as Will in Black Out.

Martin Grant was a a Soldier in Masque of Mandragora, a Coven Member in Face of Evil, and a Young Rebellious Time Lord in Invasion of Time. He returns as a Plasmaton & Passenger in Time-Flight and a Lazar in Terminus.

Robert Smythe had been a Guard in Invasion of Time, and a Guard in Creature from the Pit. He returns as one of the crowd in the Caves in Snakedance, the Police Constable in Mawdryn Undead, a Citizen/Unbeliever in Planet of Fire, a Gunruner in Caves of Androzani, a Jacondan Guard in The Twin Dilemma, a Guard in Vengeance on Varos, He'd been in Blake's 7 as a Federation Trooper in Weapon, a Crimo in Hostage, a Albian Rebel / Federation Trooper in Countdown, a Federation Trooper in Voice from the Past, a Customer / Gambler in Gambit and a Federation Trooper / Rebel in Rumours of Death. In Red Dwarf he plays Hermann Goering in Meltdown.

Kevin O’Brien played one of the Pangol Army in The Leisure Hive. He returns as a Cricketer/Spectator in Black Orchid, Trooper Collis in Earthshock, the Photographer in Time Flight, a Guard in Arc of Infinity, a Vanir in Terminus, one of Ranulf's Knights in Kings Demons, a Crewmember & Soldier in Resurrection of the Daleks, a Guardolier in Timelash, a Resistance Fighter in Trial of a Timelord: Mindwarp and a Court Guard in Trial of a Timelord: Terror of the Vervoids & Ultimate Foe. In Blake's 7 he was a Technician in Dawn of the Gods and he plays a Hell's Angel in Red Dwarf: Meltdown.

Simón Ramírez returns as a a Security Guard in Logopolis and a Grecian Swordsman in Four to Doomsday

David Payne returns as a Castrovalvan Man in Castrovalva and a Citizen/Unbeliever in Plant of Fire.

Ray Sumby returns as a Guest Gambler in Enlightenment. In Blake's 7 he is a Hooded Figure in Cygnus Alpha and a Federation Trooper / Rebel in Rumours of Death.

Julie Mellon can be seen in Fawlty Towers as Mrs. Watson in A Touch of Class.

Arthur Parry can be seen in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em at the Reunion in The R.A.F. Reunion.

Kay Williams, Jill Annette & Chris Cole are all making their only Doctor Who appearances here.

Also just on film and appearing in this episode only are the Swimming Teens played by Andrew Manson, who had been in I, Claudius In A Touch of Murder he was a Slave and in Family Affairs he was a Guardsman, and David Greenway

In the film sequences and the rest of the story we have Sarah Parry, who's got quite a bit of 80s comedy on her CV and Michael Dray, who's making his only Doctor Who appearance.

Returning in other episodes, but missing out on episode 3 we have Chris Holmes who was a UNIT Soldier in Day of the Daleks, a Guard in The Time Monster, a Miner & Guard in The Monster of Peladon, a Muto in Genesis of the Daleks, a Peasant, Traveller, Workman Peasant, Brother & Soldier in The Masque of Mandragora and a Time Lord in Invasion of Time. He returns as a Plasmaton in Time-Flight, a Ambril’s Attendant in Snakedance, a Orderly in Frontios, a City Person on Street in Attack of the Cybermen, a Natives in Trial of a Time Lord Mysterious Planet and a Genius in Time and the Rani. In Blake's 7 he was a Federation Trooper in The Way Back, a Prisoner in Space Fall, a Prisoner in Cygnus Alpha, a Mutoid in Duel, a Mutoid in Project Avalon, a Star One Technician in Star One and a Hi-tech Patient in Powerplay. In A Perfect Spy he plays the Second Reporter in episode 3.

Also missing in just episode 3 is Ray Hatfield who returns as a Kinda in Kinda.

Around the time this episode aired word leaked out to the press that Tom Baker would be leaving Doctor Who.

539 Meglos: Part Four

EPISODE: Meglos: Part Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 539
STORY NUMBER: 111
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 18 October 1980
WRITER: John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch
DIRECTOR: Terence Dudley
SCRIPT EDITOR: Christopher H. Bidmead
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 4.7 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Meglos

"Oh! Nasty. That could have been me!"

