History Recap / DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace

'''Production code:''' QQQ

Written by Creator/MalcolmHulke. This six-episode serial first aired from February 24 to March 31, 1973.

* WhatCouldOfBeen: Originally, the Cybermen were working with the Master, not the Ogrons.

-> ''In a reminiscent mood are you, Doctor? Poor Miss Grant, you have my deepest sympathies.''

* CoversAlwaysLie: The VHS release prominently features a Dalek, even though the Daleks only appear for about two minutes in the final episode. Worse still, "Planet of the Daleks", where the cliffhanger is resolved, wasn't released until over four years later (in a box set with "Revelation of the Daleks").

* SpoilerCover: TheReveal of the Daleks was meant to be a surprise, but the VHS cover features them prominently (technically the DVD cover does as well, but it's less of an issue there seeing how it was actually packaged with "Planet of the Daleks" this time).

* ObscuredSpecialEffects: The monster the Ogrons fear and worship is kept to just a few seconds of a long shot to hide that it looks like a [[UnfortunateCharacterDesign giant orange scrotum]].

* TimeTravelersAreSpies: Played for [[YouHaveToBelieveMe longer than usual]] given that the humans think our heroes are Draconian agents while the Draconians think they're part of a plot to frame them by General Williams. Then the Master shows up with faked records showing the Doctor and Jo are known criminals, further muddying the waters.

* ATasteOfTheLash: The Doctor chasing the Master around a spaceship with a belt. [[HoYay Yes.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Roger Delgado's last outing as the Master is spent in Spandex. Credit where it's due - he makes it ''work.'']]

The one where Creator/RogerDelgado says goodbye, albeit unintentionally.

* WhipItGood: The Doctor chasing the Master around a spaceship with a belt. Yes.

* {{Zeerust}}: The spaceships' cockpits don't exactly look modern, but the designs do contribute to the [[UsedFuture appearance of rugged space cruisers designed carrying out grunt work]] rather than looking flashy and comfortable.

* EscapeArtist: The Doctor uses does the ReversePolarity trick on his sonic screwdriver to turn it into an electromagnet and open a door, and later uses a steel file hidden on his person to get out of the prisoner cage the Master puts him in. Jo uses the [[CutleryEscapeAid spoon provided by the Ogrons with her meal]] to tunnel under the bars of her cell. Averted when the Doctor tries using the sonic screwdriver on the [[TemptingFate simple electronic lock]] that Earth Security lock him behind, only to set off an alarm.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The VHS release prominently features a Dalek, even though the Daleks only appear for about two minutes in the final episode. Worse still, "Planet of the Daleks", where the cliffhanger is resolved, wasn't released until over four years later (in a box set with "Revelation of the Daleks").

-->'''Aide:''' Prisoners have been known to escape, your Highness.
-->'''Prince:''' Not without help. And that would be a grave act of hostility. I could not possibly countenance such a plan.
-->'''Aide:''' But should two escaping prisoners seek sanctuary in this Embassy, it would be uncivilised to turn them away.
-->'''Prince:''' (pause) I must not detain you longer. No doubt you have duties demanding your attention?

* FriendlyFire: While on the way to the Ogrons planet, the Earth ship is attacked by Draconians. The Draconian Prince says the Officer will be punished, but the Doctor points out they are infringing on Draconian space.

-->'''The Master:''' So where's the Doctor?
-->'''Ogron:''' The monster came!
-->'''The Master:''' The monster? And I suppose you all ran like rabbits?
-->'''Ogron:''' We fear the monster!
-->'''The Master:''' You stupid, cowardly idiots! [[YouHaveFailedMe You will answer to your masters for this!]]
-->'''Ogron:''' [[OhCrap What?!]] ''[[TheDreaded They]]'' are coming?
-->'''The Master:''' Yes, ''they'' are coming! Which means that I can dispense with your doubtful assistance! Out of my way!

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: When the Doctor explains to Jo how they will escape from their cell, all he says is: "So this is what we're going to do..." Cut to execution of the plan.
* VillainExitStageLeft: The last we see of Delgado's Master is him making a hasty retreat after shooting the Doctor.

