Horror of Fang Rock - Part 4
The Doctor explains to Leela that what they thought was Reuben was actually an alien disguised as Reuben. The alien kills Vince. The Doctor finds a device attached to the furnace which looks like it must power the alien's signaling device. He goes looking for the signaling device and sends Leela to find Skinsale and Adelaide.
The Doctor finds the signaling device. Leela finds Skinsale and Adelaide but then the alien finds them. It kills Adelaide. Skinsale and Leela escape up the stairs of the lighthouse. They run past the Doctor who gives them instructions. He stays behind to have a chat with the alien, which reverts to its own form. It is a Rutan, a race that is at war with the Sontarans.
The Doctor joins Leela and Skinsale in the signaling room. They use some gunpowder to scare off the Rutan. It goes scurrying back down the stairs. The Doctor, using a suggestion from Leela, comes up with a plan to destroy the Rutan mothership which is on its way to the lighthouse. The Doctor and Skinsale go to retrieve some diamonds off the body of Palmerdale while Leela prepares a mortar like weapon to use on the Rutan. The Doctor gets the diamond he needs to turn the lighthouse signal light into a laser. Skinsale gets killed by the Rutan.
Leela uses the weapon on the Rutan. The Doctor destroys the Rutan mothership with the signaling light. The Doctor and Leela leave in the TARDIS.
The Rutan looks kind of silly by today's standards. Leela gets a few moments alone with the Rutan after she has delivered a deadly blow to it. She also asks the Doctor to kill her after she thinks she has been permanently blinded. It wasn't a great episode for Leela
This isn't a terribly good Doctor Who story. It is probably my least favorite of the Leela episodes up to this point. The confined space and lack of interesting guest stars doesn't help. I don't recall what I thought of it when I first saw it but I'm positive that I saw it before, roughly 40 years ago.
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