The Doctor, Romana and newly elected President Sheridan Moorkurk take on the all-consuming powers of business tycoon Cuthbert and his vast Conglomerate. But the situation goes beyond a struggle for political power. Cuthbert is intent on revenge on creatures he feels have attacked his interests. But when his revenge looks like leading to inter-species war, the Doctor knows the stakes couldn't be higher.
The Laan are on the move. Is it too late to prevent the destruction of all life on Earth?
War Against the Laan contains examples of:
- Arbitrary Scepticism: Romana doesn't believe in time slippage. The Doctor despairs at her lack of imagination.
- Brick Joke: At the very end, the President hands the Doctor some hard-boiled eggs, after he'd spent the whole two-parter asking for them.
- Call-Back:
- Waking up from being knocked out, the Doctor mumbles "just touch these two strands together, and that's it, the Daleks are finished..."
- Capitalism Is Bad: At this point in the far future, Cuthbert's Conglomerate is so powerful that he basically controls the government, and this is definitely not portrayed as a good thing.
- Catchphrase: The Doctor offers the President a jelly baby before he and Romana take off in the TARDIS.
- Coming of Age Story: As explained in behind the scenes materials, in many ways this story is about Sheridan realizing her power as President of Earth and growing up from being just a wide-eyed revolutionary.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Cuthbert continues to be a prime Jerkass.
- Failed a Spot Check: Cuthbert's temporal experiments accidentally threw the time-travelling Laan off course while they were making their way to the barren desert planet they traditionally birth their young on. Not one of them realized that Earth was not their usual haunt, and the time slippage caused by the birthing process threatens to destroy all life on Earth.
- Foreshadowing: Romana discovers that it was Cuthbert's space-time experiment in the Proxima System that disrupted the Laan's travels, and Cuthbert later furiously tells the Doctor that he has no idea who- or what- Cuthbert really is. It won't be too long before the Doctor finds out more about both things.
- Here We Go Again!: You can practically hear Romana rolling her eyes saying this when the army corners her and the Doctor and threatens to shoot them.
- Just Between You and Me: Romana very neatly tricks Cuthbert into telling her in detail about his plans to release a pathogen to wipe out the Laan. While she has her communicator switched on and broadcasting to the Doctor.
- Just Following Orders: The Doctor delivers a devastating dressing down against Tallister, who attempts to use this and For Science! as justification for his horrific experiments on the Laan.
- Our Presidents Are Different: Sheridan Moorkurk as a President Personable is a welcome change.The Doctor: You seem to be remarkably straightforward for a politician. How on earth did you get elected?
- Psychic Link: Romana's connection with the Laan just barely helps avoid major catastrophe.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The President is the only one willing to take the Doctor and Romana seriously, or at least listen to their side of the story, and makes great efforts to both protect humanity and prevent the Laan from being destroyed.
- Sherlock Scan:
- The Doctor is able to work out that President Moorkurk is only recently elected by noting her brand new suit and her unfamiliarity with the presidential jet.
- Romana is similarly able to discern that Cuthbert is familiar with temporal technology after he very quickly guesses that she and the Doctor are time travelers when she off-handedly refers to him as "historical". Since time travel is unheard of at this point in human history, she correctly guesses that he wouldn't be able to make such a fast conclusion unless he was well-versed in it already.
