 I think part four of Shada is the episode for which the least amount of footage was completed back in 1979: the majority of the episode consists of unrecorded sequences on board Skagra's ship and the Krarg Carrier, and as a result this episode, which develops the character of Skagra and introduces us to the monstrous Krargs, remains fairly unfamiliar even to hardened fans.
Watch out for some classic Douglas Adams techno-babble as the Doctor persuades the Ship to reconfigure her circuitry. Paul and Hannah were admirably unfazed by the tongue-twisting technical gobbledegook, and sailed through the scene superbly.
Barnaby Edwards plays two very different roles in this episode: the lumbering Krarg Commander and the timorous Professor Caldera. It was Barney's idea to portray the brain-drained Caldera as a kind of affectionate tribute to the late Richard Vernon's Slartibartfast in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: a very sweet idea and one which we all enjoyed in the studio.
Paul giggled a lot as Caldera's querulous tones became more and more eccentric with each take! We toned it down a little bit in the end...
© Nicholas Pegg 2003.
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