FREE DOCTOR WHO: THE ANDROIDS OF TARA: CLASSIC AUDIO ORIGINAL PDF David Fisher,John Leeson | 1 pages | 01 Apr 2014 | BBC Audio, A Division Of Random House | 9781445886282 | English | London, United Kingdom BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Androids of Tara - Details The Androids of Tara was the fourth serial in season 16 of Doctor Who. It was part of the Key to Time story arc, and part one's broadcast occurred just days after the fifteenth anniversary of the show. The plot of Tara is a pastiche of The Prisoner of Zenda. Several of the serial's working titles paid homage to this and many of the characters are based on their counterparts in the novel. Only with the BBC's interference was the potentially copyright-infringing name "Zenda" or "Zend" dropped from the title. Finding the fourth segment of the Key to Time was simple enough, but holding onto it may be another matter. The Fourth Doctor and Romana I find Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original embroiled in the political games of the planet Tarawhere doubles, android or otherwise, complicate the coronation of Prince Reynart. The Doctor and Romana I arrive on the planet Tara in search of the fourth segment of the Key to Time and, for once, the quest is simple. While the Doctor goes fishingRomana identifies and transforms the fourth segment alone. It was disguised as part of a statue. Her luck does not last, though. She is attacked by a Taran wood beast and only Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original by the nobleman Count Grendel of Gracht. Grendel confiscates the segment as an unregistered mineral and insists the injured Romana accompanies him to his castle. Once there, it becomes apparent that Grendel believes she is an android. The society of the planet Tara is a mix of the feudal and the futuristic, with a rigid social monarchical hierarchy developed alongside a skill in advanced electronics and android making, an ability endowed on the lesser orders. Centuries earlier, a plague wiped out nine tenths of the population. The workers, abandoned by the nobles at that time, began building androids to deal with labour shortages. The planet is now troubled by a struggle for the crown. Reynart is the rightful prince, but he is facing a challenge to his rule and coronation from his cousin, Count Grendel of Gracht. The Doctor agrees to help repair an android copy of the Prince. It is to be used to help him reach his throne and crown by diverting the attention of Grendel's men, while the real Prince slips into the coronation chamber through a back way. This plot looks plausible, but Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original strikes first, drugging the Prince's retinue and kidnapping Reynart himself. When the Doctor and the swordsmen recover, they decide to change the original plan and crown the android Reynart instead. The party move through the tunnels beneath the royal castle to get to the throne room so that the facsimile Reynart can be crowned. If Reynart is not there at the correct moment, then he will lose his right to the throne; Grendel may be chosen under the law to claim the crown instead. The real Reynart was wounded in his capture and has been imprisoned with Romana at Castle Gracht to prevent any legitimate succession. Romana learns that she is physically identical to another of Grendel's captives — the Princess Strella. By their elaborate ruse, the Doctor and his party succeed in getting the android Prince to the throne room, and the coronation begins. However, the android Prince is damaged, Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original it is clear the ruse will not hold for long. Strella enters the coronation room and pledges allegiance to the new King, but the Doctor suddenly rises up and with a shout of "No! The Doctor has not killed Strella, but an android duplicate, who was programmed to kill Reynart. The oath taking is delayed while other possible androids are found, and the "King" is watched over by Zadek and Farrah. When he returns to Castle Gracht, Grendel is furious, but when he finds out that the Doctor and Romana know each other, he has his android maker Lamiawho is in love with him, make an android Romana programmed to kill the Doctor, the man he sees as the one who deprived him of the throne. Shortly afterward, TillGrendel's manservant, arrives at the Reynart estate and offers the Doctor a chance to collect Romana from the Pavilion of the Summer Windsa nearby gazebo. It is, as ever, a trap. While this is happening, the real Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original