The Savages ( TV story ) The Savages — initially introduced as Dr . Who and the Savages by the " Next Episode " caption at the end of the previous adventure , " The Gunfighters " — was the ninth story of season 3 of " Doctor Who " . It was the first to be wholly commissioned and produced by producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davis ; it followed several serial s which bore the duo ' s names , but had actually been substantially pre - produced by John Wiles and Donald Tosh . It heralded the new production era in a couple of small but significant ways . It was the first story to use an overall on - screen title as opposed to being comprised of " episodes " with individual titles . It was also the first story to have a serial production code of more than a single character . More significantly , it was the new production team ' s first opportunity to impact the casting of the regulars . Peter Purves was written out by the end of the story . It was also Jackie Lane ' s last full serial and the final televised off - Earth story for the First Doctor . William Hartnell showed a pre - regenerative weariness and was eased out of the series in twelve episodes . It therefore had a certain commonality with " Warriors ' Gate " and " Resurrection of the Daleks " as the point at which an incarnation of the Doctor began to lose long - term companions before an impending regeneration . The end of this story also marked the first time since " An Unearthly Child " that the First Doctor journeyed with just a single female companion . Narratively , therefore , the end of " The Savages " was an important point for writers in other media . Several books featured the Doctor / Dodo team in the wake of " The Savages " , such as the novel " The Man in the Velvet Mask " . All four episodes are absent from the BBC Archives . Synopsis . The TARDIS has arrived on a far - distant and seemingly idyllic world . Yet the Doctor , Steven and Dodo learn it hides a terrible secret : the apparently civilised Elders maintain their advanced society by draining and transferring to themselves the life - force of the defenceless Savages . Outraged at this exploitation , the Doctor is seemingly helpless to prevent it when some of his own life - force is tapped by the Elders ' leader , Jano . In the process , however , Jano also acquires some of the Doctor ' s attitudes and conscience . Turning against his own people , he enlists the Savages to destroy the Elders ' transference laboratory — a task with which the time travellers gladly assist . Steven agrees to remain behind on the planet to become leader of the newly united Elders and Savages . Plot . Episode 1 . The Doctor is exploring the bleak scrub land outside the TARDIS on this new vista . He takes with him an instrument with which he is investigating his surroundings . Steven is concerned at the length of the Doctor ' s absence , but Dodo dismisses his worries . Dodo and Steven argue , which causes Steven to go off and search for the Doctor . The Doctor is being watched , as he tells himself his friends will be in for a surprise . He hears Steven calling for him but ignores it tetchily . Back at the TARDIS , Dodo suspects she is being watched . Unseen behind her , a group of primitive - looking men are observing her . Eventually she spots a man in animal skins with an axe approaching her . She screams , bringing Steven back and causing the man to scrabble out of sight . Steven surmises they must be well in the past , and the Doctor must be mistaken . The Doctor is certain where he is . As he continues to walk , two hiding savages , Chal and Tor , discuss this new creature : he is not of their people , but he doesn ' t carry a light gun . They decide to kill him . The Doctor calls out to whomever is hiding , saying he means no harm . To his surprise , two other figures are alerted by his presence : two soldiers , Captain Edal and Exorse . They welcome " the Traveller from Beyond Time " , as they call him . They explain that he has been expected for many years . They are disturbed to find him carrying a weapon ( the Doctor corrects them , showing them his reacting vibrator , a scientific instrument ) . The pair seem surprised the Doctor has companions , as they were not expecting anyone to be travelling with him . They insist he accompany Edal to the Elders of their city , while Exorse is instructed to find and bring the Doctor ' s friends . Steven , still on bad terms with Dodo , accuses her of imagining the man . As he says this , a spear is thrown at Steven and Dodo . As more savages appear and attack , they make a dash back to the TARDIS . They are met by Exorse , at which point the onslaught halts . He accompanies them to the city to be reunited with the Doctor . The Doctor is met by the Elders ' leader , Jano , and his councillors , who greet him like an old friend . Jano shows how they have charted the Doctor ' s voyages and tells him they wish to bestow upon him the office of a High Elder . He is offered robes of office , and they exchange compliments . Steven and Dodo arrive and are welcomed and presented with gifts : Steven , an ornate dagger , and Dodo , a jewel - studded mirror . As Steven and Dodo are led off on a tour , Jano has many questions for their honoured guest . Edal , suspicious of these new arrivals , begins patrol with Exorse . Chal sends a young girl , Nanina , to the caves to warn their people the hunt has begun . Steven and Dodo are