Product Details

• Actors: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison
• Writers: Sydney Newman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: September 19, 1995
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303631908
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,460 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

On its way back to Earth, the TARDIS crash lands on Peladon where strange and violent incidents are threatening to disrupt a conference between visiting delegates from the Galactic Federation and Peladon's King. Is this the feared curse of Peladon and will it force a Galactic war? Having assumed the guise of Earth delegates, the Doctor and his assistand Jo attempt to diffuse the political timebomb and to uncover the true identity of the beast of Peladon - which they suspect is something far more sinister than a mere paranormal apparition. StarringJon Pertwee

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I wanted to save our world....", May 23, 2000

By 

Brian May (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This Jon Pertwee story is very enjoyable. It is well designed and directed, has terrific costumes and a real medieval atmosphere. It's also very well written. Allegedly (or as most analyses of the story purport) "The Curse of Peladon" is a commentary on the UK's proposed entry into the Common Market. The writer's politics must clearly have been in favour of joining with Europe for him to liken England to a backward planet deciding to embrace the "progress" of joining the galactic Federation, which is portrayed as a Star Trek type conglomeration of planets. However, this is a story that can be enjoyed independent of such a context. What you have is partly a tale of court intrigue combined with a political thriller, which becomes more complex as the story progresses. The involvement of the Doctor and companion Jo Grant opens a can of worms - he is forced to impersonate a delegate overseeing whether Peladon is fit to join the Federation, while Jo must masquerade as a Princess. Small factors such as these escalate the situation; by the start of the final episode, political machinations have never been more gripping. The diplomatic nuances are a credit to Brian Hayles's skill as a writer. The return of his monsters, the Ice Warriors, is also good to see. Alan Bennion and Sonny Caldinez perform their second of three double acts as Ice Lord and Warrior; the decision to portray them as allies rather than as conquering alien "baddies" as they have been before is also a clever move. The Doctor is forced to question his prejudices about them. Bennion's performance as the Ice Lord is wonderful - he makes the character likable, honourable (especially when he announces the debt he owes to the Doctor) and quite suave. The alien designs of Alpha Centauri and Arcturus are interesting, even if a little simplistic by today's standard of what aliens should be. The two main Peladonian characters are also well presented. King Peladon, played by David Troughton (son of Patrick), could be criticised because of his effeminacy and indecision (a "wet fish" as Jo calls him), but he is a young ruler, lonely at the top and has to make some difficult decisions. His romantic inclinations towards Jo, while hardly touching, don't fall into the mushy zone. Hepesh is perhaps the most intriguing character. He is the story's antagonist, but his opposition to joining the Federation is not presented as evil. He DOES represent the conservative view, opposed to progress, but he is simply a man of his convictions. (I'm not sure whether the opponents of change in the story's wider context are meant to be as sympathetically presented as Hepesh - I don't think so.) "The Curse of Peladon" can be enjoyed both in and out of context. It is a gripping drama, visually pleasing and very classy production.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic., August 19, 2000

By 

G.Spider - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

With its grown-up storyline, believable characters and interesting, well-thought-out alien society, this is Dr Who as it should be. The sets are great and the plot, which involves a primative society's fear or technology, is filled with 'whodunnit' suspense. The Ice Warriors are at their best. Ice Lord Izlyr especially comes across as one of the strongest and most interesting alien characters the programme has seen. A true classic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ancient curse of Peladon will be fulfilled!, January 18, 2004

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doctor Who - The Curse of Peladon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In this story, the Doctor and Jo mistakenly land on the ledge of a windy mountainside, and enter the citadel of Peladon. There, they are mistaken (and quickly assume the role of) the Earth delegate. Peladon is a planet under a feudal monarchy applying for admission to the Galactic Federation, and the delegates from Alpha Centauri, Arcturus, and Mars are assessing whether or not to accept Peladon's entry. The Doctor is the chairman delegate while Jo becomes Princess Josephine of TARDIS, a royal observer.

Even though Peladon's Grand Council decided for Federation membership, there's a clash of ideals. Chancellor Torbis is for progress, to bring Peladon out of primitive superstition, while the high priest Hepesh is worried that the ancient traditional ways will be swept away, with Peladon being a slave to the Federation. Torn between the two is the young and weak-minded king, also named Peladon, who was raised by both men. He is all for joining the Federation, but Torbis's mysterious murder is the first of many crises to arise. Hepesh believes it's a sign that the spirit of Aggedor, the royal beast of Peladon, is angry. With Torbis dead, Hepesh solely has the king's ear. The Doctor puts the problem before the king neatly: "Your majesty is an enlightened ruler, but who will your people believe, King Peladon or Aggedor?"

Many crises occur in this episode, including two attempted murders. And Hepesh is dead set on keeping Peladon the way it is, and to that end, he sees the Doctor, who is the chairman delegate, as his foremost enemy, and conspires to have him killed, or fearing reprisal from the Federation, expelled. Yet the Doctor decides to stay on and help the besieged king while solving the mystery of whether Aggedor is a ghost or a manifestation that's "solid hairy fat."

Of the delegates, the Doctor mistrusts the Ice Lord, Lord Izlyr. After all, the Ice Warriors, who in both previous encounters, tried to conquer Earth, so it's no surprise that he suspects them when someone attacks the delegate from Arcturus, plus Jo finds evidence pointing to that. Yet the Ice Warriors mistrust Jo because of the attraction Peladon has for her, and because Peladon's mother was from Earth, think that a possible marriage has political ramifications, giving Earth an edge in Federation affairs. And the Federation cannot override local laws, so there's a legal roadblock as well.

Peladon (the king) becomes smitten with Jo and wants to marry her, but Jo, though fond of him, stands firm as a neutral observer. Later, when the Doctor's life is in danger, she abandons all restraint and pleads with the king to save him, yet he is torn again by being loyal to the laws of the planet and his feelings for Jo.

This story was influenced by Britain's entry into the Common Market, and it's not at all bad. The delegates are creatively realized, but the high-strung but pacifistic Alpha Centauri is my favourite. Due to the body shape of this green hermaphrodite hexapod, with a round face that's one giant eye, it was referred to director Lennie Mayne as a "giant green d--k." A yellow jacket covered it for the story, but it was referred to as the "d--k in the jacket." Its high-pitched feminine voice which becomes hysterical also gives it personality. Other influences include Star Trek's "Journey To Babel" episode, and as for Aggedor, the Hound of the Baskervilles is an apt comparison.

And the lullaby the Doctor uses was originally spoken in the story The Daemons. Here, the Doctor croons it, using the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" as a melody.
David Troughton (Peladon) is the son of the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and later appeared as Egan in the Stranger series.

This story is either regarded as one of the best or worst of the Jon Pertwee era. I see it as inbetween, definitely not the worst, but good, not great. Its sequel, The Monster Of Peladon, is actually better.