571 Kinda: Part Four

EPISODE: Kinda: Part Four
OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 571
STORY NUMBER: 119
TRANSMITTED: Tuesday 09 February 1982
WRITER: Christopher Bailey
DIRECTOR: Peter Grimwade
SCRIPT EDITOR: Eric Saward
PRODUCER: John Nathan-Turner
RATINGS: 8.9 million viewers
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - Mara Tales (Kinda / Snakedance)

"Don't be silly! You can't mend people, can you. You can't mend people!"

Karuna leaves Aris' party of Kinda tribesman and returns to the cave. The Doctor tells her that Panna is dead but she says she is Panna. While Hindle, with Sanders' aid, builds a cardboard city populated with cut out people Aris has the Kinda construct a wooden replica of the TSS. With it he confronts the real TSS, badly controlled by Adric, which opens fire on Aris, injuring him, before the Doctor calms Adric down and releases him. The Doctor & Todd confront Hindle, who has hidden in a box pretending to be a jack-in-a-box and blames Sanders for ruining the surprise. Becoming distraught when one of the cut out men has it's head ripped off he goes to destroy the dome, but Todd distracts him with the box of Jhana which he opens bathing his face in light. The Doctor traps Aris in a ring of mirror like solar panels causing the snake tattoo to crawl off and become giant size before being banished from the corporeal world. Todd transmits a report that Deva Loka is unfit for colonisation and the Doctor, Adric & Tegan, reunited with a recovered Nyssa, leave in the Tardis.

Enjoyed that.

The first real surprise this episode is when Kauna breaks away from Aris' group of controlled Kinda and returns to the cave:

DOCTOR: Panna's dead.

KARUNA: Idiot. Don't you know anything? Of course I'm not dead.

She then explains what's happened:

TODD: It's impossible.
DOCTOR: Well, unlikely, perhaps.
TODD: Ridiculous. I mean, if she is Panna, the wise woman, then where is Karuna? Answer me that.
KARUNA: Well, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Er, well, it's a good scientific question. Where are you?
KARUNA: I am her.
DOCTOR: Both of you.
KARUNA: We are one.
DOCTOR: So, when Panna died, her knowledge and experience were passed over to you.
TODD: But how?
KARUNA: It is our way.

And helps The Doctor understand what's been going on.

TODD: The vision in the cave. Was it real or not?
DOCTOR: Well, did you see it?
TODD: Yes.
DOCTOR: Well, so did I.
TODD: Look, stop it, both of you. I'm trying to understand.
KARUNA: I'm sorry.
TODD: It was a prophecy, wasn't it. A prophecy of what would happen here unless
DOCTOR: Unless we stop the attack on the dome.
TODD: But the Mara.
KARUNA: Yes?
TODD: Where does it come from?
KARUNA: The Mara inhabit the dark places of the inside.
DOCTOR: And somehow one of them has crossed over into this world and has taken over the mind of Aris. One thing puzzles me.
KARUNA: Yes?
DOCTOR: How did it cross over?
KARUNA: There is only one path.
DOCTOR: Which is?
KARUNA: It is opened by the dreaming of an unshared mind.
DOCTOR: Of course. Tegan.

Which leads to a reunion with Tegan, separated from The Doctor since episode 1.

TODD: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Tegan.
TODD: Is she all right?
DOCTOR: What is the function of the chimes?
KARUNA: We use them in the dreamings. The wind blows and we share.
DOCTOR: Share? Share what? Minds?
KARUNA: Of course.
DOCTOR: What would happen if one person dreamt here alone?
KARUNA: It is forbidden. There are powers waiting to be born. Powers of great evil. There is great danger in dreaming alone.
DOCTOR: Then I have to wake her.
KARUNA: There are dangers.
DOCTOR: I have to take that risk. Tegan? Tegan!
TEGAN: Doctor? Where have you been? DOCTOR: Are you all right?
TEGAN: Of course I am. I fell asleep, that's all. I had the strangest dream.
DOCTOR: Dream?
TEGAN: Yes.
DOCTOR: What dream?
TEGAN: Dreams are private.
DOCTOR: Now come on, Tegan, you must tell me.
TEGAN: No!
DOCTOR: You've been asleep for nearly two days.
TEGAN: What? What's going on? Who are these people?
DOCTOR: Oh, not now, Tegan, please, there's no time. You must tell me about the dream. It's very important.

