Vengeance on Varos ( TV story ) Vengeance on Varos was the second story of Season 22 of " Doctor Who " . It introduced the alien Sil and the Mentor species . Synopsis . Seeking the rare mineral Zeiton - 7 to repair his TARDIS , the Doctor arrives on Varos , a world where political prisoners and their guards are all subjected to sadistic tortures and executions which the colony ' s inhabitants view and vote on through interactive television . Accused of being alien infiltrators helping the colony ' s rebel factions , the Doctor and Peri find themselves the latest unwilling subjects in this most extreme form of reality TV . Plot . Part 1 . On Varos , a planet in the constellation of Cetus , the public torture of the rebel Jondar is broadcast throughout the planet . Citizens Arak and Etta watch the event from their room . Arak complains that they never show anything new to watch . In addition to the lack of new programming , the two must also deal with food rationing . Also , that night will be a punch - in vote ordered by the Governor , and voting is mandatory . Meanwhile , the Sixth Doctor is repairing the TARDIS console . Peri complains that the Doctor has caused three electrical fires , a power failure , nearly collided with a storm of asteroids , got lost in the TARDIS corridors twice , wiped the memory banks of the flight computer , jettisoned three quarters of the storage hold and burned her " cold dinner " , all since the time - travellers left Telos . Minutes later , the TARDIS stops . It has stalled in the middle of deep space and the Doctor can do nothing to fix it . Sil , the Mentor representative of the Galatron Mining Corporation , is negotiating with the Governor over the price of Varos ' Zeiton - 7 ore . Their discussion , like many others , ends in stalemate . For many years , the Galatron Mining Corporation has swindled Varos by paying far less for the ore than its market value . To make matters worse , the Chief Officer is in league with Sil . The Governor moves on to conduct the night ' s vote . He addresses the people , asking for their vote on if they should hold out longer for a fair price on the ore . The Governor loses and is forced to endure Human Cell Disintegration Bombardment . The process slowly kills the target and is carried out because this is the third time his recommendations have failed to pass . The guard Bax recommends that the Governor execute Jondar to please the citizens so he can recuperate before the next vote . Peri locates the TARDIS manual and presents it to the Doctor . He quickly dismisses it . He says that he knows perfectly well what has caused their dilemma . The transitional elements within the TARDIS have stopped producing orbital energy and they need Zeiton - 7 ore to realign the power systems . The Doctor explains Zeiton - 7 is exceptionally rare and only comes from one planet : Varos . The Doctor repairs the TARDIS enough to get to Varos . They arrive right before the execution of Jondar is to take place . The guard on station to watch over the execution believes the TARDIS is a hallucination caused by the Punishment Dome . The Doctor and Peri exit the TARDIS and the guard thinks they are hallucinations as well . With some help from the chained Jondar , the guard is incapacitated . The two free Jondar and make their escape after being cut off from the TARDIS by more guards . They are rescued by Rondel . He has defected after speaking with Areta and decided to help them . But he is killed shortly thereafter by pursuing guards . The Doctor , Peri , Jondar , and Areta continue through the Punishment Dome , attempting to make their way back to the TARDIS . During a run - in with another group of guards , the Doctor is separated from the others , who are arrested . He enters a corridor that appears a desert . With all of Varos watching , he succumbs to the heat and collapses with his end as a close - up . Part 2 . During the ordeal , Peri has been brought to the control centre in the company of Sil and the other officers . They question her as she watches them bring the Doctor ' s body to an acid bath for disposal . It turns out he is not dead ; his mind was influenced to make him believe he was dying of thirst in a desert . The Doctor suddenly stands up and walks over to the attendants while their backs are turned . The surprise makes the first attendant jump , pushing the second into the bath . A struggle ensues . The first attendant is pulled into the acid bath by the second attendant . The Doctor strolls out , saying , " You ' ll forgive me if I don ' t join you . " After making his way from the acid baths , the Doctor is cornered by Quillam , Varos ' chief scientist , and taken away . Back in the control centre , it is decided the Doctor and Jondar will be executed in a good " old - fashioned " way , while Peri and Areta will be reshaped with a cell mutator . The Doctor and Jondar are placed in the nooses while the Governor and Sil watch . At the last moment the Doctor asks the Governor about Sil and his extortion . Sil ' s bodyguards rush the platform and pull the lever . The two simply fall through the holes , the rope coming right off the support . As it turns out , there was to be no execution — it was all to get information out of the Doctor . The Doctor suspected this when he noticed that they were not being filmed . The group tries to stop the cell mutator on Peri and Areta , but they are told it ' s at too advanced a stage . The Doctor and Jondar grab the weapons of nearby guards to intimidate Quillam to deactivate the mutator , but it fails . The Doctor resorts to shooting the entire control panel . The process has stopped in the nick of time and Peri and Areta return to their original form . The four escape back into the depths of the Punishment Dome towards a possible escape route . Peri , still in a stupor from the mutator , is recaptured and taken to the control centre . The Chief and Sil make their final move on the Governor , hoping he will be killed in the next vote , securing their control of Varos and the Zeiton - 7 ore . Meanwhile , the Doctor , Jondar and Areta make their way into the End Zone of the Dome , where the exit is supposed to be . The vote starts and the bombardment begins , but the guard Maldak has a change of heart and shoots the device to stop the bombardment , saving the Governor and Peri . The three make their way through the ventilation ducts to meet with the Doctor . The Doctor ' s group is chased by two cannibals and loses them in some poisonous tendrils . The Chief , Quillam , and two guards arrive on the scene but are ambushed and entangled in the tendrils , killing them . The Doctor ' s group meet with Peri , the Governor and Maldak . They all make their way back to the control centre and put an end to Sil ' s plans of controlling Varos . The Galatron Mining Corporation also began to side with Varos ; a second source of Zeiton - 7 ore has been found and Sil is ordered to obtain the Varosian ore at any price . The Doctor and Peri bid the Governor farewell , taking the replacement ore with them . The Governor issues a message to the citizens saying that there will be no more injustice , torture and executions . Arak and Etta watch in disbelief , wondering what they ' ll do with their new - found freedom . Story notes . Production errors . ' * In part two , when Sil tells the Chief Officer of his plan , the green light on his chest which flashes as Sil speaks flashes for the Chief Officer ' s speech as well . Home video and audio releases . DVD Release Released as " Doctor Who : Vengeance on Varos " , this was the fifth and final release of 2001 . Released : Contents : Rear Credits : Notes : Special Edition release . Contents : Video Release . Released :