5N. The Leisure Hive

Season Eighteen - 1980/1981

Script Editor: Christopher H. Bidmead
Writer: David Fisher
Produced by: John Nathan-Turner
Director: Lovett Bickford
Designer: Tom Yardley-Jones
Incidental Music: Peter Howell

Synopsis

The Doctor, Romana and K-9 visit Brighton out of season. Whilst the Doctor seems content to sit on a deck chair on the beach, Romana wants something more. She asks K-9 for a list of recreational facilities in the galaxy, and they settle upon the Leisure Hive on Argolis.

The surface of Argolis is a radioactive wasteland after a twenty minute war with the Foamasi. The Argolins themselves have been left sterile. The pride of the Hive is the new Tachyon Recreation Generator. Recently the Hive has been loss making, and an Earth agent has been trying to get Mena to sell to the Foamasi.

Pangol objects to the sale. Mena herself believes that she will be rejuvenated by Earth scientist Hardin. Hardin is a fraud, and the Doctor and Romana are arrested on suspicion of killing him.

While experimenting with the TRG the Doctor ages considerably. Pangol reveals himself to have been created by the machine. He plans to create an army of duplicates of himself to attack the Foamasi. Foamasi invaders reveal themselves to be government agents and unmask Fomasi saboteurs.

Instead of the army Pangol planned the TRG turns Mena and Pangol into younger versions of themselves.

Regular Cast

  • Voice of K-9: John Leeson
  • Romana: Lalla Ward

Guest Cast

  • Mena: Adrienne Cori
  • Pangol: David Haig
  • Hardin: Nigel Lambert
  • Brock: John Collins
  • Vargos: Martin Fisk
  • Guide: Roy Montague
  • Klout: Ian Talbot
  • Tannoy Voice: Harriet Reynolds (1-2,4 - uncredited for 2)
  • Morix: Laurence Payne (1)
  • Generator Voice: Clifford Norgate (2-3)
  • Stimson: David Allister (1)
  • Foamasi: Andrew Lane (3-4)
  • Loman: Fred Redford
Uncredited:
  • Bits of the Doctor: (all 1-2) Derek Chafer, David Rolfe, Roy Seeley
  • Foamasi: (all 3-4) David Bulbeck, David Korff, James Muir
  • Baby Pangol: Alys Dyer (4)
  • Argolin Guides and Attendants: Maurice Connor, Julia Gaye, Annette Peters, Mary Rennie, Mike Reynell, Jenny Roberts, Ken Sedd, Douglas Star, Derek Suthern
  • Visitors/Experiment Assistants: Hi Chang, Ina Claire, Inga Daly, Sarah Gardner, Peter Graham, Emmanuel Josiah, Pauline Lewis, Ranjit Nakara, Patti Patience, Ansley Pollard, John Salpeas, Maureen Stevens, Ling Tai, Anna Van Karina, Willow Wipp, Huntley Young
  • Tachyon images of Loman and Pangol/Squash players/Experiment Assistants: Norman Bradley, Eileen Brady, Martin Clark, Graham Cole, Michael Horner, Nick Joseph, Brian Massey, Tim Olroyd, Joe Phillips, Douglas Roe, Reg Woods
  • Argolin/Pangol Images: Douglas Auchterlonie, Derek Chafer, David Cole, Bruce Guest, Eric Hamilton, Mike Handley, Ridgewell Hawkes, Bobby Jones, Ray Knight, Ray Lavender, Michael Leader, Mark Middler, Mike Mungarvan, Stuart Myers, Kevin O'Brien, Tim Olroyd, Harry Payne, Douglas Roe, David Rolfe, Roy Seeley, Harry Van Engel, Jeff Wayne, Leslie Weekes, Geoffrey Whitestone, Reg Woods

Original broadcast on the BBC

Channel Title Date Viewers Rating
BBC 1 526. Part One Saturday, 30 August 1980 18:15 - 18:40 5.9M
BBC 1 527. Part Two Saturday, 6 September 1980 18:20 - 18:45 5.0M
BBC 1 528. Part Three Saturday, 13 September 1980 17:55 - 18:20 5.0M
BBC 1 529. Part Four Saturday, 20 September 1980 18:15 - 18:40 4.5M

Studios

  • Television Centre Studio 1
  • Television Centre Studio 3

Outside Locations

  • Brighton Beach, Brighton, West Sussex

Notes

This story introduces a new title sequence (the sixth one used for this show), designed by Sid Sutton, and the first drastically different arrangement of the theme tune, by Peter Howell.

John Leeson only provides his K-9 voice for Part One.