Kinda ( TV story ) Kinda was the third story of season 19 of " Doctor Who " . It featured mainly Tegan and Adric alongside the Fifth Doctor . Narratively , it was an especially important story for Tegan , as it established a villain , the Mara , particularly interested in her . The Mara would later return to plague Tegan in other performed " Doctor Who " stories . ( TV : " Snakedance " and AUDIO : " The Cradle of the Snake " ) In 1982 , it was a serial that wasn ' t well liked amongst the " Doctor Who " fans who participated in the " Doctor Who Monthly " ( later known as " Doctor Who Magazine " ) season poll . It ranked dead last amongst the season ' s stories , although the Mara , Dukkha , Hindle , and Todd were all well liked enough to be runners - up in their respective " favourite character " categories ( DWM 69 ) . It has gradually seen its status rise over the years , and has vocal champions like Steven Moffat and Robert Shearman amongst the BBC Wales production team , and 2010s writer of " DWM " , Big Finish and BBC Books Jonathan Morris ( DWM 474 ) . In a larger poll done in 2009 , respondents to " DWM " placed it 69th out of the then - 200 " Doctor Who " stories that had been made — almost a full 60 positions higher than its sequel , " Snakedance " ( DWM 413 ) . A similar " DWM " poll in 2014 ranked it 63rd out of the 241 " Doctor Who " stories from the show ' s first fifty years and the second most popular season 19 story after " Earthshock " ( DWM 474 ) . Whatever the fan opinion , " Kinda " was something contemporary British critics appreciated . The purchased it soon after its broadcast as " an example of the programme at its best " ( DWM 104 ) . " Kinda " , however , was remarkable for reasons other than its reception . " Kinda " was the first occasion since the show had started filming in colour that a companion was absent from the narrative for an entire episode . Generally , this happened in the monochromatic era because an actor needed to take a holiday from the nearly year - long production schedule that was then the norm . In this instance , however , Nyssa ' s absence was more akin to Jamie ' s in " The Moonbase " : the scripts had simply been completed by the writer before the new companion had been cast . Thus , just as Jamie McCrimmon was " ill " for large parts of " The Moonbase " , Nyssa fainted in episode 1 of " Kinda " and re - emerged after a restorative TARDIS nap in episode 4 . " Kinda " was also responsible for a bit of a revolution in the way that " Doctor Who " was made . On the positive side , it featured some of the then - latest Quantel effects for the trip through Tegan ' s eye . On the negative , it was plagued by studio problems with camera flare that eroded the five - day studio schedule to the point that there was no time left for some of director Peter Grimwade ' s more innovative shots . The chief casualty was the depiction of the Mara ' s snake form in episode four . This was originally to have been achieved in a completely different manner , but the time crunch meant that Grimwade had to resort to a less - than - convincing puppet . Still , this disaster would allow the programme to push for , and get , a six - day recording block in future ( DWM # 104 ) . Synopsis . The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka , where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor , Tegan and Adric explore . Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force , a Mara . Plot . Part one . A small human expedition has established a domed base on the tranquil jungle planet of Deva Loka to determine its suitability for colonisation , but all is not well . Three members of the team have disappeared , leaving only the overbearing commander Sanders , his second Hindle , and the scientist Todd . Todd ' s warning to Sanders that he ' s pushing Hindle to the point of a nervous breakdown go unheeded . Hindle suspects that the native humanoid population , the apparently peaceful and primitive Kinda , are responsible for the disappearances , and is holding two males as hostages . The TARDIS arrives on Deva Loka . Nyssa is still unsteady after recent events aboard the Urbankan ship , and the Fifth Doctor builds her a delta wave augmenter to help her relax . He , Adric and Tegan explore the jungle and discover a clearing lined with crystalline wind chimes . The Doctor is surprised ; the chimes are set up in harmonics , suggesting the presence of intelligent life . While Tegan rests under the wind chimes , Adric and the Doctor find an