Romana & the Savants interrupts the Doctor's sacrifice and saves him. Arriving of Zolfa Thura, Meglos positions the dodecahedron at the centre of the screens and causes it to grow to giant size filling them. Lexa saves Romana's life as she's shot at by a dying Gaztak. The Doctor takes Romana, K-9 and the savants Caris & Deedrix to Zolfa Thura, where Meglos is about to use the Dodecahedron's power to destroy Tigella. The Doctor impersonates Meglos and reprograms the instruments, moving the target away from Tigella. The Gaztaks capture both Meglos and the Doctor taking them to their ship and General Grugger starts the countdown to activate the screens. K-9 and Romana free the Doctor & Meglos, but Meglos' human host rebels, forcing Meglos to abandon it and flee. The Doctor flees with K-9, Romana, the Savants & Meglos' freed human host to the Tardis, leaving just as the structure on Zolfa Thura is destroyed. The Tigellans start to venture onto the hostile surface on Tigella, and the Doctor prepares to take the human host home as he and Romana receive a summons to Gallifrey......

Goods Lord, am I watching CBeebies here? Awful with some very silly mistaken identity hi-jinks and confusion. Uggh.

ROMANA: Well done, we're very close.
DEEDRIX: It's lighting up the whole sky!
DOCTOR: Right, now, you all stay here.
ROMANA: You can't go alone.
DEEDRIX: The Gaztaks kill on sight.
DOCTOR: Exactly. On sight. If Meglos can impersonate me...
ROMANA: You can impersonate Meglos!

Someone want to tell me why the Doctor took the savants to Caris & Deedrix, played by Colette Gleeson & Crawford Logan, to Zolfa Thura? He doesn't need them and they only seem to be there because the lot needs two people to restrain the Meglos Earthling in the confrontation!

If you think there's something odd about the closing music to this episode then you're right: it's been played an octave lower. It also starts rather earlier than in most episodes because Meglos 4 is a rare sub 20 min episode, 19:36 and then 2m45s is lost at the start to titles and recap from episode 3!

The ending leads us nicely into the rest of the season:

DOCTOR: It's time this thing had a thorough overhaul!

We'll pick this one up in the final story this season, Logopolis, but the theme of entropy, of things running down and needing repair, is very much present in this story too.

ROMANA: Doctor?
DOCTOR: Yes?
ROMANA: Gallifrey.
DOCTOR: What?
ROMANA: They want us back immediately.
DOCTOR: Gallifrey? Do they, indeed.....

We'll pick this theme up in the next episode.

And as a series Meglos isn't at all good: it's just dreary, mediocre and bland. Having checked a forum I frequent for some information, I discovered that when this came out on DVD and I sat down to watch it with Liz, halfway through episode 1 we were both in the kitchen making tea and fetching food while it played to itself in the living room! The religion vs science stuff, while possibly more novel at the time, is very heavy handed and dated now. The authors wanted to do it as a comedy, the director did it straight and it's a bit of a disaster. The comedy comes through with the incompetent Gaztecs and the mistaken identity but it doesn't really work for me feeling, as I said above, like younger children's television!

Meglos was novelised by Terrance Dicks and was the last Fourth Doctor book published, leaving Pirate Planet, City of Death & the untransmitted Shada missing from the Target book range. It was released on video in March 2003 and on DVD on 10th January 2010.

Doctor Who Season 18, including Meglos, was released on Blu-Ray on 18th March 2019.

And, if all is well, I never have to watch it again now!

(But I said that last time I watched this for a blog and here I am again ....)

538 Meglos: Part Three

EPISODE: Meglos: Part Three
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 538
STORY NUMBER: 111
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 11 October 1980
WRITER: John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch
DIRECTOR: Terence Dudley
SCRIPT EDITOR: Christopher H. Bidmead
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 4.7 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Meglos

"Whatever reasons you had for doing this, the fact remains that without the Dodecahedron's energy, in two hours time this city will be dead!"

Romana is taken to the Gaztak ship as the Tigellan underground city's services begins to fail. The Doctor insists to Lexa & Zastor that he didn't take the Dodecahedron and he has only just arrived: he realises he has a doppelgänger. Romana is ordered by the Gaztaks to lead them to her craft, but leads them round in circles in the Jungle. The Meglos Doctor captures one of the Savants, Caris, and has her escort him out of the city. Lexa seizes control, believing that the Dodecahedron has been taken away by their Gods and prepares to sacrifice the Doctor to appease them to guarantee it's return. Romana makes it to the city as it is sealed, finding the de-powered K-9 and bringing him with her. The Gaztaks storm the city allowing the Meglos Doctor to escape and they leave for Zolfa Thura. The Doctor is tied to a stone slab with torches burning the ropes the hold a second slab suspended above him....