accompanied by Avon and Flower , who guide them through the city . The whole of the city is artificial . They explain to the travellers that , though they never go outside and have no concept of " real " things , they are allowed to develop and become what is best for each person . However , Flower expresses some regrets with regards to not being allowed to know how the city is run . Nanina runs into Exorse . She hides but is finally caught by the soldier . He fires his light - gun , which seems to imprison and control her . He directs her out and leads her away . Chal appears and offers himself in her place but is ignored . The Doctor questions the Elders on how they have become such an advanced society . Jano explains they have learned to tap life ' s vital force and transfer the energy directly into themselves . Energy , explains Jano , can be transferred directly to a member of their community when needed using a process he describes as " animal vitality " . On the outskirts of the city , Nanina is being directed further into the buildings . As their tour continues , Steven gets more and more impressed with how the city is run , but Dodo is sceptical . She asks about the savages and is all but ignored by her tour guides . She is also blocked from going down a certain corridor in the city . Loitering behind , Dodo sees Nanina being led into a diamond - shaped entrance and tells Steven . She wants to go off on her own , but Steven keeps her with the tour . Senta , a scientist , is in charge of the energy transfer process and is just finishing one when Exorse arrives . He releases a savage from the lab , and the half - conscious man is led down an exit corridor . Senta and Exorse engage in conversation about their new guests . Dodo slips away from the tour through a door that she sees Exorse using on his exit . She comes across the savage Senta was draining , wide - eyed and stumbling , and his arms reach out towards her . Episode 2 . The savage drags himself past Dodo . A door at the end of the corridor opens , but he collapses . Dodo helps the savage outside . Chal and Tor are outside the door waiting . Dodo is shocked by the appearance of the men and goes back inside as the door closes . In the laboratory , Nanina is being connected by Senta and his assistants for energy transfer ; they ignore her cries and pleas . Dodo listens from outside . They put Nanina in a glass cubicle which fills with a gas which extracts her vitality . Senta refers to this process as vaporisation . Steven , Avon , and Flower continue to search for Dodo . Steven runs to find the Doctor , but the Doctor and Jano assure him that nothing could happen to her inside the city . Steven is unsure and continues the search . Following the sounds of machinery , Dodo enters the laboratory and is detained by the scientists , who believe she must be there for transference . Edal has joined Steven ' s search . Steven wants to search down the corridor with the laboratory , but Edal prevents Steven . Edal goes himself . Dodo fights back , surprising the scientists , and threatens to smash some of the vital equipment in the laboratory if they don ' t back off . Senta is called to deal with Dodo . They realise that she is one of the travellers , and Edal arrives to escort her out of the laboratory . Meanwhile , the scientists have forgotten about Nanina , almost killing her . She is released in just the same way as the previous savage . Steven and Dodo are reunited . Dodo is curious as to what was happening in the laboratory but is knocked back by Edal , who says they must be taken to the Elders . Avon and Flower are told to wait for the guards , as they will have to answer to the Elders for their negligence in allowing Dodo to wander off . Avon tries to take the blame so as to protect Flower . The two are left and are very worried about their fate . Dodo and Steven are reunited with the Doctor , who shrugs off Dodo ' s inquiries as to the vaporisation process . The Doctor offers to show Jano files about his time travels , and all three travellers return to the TARDIS . Edal reports to Jano . Jano is very concerned as to what Dodo has seen and also says he is concerned about the Doctor . Jano orders Edal to follow the Doctor . Once alone the Doctor confides he doesn ' t trust the Elders , hence why he didn ' t listen to Dodo whilst they were present with him . The three of them come across the man Dodo met in the lab , and the Doctor realises that the savages are the source of the Elders ' power . Steven and Dodo return to the TARDIS to fetch medicine for the savage whilst the Doctor remains to care for him . Edal interrupts this and roughly orders the savage away , revealing his contempt for them . The Doctor angrily insists that he leave the dazed man alone . Edal forces the Doctor at light - gunpoint to return to the city . Steven returns with the medicine for which the Doctor asked , but he is nowhere to be found . The capsules contained within the container are given to the savage , and he begins to recover . A group of savages watch and approach , spears ready . Tor , thinking that Steven and Dodo are from the city , wants to attack , but Chal warns against that . As they get closer , Tor calls for the attack and the savages break out of the undergrowth . Wylda , the injured savage , stops the party from harming Steven and Dodo , explaining that they were caring for him . He also tells them that the Doctor was taken . The Doctor