Alixion (TV Story)

***Alixion*** was the fourth and final serial of Season 27 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Robin Mukherjee, directed by Michael Kerrigan, and starred Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Julia Sawalha as Raine Cunningham.

It was the final regular appearance of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.

## Synopsis

On the planet Alixion, there is a monastery. It seems fairly normal, with its occasional public space tours being well regarded. But looks are often deceiving.

The monks have a secret lurking in their famous elixir. Its main ingredient: the minds of others. And now the Abbot has plans to create the most potent elixir imaginable.

Things can only go downhill... but for whom will the effects be the worst?

## Cast

* The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
* Raine - Julia Sawalha
* The Abbot - Alun Armstrong
* Brother Urnie - Craig Charles
* Brother Ialgo - Nick Berry
* Brett - Dexter Fletcher
* Herrel - Pauline Collins
* Lillie - Lucy Speed
* Olvic - Robert Urquhart
* Kniles - Michael Keating
* Tourist Victim - David Banks

And introducing Richard Griffiths as the Eighth Doctor.

In addition, Sara Griffiths, Chris Jury, Nicholas Courtney, Angela Bruce, Holly Aird, Bonnie Langford and Sophie Aldred appear as Ray, Kingpin, the Brigadier, Brigadier Bambera, Sue, Mel and Ace respectively through archive footage.

## Crew

* Writer - Robin Mukherjee
* Assistant Floor Manager - Stephen Garwood
* Costumes - Ken Trew
* Designer - David Laskey
* Incidental Music - Mark Ayres
* Make-Up - Maureen Hetherington
* O.B. Lighting - Ian Dow
* O.B. Sound - Doug Whittaker
* Production Assistant - Bernadette Darnell
* Production Associate - June Collins
* Production Manager - Ian Fraser
* Script Editor - Marc Platt
* Special Sounds - Dick Mills
* Studio Camera Supervisor - Alec Wheal
* Studio Lighting - Alan Horne
* Studio Sound - Scott Talbot
* Technical Co-Ordinator - Richard Wilson
* Theme Arrangement - Keff McCulloch
* Title Music - Ron Grainer
* Video Effects - Dave Chapman, Derek Hendon
* Videotape Editor - Malcolm Banthorpe
* Vision Mixers - Shirley Coward, Angela Wilson
* Visual Effects - Mike Tucker
* Producer - John Nathan-Turner
* Director - Michael Kerrigan

## Worldbuilding

### Culture

* Raine mentions that many abbeys on Earth "have their own gift shop now".
* The Doctor sarcastically calls the Abbot "Friar Tuck".
* Levestri culture dictates that the death of a son is unacceptable, and punishable by execution.

### People

* Brother Urnie was given music from the 1980s as a present once.
* Olvic is the Levetri ambassador to Earth

### Technology

* Lillie keeps a pair of music mixers in her pocket to relax, and offers one to Raine during a stop on the tour.
* The Doctor likens the technology used by the Abbot to that used by Solon.

### Location

* Alixion's climate is similar to Earth's.

## Continuity

* The Doctor states that he faced a man who shot down ships for an admittedly different ulterior motive. (TV: *The Brain of Morbius*)
* The Abbot refers to the Doctor's maltreatment of Ace. (TV: *Ghost Light*, *The Curse of Fenric*, *Ice Time*)
* Whilst in the draining pod, the Seventh Doctor fought to keep his mind by thinking of some of the people who he helped:
	+ Ray (TV: *Delta and the Bannermen*)
	+ Kingpin (TV: *The Greatest Show in the Galaxy*)
	+ Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (TV: *Battlefield*)
	+ Brigadier Bambera (TV: *Battlefield*)
	+ Sue (TV: *Night Thoughts*)
	+ Melanie Bush (TV: *Dragonfire*)
	+ Ace (TV: *The Happiness Patrol*)
	+ Raine Cunningham (TV: *Crime of the Century*)
	+ The Doctor previously saw visions of his companions when he was dying in his Fourth incarnation. (TV: *Logopolis*)

## Home Video and DVD Releases

### VHS

* This story was first released on VHS in 2002.

### DVD

* This story was released on a DVD box set alongside *Avatar* and *The Herald* entitled *The Making of Time's Champion* in 2003.
* This story along with the other stories in Season 27 were released as *Doctor Who: The Complete Twenty-Seventh Season* in 2005.

### Blu-ray

* This story along with the other stories in Season 27 were upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and were released as *Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 27* in the UK.