569 Kinda: Part Two

EPISODE: Kinda: Part Two
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 569
STORY NUMBER: 119
TRANSMITTED: Tuesday 02 February 1982
WRITER: Christopher Bailey
DIRECTOR: Peter Grimwade
SCRIPT EDITOR: Eric Saward
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 9.4 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Mara Tales (Kinda / Snakedance)

"I am the Mara! Do not resist. I am your strength!"

Hindle imprisons The Doctor, Todd & Adric. Two Kinda women lie in wait for Sanders, who is in the TSS. They are interrupted by Aris, who communicates with the younger women, Karuna, his worry for his brother held hostage in the dome but is dismissed by the older women, Panna, who insists they continue with their plan. As Sanders approaches he is presented with a wooden box which he opens bathing his face in light.... Tegan is still trapped in the black void where she argues with copies of herself. Dukkha offers her a way out and accepting a snake tattoo moves from his arm to hers. After dressing the two Kinda hostages up in uniform Hindle summons the prisoners to the control room where he announces plans to clear the jungle with fire and acid. Adric feigns co-operation with Hindle to smuggle The Doctor a key to his cell but is caught. Tegan awakes under the wind chimes, possessed by the Mara. She sees Aris and follows him, the snake tattoo & Mara possession transferring to him. Just as Hindle is about to pronounce sentence on Adric, Sanders returns to the dome, a changed man, and presents Hindle with a present, a wooden box which he asks Hindle to open. Hindle sends The Doctor, Sanders & Todd back to the cells and has them open it.

Last time round for this episode I wrote:

Hindle's just completely barking, how did someone like that ever get on an expedition? Or was it X months of "practical jokes" by Sanders (see the start of Episode 1) that made him like that. So the base element of the plot is understandable. But the other bits.... somehow, while under the influence of the wind chimes, Tegan has made contact with another realm and allowed the Mara to travel over into our world? A bit odd even for Doctor Who.

It's probably worth looking a little bit closer that that!

The only new characters in episode two are Panna & Karuna, the old woman and her young assistant. They are the first Kinda we see that speak. They appear to be lying in wait for whoever has come out the dome - should we assume they are somehow responsible for the disappearance of Roberts and his two predecessors?

PANNA: Listen. It's coming. Have you got the box? Karuna? Karuna?
KARUNA: I'm here.
PANNA: What is the matter?
KARUNA: It's dangerous.
PANNA: There is no other way. The Not-we must know how it is with the Kinda. The presence of those in the dome threatens us. They must go away and leave us in peace.
KARUNA: But what if the
PANNA: Do as I say. You must not doubt. Your doubt is the only danger.

But before the TSS arrives, the male Kinda we saw outside the dome in the last episode finds them:

PANNA: What is it?
KARUNA: Aris is here.
PANNA: Well, what does he want? Come on, child. Quickly, read him.

Karuna here seems to be translating Aris' telepathy for Panna.

KARUNA: Fear. And hurting. And confusion. Where is my brother?
PANNA: He is with the Not-we in the dome.
KARUNA: Why has he gone from my head?
PANNA: There is no time now, Aris. Not now. You must be patient.
KARUNA: No. Not agreeing. Doubt. Why must I listen? Don't the Not-we in the dome have voice?
PANNA: Yes, of course they do, but it is not as it is with us. With them, voice is not a mark of wisdom.
KARUNA: But
PANNA: What is to happen here is more important. Oh, why must he interfere? Do you understand, Aris? Well, girl, does he?
KARUNA: Darkness. Understanding nothing. Hurt. Heal me.
PANNA: No, not now. There is no time. Listen, Aris. You must go away.
PANNA: Well? What is he doing?
KARUNA: I am gone.... His brother is their prisoner.
PANNA: Yes, yes, we know. But listen.

If leaving Tegan sleeping under the wind-chimes was the Doctor's big mistake last episode, then dismissing Aris to concentrate on whoever has come out of The Dome is Panna's.

PANNA: Are you ready with the box?
KARUNA: It's another male. The old red-faced one who shouts.
PANNA: No matter. Continue.
KARUNA: But you said that only women could understand, that it's dangerous for a man.
PANNA: Do as I say.

So they're waiting for Todd? Why can only a woman understand? Were Roberts and co all male too?

KARUNA: Go on, open it. Please, you must. We mean you no harm.

Open the box Sanders does. What's in it is hidden from us but it appears to be having an effect on him!

The main thrust of the episode is Hindle's further descent into madness. His captive Kinda have now been dressed in expedition gear and Hindle is inspecting his "troops".