confronts the Elders and condemns them as a threat to common humanity . Jano says the Doctor is standing in the way of human progress , and all progress is based on exploitation ; the Doctor calls it protracted murder and compares them to the Dalek s . The Doctor is given over to Senta . In the outside world , Steven and Dodo try to incite the savages into an uprising , but Chal explains that this is futile due to the light guns . He also informs Steven and Dodo that the Doctor will be vaporised just like they were . Edal leads the Doctor to the laboratory and introduces him to Senta . When he tells Senta that the Doctor is to be his next victim , Senta is unsure and warns it has never been tried on a higher form of life . The Doctor tries to force his way past Edal but is captured by Edal ' s light - gun , strapped to a gurney , and wheeled into a cubicle . The experiment begins , but the readings appear too high . Senta and his assistants begin to worry , and Senta is on the verge of calling off the experiment , but it soon begins to be extracted in mammoth proportions . Senta announces that this is their greatest success as the assistants continue to call of the readings . Senta looks to the cubicle and sees the Doctor lying motionless on the gurney . Episode 3 . Jano is highly pleased at the success of the experiment and realises that the other time - travellers will make excellent sources as well . Edal is ordered to find and bring back Steven and Dodo . Chal and the savages decide to protect the two strangers , as they have heard the guards are hunting them . They warn Steven and Dodo that the Doctor will never be the same again after the transference procedure . Back at the laboratory Jano orders the intransference of the Doctor ' s energy into himself . Senta tries to talk him out of it , but Jano frames it as an act of personal bravery and scientific exploration . The savages have heard that Exorse is near and are left with only one possibility : to enter the caves , an area that even the guards are too scared to enter . Tor is concerned that this will provoke the guards into entering their only remaining place of safety but is overruled by Chal . Inside the caves , Nanina is recovering . Steven and Dodo marvel at the beauty of the carving and painting on the cave walls , and Chal laments that most of their talents have been taken from them by the process of transference . Exorse arrives at the caves and orders the strangers outside . Chal takes Steven and Dodo to hide inside the many passages of the cave ; though there is no other way out , Exorse will have to find them . The guard reluctantly enters the cave and threatens Nanina and Wylda and eventually forces one of the savages to tell him which way the strangers have gone . As Exorse moves down the passage , he hears the footsteps of his victims ahead of him . Steven attempts to provoke Exorse into rash actions through name - calling . He also asks Chal how the light - gun works . Chal explains that it is a liquid light beam that controls you when it comes into contact with your eyes . Steven asks if it is capable of being reflected . When he receives an answer in the affirmative , he stops their fleeing and hides . As Exorse rounds the corner and fires at them Steven uses the mirror that Dodo was given by Jano to fire the beam back at Exorse , forcing him under Steven ' s control . As he leads Exorse back into the main section of the cave , he is praised as a god by the savages . In the city , the Doctor is led to the guest apartments to recover . In secret , Senta performs the intransference on Jano . In the cave , the companions and the savages plan what to do next . Tor suggests that they kill Exorse as revenge , but Chal overrules him . Chal hands all decision - making power over to Steven . Steven plans to use his light - gun to get into the city and asks Chal to show them a way in . Tor and Nanina stay to guard Exorse . As soon as Steven , Dodo and Chal leave , Tor tries to kill Exorse , but Nanina prevents it . Exorse is grateful . Steven captures and disables the lone guard outside the city by firing the light gun directly into his eyes . Chal opens the door . Steven and Dodo go inside whilst Chal hides the body . The intransference is complete . Jano does not respond to Senta immediately , but when Jano emerges from the intransference , he is a rather different man — he has taken on some of the personality of the Doctor . Jano alternates between sounding like himself and the Doctor ; he also slips into believing he is actually the Doctor — referring to Dodo and Steven as his " young friends " and not knowing that this is his home planet . He has to stop himself from damaging the equipment . Edal and Senta have spotted Steven and Dodo on a scanner . Edal decides to set a trap for them , planning to leave the Doctor in one of the corridors for them to find . Steven and Dodo find the Doctor , but the Doctor does not speak and doesn ' t seem to notice them . Suddenly , the door behind begins to close , but Steven catches hold of it . Dodo helps him keep it open , and they both yell for the Doctor to go through . However , the Doctor makes no effort to move . Steven and Dodo finally collapse and the door slams shut behind them . Edal has a gas released in the corridor . He orders a group of guards to the corridor and instructs them to use the gas as cover from the light gun . Dodo spots a figure through the smoke . Steven