The TARDIS runs out of vital Zeiton-7 ore, so the Doctor makes an emergency landing on the planet Varos, which is rich in the mineral. Varos is a former penal colony, and its residents now derive pleasure purely from televised tortures. The Governor of Varos is struggling to negotiate a price for Zeiton-7 with Sil, the scheming representative of the Galatron Mining Corporation. To placate his unhappy people, the Governor orders the live execution of the rebel Jondar. When the Doctor and Peri intervene, they are forced to navigate the Punishment Dome, where they may become the latest victims of Varos' video nasties.

In 1980, Philip Martin declined an invitation from script editor Christopher H Bidmead to write for Doctor Who. Two years later, however, Martin became intrigued by the programme after watching its nineteenth season with his seven-year-old daughter, Hilary. He realised that he could explore concepts through Doctor Who in a manner different from other programmes. Martin came up with an idea about an alien corporation which marketed snuff films depicting real deaths. This was a highly contemporary issue: the debate over violence and gore in popular entertainment was heating up, inflamed by the widening availability of direct-to-video horror films from America and the continent, which had incensed media watchdogs such as perennial Doctor Who nemesis Mary Whitehouse.

Martin submitted his idea to new Doctor Who script editor Eric Saward. Saward, who was a fan of Martin's work on the avant garde crime drama Gangsters, was enthusiastic about the proposal, and commissioned a storyline on April 13th under the title “Domain”. Producer John Nathan-Turner was concerned that Martin might steer Doctor Who into overtly political waters, and so he instructed Saward to work closely with the writer in developing the narrative. Martin had conceived “Domain” with the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan in mind; he was now informed that Nyssa was going to be written out in 1983, to be replaced by Turlough.

It was hoped that “Domain” would be part of Season 21 in 1984

Although Saward was happy with the finished storyline for “Domain”, work on the adventure slowed during the summer. Finally, on October 14th, Martin was commissioned to script Episode One; it was now hoped that “Domain” would be scheduled as part of Season Twenty-One in 1984. The remaining three installments were requested on January 27th, 1983. However, it soon became clear that there would be a complete overhaul of the regular cast during Doctor Who's twenty-first season, necessitating a number of stories to deal with the transition. It was therefore decided to postpone “Domain” until Season Twenty-Two, which meant that it would now feature the Sixth Doctor and Peri. Saward felt that the delay would benefit “Domain”: although it had a lot of potential, he thought that it was still too unfocused and needed refinement.

A few months later, Martin's scripts incurred a significant setback when it was decided that Season Twenty-Two would be comprised of episodes running forty-five minutes, rather than the traditional twenty-five minutes. This meant that the four-part “Domain” would now have to be reformatted as two longer programmes. Martin spent much of the summer revising his scripts, which gained the title “Planet Of Fear”. Martin then endured several months of limited contact with the Doctor Who production office, although the serial was recommissioned -- to take into account the new episode lengths -- on November 28th.

When Saward was finally able to revisit “Planet Of Fear” in early 1984, he came to the conclusion that there remained several outstanding problems. Most notably, he felt that the scripts were too short, and that Peri's role needed to be made more prominent. Saward also wanted Martin to build up the minor role of an alien businessman named Sil, positioning him as more of a central antagonist, with the Governor as Sil's reluctant accomplice. Martin had originally conceived the amphibious Sil as a reaction to a quote he recalled from author Isaac Asimov, who had observed that aquatic creatures rarely featured in science-fiction film and television. His name was inspired by the Silurian period of Earth's history, which occurred more than four hundred million years ago, immediately prior to the development of complex land-based lifeforms.

At a meeting on February 9th, Martin indicated that he was receptive to Saward's suggestions; in particular, he agreed that the semi-comical Sil could help provide a layer of humour to an otherwise dark script. However, he refused to implement such wholesale changes without being paid an additional fee. The BBC finally consented to this request around the end of February, and Martin quickly completed his work on the serial. It was at this time that Martin added the “Greek chorus” of Arak and Etta, who helped provide context to the “video nasties” element of the storyline while also partly addressing concerns about the brevity of the scripts. Saward would later expand both Quillam's and Rondel's roles to create additional material.

