The Green Death

EARTH, SOUTH WALES. The suspicious death of a miner at the inactive local pit owned by the mysterious Global Chemicals brings UNIT to the sleepy Llanfairfach. There, a local green group - the Wholeweal Community under the leadership of the brilliant Professor Jones - are not convinced of Global's innocence in the affair. Could the waste products from their revolutionary new oil refining process be at fault? Jones is convinced but the Doctor is not so sure and a dangerous expedition down the mine confirms his fears. For there, thousands of giant maggots lie gestating - a dangerously unknown terror waiting to be unleashed upon the world. But by whom? Just who is the power behind Global Chemicals? Who or what is the BOSS? And what are his/its plans for the Earth?

The Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier must move quickly to find the answers, for the death toll is already rising and the gestation period of the maggots down the mine is coming to an end . . .

• "The Green Death" sees the departure of one of Doctor Who's most popular assistants, Jo Grant.  She suffers the fate of so many companions that came both before and after her... she falls in love and marries by the end of the adventure.

• Although environmentalism is a hallmark of the Pertwee era, it probably comes through the strongest in this story.

• BBC Video released this story in the U.K. shortly after the news of Pertwee's death as a sort of tribute to the late actor.

• The voice of B.O.S.S. is provided by actor John Dearth.  Dearth would return the following year for Pertwee's final story "Planet of the Spiders" playing the part of the greedy Lupton.

• Watch for a classic moment when the Doctor goes through a series of disguises including an old decrepit milkman and a rather haughty cleaning lady.  :)

• The Doctor does manage to briefly visit the planet Metabelis 3.  The events of this segment end up having a large impact on the story of "Planet of the Spiders."

• This story really marks the beginning of the end of the Pertwee era.  With the untimely death of Roger Delgado (the Master) some months earlier and the departure of long time companion Jo Grant (played by Katy Manning), this is the last time all of the major characters appear together in an adventure.