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098 to 103 - The Key to Time <tr><th>Doctor</th> <td>Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor)</td></tr><tr><th>Writer</th> <td>Robert Holmes (The Ribos Operation) Douglas Adams (The Pirate Planet) David Fisher (The Stones of Blood) David Fisher (The Androids of Tara) Robert Holmes (The Power of Kroll) Bob Baker and Dave Martin (The Armageddon Factor)</td></tr><tr><th>Director</th> <td>George Spenton-Foster (The Ribos Operation) Pennant Roberts (The Pirate Planet) Darrol Blake (The Stones of Blood) Michael Hayes (The Androids of Tara) Norman Stewart (The Power of Kroll) Michael Hayes (The Armageddon Factor)</td></tr><tr><th>Script Editor</th> <td>Anthony Read</td></tr><tr><th>Producer</th> <td>Graham Williams</td></tr><tr><th>Executive producer(s)</th> <td>None</td></tr><tr><th>Production code</th> <td>5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F</td></tr><tr><th>Series</th> <td>Season 16</td></tr><tr><th>Length</th> <td>26 episodes, 25 mins each</td></tr><tr><th>Transmission date</th> <td>September 2 1978 – February 24 1979</td></tr><tr><th>Preceded by</th> <td>The Invasion of Time</td></tr><tr><th>Followed by</th> <td>Destiny of the Daleks</td></tr>

The Key to Time is the umbrella title for a story arc that links all six serials of Season 16 of Doctor Who. The individual serials are, respectively, The Ribos Operation, The Pirate Planet, The Stones of Blood, The Androids of Tara, The Power of Kroll and The Armageddon Factor

The Key to Time is also the name of the powerful artefact whose segments the Doctor, Romana and K-9 are searching for in these six serials.

[edit] Synopsis

The White Guardian commissions the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9 to find all six segments of the Key to Time, a cosmic artefact resembling a perfect cube that maintains the equilibrium of the universe. Too powerful for any single being to possess, it has been split into six different segments and scattered across space and time, disguised by the raw elemental power within them into any shape or size. However, the White Guardian claims that the forces balancing the universe are so upset that the segments of the Key must be found and assembled, to stop the universe so that he can restore the balance.

The first segment is disguised as a lump of Jethryk on the planet Ribos. The second is actually the planet Callufrax, but that planet has been shrunk by the space-hopping pirate planet Zanak. The third is the Great Seal of Diplos, having been stolen by a criminal of that planet. The fourth is part of a statue on the planet Tara. The fifth has been consumed by the monster squid Kroll, causing it to grow to gigantic proportions. The final segment is in fact a female humanoid — Princess Astra.

In the final episode, the Black Guardian, disguised as the White, attempts to take the Key from the Doctor. The Doctor sees through the disguise, however, and spreads the segments of the Key across time and space once again.

[edit] Trivia

• Lalla Ward, who plays Princess Astra in The Armageddon Factor, goes on to play the regenerated Romana in subsequent serials. This is explained by Romana choosing Astra's appearance when she regenerates.
• A boxed set containing all six Key to Time serials on Region 1 DVD was released in October 2002. The stories have not been released in Region 2.