fires at it , but the light gun ' s beam fails to penetrate the gas . Steven and Dodo begin to hammer on the door , but both of them begin to cough as two gas - masked guards emerge from the smoke . Steven is still frantically beating on the door as the gas begins to weaken Dodo . Despite all these events , the Doctor has not moved . The cloud of gas begins to swirl around them as Steven frantically tries to open the door . Episode 4 . Edal emerges from the smoke and commands Steven and Dodo give up their light - guns . Dodo does so , but Steven resists . Jano witnesses the troubles of his friends via a video screen and opens the doors while Steven still has his light - gun . Dodo escapes with the Doctor while Steven tries to disarm Edal . Edal doubles back and discovers Jano at the security controls and accuses him of aiding the fugitives . Jano denies having released the strangers and orders that he will lead the patrol to find them . Chal seems shocked when the Doctor and his companions make it out of the city . He helps Dodo carry the Doctor to the caves ; Steven remains behind to hold off the patrol . Jano splits up the patrol , intending to go on alone to the Valley of Caves whilst the rest of the guards go to the TARDIS . Edal is suspicious of Jano and goes with him . Steven engages Jano and Edal in a gun fight , more to stall them than to cause any harm . As Chal , Dodo and the Doctor reach the caves , Chal is surprised to find no - one guarding the entrance . In the caves , Nanina fights to protect Exorse from Tor , who is inciting the savages to turn against him . Nanina even goes so far as to say she will fight to save Exorse ' s life . This is interrupted by the arrival of Chal , Dodo and the Doctor . Steven is pursued by Edal and Jano , who are catching up with him . Jano lines his gun up to shoot him but is unable to . Steven escapes into the caves , whilst Jano and Edal wait outside . The Doctor is given the same capsules he gave to Wylda . Steven , at the mouth of the cave , lines up a shot to strike Jano , but the Doctor recovers suddenly and orders that Jano is not to be harmed . Dodo is overjoyed that the Doctor is better as they can escape to the TARDIS , but the Doctor announces that he has decided they must destroy the source of the Elders ' power , the transfer laboratory , and hopes they already have a friend on the inside who will help them and tells them to expect a visitor come nightfall . Jano orders Edal and his guards to return to the city ; he will bring back the Doctor and his companions . Edal agrees , but under protest . Edal returns to the city and reports to Senta and the Elders that he believes Jano has changed , and that they are betrayed . Jano meets the Doctor in the caves , and the savages are terrified at his presence . The Doctor knows it is safe , and Chal tells his people to trust the Doctor . The Doctor tells Jano that he knew Jano would take the intransference himself , and as well as receiving the Doctor ' s intellect he has also received a sense of conscience . Jano admits that he has grown aware of the evil that he has done and is determined to end it by siding with the savages . During this conversation , Exorse frees himself and escapes . Nanina follows and tries to reason with him , saying he owes her his life , but he leaves her . Jano and the savages march to the city accompanied by the Doctor , Steven and Dodo . At the city , Senta tells the Elders about the secret intransference , and Edal takes command . Exorse reports back to the city ; however , affected by what Nanina has said , he informs that he has not seen Jano . Edal is sceptical of this and sends Exorse to the interrogators . When Exorse says that he cannot do this , Edal explains he is leader now Jano is gone . At this moment , Jano triumphantly enters the laboratory with his prisoners and has Edal removed . Sealing the doors , he asks Senta to destroy his equipment . Senta protests , arguing that the savages are not capable of the development that their people have achieved . Jano says the savages are their equals , and that he must right the wrong inflicted upon them . With Edal and the guards locked outside , Senta is powerless as Jano , the Doctor , Steven , Dodo , Chal , Tor , Nanina , and even Exorse destroy the laboratory equipment with their bare hands . Amongst the chaos , Jano and Chal agree they need to work together in the future . Edal breaks in and threatens to kill the Doctor and Steven and calls for the arrest of Jano . Jano provokes Edal , who goes to shoot him ; however , Steven responds too quickly and shoots Edal using Exorse ' s light - gun . In the aftermath , Jano asks the Doctor to be a mediator , to help during the early days of this new community when mistrust will still be present . The Doctor refuses , but Chal knows the leader he wants : Steven . Jano agrees , but Steven is very reluctant to leave the Doctor and Dodo . With both sides asking for his guidance , and the Doctor beaming with pride , Steven accepts . Dodo runs over , crying , to hug him . Jano and Chal leave Steven to say goodbye . He thanks the Doctor for all he has done for him but does say he is a little uncertain as to whether he can do it . He meekly waves goodbye to the Doctor and Dodo and disappears through the door . Not long afterwards , on the surface of the planet , the TARDIS dematerialises with one less companion on board . Story notes . Production errors . " to be added "