The Nightmare of Eden

"Vrax to the Future", "The Night Nurse of Eden", "The Creatures from the Slideshow"

“The One with the Message About Just Saying No” (USA), “Doctor Who and the Eden Nightmare of Death” (Target) 

Doctor Who is very cross about a foreign scientist's hobbies.

*** - it has a lot to say about an emotive issue and also touches on zoology and drug taking.

Rigg: 'First a collision, then a dead navigator and now Tom Baker roaming about my ship. Well he's totally inexplicable.'

Doctor: 'No one's inexplicable.'

Rigg: 'Then explain him.'

Doctor: 'He's inexplicable!'

“My arms... my pants... my everything”

Michael Owen's middle name is "Vrax" because he was born during the Nightmare of Eden's initial transmission.

Real drugs were used during the studio sessions for Nightmare of Eden but only by members of the production team.

The Mandrels were based on an artists impression of Zippy from Rainbow during a bout of demonic possession.

Tom Baker's postman owned a green grocers called "Garden of Eden" and refused to deliver several pieces of mail as a protest at what he took to be a personal sleight on his produce.

This was the first story to be written by Bob Wallace alone. He'd previously contributed several scripts along with writing partner Dave Gromit.

The drug in the story was originally called "xylophilin" but it was thought this would be too difficult for children to ask for on street corners.

...is that it is better to sell drugs than take them.

Si Hunt

Some time ago, Ian Devine and I went to purchase a pair of trousers from Bendaton's second finest gentlemen's outfitters. We would've gone to the finest outfitters but their tape measures are inadequate and far too much time is wasted purchasing balls of string and using Ordinance Survey maps to determine how far it is from the counter to the lamp post on the other side of the road and therefore how long the string must be if it reaches the lamp post and comes back as far as the near kerb. Mr Gumption of the second best firm did away with all that nonsense when he purchased an elastic tape measure and now we can be in and out inside fifteen minutes.

The only time we have ever been in there for a considerable period was the day I made a witty remark.

"How are these?" asked Mr Gumption.

"They are perhaps a little snug around the unmentionables" replied Ian Devine.

"Are they properly fastened?"

"Yes, Ian Devine" I added, "have you pulled up the vraxoin?"

We burst out laughing at this remarkable witticism (Ian Devine also burst out of the trousers he was testing and had to foot the bill but all agreed it was well worth it).

Mr Gumption remained stony faced - it was almost as if he wasn't fully conversant with "Lalla" Ward convention calibre anecdotes. Either that or he has no sense of humour. <shrug> It was his loss.

Fans have often praised Nightmare of Eden for its relatively mature take on the social issues portrayed in the serial. Stephen Gritts, writing in "Nightmare of Edam", observed that 'Lalla Ward is wearing what appears to be a wig wag'. The drugs theme was praised by Peter Potter (in "Tryst Life") when he noted 'Lalla's dress is hugely unflattering and makes it look like she has no boobs'. The morality of using animals in unconventional conservation experiments was tackled by Nickki Noakes (in "Hecate's House") when she observed 'The costume designer must've taken offence at something Lalla said because a vendetta is the only explanation for so unfortunate a garment ever being sewn into existence.' Meanwhile, the fascinating theory that things would've been better had this story swapped seasons with Meglos and had the benefits of a more serious production team is put forward by Gary Spiral when he opined 'No tits, no leg, no bum, nothing - Lalla's really let me down this week.'