Unfortunately, bar a couple of brief lines later, and leading Aris on a chase, that's the end of Karuna's involvement in the episode as The Doctor drives events from here on. It's a shame because Sarah Prince has delivered a really good performance for a younger actor.

TEGAN: Are you listening?
DOCTOR: Yes, of course. The other man standing there laughing. Go on.
TEGAN: Well, he had this thing on his arm, a design.
DOCTOR: What, a snake?
TEGAN: Whose dream is this?
DOCTOR: Well, was it?
TEGAN: Yes.
DOCTOR: Good. Go on.
TEGAN: Well, then for a while it got curious. I was alone. I was back here, only
DOCTOR: You weren't yourself.
TEGAN: That's right. There was this man coming, an unhappy man, a native.
DOCTOR: Aris.
TEGAN: And that's all.
DOCTOR: Don't be silly, Tegan, it can't have been. Come on, what did you do?
TEGAN: Well, if you must know, I climbed a tree and dropped apples on his head. Look, it was only a dream. I wasn't myself.
DOCTOR: No, of course you weren't.
TEGAN: What?
DOCTOR: Isn't it obvious? Your mind and body were occupied the Mara, who found its path to this world through your dream, just as Karuna said.
TEGAN: Hang on a minute.
DOCTOR: Oh, it's all right, you're perfectly safe now. In fact, I'll introduce you.
TEGAN: Where?
DOCTOR: They're about to attack the dome.
TEGAN: The dome.
DOCTOR: Come on.

On their way to the dome they rescuing Adric from the TSS he's borrowed to attempt to escape the dome.

What point does the TSS serve? There's little it does that couldn't just have been a man wandering about in the jungle. Yes OK in this episode it injures Aris but you could accomplish it some other way, say Adric pushing past him and knocking him over. It strikes me that it's an element inserted into the story as "a robot for the kids". Probably cost a quid or two as well.

It does provide an interesting contrast to the wooden version the Kinda have built for Aris and in turn to what Hindle's been doing inside the dome:

SANDERS: Hello.
TODD: Where's Hindle?
SANDERS: We've been having fun.
DOCTOR: Have you? Oh, good. There's nothing quite like it, is there.
SANDERS: Do you like this?

DOCTOR: What is it?
SANDERS: It's the new capital city of the planet S14.
DOCTOR: Yes, of course.
SANDERS: Mister Hindle made it.
TODD: Where is he?
SANDERS: Well, I'm sure he's around somewhere..... If you want to look. HINDLE: Boo!

HINDLE: You spoilt it. I wasn't ready.

I've had trouble in the past with the cardboard city made of boxes, especially with Hindle jumping out of one, which reminded me of Play School, putting me off rather. But is the cardboard city representing the completion of he colonisation mission in Hindle's mind?

We're already seen a child like regression in Hindle earlier in the episode.

HINDLE: Are the people ready yet, old man?
SANDERS: Some of them.
HINDLE: Oh, good. Let me see. Oh yes, they're very good.
SANDERS: Oh, do you think so?
HINDLE: Yes, aren't they, Adric?
ADRIC: Please, why can't I go for a walk?
HINDLE: Not outside.
ADRIC: No, just around the dome.
HINDLE: Outside is for grown-ups. It's not for us, is it?
SANDERS: Oh, no.
HINDLE: Soon it'll be finished, and then.
ADRIC: And then what?
HINDLE: And then, well, we'll live for ever and ever, won't we.
ADRIC: Look, I'm going anyway.
HINDLE: Do you think they'll be happy? I've done my best for them, haven't I?
SANDERS: Well, of course you have, son. He has, hasn't he.
HINDLE: I have, haven't I. My very best ever.

