Doctor Who/Recap/S21/E02 The Awakening

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< Doctor Who‎ | Recap‎ | S21


Hey. Hey you, c'mere and gimme a hug.

Turlough: We're running out of places to run.
Tegan: It's the story of our lives.

So after their traumatic encounter with People in Rubber Suits the Silurans and Sea Devils, the TARDIS crew aim to spend a restful time visiting Tegan's grandfather in his little English village. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?? (Stop sniggering at the back)

Well, something's gone very wrong with the local historical reenactment event, for one, with real violence, people staggering about with Mind Control Eyes, projections from the 17th Century, including muddy urchin Will, and Tegan's grandfather has gone missing. Little Hodcombe's local squirearchy, Sir George Hutchinson and his friends, meanwhile, have come under a malign influence and gone all Villain Ball.

After initially leading Tegan and Turlough into the village in the manner of a worn-down parent with two squabbling kids, the Doctor gets the picture, and sends the companions back to the TARDIS so that he can conduct a "scientific investigation" while they stay safe. Instead, they wander out and get in trouble, Tegan finding herself unwillingly crowned as Queen of the May, while Turlough gets locked in with Tegan's grandfather after being snuck up on by a man in a suit of armour whose resemblance to the knight with the rubber chicken out of Monty Python's Flying Circus is bound to be totally accidental.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Will and local plucky schoolteacher Jane Hampden discover the source of the trouble inside the local church: it is, of course, all caused by The Malus, an evil time-travelling alien feeding on psychic energy. Can the Doctor, the schoolteacher, the urchin, and the companions, plus Tegan's grandad, save the day? Will Tegan go quietly? Will there be tea? Well, what do you think?

Tropes

Turlough: I quite miss that brown liquid they drink here.
Will: Ale?
Turlough: No, tea.
Will: What be tea?
The Doctor: Oh, a noxious infusion of Oriental leaves containing a high percentage of toxic acid.
Will: Sounds an evil brew, don't it?
The Doctor: True. Beat Personally, I rather like it.