That was a bit better than the last two, with some good stuff as Meglos' host struggles against it.

However Romana leading the Gaztaks round the jungle stank of blatant time wasting. Since we've lost time in the last two episodes, having the Doctor & Romana stuck in a time loop, this is unforgivable.

Meglos is the only Doctor Who story to be Directed by Terence Dudley. An experienced director, and producer he had strong links to the Doctor Who world having produced Gerry Davis & Kit Pedler's Doomwatch and Terry Nation's Survivors. In 1981 he was offered the Producer's job on Blake's 7 but turned it down. He would then go on to write three stories for Doctor Who: Four to Doomsday, Black Orchid and The King's Demons as well as the one off K-9 & Company.

Meglos is also the only shown Doctor Who story by authors John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch. They contributed a second story, Project Zeta-Sigma, which was planned to open Season Nineteen and introduce the Fifth Doctor. They continued to write for television producing scripts for (amongst other) Robin Of Sherwood: The Betrayal, Peak Practise and Heartbeat.

Flanagan had been an actor. His most notable role up until this point was three episodes of The Sweeney, Jackpot, Thin Ice & Queen's Pawn where he plays DS Matt Mathews. He also appears in Sweeney 2 as Willard. He continues to work as an actor and turns up in the Lewis episode Generation of Vipers as Tony Mangold and in the Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour as Mr. Greaves in Girl.

McCulloch, also has a number of acting credits to his name including a priest, Bishop Tom McCaskell, in Father Ted. According to IMDB he's the brother of actor Ian (Nilson in the Doctor Who story Warriors of the Deep and Greg Preston in Survivors).

At the time this story was written Andrew McCulloch was living at Number 43, Ursula Street, Battersea, London, which was where he and John Flanagan wrote this story. Later on this season the house appears on screen as Auntie Vanessa's house in Logopolis episode 1!

I've had some fun prop spotting in this episode. First one of the Gaztek guns is a guard's gun from The Pirate Planet:

Another is the co-pilot's pistol from Horns of the Nimon:

The double barrelled gun appears to belong to a Skonnan guard in the same story:

Several of the Gazteks, including General Grugger, have one of these guns:

Previously seen in the Blake's 7 episode City on the Edge of the World.

There's also a short stubby cylinder of a gun used by one of them in episode 1: that's from Armageddon Factor where both the Atrians and Mutes both have versions of it;

Also we have the panels seen in the Savant power room:

Bits of those turn up in Destiny of the Daleks, Nightmare of Eden and the Xenon base control room in Blake's 7 series four!

Down as Tigellans in all four episodes we have the following actors:

Laurie Goode was a Mutant in The Mutants, a guard in the Time Monster, a Time Lord in The Invasion of Time, a Bandit in The Creature from the Pit. He returns as a Peasant in State of Decay, a Tharil in Warriors' Gate, a Sailor on the Shadow in Enlightenment, a Colonist in Frontios, a worker in Trial of a Timelord: Mysterious Planet and a British Unit Trooper in Battlefield. He's in Blake's 7 as a Hi-tech Patient in Powerplay, Survivors as a Looter in The Chosen and Star Cops as a Dealer in Little Green Men and Other Martians. He was a Looter in the Survivors episode The Chosen, the Jogger in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a Pirate Rat in the The Box of Delights episode In Darkest Cellars Underneath and appears twice in The Sweeney as Laurie in Queen's Pawn and the Supermarket Manager in Trojan Bus.

Michael Gordon Browne had been in Doctor Who before as a Time Lord in Invasion of Time and a Mute in the Armageddon Factor. He returns as a Tharil in Warriors' Gate and a Foster in Keeper of Traken. He then would have been a Cyberman in Earthshock but for his Claustrophobuia and later returns as a Guard in Arc of Infinity. I can also see a Michael Gordon as a Xeron in The Space Museum which might be the same person. In Blake's 7 played a Laboratory Technician in Seek-Locate-Destroy and a Hi-tech Patient in Powerplay.

Geoffrey Whitestone was a Tourist in the Louvre in City of Death and one of the Pangol Army in The Leisure Hive. He returns as one of the Crowd in the Marketplace in Snakedance and the Court Clerk in Trial of a Timelord: Mysterious Planet. In Blake's 7 he was a Star One Technician in Star One.