* EnemyMine: The Master and Daleks try to cause a war between Earth and Draconia after which they would invade the Galaxy. The humans and Draconians are told by the Doctor to form an alliance against the Daleks.

* GreaterScopeVillain: The Daleks. Even when their role in the plot is revealed the Master still remains the most pressing threat. The Daleks themselves do not step down to BigBad status until the next serial.

* NationalismIsDestructive: The plot revolves around an escalation in tensions in a SpaceColdWar between the Earth Empire and the Draconian Empire, with the Master and his army of Ogrons manipulating events to frame each party for terrorist attacks against the other. As this goes on, public sentiment on Earth becomes increasingly nationalist and xenophobic, with news reports describing a rise in anti-Draconian sentiment that translates to protests and even race riots.

The TARDIS arrives in the year 2540 on board an Earth freighter which comes under attack. The crew seem to think that the Doctor and Jo, along with the other attackers, are Draconians - a reptilian race who are the major rivals to Earth's empire. The Doctor and Jo, however, can see that the attackers are really Ogrons - the ape-like heavies employed by the Daleks in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks Day of the Daleks]]".

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Between the humans and Draconians. Draconians don't allow females to speak publicly, humans have a female president. Humans are quick to accuse, Draconians- at least the elders- are more reserved and reasonable.

** The monster that scares the Ogrons away in the last episode also appears as a statue before we get any explanation.

** LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: What happens to the Master's [[BackgroundMusic BGM]], in conjuncture with the above trope.

* MindProbe: When one is used on the Doctor it ends up being destroyed when General Williams refuses to accept it as truth. The Doctor talks of a NoodleIncident where he was captured by the Medusoids and broke the mind probe. He was freed when the Medusoids ran out of mind probes.

* SpaceColdWar

* TrickedIntoEscaping

* WarForFunAndProfit: A classic example of the trope, as the Master uses a whole bunch of {{False Flag Operation}}s to try to provoke war between Earth and Draconia.
* WeNeedADistraction = HoldingTheFloor: The Master throws the Doctor and Jo into a cell on his spaceship, watched by closed circuit cameras. First the Doctor rambles on about how he got exiled to Earth until the Master gets bored listening to him, then when he breaks through the cage, Jo stands in a position to block the camera view and starts her own monologue.

* ShoutOut: The Master is reading ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Doctor's new friends in the Moon prison apparently remain there.

* SpareTheMessenger: The Ogrons seal up the airlock they burned through so the crew will be alive to testify that Draconians attacked them. When the Doctor points this out, it's simply assumed that he and Jo are spies and they did this to make sure their agents survived.

This was, of course, never intended to the be the true finale to Delgado's Master. In fact, his actual swan song was supposed to come in the next season. The script, entitled "The Final Game", would've revealed that the Master is actually the Doctor's dark half split off into physical form, and at the end the Master would've [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrified his life to save the Doctor]]. These plans were derailed by Roger Delgado's untimely death in a car accident while filming for a role in Turkey, just several months after completing this story. His tragic death caused the Master as a character to be put on ice for almost four years, and Creator/JonPertwee cited it as one of the prevailing factors that led him to quit the series the following year. The "dark half of the Doctor" plot point, meanwhile, would ultimately be repurposed for the Valeyard in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe "The Ultimate Foe"]].

Written by Creator/MalcolmHulke. This serial first aired February 24-March 31, 1973.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Doctor's new friends in the Moon prison apparently remain stuck there.

* InterrogatedForNothing: The Doctor is submitted to the Mind Probe which only reveals the truth; that Ogrons were doing the attacking. Despite him downplaying the danger to Jo it's clearly not a pleasant experience, and his interrogators nearly burn out the Doctor's mind trying to get to the 'truth', convinced he's just been brainwashed to think this. Fortunately the probe--as the Doctor predicted--blows up before that happens.

* SpaceClothes: Both Earth-men and Draconians have clothes with big shoulder pieces and collars.

** LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: What happens to the Master's [[BackgroundMusic BGM]], in conjuncture with the above trope.