Doctor Who/Recap/S6/E05 The Seeds of Death

"You can't kill me... I'm a genius!"

- The Doctor

The TARDIS lands on 21st century Earth, and discovers that the T-Mat matter transportation system upon which the entire planet's economy now relies, is broken. The Doctor and companions agree to take an elderly rocket to the Moon (which houses the relay station) and investigate.

When they arrive, they discover that Ice Warriors have taken over the station and are preparing to invade Earth. They have seed pods which will be T-Matted to selected points on the Earth's surface before emitting fungus that will remove oxygen from the atmosphere, killing all humans and rendering the planet habitable for the Ice Warriors.

The Doctor manages to get the T-Mat working and transports back to Earth, where he discovers that the seed pods are destroyed by contact with water (quite a big hole in the Ice Warriors' plan there). He uses the weather station on Earth to trigger a downpour, destroying all the seeds, then T-Mats back up to the moon to misdirect the approaching Martian fleet into orbiting the Sun, where they will be destroyed.

Not to be confused with The Seeds of Doom

Watch it here.

Tropes
"Doctor: We sent up a satellite. That signal has sent your fleet into a false orbit.
 * Alien Kudzu
 * Break Out the Museum Piece: The rocket. Later, a motor car, though we don't get to see that.
 * Corpsing: The sight of Patrick Troughton being swept off his feet by a wave of foam is too much for Wendy Padbury. She apologises profusely for it in the DVD commentary.
 * Cukoloris: The launch countdown is projected onto Gia's face.
 * Custom Uniform of Sexy: All the male technicians wear hideous, baggy jumpsuits. Miss Kelly gets figure-hugging Future Spandex.
 * Dirty Coward: Fewsham
 * The Dog Bites Back: Even a Dirty Coward can be pushed too far.
 * Doomed New Clothes: A behind-the-scenes example. Wendy Padbury liked her second costume (the leather trouser suit) so much that she bought it -- and BBC bureaucracy required her to pay before the start of filming. Then, in the scene where Zoe has to crawl through a tunnel, the paint on the set turned out to be still wet.
 * Emotionless Girl: Gia Kelly.
 * Engaging Chevrons: The rocket launch, with a full one-minute countdown.
 * Hair Decorations: Gia seems to think she's cuter with something that looks like a coffee cup attached to her hair.
 * Mishmash Museum: Displays about Leonardo Da Vinci, Yuri Gagarin, and Teleporters and Transporters.
 * Plant Aliens
 * Redemption Equals Death:
 * Right Under Their Noses: An Ice Warrior misses Jamie hiding in a corner, behind nothing at all.
 * Tranquil Fury: The Doctor, having spent most of the serial clowning and panicking, is frighteningly calm and restrained as he explains to the Big Bad what he has done, and why.

Slaar: The heat of the sun will kill them! You have destroyed our entire fleet!

Doctor: You tried to destroy an entire world."


 * The X of Y
 * Zeerust