There's more of it here as he threatens The Doctor & Todd with the explosives, Todd easily distracts him

HINDLE: One word from me. One word.
TODD: Tell me about the city.
HINDLE: Oh, do you like it? Never built a city before.
TODD: It's very good. What's that?
HINDLE: Oh, that's my secret den. I'm the government as well, you know.

Until he spots the Doctor trying to sabotage the wiring but he's soon back to his child like self:

HINDLE: Doctor.
DOCTOR: And the security arrangements?
HINDLE: Security effectiveness one hundred percent. One thousand percent. One billion trillion trillion percent. Or more, perhaps.
SANDERS: Boom.
HINDLE: Do you want me to prove it?
DOCTOR: No. No, no. I'd rather know how you control the Kinda.
HINDLE: Oh, that's very simple. With this. They're very primitive, you know. They think I've captured their souls.
DOCTOR: Mirrors. Yes, very clever.
HINDLE: Do you think so?
DOCTOR: Yes. May I
HINDLE: Careful!
DOCTOR: I'm so sorry.
SANDERS: It's easily mended. A drop of glue.
HINDLE: Don't be silly! You can't mend people, can you. You can't mend people! Go on, press the

The destruction of one of the cardboard people really sets Hindle off, I suppose because the "Death" of one of his city's residents residents represents his failure as the security officer?

Fortunately Todd is at hand with another distraction, the box of Jhana, which proves a permanent solution to Hindle's troubles:

Some good reverse psychology gets Hindle to cooperate, a scenario which will be familiar to many a parent!

HINDLE: What's that?
TODD: Nothing.
HINDLE: Show me!
TODD: You've seen it already.
HINDLE: Give it to me. I want to see it.
TODD: Only if you promise not to open it.
HINDLE: All right.
TODD: Promise.

HINDLE: Promise. I can blow up the world after, can't I.
TODD: Yes, of course you can.
HINDLE: Are you frightened of me?
TODD: Terrified.
HINDLE: Good. What's in it?
TODD: Don't open it.
HINDLE: Why not?
TODD: You promised.
HINDLE: Who cares.

HINDLE: There's nothing in it!
TODD: No, there's nothing in it.

And, as with Sanders before him, the box heals his mind.

TEGAN: Doctor, the explosives.
DOCTOR: Deactivated. All quite harmless now.
ADRIC: And Hindle?
DOCTOR: He now appears to see the situation in quite a different light.
ADRIC: What happened?
DOCTOR: He opened the box.
TEGAN: What box?
DOCTOR: The Box of Jhana, the box Sanders was given by the Kinda.
TEGAN: Is that what affected the lights?
DOCTOR: Yes.
ADRIC: But how?
DOCTOR: The box is a powerful Kinda healing device. I suspect it generates sound at a frequency beyond our ears.
ADRIC: Healing device?
DOCTOR: Helps bring the mind back into phase.
ADRIC: With what?
DOCTOR: With everything. With life out there. The Kinda are very sophisticated people.
ADRIC: Will Hindle be all right?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. The more the mind is out of phase to begin with, the more dramatic the apparent effect.

While this is going on we get an additional scene in The Airlock between Tegan and Adric. The episode was found to be under running and the scene was inserted to make up time. It was filmed during director Peter Grimwade's next story, Earthshock. Tegan and Adric are still in the Airlock when the Doctor finds them.

TEGAN: What's been going on?
DOCTOR: I'll explain everything in greater detail later. First we must deal with the Mara. Where's Aris?
TEGAN: He's escaped.
DOCTOR: Escaped?
ADRIC: He was wounded, though.
DOCTOR: Well, we must find him quickly, before he's destroyed by the Mara within him.
TEGAN: How will you deal with the Mara?
DOCTOR: I don't know yet.

