A death scream is heard, yet all are accounted for. Eventually the Doctor finds a body stashed away but hours old, with rigor mortis already settling in, which means there's a chameleon in their midst. Completely cut off from the rest of the world and with an escalating body count, the Doctor wonders just what, exactly, he's locked inside the lighthouse with them all.
HORROR OF FANG ROCK BY: TERRANCE DICKS Part Three Running time: 23:12 [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Reuben? LEELA: It must have taken Reuben, like the other. DOCTOR: Don't talk to any strangers. [SCENE_BREAK] ADELAIDE: But what was that ghastly scream? PALMERDALE: Oh, control yourself. SKINSALE: Come along, there's no cause for alarm. ADELAIDE: Something terrible has happened, I know it. It was in my stars. I should have listened to Miss Nethercott. SKINSALE: Oh, come now. That's absolute nonsense. You're overwrought. Come along now, pull yourself together. You'll be all right. PALMERDALE: Harker! Where are you going? HARKER (OOV.): Below. PALMERDALE: Insubordinate ruffian. If there is something on this rock, we should stick together. SKINSALE: What, on the principle that it may satisfy its appetite before it reaches you, eh? ADELAIDE: Oh, stop it! PALMERDALE: Fool. Now look what you've done. [SCENE_BREAK] HARKER: Doctor? Where are you? HARKER: Hello? Doctor, are you there? Doctor? HARKER: Reuben? Is something wrong? Reuben? REUBEN: Leave me be. HARKER: Are you all right, man? HARKER: Doctor? Ahoy there! [SCENE_BREAK] SKINSALE: There, they've repaired the lights. It's all right. There's nothing to worry about. PALMERDALE: Listen! SKINSALE: What? PALMERDALE: There's someone outside. ADELAIDE: Oh, Colonel, please PALMERDALE: Shush. SKINSALE: Hello? Doctor? Harker? Oh. It's all right. It's just the old chap. PALMERDALE: Eh? SKINSALE: The keeper. PALMERDALE: What was that cry? Did he say? SKINSALE: He went straight on up. Looked done in, I thought. Adelaide, you ought to lie down. ADELAIDE: Up in that room? Alone? Have you taken leave of your senses? [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Well, there's nothing out there now. Were you calling? HARKER: Yes, sir. DOCTOR: Get that door shut. Do you know what I think? LEELA: That the creature killed Reuben. DOCTOR: Probably, probably. HARKER: Reuben's all right, miss. DOCTOR: This electrical LEELA: What did you say? HARKER: I said Reuben's all right. I've just seen him. LEELA: Are you certain? DOCTOR: Got it! U by Q over R. LEELA: Doctor, did you hear that? DOCTOR: Shush. LEELA: What are you doing? DOCTOR: Thinking. DOCTOR: Yes, it's certainly been here. You see, in the space surrounding an electrically charged body there occurs an electric potential which is proportional to the charge Q, and inversely proportional to the distance R from the centre. Where is he? HARKER: What? LEELA: Who? DOCTOR: Reuben. I thought you said you'd seen him. HARKER: Er, yes, sir, going up stairs, looking as if he'd seen a ghost. DOCTOR: Then why didn't you tell me? HARKER: I told miss, sir. DOCTOR: Why am I standing here wasting my time trying to work out its size? HARKER: I don't know, sir. DOCTOR: If Reuben's seen it, he can tell us. LEELA: That is what I thought, but of course I am only a savage. DOCTOR: Come on, savage. Harker? HARKER: Yes? DOCTOR: Try and find some way to secure that door, hmm? HARKER: Yes, sir. [SCENE_BREAK] PALMERDALE: I don't suppose in your service in the Engineers they taught you anything useful, like how to operate one of these gadgets, Jimmy? SKINSALE: Do you suppose if they did, I'd send a message for you? PALMERDALE: We could make a killing, old boy. I'd split the profit. SKINSALE: I'd be ruined, and you know it. You seem to think that money's the only thing DOCTOR: Where's Reuben? PALMERDALE: Reuben. SKINSALE: Well, he was out there a short while ago. Looked a bit groggy, I thought. DOCTOR: Groggy? SKINSALE: Yes. ADELAIDE: Doctor, what was that terrible cry? DOCTOR: Thank you very much. Come on, Leela. ADELAIDE: Well, really. His manners are quite insufferable. SKINSALE: Things on his mind, by the look of him, eh, Henry? PALMERDALE: We all have. ADELAIDE: As for the girl, I think she's tied to him by a piece of string. SKINSALE: Where do you suppose his Lordship's gone? ADELAIDE: Is it important? None of us can leave this dreadful place. SKINSALE: Some men make me nervous when I'm with them. Salisbury, Bonar Law. With your employer, it's the opposite effect. I get nervous when he's out of my sight. ADELAIDE: Oh, Colonel, you're not leaving me all alone. SKINSALE: It's all right. Back in a tick. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Reuben? Reuben, are you in there? [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR (OOV.): Can you hear me? DOCTOR (OOV.): Reuben, open the door. I want to talk to you. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Solid oak. LEELA: Why does he not answer? DOCTOR: Because he's not listening. LEELA: Not listening? DOCTOR: Shock can close the mind, Leela. He could be like that for hours. Days, even. LEELA: Days? What are you going to do? DOCTOR: Someone's got to keep this place running. Go and tell Harker to stay where he is and keep the boiler pressure up. LEELA: Keep the boiler pressure up. Keep the boiler pressure up. Keep the [SCENE_BREAK] PALMERDALE: So, it's a lonely life you chaps lead here, eh? VINCE: You get used to it, sir. PALMERDALE: I suppose they don't pay you too well, either. VINCE: Oh, it's not so bad. You get your keep and it's steady work. PALMERDALE: Still, you'd not be averse to earning a little extra, say fifty pounds? VINCE: Fifty pounds! PALMERDALE: I have to get a message to London rather urgently. I assume you know how to use that equipment downstairs? VINCE: Yes, sir, but it's the official telegraph. PALMERDALE: Look, when I say fifty pounds, I mean fifty pounds now. It's all I happen to be carrying. There'll be as much again for you when I get back to London. VINCE: A hundred pound! That be a fortune. I don't want to get mixed up in nothing wrong. PALMERDALE: Look, I'm a businessman. How could there be anything wrong? PALMERDALE: Here's the message. I've written it in code. DOCTOR (OOV.): Vince? PALMERDALE: Don't worry, nothing's wrong. DOCTOR (OOV.): Vince! VINCE: Yes, sir? PALMERDALE: (quietly) Remember, say nothing. DOCTOR: You all right? VINCE: Yes, I'm fine. DOCTOR: Good. I want to talk to you, Vince. [SCENE_BREAK] HARKER: There. That ought to do the trick, eh, miss? LEELA: Solid oak. HARKER: Hickory, more likely, miss. LEELA: Oh, Harker, I have a message from the Doctor. He said Reuben will not answer, so you must stay here and keep the boy pressure up. HARKER: Er, boiler pressure, miss? LEELA: That is what I said. HARKER: Right you are, miss. [SCENE_BREAK] VINCE: What do you reckon Reuben saw, Doctor? DOCTOR: I don't know, Vince, but I think we'll find out by sunrise. VINCE: Well, if it's the Beast come back, well, last time they found two of the keepers dead and t'other mad with fear. Well, Ben's dead, in't he? Reuben's mad. There's only me left now. DOCTOR: That's superstitious nonsense, Vince. VINCE: Is it? Look what happened to Ben! DOCTOR: There are eight of us here. If it attacks again, we'll be ready and waiting. All the advantage is with us. Eight to one. [SCENE_BREAK] ADELAIDE: You've no right to say such things, Colonel. Lord Palmerdale has always been the kindest and most considerate of employers. SKINSALE: Oh, to you, no doubt, though my experience of him has been somewhat different. ADELAIDE: You have enjoyed his friendship. Indeed, more than just his friendship. He's been most generous to you as I now know. SKINSALE: A sprat to catch a mackerel. ADELAIDE: What is that supposed to mean? SKINSALE: He intends to make far more money out of me than I've ever had from him. ADELAIDE: Oh, nonsense. SKINSALE: Oh, it's true. ADELAIDE: Lord Palmerdale is already a millionaire. How could you possibly bring him further financial advantage? SKINSALE: Because your precious employer is a crook and a skunk, my dear, with no scruples about destroying my honour. ADELAIDE: How dare you! I refuse to listen to another word. Furthermore, I shall find his Lordship and tell him just what a perfidious so-called friend you are! SKINSALE: I thought you might. [SCENE_BREAK] LEELA: Reuben? Reuben, hear me. If you do not unlock this door now, I shall smash it down. Do you understand? [SCENE_BREAK] LEELA (OOV.): Reuben! [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: So then, Harker keeps the boiler stoked, and you stay on the siren. VINCE: All right, Doctor, if you think that's best. DOCTOR: I do. VINCE: You sure it'd be no good me having a word with Reuben? DOCTOR: No, no, no. You stay here, Vince. Do what you've got to do. DOCTOR: Stay here, Vince. [SCENE_BREAK] LEELA: Come out, old one! LEELA: You do not want the old one? DOCTOR: He'll come out when he's ready. ADELAIDE: Is his Lordship up here? DOCTOR: No. There's no one in the lamp room except the keeper. Go back to the crew room. ADELAIDE: I must find him. DOCTOR: Get back to the crew room! DOCTOR: The Malicious Damage Act 1861 covers lighthouses. LEELA: What? DOCTOR: Nothing. [SCENE_BREAK] VINCE: He's gone, sir. Your Lordship? [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Leela, get Harker up here, then try and find Palmerdale. LEELA: The cowardly one? DOCTOR (OOV.): Yes. [SCENE_BREAK] ADELAIDE: Doctor! DOCTOR: Shush. SKINSALE: What's all this about, Doctor? DOCTOR: Survival, Colonel. SKINSALE: Survival? DOCTOR: Yes. Yours, mine, all of us. SKINSALE: Oh, this mysterious beast that eats lighthouse keepers. DOCTOR: Do you find that difficult to