It was observed that the title “Planet Of Fear” invited confusion with the previous season's Planet Of Fire

“Planet Of Fear” was originally intended to be the fifth story of Season Twenty-Two. In May, however, it was decided at the last minute that the planned second story -- “The Space Whale” by Pat Mills -- was not working out. With replacement scripts needed urgently, Martin's narrative was brought forward to fill the gap; its original slot would eventually be taken by Timelash. At about the same point, it was observed that the title “Planet Of Fear” invited confusion with the previous season's Planet Of Fire. As a result, Martin renamed his serial Vengeance On Varos.

Although Michael Owen Morris -- who had made 1984's The Awakening -- was approached about returning for Vengeance On Varos, the director's chair was ultimately occupied by Ron Jones, who had most recently worked on the previous year's Frontios. Perhaps Jones' most newsworthy casting decision was the role of Jondar, which went to the son of acting legend Sean Connery. Jason Connery's career was still at its nascent stages, but would enjoy a significant boost the following year when he took over the lead role in Robin Of Sherwood.

A greater challenge for Jones was finding an actor to play Sil. Martin had envisaged the character as floating in a tank of water, but Nathan-Turner felt that this would be too difficult to realise in the studio, and so it was decided that Sil would actually sit on a platform above his water tank. Nonetheless, a performer of diminutive proportions would be needed for the role, and so Jones unsuccessfully interviewed several short-statured actors.

Around the same time, BBC producer Alan Shallcross wrote his colleagues to encourage them to make a greater effort to hire performers with physical disabilities. Shallcross' memo was conveyed to Jones, which led him to audition Nabil Shaban, an actor who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta -- brittle bone disease -- which had resulted in the severe underdevelopment of his legs. Shaban was a Doctor Who fan; in the past, he had submitted a story idea entitled “Invasion Of The Veridians” and put his name forward to play both the Doctor and the Master. He was intrigued by the prospect of portraying a villain as complex as Sil, and accepted the role. Shallcross, however, was outraged to learn that his appeal had led to Shaban being cast as a monster.

Philip Martin had conceived the acid bath sequence as a comedic routine, and was disappointed by its on-screen realisation

Vengeance On Varos was made entirely within the confines of BBC Television Centre Studio 6 in White City, London. The first of two three-day blocks took place from July 18th to 20th, with much of the time spent recording corridor scenes. The first day also dealt with material in the mortuary and the prison dome, including Areta's cell, alongside a model shot of the city. The sequence in which two Varos guards fell into a vat of acid proved difficult to stage. Jones remained dissatisfied even after several retakes, and he was aware that it suggested the Doctor's culpability in the men's demise. Martin had conceived it as an essentially comedic routine, and was disappointed by its on-screen realisation.

The set for the prison dome was again in use on the middle day of the session. The last day, during which Jones tackled scenes in the Governor's office and the transmutation cell, marked Shaban's debut as Sil. His costume originally consisted of two pieces -- the tail being distinct from the rest of the body -- but it was soon found that this gave the actor almost no flexibility to move his head. As a result, the cowl was separated and glued to Shaban's face, although the July heat meant that it consistently came unstuck and had to be repaired. Meanwhile, Peri's partial transmutation into a bird caused suffering for Nicola Bryant, who was allergic to the feathers glued to her skin.

Taping concluded between July 31st and August 2nd, with the corridor sets again featuring heavily during the first two days of the block. Jones also dealt with the remaining material in the Governor's office on the initial day, and scenes in the Prison Communications Centre and the changing room on the second day. Finally, the last day of production involved work on the sets for the TARDIS console room, Arak and Etta's quarters, the prison cell and the gallows area. During recording on the latter, the scaffolding collapsed as Baker and Connery began their ascent; fortunately, neither actor was injured. By August 3rd, Nathan-Turner was already planning to bring Sil back to Doctor Who, and he asked BBC Visual Effects to retain the costume and water tank for future use.

• Doctor Who Magazine #309, 17th October 2001, “Archive: Vengeance On Varos” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #3, 22nd January 2003, “Everything Must Change” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #40, 2015, “Story 138: Vengeance On Varos”, edited by Mark Wright, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Eighties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1996), Virgin Publishing.
• Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Sixth Doctor by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1993), Virgin Publishing.
• In·Vision #80, October 1998, “Production” edited by Anthony Brown, Cybermark Services.