Fortunately at this point Adric asks a sensible question which leads the Doctor down an interesting train of thought:

ADRIC: How did Hindle control his hostages?
DOCTOR: What? Oh, the mirror. They thought he'd captured their. Ah.
TEGAN: What?
DOCTOR: I don't suppose you've come across any large mirrors in your wanderings about the dome? Silly question really.
ADRIC: Mirrors?
DOCTOR: Well, reflective surfaces of any kind. Come on, quickly, think.
ADRIC: Solar generator panels.
DOCTOR: Where?
ADRIC: In the storeroom.
DOCTOR: Show me.
TEGAN: Doctor.
DOCTOR: What is the one thing evil cannot face? Not ever.
TEGAN: What?
DOCTOR: Itself.
ADRIC: But you said the Kinda would react to the mirror. They aren't evil.
DOCTOR: Ah, Hindle captured their innocence. The Mara will rebel. They cannot face themselves, don't you see?
TEGAN: No.

His plan has some doubters:

TODD: Will it work?
DOCTOR: Well, according to the legends.
TODD: Mirrors?
DOCTOR: No Mara can bear the sight of its own reflection. It must recoil from itself. Understandably, don't you think, given it's nature.
TODD: Yes.
DOCTOR: Very well then. Trapped in a circle of mirrors, each mirror reflecting not only the Mara itself but also
TODD: The reflection of all the other mirrors!
DOCTOR: In an endless series.
TODD: So it's surrounded not only by its own reflection, but reflection of reflection.
DOCTOR: Exactly.
TODD: What happens then?
DOCTOR: It retreats back to where it came from.
TODD: The dark places of the inside.
DOCTOR: Or wherever, but not here, that's the main thing. It's all quite logical.
TODD: What happens to Aris?
DOCTOR: Well, Tegan survived, but
TODD: But what?
DOCTOR: Well, it would do no harm, would it, to keep ones fingers crossed.

But Karuna leads Aris into the trap as planned:

DOCTOR: Ah, there you are. We thought you'd got lost.
ARIS: Who are you?
DOCTOR: I'm called the Doctor.
ARIS: Why do you involve yourself?
DOCTOR: Because I share the Kinda's aim where you're concerned.
ARIS: I now control the Kinda.
DOCTOR: Well, you did for a while, but no longer.

ARIS: I still control them. I am Aris. I have voice!
DOCTOR: Yes, so I hear, but it is the voice of a Mara in the body of Aris. The snake on your arm, the symbol of your power, confirms it.
ARIS: Then take care that that power doesn't enter you.
DOCTOR: Oh, you're too late. Now!

-->

DOCTOR: Now, get ready to pull Aris clear the moment the snake leaves his arm.
DOCTOR: Hold the mirrors straight!
ADRIC: What's happening?
DOCTOR: The Mara is detaching itself.
ADRIC: What?
DOCTOR: It's leaving Aris. It has no further use for him.
DOCTOR: Now, pull him clear!
DOCTOR: Now, hold your ground. Keep it in the circle. Close the gaps! The circle must be kept closed. If the circle is closed, the Mara cannot escape.
ADRIC: It's fantastic. Where does it draw its energy from? It's incredible.
DOCTOR: Tegan! Tegan, Tegan, are you all right?

It's interesting, even here you can see writer Christopher Bailey setting himself up for a sequel as Tegan glances into the mirror trap to see the Mara.

TEGAN: Yes.
DOCTOR: Close these gaps!
TEGAN: Is that the Mara's true form?
DOCTOR: Yes.
TEGAN: I had that in my mind?
DOCTOR: Yes.
TEGAN: But it's gone now, isn't it, Doctor?

Ah there's the snake. Hated by Doctor Who fans everywhere as an example of "a bad effect ruining an otherwise good story". But I look at it and think "There's not much wrong with that". But the popular voice prevailed and an alternate CGI version was created for the DVD.

DOCTOR: It's all right, it's all right. Stand firm. Look, it's starting to weaken. Look!
DOCTOR: He'll be all right.
TODD: Why do such things exist?
DOCTOR: Who can tell?
TODD: The Mara's gone.
DOCTOR: Back to the dark places of the inside, or wherever. But not here, not anywhere here. This world is free of it.
KARUNA: And of its curse.
TODD: Curse?
KARUNA: Yes.
TODD: What curse?
KARUNA: The curse of time. It is the Mara which starts the clocks.
DOCTOR: Come on, it's finished.