accept, Colonel? SKINSALE: Oh come, Doctor, I'm a man of intelligence, of education. DOCTOR: Quite so, quite so, and I don't believe in mythical sea creatures either. ADELAIDE: Then why do you suggest that we're in danger? DOCTOR: Because somewhere out there is a hostile alien from a distant planet, and I believe it intends to destroy us. SKINSALE: A hostile alien from a distant planet? DOCTOR: Yes. ADELAIDE: You call yourself a doctor? That's the most insane suggestion I've heard in my life. LEELA: Doctor, I cannot find the cowardly one. DOCTOR: I've never been more serious, Colonel. We are facing an enemy of greater power than you can dream of. SKINSALE: I do appreciate the scientific romanticism of Mister Wells, Doctor, but HARKER: Yes? DOCTOR: Herbert may have a few unimportant facts wrong, but his basic supposition is sound enough. HARKER: Doctor? DOCTOR: You think your little speck in the galaxy's the only one with intelligent life, hmm? Yes? (listens) How very interesting. ADELAIDE: What's interesting? DOCTOR: That was Vince. ADELAIDE: What's happened? DOCTOR: He says he thinks Lord Palmerdale's fallen from the lamp gallery. SKINSALE: Fallen? But the railing. You can't, well, he can't have fallen. DOCTOR: I agree. The question is, do we go out and see? SKINSALE: Well, of course! I mean (pause) You really believe in this thing, don't you. DOCTOR: I do. Leela, stay here. Come on. ADELAIDE: I told him we shouldn't have come, but he wouldn't listen. He laughed when I said Miss Nethercott had seen tragedy in my stars. LEELA: In your stars? ADELAIDE: If only we'd stayed in Deauville. I knew something ghastly would happen. Her predictions are never wrong. LEELA: I understand. She is your shaman. ADELAIDE: What? No, Miss Nethercott is an astrologer. The finest. I consult her every month. LEELA: A waste of time. I too used to believe in magic, but the Doctor has taught me about science. It is better to believe in science. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Harker, secure the door. Come with me, Skinsale. [SCENE_BREAK] LEELA: Shush. ADELAIDE: Oh, no! LEELA: Quiet! Has she never seen death before? ADELAIDE: I can't bear it! SKINSALE: Adelaide, come along. You must be brave. Adelaide. ADELAIDE: Take your hands off me! You did it! You killed him! SKINSALE: Me? Oh, don't be so ridiculous. ADELAIDE: You went out after him, you followed him and then you pushed him. SKINSALE: I was never in the lamp room. ADELAIDE: Then where were you! SKINSALE: True, I followed him, but only to find out what he was up to. ADELAIDE: You did it, I know you did it. LEELA: Enough! DOCTOR: And what was he up to? SKINSALE: He was trying to bribe that young keeper to telegraph a message to his brokers. DOCTOR: Ah. And so you came down here and wrecked the telegraph. SKINSALE: It was the only way I could think of stopping him. I'd have been dishonoured, ruined. DOCTOR: Of course. So to protect your honour, you've put all our lives in danger. SKINSALE: What? ADELAIDE: You mean we've no way of contacting the mainland now? DOCTOR: Oh, no. We're on our own now. [SCENE_BREAK] HARKER: Hello, shipmate. HARKER: How are you feeling now? [SCENE_BREAK] SKINSALE: I did not harm him, Adelaide. I swear it. ADELAIDE: Then who did? SKINSALE: I don't know. Harker, perhaps. ADELAIDE: Harker? SKINSALE: Why not? He attacked Henry earlier, blamed him for wrecking the ship. ADELAIDE: That's absurd. SKINSALE: It's no more absurd than thinking that I might have DOCTOR: Murdered him? I wish you had. ADELAIDE: What do you mean? DOCTOR: Well, if you had murdered Palmerdale, everything would have been so much simpler. Unfortunately, he was dead before he hit the ground. SKINSALE: What? DOCTOR: Electrocuted. He was killed by a massive electric shock, in exactly the same way the keeper was. SKINSALE: In the lamp gallery? That's not possible. That would mean that this creature can climb sheer walls. DOCTOR: Oh, not only can it climb sheer walls, it's amphibious, it has some affinity with electricity and the technological ability to adapt its environment to optimum thermal levels. Are you following me? SKINSALE: No. DOCTOR: It likes the cold. DOCTOR: Not enough data to place the species. LEELA: Yes? DOCTOR: But heat might be a method of defence. LEELA: That was Vince. He said the boiler pressure has fallen, and the siren will not sound. DOCTOR: Harker. [SCENE_BREAK] ADELAIDE: Oh, no! DOCTOR: Get her out of here! LEELA: Like the others? DOCTOR: Yes. [SCENE_BREAK] DOCTOR: Rigor mortis. LEELA: What is that? DOCTOR: He's been dead for hours. LEELA: But that is not possible. He was in his room. DOCTOR: Not Reuben. LEELA: But he was! I saw him. DOCTOR: The chameleon factor, sometimes called lycanthropy. Leela, I've made a terrible mistake. I thought I'd locked the enemy out. Instead, I've locked it in, with us.
Horror of Fang Rock - part 3