empty Total Survival Suit ( TSS ) nearby , a machine built for a standing human to travel . The door to the machine is open but its operator is nowhere to be found . When Adric impulsively closes the machine ' s door , it activates and marches the Doctor and Adric to the dome . Tegan , meanwhile , falls into a deep sleep as the chimes appear to have a hypnotic effect . Her consciousness is transported to a black void . She encounters an elderly couple playing a board game . They refuse to acknowledge that she exists . She encounters Dukkha , who appears to be the spokesman for a sinister entity . All three have the same mark of a snake on their forearms . Dukkha confronts her with paradoxes of existence ; he splits her into two beings and orders them to argue which one is real . At the Dome , the Doctor and Adric are treated with suspicion . Sanders demands to know what has happened to Roberts , the expedition member who was using the machine in the area , but the Doctor explains that it was empty when he and Adric found it . Todd brings the Doctor to see the two Kinda hostages . The males are mute , but while Sanders and Hindle see this as evidence of primitive minds , Todd sees evidence of deeper intelligence . She muses that the Kinda are telepathic , and the ornaments they wear around their necks resemble a DNA double - helix . Todd starts eating an apple and offers one to the Doctor . Outside the window , a lone Kinda male , Aris , watches . Hindle smashes things in the lab after ordering the Doctor and Todd to go see Sanders . Left alone with the two Kinda , he holds up a mirror . Seeing their own faces in the reflection , they appear to believe that he has captured their souls and submit to his will . Todd is appalled when Sanders announces his intention to explore the jungle in the TSS , leaving Hindle in command . Not only does she believe that Hindle is unstable , but all three of the missing expedition members disappeared the same way . Her fears about Hindle are immediately confirmed once Sanders leaves ; flanked by his two armed Kinda servants , Hindle announces that he has the power of life and death over all of them . Part two . Sanders , in his TSS , draws near to the Kinda village . Panna , the female shaman of the tribe , hears his approach and directs her acolyte Karuna to give him a small box she is holding - the male Kinda are mute but females can speak . Before Sanders comes near , Aris returns to his village in anguish . Panna instructs Karuna to read him telepathically . She senses great pain and anger in Aris , as one of the captured Kinda is his brother . The Doctor , Adric , and Todd are locked in a cell while Hindle dresses his Kinda hostages in colonial uniforms . Meanwhile , Sanders draws nearer to Panna and Karuna . Karuna protests that it is dangerous for a male to take the box , but Panna is resolute . Karuna presents him with the box ; Sanders takes it and is overcome by a psychic force . Hindle , now even more unhinged , announces his intention to sterilise an area fifty miles around the dome , using fire and acid , believing the plant life of Deva Loka to be an enemy . Adric manages to persuade Hindle he ' s on his side , then swipes the cell key . Unfortunately , his attempt to smuggle the key to the Doctor in the cell fails . Tegan , still trapped in the void , is literally arguing with herself . Dukkha returns to taunt her , adding many more Tegans . Dukkha makes it clear what he wants : her physical form . When Tegan demands that he leave her alone , he grants her wish : she is left completely alone . Tegan submits to his will . Taking his hand , the mark of the snake moves from his forearm to hers . She wakes in the clearing with a malevolent grin , now possessed by the Mara . Hindle ' s plan to punish Adric ' s treason is interrupted when Sanders returns to the Dome in the TSS . His demeanour is entirely changed , playful and childlike . He offers the box to Hindle , who is terrified at what may lurk inside . Tegan encounters Aris in the jungle . She senses his anguish and taunts him with promises of power . On taking her arm , he receives the mark of the snake and becomes the new host of the Mara . Hindle imprisons the Doctor , Todd , and Sanders in the cell , and orders them to open the box or else he ' ll have them shot . The Doctor opens it ; Todd screams . . . Part three . A jester ' s puppet pops out of the box . The tension is broken with laughter ; the Doctor observes that the Kinda have a sense of humour . Hindle is unamused . However , staring into the box , the Doctor and Todd have a shared psychic experience in which they receive a summons from Panna and Karuna . The dome ' s power flickers out and the door to the cell opens . Todd and the Doctor take their cue to exit , seeking out the Kinda . Sanders is left in a daze from the box , however , and is left behind . While Hindle decides that the only recourse is to destroy the dome with explosives , the Doctor and Todd encounter the Kinda , led by a jester . The Doctor builds a rapport with the jester with sleight of hand , only to be interrupted by Aris bellowing , " Seize the Not - We ! " With the mark of the snake on his arm hidden , Aris invokes a Kinda prophecy that when the tribe is confronted with outsiders ( the " Not - We " ) , a male " with voice " would become the tribe ' s leader . In the confusion , Karuna leads the Doctor and Todd away from the stunned Kinda . Hindle has rigged the dome to explode , taking a chunk of the jungle with it , ensuring their perpetual safety through death . Adric attempts to play along with the unhinged Sanders and Hindle who are constructing an elaborate model city out of cardboard boxes . The Doctor and Todd meet Panna and Karuna in their mountaintop cave . Aris follows and confronts them . Despite Panna ' s protests , the Kinda submit themselves to Aris ' will , and Karuna joins them to attack the Not - We in the Dome . The Doctor notices the mark of the Mara on Aris ' arm ; despite her blindness , Panna is aware of it as well . She insists that they must understand . Together they have a shared psychic vision of the Kinda in a circle of timekeeping devices . As the timepieces count down , the jester dances in the circle until the clocks stop : the end of the cycle . Emerging from the trance , they find that Panna is dead . Part four . Karuna receives Panna ' s spirit and is snapped out of her obedience to Aris . She returns to the cave and takes Panna ' s staff . They realise that the Mara entered Tegan ' s mind from the Dark Places of the Inside , and is now present on Deva Loka in Aris . Adric seeks shelter from Sanders and Hindle in the TSS , but it activates and he can ' t control it . At the same time , Aris and the Kinda launch a futile attack on the Dome . Adric in the TSS accidentally opens fire , wounding Aris and making the others flee . The Doctor arrives and calms Adric , freeing him from the machine . Todd and the Doctor confront Hindle and Sanders . Hindle reveals how he is controlling the Kinda hostages : they believe the mirror he held to their faces captured their souls . When the Doctor accidentally steps on one of the cardboard people in Hindle ' s city , Hindle becomes violent and attempts to detonate the dome . The Doctor restrains him , and in the ensuing struggle the mirror is shattered . Todd persuades Hindle to open the box , and his sanity is restored . The Doctor realises that the Mara may be repelled by its own reflection . They trap Aris in a circle of reflective solar panels , and the Mara separates itself from him . The Mara enlarges itself into a giant snake , but its power is reflected on itself by the mirrors and it dissipates . Aris is free , the Mara is expelled back to the Dark Places of the Inside , and Hindle and Sanders are restored to mental stability . Todd tells the Doctor that she recommend that Deva Loka be classified unsuitable for colonisation and that the unit should be removed . She plans to leave , saying , " it ' s all a bit too green for me " . They reach the TARDIS , and when Todd sees Tegan , Adric and the fully - recovered Nyssa standing outside it , Todd asks the Doctor if he really goes into space in it . The Doctor says the idea is " impossible " , if not " ridiculous " . The Doctor then says goodbye to Todd , and herds his companions into the TARDIS . He stops in the doorway and says , " I think paradise is a little too green for me , as well " . He waves goodbye to Todd and enters the TARDIS . Home video and audio releases . DVD releases . It was released on DVD in a box set called " Mara Tales " with " Snakedance " on 7 March 2011 in Region 2 . Contents : It was released as issue 93 of " Doctor Who DVD Files " . Video releases . This story was released on VHS in October 1994 in the United Kingdom , February 1995 in Australia and June 1996 in the US . Digital releases . The story is available for streaming through Amazon Instant Video in the UK . Audio release . An audio recording of the story was also released . It was read by Peter Davison .