HINDLE: What's this? Your tie's a mess. Here, let me show you. There, see? I can't be expected to attend to every detail myself, can I. It's too much, isn't it? Right, defence of the dome, it's conception and implementation effective immediate.
HINDLE: Show me your ..... fingernails. Wait.
HINDLE: All prisoners present and correct, sir.

While Sanders has been gone, Hindle as had time for a think and as worked out who his enemy is....

HINDLE: Seeds. Spores. Particles of generation. Microscopic. Everywhere. Eh, Doctor?
HINDLE: Or rather.
DOCTOR: Rather what?
HINDLE: Fungi.
DOCTOR: Oh?
HINDLE: Bacteria. Or even worse, viri, as in virulent. Am I getting warmer? Change and decay in all around I see, eh? Out there! Growth. Everywhere. Random, higgledy-piggledy, but to what purpose? There's the clue.
Stop. Don't come any nearer. I am onto you, you know.
DOCTOR: Oh dear.
HINDLE: Yes, I've had plenty of time to think. Do I have to spell it out?
DOCTOR: Well, perhaps it might
HINDLE: Why should I?
DOCTOR: Well, you don't have to.
HINDLE: No, I don't, do I.
TODD: This is ridiculous. You're obviously in urgent need of medical attention.
HINDLE: Silence! I need time to think.
TODD: What will Sanders say?
HINDLE: Silence!
TODD: Doctor, tell him.
HINDLE: Sanders will not return.
TODD: I hope for your sake he does.
HINDLE: Why should he? The others didn't. I wish to announce the strategy for the defence of the dome, implementation immediate. We will raze to the ground and sterilise an area of forest some fifty miles radius. Objective, the creation of a cordon sanitaire around the dome. Method of implementation, fire and acid. Acid and fire.
TODD: This is insane. There is no danger.
DOCTOR: And then?
HINDLE: And then we will wait for rescue. The mother ship.
TODD: Mother ship doesn't return for six seasons.
HINDLE: We'll be patient.
TODD: Doctor, tell him.
DOCTOR: What are you defending the dome against?
HINDLE: Against out there. The trees, plants.
DOCTOR: Oh, I see.
HINDLE: Yes?
DOCTOR: Well, perhaps if we could define the exact nature of the threat posed by the trees
HINDLE: I've told you. Seeds, spores and things. Everywhere. Getting hold, rooting, thrusting, branching, blocking out the light.
DOCTOR: Yes, but I
HINDLE: Don't you see!
DOCTOR: Nearly, nearly, nearly. I thought that the Kinda
HINDLE: No, the Kinda are not important. They're just the servants.
DOCTOR: Of?
HINDLE: Of the plants. The plants feed them. Did you know that? Then return, that's why. That's why.
DOCTOR: Why do you think the plants are hostile?
HINDLE: Because they are.
ADRIC: Yes.
DOCTOR: Adric?
ADRIC: Yes, of course. Can't you see it? He's got it right. He's absolutely right. The plants are the danger. I'd like to help you.
HINDLE: Step forward.

He's been deranged all episode but the way he cracks when Sanders unexpectedly returns is disturbing:

HINDLE: It's impossible. It's Sanders? Go away! Somebody make him go away! Mummy! Mummy, make him go away!

TODD: I never thought I'd be glad to see Sanders.
DOCTOR: He's the first to return, isn't he.
TODD: Yes. Yes, he is!
DOCTOR: Good. Then we may find out what happened to the others.
TODD: I still can't believe the Kinda are hostile.
DOCTOR: Well, there may be another reason.
TODD: What?
DOCTOR: Something more hostile out there.

And Sanders has bought Hindle a gift..... and given the nature of Sanders' jokes I can understand why Hindle is suspicious of it!

HINDLE: What?
SANDERS: Yes?
HINDLE: What is it?
SANDERS: Open it and see. Go on. I did.
HINDLE: You did?
SANDERS: Yes.
HINDLE: I don't think I will. Not just now.
SANDERS: As you like. You know best.

DOCTOR: Well now, if the Kinda are more sophisticated than they first appear, is it not possible that their enemies are also?
TODD: And I didn't see them, you mean?
DOCTOR: Hmm.
TODD: Oh, Doctor, you've frightened me.
DOCTOR: Not half so much as Hindle frightens me.
TODD: I'm afraid he's insane. Leave him to Sanders.
HINDLE: Mister Sanders has returned.
TODD: Good! Perhaps now we can
HINDLE: And he's brought me a present, haven't you.
SANDERS: Yes. Can I sit down?

The change in Sanders, a lot quieter and calmer, is obvious. What's inside the box and what did the box do to him?

