Doctor Who/Recap/S20 E4 Terminus



"You represent a poor investment of my time and energy."

- The Black Guardian begins to have doubts about Turlough's skills as an assassin.

The Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and Turlough visit the exact center of the universe, and find Terminus, a derelict old spaceship that's being used as a colony for the victims of the fatal Lazar's Disease. Which Nyssa has just been infected with. D'oh. She takes off her skirt and proceeds to be taken into the custody of Terminus' employees, the Vanir. They leave her with the other Lazars until it's her turn to be treated by the Garm, a monster that looks like some sort of bulky wolfman.

There's a couple of Space Pirates aboard, too, so that ought to be good for a laugh. Especially since one of them has gigantic Eighties Hair that nearly completely fills her standard-issue bubble-shaped space helmet. They're just there to give the Doctor someone to talk to, because Tegan and Turlough are stuck crawling through ventilation shafts and avoiding the ship's sterilization procedures.

Oh, and the old space hulk was responsible for creating the universe (one of its fuel pods fell back in time and kicked off the Big Bang), and it's now in danger of destroying it. Only by pulling a really heavy switch can the process be stopped. Nobody tell the Master about this thing, OK?

For those keeping track, this is where Nyssa leaves. The good news is she survives the Decontamination Chamber's radiation treatment and is cured of Lazar's disease, but since the treatment procedure is a hit-or-miss, she nobly elects to stay behind on Terminus so she might help it become a proper hospital. She tearfully bids farewell to her friends, with a kiss on the cheek for the Doctor and a hug for Tegan.

And Turlough is still suspicious.

Tropes
"Turlough: If ever you had to kill someone, could you do it?
 * Air Vent Passageway
 * Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: she would prefer not to.

Tegan: No. Don't know. If it was important. Save a friend, defend my life.

Turlough: But cold-bloodedly?

Tegan: You're weird, Turlough."


 * Compliment Backfire: No version of "You're so sweet when you get angry" is likely to go over well, schoolboy.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Bor
 * Darker and Edgier: A dark serial of the dreary and depressing kind.
 * The Eighties: feast your eyes on those space pirates - the Eighties Hair! The Shoulders of Doom!
 * Everybody Lives: And that's probably the weirdest thing about this story.
 * Everybody Remembers the Stripper: And she seemed like such a quiet one until then, too. The in-story Hand Wave for why she decided to strip down to her slip was that she was feeling feverish. This doesn't really come across on screen, so Nyssa appears to strip off her clothes for no reason.
 * Fire Forged Grudging Mutual Toleration: Tegan and Turlough
 * Gentle Giant: The Garm. He's a good dog.
 * Like a Weasel: What Tegan thinks of Turlough's "smoothing the way with a smile and a soft phrase" around the Doctor.
 * No Indoor Voice: The Black Guardian, who apparently doesn't think making your mole conspicuous might in any way get in the way of success.
 * One Word Title
 * Personal Effects Reveal: Apparently Adric was quite a magpie, as his old room is chock-full of Continuity Nods including his pirate outfit from "Black Orchid" and a double-helix necklace from "Kinda."
 * Sickly Green Glow: Hydromel
 * Skeletons in the Coat Closet: The Vanir wear suits of armor resembling skeletons.
 * Theme Naming: Mostly from Norse mythology.
 * Wardrobe Malfunction: According to lore, Tegan has a few problems like this.
 * Waif Fu: Nyssa, who is one of the smallest Doctor Who companions, manages to overpower Valgard, who is wearing armor, by pushing his head, knocking him back onto some stairs.
 * Withholding the Cure: Terminus Incorporated pays the Vanir in hydromel, which keeps them immune to Lazar's Disease and incidentally, bound to working on Terminus.