Down as the Snake in this episode is Stephen Calcutt who was a Muto in Genesis of the Daleks, a Mute in The Armageddon Factor, and a Marshman in Full Circle.He was also a Transylvanian in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and appears in Flash Gordon as an Azurian Man. In Rentaghost he was Leonardo da Vinci in the third episode of the second series, still unreleased on DVD, but is now on Britbox!

And while we're on appearing in just this episode Jonathan Evans plays a Kinda here before returning as trooper Marshall in Earthshock in the studio scenes. There's a John Evans listed as an undertaker in Remembrance of the Daleks, which might well be him too, but I think it's less likely that he's the John Evans listed as a Saxon in The Time Meddler or as one of the Airport Personnel in the Plane in The Faceless Ones.

In the closing moments of the story we get to see Hindle, finally in his right mind, and Sanders together in the Jungle.

HINDLE: I suppose everything will have to be entered into the log.
SANDERS: Will it?
HINDLE: Well, the manual states it's the duty of the expedition commander to
SANDERS: What manual?
HINDLE: Oh. I see.
SANDERS: I never read the manual.
HINDLE: Thank you.
SANDERS: Thank you, sir.
HINDLE: Thank you, sir.

It's a bit of a shame that we don't get to see Karuna here, or Aris reunited with his brother.

But really the last proper scene of the story needs to go to Nerys Hughes' Todd, who's been a great substitute companion during this story.

DOCTOR: Is it decided?
TODD: They accepted my recommendation.
DOCTOR: Which is?
TODD: This planet is totally unsuitable for full scale colonisation. The unit be withdrawn. Sanders is pleased.
DOCTOR: Is he?
TODD: He wants to stay here. I told him he should just wander off into the forest. Nobody'd notice. Shame about poor old Hindle, though.
DOCTOR: Oh, he'll be all right. He was just driven out of his mind. Just what he needed. What about you, will you stay?
TODD: I don't think so.
DOCTOR: You're not tempted by paradise?
TODD: It was all right at first, but it's all a bit too green for me.

It's almost a shame that she didn't join the, admittedly overloaded at the time, Tardis crew as a slightly older more responsible figure. To the best of my knowledge, Big Finnish has never reunited her with the Doctor either!

And then, finally, we're reunited with Nyssa, sleeping since the start of part one:

NYSSA: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Ah, yes, one moment.
TODD: You don't actually go into space in that?
DOCTOR: Oh no. That would be completely impossible, wouldn't it.
TODD: Unlikely, anyway.
DOCTOR: If not ridiculous.
NYSSA: Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes. It seems some people are getting impatient.
TODD: You must go. Goodbye.
DOCTOR: Goodbye.
NYSSA: Hello, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Nyssa, how are you?
NYSSA: Fully recovered.
DOCTOR: Excellent.
NYSSA: What have you been doing?
DOCTOR: Oh, nothing much. This and that. Having fun.
NYSSA: Can we go?
DOCTOR: I don't see why not. I think paradise is a little too green for me as well.

On the surface Kinda is a story that's simple to follow, a lot simpler than people make out, and all the plot seemed obvious to nearly eight year old me. But start scratching the surface and there's lot more to it. Some of the acting superb, Nerys Hughes as we've mentioned, Simon Rouse in particular as the disturbed Hindle and with Mary Morris in a fab turn as Panna in the middle episodes.

Kinda was repeated the following summer on 22nd to 25th August 1883 a week *after* the Visitation, the next story but recorded first, was repeated. A similar situation affected the previous winter's Five Faces repeat season where Carnival of Monsters was shown before Three Doctors.

The story was novelised by Terrance Dicks in 1984, released on video in October 1994 and on DVD, with it's sequel Snakedance, as part of Doctor Who - Mara Tales Boxset.

Doctor Who Season 19, containing Castrovalva, Four To Doomsday, Kinda, The Visitation, Black Orchid, Earthshock & Timeflight, was released on Blu Ray on 10th December 2018.