escapes from Castle Gracht and heads off to find the Doctor. She arrives at the Pavilion in the aftermath of Grendel's attack, which has left Lamia dead, and helps the Doctor flee; but the situation is soon reversed as Grendel succeeds in destroying the Reynart android and then recaptures the errant Romana. The evil Count now wishes Romana as Strella to marry the real King, who will then be killed, leaving Grendel free to take her hand himself and be declared Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original legitimate King of Tara. Worried by the length of time a siege would take, the Doctor resorts to other means to get his friends back from Castle Gracht. K9 is used to help them gain access to the castle by means of the moat and underground tunnels. The Doctor reaches the throne room just in time to stop the sham Reynart marriage to Romana. He then engages the Count in a deadly duel with electro-swords, defeating him and forcing the villain to jump into his own castle moat and swim for his survival. Romana has meanwhile freed Strella and the royal party is united, with Grendel disgraced and presumably on his way to exile. Fandom may earn an affiliate commission on sales made from links on this page. Sign In Don't have an account? Start a Wiki. Contents [ show ]. If you'd like to Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion. The Five Doctors. The Twin Dilemma. Doctor Who. Children in Need Special Born Again. The Christmas Invasion. The Runaway Bride. The Infinite Quest. Time Crash. Voyage of the Damned. Music of the Spheres. A Christmas Carol. Death Is the Only Answer. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. The Great Detective. The Snowmen. Last Christmas. The Doctor's Meditation. The Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original of River Song. The Return of Doctor Mysterio. Twice Upon a Time. Categories :. Cancel Save. Stream the best stories. Start Your Free Trial. Try Now. Seasons William Hartnell. Season 1 : - Season 2 : - Season 3 : - Season 4 : Seasons Patrick Troughton. Season 4 : - Season 5 : - Season 6 : - Seasons Jon Pertwee. Season 7 : Season 8 : Season 9 : Season 10 : - Season 11 : - Contrary to common belief, season 10 kicked off in the last week of December — not inas would be expected. Season 10 actually began nine years after season 1 started. Seasons Tom Baker. Season 12 : - Season 13 : - Season 14 : - Season 15 : - Season 16 : - Season 17 : - Season 18 : - Seasons Peter Davison. The Androids of Tara - Wikipedia Romana finds the fourth segment disguised as part of a statue but is then taken prisoner by Count Grendel of Gracht. Grendel is plotting to seize the Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara: Classic Audio Original throne from the rightful heir, Prince Reynart, and has mistaken Romana for an android duplicate of the Prince's betrothed, Princess Strella, to whom she bears a remarkable resemblance. The Doctor is meanwhile captured by Prince Reynart's men Zadek and Farrah and taken to his hunting lodge, where he is forced to repair an android double of the Prince to act as a decoy for potential assassins. Grendel then kidnaps the Prince, and the Doctor has to modify the android so that it can be crowned in his place. Grendel commissions an android duplicate of Romana equipped with a lethal ray and contrives for the Doctor to meet her. K9, recognising this as a trap, saves his master. Romana has meanwhile escaped from Castle Gracht, and she rescues the Doctor from Grendel's men. Grendel destroys the Reynart android and recaptures Romana. The Doctor gains access to the Castle by rowing across the moat and, having first found and pocketed the fourth segment, manages to thwart Grendel's plans to seize power. The Prince's men then attack the Castle in force. Romana saves Strella from being killed and the Doctor engages Grendel in a swordfight. Grendel, realising that he has been defeated, dives into the moat and escapes to fight another day. The Doctor, Reynart, Zadek and Farrah drink a toast to the King, but the wine has been drugged and they all start to fall unconscious. The Doctor manages to make his way to the door before collapsing. The door opens to reveal Grendel standing outside. The presiding Archimandrite invests the android Reynart as the new King of Tara. The assembled courtiers rise and the android begins a speech of accession, slurring its words a little. Suddenly Princess Strella arrives, kneels before the android and offers her loyalty to the King. With a shout of 'No! The courtiers gasp in horror.