World On Fire (TV Story)

***World on Fire*** was the sixth serial of Season 33 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Brian Farnham and starred Nick Berry as the Ninth Doctor & Gillian Kearney as Lillian Truscott.

## Synopsis

Arriving on Torvos IX the Doctor and Lillian discover the planet is ruled by gangs and the most dangerous one are the Crimson Raiders, captured by the raiders the Doctor and Lillian must try and escape before they go through more hell.

## Plot

Anarchy and destruction runs rampant on Torvos IX, the city is overrun by violence and danger as the city’s most feared gang, the Crimson Raiders, fight their arch enemies, the Emerald Cobras. The leader of the Crimson Raiders, Vladek, orders the gang to kill anyone who get in their way and the Emerald Cobras do anything to fight back but they soon retreat as Vladek and the Raiders celebrate their victory.

The TARDIS arrives hours later, the Doctor and Lillian step out and are horrified by the destruction, the Doctor says they need to find out what’s going on and they need to leave as soon as they do but Lillian says they should just go and not get involved, the Doctor agrees and they are about to head back to the TARDIS but two of the Raiders gang members kidnap them and put them into their ship.

They take them halfway across the city to their base, a derelict warehouse, the Raiders force them to go inside where the Doctor and Lillian meet Vladek. He explains he runs the city and they had the ultimate victory over the Emerald Cobras the night previously, Vladek says that after the government fell everybody had to fend for themselves and so he formed the Crimson Raiders. The Doctor says what he’s doing is wrong and he shouldn't cause so much destruction and pain to prove he’s powerful and instead he should be helping people, Vladek ends up getting angry at him and orders for the two of them to be imprisoned.

The Doctor and Lillian are thrown into a small room where they talk about how evil Vladek is and they need to get out, Lillian asks how they are going to escape and the Doctor says he hasn’t thought of it yet but he will.

Later in the night Vladek and the Raiders are about to go into the city but he orders one of the Raiders to guard the Doctor and Lillian. The Doctor overhears and thinks of plan, he grabs a bucket and tells Lillian to scream for help when he drops it, he drops the bucket and cries for help as the Raider enters the Doctor uses Venusian Aikido on the guard which knocks him out and the two of them escape.

The Doctor and Lillian get outside and find a motorbike to which the Doctor says it’ll be quicker using that then running, they use the motorbike to get away from the warehouse but not long after they run into the Emerald Cobras and their leader, Maddern, the Doctor asks what they want from them and Maddern says that they know the are members of the Raiders and they must be killed, the Doctor explains that they were prisoners of the Raiders and they’ve just escaped but Maddern doesn’t believe them and they must be killed, the Doctor uses Venusian Aikido on him but Maddern isn’t knocked out and orders the Cobras to go after them but they escape on the motorbike.

The motorbike runs out of petrol and so the Doctor and Lillian have to make the rest of the journey on foot, Lillian asks the Doctor what's going to happen to which the Doctor says that they’ve got no allies and they have enemies on both sides, he says they just to get to the TARDIS and go to which Lillian agrees.

Vladek then receives news on his walkie talkie that the Doctor and Lillian have escaped and sends a few of the Raiders to go and find them and not to leave them alive.

The Doctor and Lillian finally make the main city and just have to get to the TARDIS, Lillian notices two members of the Raiders and they hide and aren’t found, they then continue their journey but are caught by a few of the Raiders and they are about to be killed before the Cobras attack them which gives time for both the Doctor and Lillian to escape and they finally make it back to the TARDIS and get inside, but Vladek forces his way in and points a gun at the Doctor.

The Doctor demateralises and Vladek says he won’t be alive for much longer and the Doctor and Lillian will be dead, the Doctor tells Lillian told hold on as he opens the Doors to the TARDIS creating a vacuum that blows Vladek out into the space-time vortex, the Doctor closes the doors and Lillian comments on how cruel the Doctor had just been and the Doctor says that won’t happen again but he had to do something.

## Cast

* The Doctor - Nick Berry
* Lillian Truscott - Gillian Kearney

To be added.