Because nothing screams “galactic menace” like two cranky men in quilted bathrobes bossing around robots shaped like pepper pots with legs.
Short Synopsis
The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe land on a peaceful planet of hippies who really don’t care about anything. Unfortunately, two shouty Dominators and their clunky robot servants, the Quarks, crash the party with plans to turn the planet into a fuel station. Chaos, whining, and lots of running ensue.
Extended Storyline
The TARDIS materializes on Dulkis, a planet where the natives have apparently taken “chill vibes only” to the extreme. The Dulcians are peace-loving, sandal-wearing types who live in denial about any kind of conflict. They’re the kind of people who would host an alien invasion with organic snacks and yoga mats.
Enter the Dominators—Rago and Toba. Rago is constantly grumpy and pragmatic, while Toba is a sadistic hothead who really loves blowing things up with their robot servants, the Quarks. Imagine if C-3PO and a boxy vacuum cleaner had a baby, then taught it to destroy things at walking pace. Terrifying, right?
The Dominators’ plan is to drill into Dulkis’ crust and drop a bomb to turn the entire planet into fuel for their war machine. Because who doesn’t want a planet-sized barbecue starter? The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe stumble into the situation, try to warn the Dulcians (who naturally don’t listen, because it would ruin their spa day), and then spend several episodes being captured, escaping, re-captured, and snarking at the Dominators.
Meanwhile, the Dulcians debate endlessly whether they should actually do something. Their leadership council’s solution to alien invasion boils down to “hmmm, maybe we should form a subcommittee.” Zoe tries to argue logically, Jamie hits things with rocks, and the Doctor frowns a lot while sabotaging drills.
Eventually, the Doctor turns the Dominators’ plan back on them, redirecting their bomb so it destroys the invaders instead of the planet. The Dulcians go back to doing nothing, the Dominators get blown up in their own mess, and the Quarks shuffle back into the dustbin of history (except for the brief moment when they were intended to be the BBC’s next big merchandising toy—spoiler: they weren’t).