Alixion

***Alixion*** is the fifth and final serial of Season 27. It was the final regular appearance of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and introduced Rowan Atkinson as the Eighth Doctor in the closing moments of part three.

## Synopsis

The Doctor, Ace, and Raine visit Alixion, which has the smartest monastery of monks in the universe, However, once they land, they realize that something is wrong, very wrong, and the abbot of the monastery might be right at the center.

## Plot

### Part 1

The Doctor, Ace, and Raine land on the planet, Alixion. While The Doctor takes in the sight of the planet, Raine and Ace are still bickering and The Doctor just rolls his eyes, and continues on. Before them, the see a big, Gothic, dome like structure. The Doctor wants to enter and visit the monastery and Ace wants to stick with The Doctor. Raine is unenthusiastic about all of this and wants to look around on her own. But The Doctor reminds her that he's in charge and to not wander off. But Raine states she can take care of herself, and The Doctor knows of this, but states we don't know what is on this planet and what horrors might be bubbling underneath the surface. Raine then promises to not go underneath the surface. The Doctor sighs and asks "you're just gonna leave once I turn my back, correct?" Raine says "yes". The Doctor then signals her to leave and she goes off to explore the planet. Ace is somewhat angry as she never got that "treatment" but The Doctor states that she's more intelligent than Raine and gives her a wink and puts a finger to his lips. Ace smiles. They go inside. Cut to Raine who is exploring the planet, and for the most part, she finds the planet to be pretty barren. She is upset to see this. She sees a mix of a human looking species, and giant beetles. She is intrigued and tries to speak with them, but finds that they cannot communicate. Raine soon leaves and tries to get back to the Doctor, but finds a small concrete hut of some kind and goes towards it to investigate. The Doctor and Ace meet the abbot of the monastery who is indifferent to seeing them. The abbot tells them to follow him, and they see what looks like an almost Gothic library. He explains that they only "employ" the greatest and smartest people to help them find every bit of knowledge in the universe, But The Doctor is suspicious of this as he sees various monks who seem to be suffering from withdrawal symptoms. At the same time, Raine manages to get to the hut, and after a few minutes, picks the lock of the hut. She enters and the hut only contains a long uneasy stairwell. Cut back to the Doctor and Ace, and even Ace is starting to get suspicious of their surroundings. She tries to warn The Doctor, but he once again puts a finger to his lips. They continue the tour, but both are very alert. Raine is going down the long staircase, and once she reaches the bottom, she sees what seems to be the longest hallway in the universe, she again picks the lock and enters. She sees what looks like almost a torture room and is horrified about what she sees. She hears somebody coming and she ducks behind some equipment, and she sees two beetles shoving a human inside and locking them into the torture equipment. They begin running tests and Raine sees the screen turn green. The beetle is hooked up to a mechanism, and the beetle eats the human being! Raine lets out a loud gasp.

## Cast

* Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor
* Sophie Aldred as Ace McShane
* Susannah Harker as Raine Cunningham
* Ian McDiarmid as The Abbot
* Rowan Atkinson as The Doctor