'Shada' (6 Parts) Story Code '5M' by Douglas Adams

On Think Tank, a remote space station, a scientist known as Skagra steals the minds of his colleagues and escapes to Earth. The Doctor and Romana are in Cambridge in the present day in order to visit Professor Chronotis, a retired Time Lord who is living life as a don in St Cedd's college. Chronotis wants the Doctor to return a book, 'The Ancient Law of Gallifrey', back to their home planet, but it has accidentally been taken by Chris Parsons, one of the professor's students. The book, which is made of a substance unknown to Earth, and which has temporal properties, mystifies Chris and his friend Clare. Skagra arrives at the college in his search for the book, which will give him the directions to Shada, the Time Lord prison planet, where Salyavin, the most powerful Time Lord in history is imprisoned. Skagra plans to use Salyavin to learn the secret of projecting a print of his mind into the mind of every sentient being in the universe - instead of ruling the universe, he will be the universe. After the Doctor retrieves the book from Chris, Skagra sends his mind-draining sphere after him; he is pursued through the streets of Cambridge, but eventually loses the book to Skagra, who then captures Romana and forces her to take the TARDIS to Shada. The Doctor, K9 and Chris use Skagra's spaceship to travel to Think Tank in search of Skagra and Romana, where they encounter the Krargs, huge crystalline servants of Skagra. Chronotis's college rooms are actually his TARDIS, which he uses to rescue the Doctor and his friends, and then travel to Shada. Skagra frees the Shadan prisoners, but is unable to find Salyavin. After Chronotis reveals that he is Salyavin, the Doctor beats Skagra in a mind battle, and imprisons him in his spaceship for eternity. Returning to Earth, the Doctor and Romana promise to keep Chronotis' secret.

Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Lalla Ward (Romana), David Brierley (Voice of K9), Christopher Neame (Skagra), Denis Carey (Professor Chronotis), Daniel Hill (Chris Parsons), Victoria Burgoyne (Clare Keightley), Gerald Campion (Porter), Shirley Dixon (Voice of Ship), James Coombes (Voice of Krargs), Gerald Campion (Wilkin)

Produced by Graham Williams
Directed by Pennant Roberts

TX:
This story was never completed due to a strike at the BBC in November 1979; it was then cancelled at mid-production, and consequently never broadcasted.

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, the Second Romana, and K-9 MKII

*Working title: 'Sunburst'

*The unfinished 6-part story was released by BBC Video, narrated by Tom Baker with all completed footage and additional music and effects

*In 2003 'Shada' was remade with Paul McGann as the Doctor, for a BBCi online webcast

*December 2017 saw a further release for this story, this time on DVD and Blu-Ray; billed as "for a modern audience", it had the existing footage upscaled to high definition, and incomplete footage completed using high-quality animation amd new voice-overs from original cast members

*Another new version, combining the live action version with enhanced extracts from the animation version, was released on 13th December 2021 in the 'Doctor Who: The Collection' Season 17 Blu-Ray boxset