On debut is Peter Gates-Fleming He replaces Michael Gordon-Browne as a Cyberman in Earthshock and returns as a Gallifreyan in Arc of Infinity, a Colonist in Frontios, a Guardolier in Timelash, a Guard in Trial of a Timelord Mysterious Planet & Mindwarp and a Police Constable in Remembrance of the Daleks. He is also a Federation Trooper in Blake's 7's final episode Blake.

The Ceremonial Deon Guards first appear in this episode

Michael Brydon had been a Tourist in the Louvre in City of Death and returns as a Guard in State of Decay. In Blake's 7's he was a Kairos Guard / Labourer in The Harvest of Kairos and Guard in City at the Edge of the World.

This is Tigellan Guard Simon Shaw's only Doctor Who appearance: he's gone on to be a Television Producer.

David Cleeve is making his last Doctor Who appearance. Previously he had played a UNIT Soldier in The Time Monster, an Ice Warrior in Monster of Peladon, a Soldier, Thal Guard & Thal Soldier in Genesis of the Daleks, a Radiation Suited Man in Hand of Fear and an Other & a Megro Guard in The Sunmakers.

537 Meglos: Part Two

EPISODE: Meglos: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 537
STORY NUMBER: 111
TRANSMITTED: Saturday 04 October 1980
WRITER: John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch
DIRECTOR: Terence Dudley
SCRIPT EDITOR: Christopher H. Bidmead
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 4.2 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Meglos

"Oh blast, here we go again!"

While the Doctor is trapped in the Chronic Hysterisis, Meglos, impersonating the Doctor, is taken to Tigella by General Grugger & steals the Dodecahedron by shrinking it in size. The Doctor & Romana break out of the time loop by performing the actions in the loop early. They arrive on Tigella, but become separated with Romana attacked by the local plant life. The Doctor narrowly misses the departing Meglos and is arrested for stealing the Dodecahedron. Romana is captured by the Gaztaks and Lieutenant Brotadac orders her death.

Oh deary me, that was bad. The Doctor & Romana spend half the episode repeating the same actions which we saw a fair few time last episode! The escape from the chronic hysterisis makes no senses whatsoever. Then it's wander about in the jungle time and oh look the Doctor's been mistaken for his doppelgänger that's just stolen something.

My head is in my hands!

Bill Fraser plays General Grugger, reputedly only taking the role because he was allowed to kick K-9. He'll be back as Bill Pollock in K-9 & Company: A Girl's Best Friend where he doesn't get to kick the tin dog! He found fame on television playing CSM Claude Snudge in The Army Game, alongside First Doctor William Hartnell, and then reprised the character in the spin-off Bootsie and Snudge. Viewers of my age will remember him as Bert Baxter in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and it's sequel The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole. I've also seen him in The Professionals as Col. Summerville in Not a Very Civil Civil Servant.

Frederick Treves plays Lieutenant Brotadac. Oddly in the run up to writing this I'd spotted him on the TV twice in a few weeks in repeats of the Miss Marple mystery Sleeping Murder, where he plays Doctor James Kennedy, and the Inspector Morse story The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn where he's the Dean of Lonsdale College. But in a long career he's been regularly in work so seeing him is not really a surprise. He was in A for Andromeda as Captain Lovell in The Machine and The Andromeda Breakthrough as a RAF Officer in Cold Front. In Doomwatch he plays Dr. Henry Fane in The Inquest which you can see on The Doomwatch DVD. He was in The Sweeney TV series playing Beemax in Visiting Fireman and the Sweeney 2 film where he played McKyle, He has a recurring role as Guy Howard, Chief of Defence Staff in Yes Prime Minister where he can be seen in the episodes The Grand Design and Man Overboard.

The rest of the Gazteks are:

James Muir who had previously been a UNIT Soldier in The Time Monster, a UNIT Soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, a Muto in Genesis of the Daleks, a UNIT Soldier in Terror of the Zygons, a Brother in The Masque of Mandragora, a Death Attendant in The Sun Makers, a Technician in The Pirate Planet, a Druid in The Stones of Blood, a Louvre Detective in City of Death and a Mandrel in Nightmare of Eden then would have been the Man Fishing and a Krarg in Shada after which he was seen as a Foamasi in The Leisure Hive. He returns as a Tharil in Warriors' Gate, a Police Driver in Black Orchid, a Policeman in Time Flight and an RAF Driver in Remembrance of the Daleks. He'd been in Blake's 7 as a Federation Trooper in Seek-Locate-Destroy, a Phibian in Orac, a Rebel in Pressure Point, a Monster in Dawn of the Gods, a Link in Rescue, a Helot in Traitor, a Pirate Guard in Assassin & a Federation Trooper in Blake. He was the Vl'Hurg Leader in episode 4 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and was a technician in Moonbase 3: Castor and Pollux. He was in The Professionals as a Police Man in Stakeout and Rentaghost as a Party Guest in the third series' fourth episode.

