Erato was a gigantic green blob from Tythonus. Tythonians communicate using telepathic pentagonal plates, using the vocal chords of other beings to speak. Erato was the Tythonian ambassador to the jungle planet Chloris, who was on a peaceful mission to achieve a trading agreement of metal for chlorophyll. However, the evil Lady Adrasta threw Erato into a vast pit, so that she could keep the value of metal high on Chloris and therefore remain wealthy and powerful. The Fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 arrived on Chloris and exposed the Lady Adrasta, allowing a peaceful negotiation between Tythonia and Chloris through Erato – one of the most eyebrow-raising Doctor Who monster designs in the series’ history.

The Creature from the Pit

★★★☆☆

TX: 27/10/1979 – 17/11/1979

Written by David Fisher    Directed by Christopher Barry

On the jungle planet of Chloris, metal is a rare commodity and so this has led to a black market in the element. The Fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 arrive on the planet and discover a gigantic egg. After exploring more of the jungle, the time travellers encounter some wolf weeds and their owner, Karela a servant of Lady Adrasta. Lady Adrasta controls the supply of metal on Chloris and she is interested in recycling K-9, believing him to be made of tin. Romana is captured by a group of outcasts (who all resemble Hagrid!) who scavenge whatever metal that they can find. The Doctor is taken to a deep pit, which he jumps into and lands in a vast cavern. There he meets the astrologer Organon (Geoffrey Bayldon) who was thrown into the pit by Lady Adrasta. The pair meet a gigantic green blob called Erato, who communicates telepathically. Lady Adrasta, her men, Romana and K-9 make their way through the caverns where they encounter Erato. A pentagonal communicator plate (from Lady Adrasta’s home) is brought into the cavern by the scavengers, which the Doctor uses to help Erato communicate. Erato reveals through Lady Adrasta’s vocal cords that she threw Erato down into the pit, even though Erato was on a peaceful trading mission to Chloris. Donald Trump started a trade war with China (just because it is communist) and he imposed crippling and self destructive tariffs on many other countries. Donald Trump is the worst President that America has ever had and he is a complete idiot, especially when it comes to trade! Erato is a Tythonian and the giant egg in the jungle was its spacecraft. Tythonus has declared war on Chloris over the missing ambassador and has dispatched a neutron star to collide with Chloris’ star and destroy its solar system. It will collide within the next twenty-four hours. Working desperately, the Doctor uses the TARDIS to stabilise the star while Erato weaves an aluminium shell around it. The danger is neutralised. The Doctor’s last act on Chloris is to push Organon, now one of the de facto rulers, towards a mutually beneficial trade agreement with Erato and the Tythonians.