DOCTOR: Where did you get the box?
SANDERS: What? I, it was given to me.
DOCTOR: By whom?
SANDERS: Someone.
TODD: There could be anything in it.
DOCTOR: Yes, I know. Sanders, do you know what's in the box?
SANDERS: I, er, I can't remember.

Then we have Tegan, who we left physically under the wind chimes but mentally in the dark dream world with her twin created by Dukkha.

DUKKHA: Things could be much more puzzling, you know. Have you thought what it would be like if there were not just two of you, but
TEGAN: Don't think it!
TEGAN 2: Don't think it! Think of something else.
TEGAN: Anything else.
TEGAN 2: What else? Quickly. Er, whalebones!
TEGAN: Watches.
TEGAN 2: Windmills.
TEGAN: Wivers.
TEGAN 2: River?
TEGAN: Doesn't matter as long as we don't think it.
TEGAN 2: If there were ten of us
TEGAN: Don't think it!
DUKKHA: Too late, I'm afraid. You already have.

I'm afraid at this point I laughed a bit because the scene towards the end of Ghostbusters where they're trying not to think of anything popped into my head!

Having tried multiples of herself, and the ensuring confusion, Dukkha now tries loneliness, removing all the duplicates, and oblivion.

TEGAN: If I was to agree to your borrowing my form
DUKKHA: Just for a while. Only a few minutes.
TEGAN: Which I won't. What would you do as me?
DUKKHA: Oh, they always ask that.
TEGAN: Well?
DUKKHA: You would be suitably entertained by the experience.
TEGAN: No. I don't trust you, so why don't you go away and leave me alone!
DUKKHA: You want to be alone?
TEGAN: Yes!
DUKKHA: Very well.
TEGAN: Wait.

And this breaks Tegan:

TEGAN: Hello? Hello? Are you there? Where am I? Hello? Please? Please? I want to come back. All right, I agree.
DUKKHA: You agree?
TEGAN: Yes.
DUKKHA: Then hold out your hand.

Here the positioning is worth noting: Tegan is on the left, Dukkha on the right and the snake travels to the left.

Then Tegan wakes up in the real world, but it's not quite Tegan as we know her and the Snake from the dream world is now on her arm in the real world.

Dukkha's prediction hat he will only need her form for a few minutes comes true as she quickly encounters the distressed Aris, dropping Apples on his head from a tree.

More interesting symbolism on multiple levels: As well a snakes, Apples have a role in the Garden of Eden story: Genesis 2: 16-17

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Apples falling on heads is also reputedly what lead Sir Isaac Newton to discover Gravity. In both cases apples can be said to have brought enlightenment.....

TEGAN: I was forgetting. We haven't been introduced, have we. I was also forgetting you don't speak, do you. I'm not surprised you look so sad. Telepathy is a very boring way to communicate.

TEGAN: Such a strange creature. Something to say.

TEGAN: You are unhappy. Very unhappy. Perhaps I can help you free your brother from the dome. Would you like that? I thought you might. With my help, you could launch an attack, destroy the people who've held your brother prisoner. Yes, you're right. The people in the dome are evil. With my help, Aris, you could become all-powerful. I am the Mara! Do not resist. I am your strength!

When the Snake travels on Tegan is again on the left with Aris on her right and the snake travels towards the right.

This leaves Aris able to speak

ARIS: All things are possible. Yes. Yes!

The last we see of him this episode is him running off manically into the jungle

That leaves the box that Hindle returned with, and the opening of it forms the cliffhanger but the revelation of it's contents would have to wait till the next week.....

The man responsible for this tale is Christopher Bailey. He is real. He exists. Doctor Who magazine tracked him down for an interview, he's in the documentaries on the DVD. He is not, as some have claimed in the past, a pseudonym for either singer songwriter Kate Bush or playwright Tom Stoppard. In reality he is a lecturer of English at the University of Brighton who wrote this script heavily influenced by Hindu & Buddhist mythology. Most of the names have meaning somewhere along the line and derive from Buddhism as well. In the black void Dukkha is "suffering", Anatta is "without self" and Annica means "impermanence" and the Mara temptation while in the real world the old woman Panna's name means "wisdom", her guide/pupil Karuna's name means "compassion" and the planet Deva Loka was named for the heavenly realm of supernatural beings.

In the director's chair, for the first time this season, is Peter Grimwade who had been a Production Assistant on the series before helming Full Circle and Logopolis. He'd return to direct one more story this season, Earthshock, but at the time this story was being worked on he was also writing his first story, the season's concluding serial Time Flight.