Bruce Callender had previously been a Movellan/Slave in Destiny of the Daleks and a Louvre Guard in City of Death. He returns as an Aborigine in Four to Doomsday He'd been in Blake's 7 as an Adapted Helot in Traitor.

Ranjit Nakara was a Holidaymaker in The Leisure Hive. He returns as a Male Escapee & Duplication Body in Resurrection of the Daleks, and a Resistance Fighters/Alphan in Trial of a Timelord: Mindwarp.

Hi Ching was also a Holidaymaker in The Leisure Hive He can be seen in Agatha Christie's Poirot as Chow Feng in The Lost Mine and Alien³ as a Company Man.

Tony Alleff might be the Egyptian Labourers Tony Alless in Pyramids of Mars: I can see the ff and ss being an easily confused spelling. Neither has another appearance. He's in The Young Ones: Oil as Saudi King's aide and Never Say Never Again as the Auctioneer.

John Holland I can't find an IMDB credit for but he returns as an Edwardian Sailor in Enlightenment and a Patrons at Las Cadenas in The Two Doctors.

The poor unnamed Earthling possessed by Meglos is played by Christopher Owen who also voices Meglos' plant form. His first credited TV role on IMDB is as a Manservant in the missing Out of the Unknown episode Walk's End. He's in The Day of the Triffids as the Vicar in episode 5. He plays McKenzie in House of Cards and it's sequel To Play the King and is in the Inspector Morse episode Dead on Time as a Solicitor.

The Tigellan Guard that finds the Doctor is our old friend Harry Fielder. He had appeared twice with the Second Doctor Patrick Troughton as a Guards in the European Zone in Enemy of the World, returning as a Wheel Crewmember in Wheel in Space. His one appearance with Jon Pertwee is as a Guard in Pertwee's last story Planet of Spiders and He appears much more regularly with Tom Baker's Doctor starting a a Vogan in Revenge of the Cybermen after which he gets a run of credited appearances as a Guard in Seeds of Doom, a Guard in Deadly Assassin and the Second Assassin in Face of Evil, before returning to the supporting artists as a Titan Base Crewman in Invisible Enemy and a Leviathan Guard in Ribos Operation. He's credited again as a Guard in The Armageddon Factor. He returns as a Tigellan in Meglos and a Security Guard in Castrovalva. He was also a regular extra in Blake's 7 appearing as an Armed Crewman in Space Fall & Cygnus Alpha, a Scavenger in Deliverance and a Federation Trooper in Weapon, Trial, Voice from the Past, Children of Auron, Games, Warlord & Blake. From my youth I remember him as the security guard in CBTV but in a long career he's been in everything!

One of the actors playing a Savant presents a problem: we believe there are TWO David Coles who have worked on Doctor Who. There is a David Cole who played Billy Clanton in 1966's Gunfighters He was born on April 8, 1936 so, aged 43, is likely to have still been working at this time and indeed is probably the Savant here. But during this period fro the late 70s through to the mid 80s there's a supporting artist under this name playing a Crewman in Nightmare of Eden, a Student in Shada, a member of the Pangol Army in The Leisure Hive, a Savant in Meglos, a Citizen in Full Circle, a Kinda in Kinda, a Student in Arc of Infinity, a Schoolboy in Mawdryn Undead, a Mutant in Mawdryn Undead, One of Ranulf's Knights, a Spectator & a Beggar in King's Demons and a Trooper in The Awakening. Some of those could well be the David Cole from the Gunfighters but The Students in Shada & in Arc of Infinity and the Schoolboy in Mawdryn Undead would seem to require a much younger actor and indicate that there is a second one so who knows quite how these roles are split!

Stephen Kane had been an IR Guard in Exchange Hall in The Sunmakers. He returns as a Citizen in Full Circle. Blake's 7 he was a Customer / Gambler in Gambit.

Neither Howard Barnes or John Laing reappear in Doctor Who.