Anthony Head Credits

Doctor Who

Series summary: Science Fiction series about a Time Lord called the Doctor who travels through time and space in his TARDIS.

Role: Mr. Finch
Episode: 2.03 – School Reunion
Original air date: April 29, 2006
Network: BBC1
Availability: Currently available on DVD

Note: Anthony Head also appeared on Doctor Who Confidential, a weekly behind-the-scenes documentary of each episode. This aired on BBC3 on April 29, 2006 and was entitled Friends Reunited

Summary of Anthony Head's storyline: (Note: If you are unfamiliar with Doctor Who's history, you may want to check out the BBC's website for an explanation of anything that is unclear in the following as it would too complicated to explain some things here.)

We see Mr. Finch walking down the hallway of Deffry Vale High School. His manner and dress is precise and exact. He approaches his office and sees a young student sitting there waiting for him. He demands to know what she wants. She informs him that the school nurse sent her since she isn't feeling well. Finch wants to know why she doesn't go home. When he finds out that she is an orphan who lives in a children's home, he smiles and invites her into his office, mentioning that it is time for lunch. The door closes behind them and through the door window, we see shadows of something with wings and there is the sound of screaming.

The Doctor arrives in a classroom and it is revealed that he is at the school as a teacher. He and his companion Rose were contacted by Rose's ex-boyfriend Mickey because he suspected there were odd things happening there. There were UFO sightings in the area and the student scores suddenly went up significantly. The Doctor is undercover as a teacher and Rose is undercover as a cafeteria worker. She notices an odd moment when one of the other workers is badly hurt by the touch of some (cold) oil.

A teacher, Mr. Wagner, has his class hard at work on some mysterious computer program that is clearly something that should be beyond their understanding.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is in the staff room talking to another teacher who tells him that Finch arrived as headmaster three months ago and soon replaced various teachers with his own people, all of whom dress and act with the same precision that Finch does. Finch is headed towards the room telling a woman with him about the improvements he has made to the school, including a free, but compulsory lunch. He encourages her to try the chips. She hints that his methods to improve student performance may be a bit hard, but then assures him that good results are most important. They enter the staff room and Finch introduces her as Sarah Jane Smith, who is writing a profile of him for the Sunday Times. The Doctor immediately recognizes Sarah Jane as she once traveled with him. She does not recognize him however, as he has regenerated since the last time they met. She asks him questions that make it clear she has the same suspicious about the school that the Doctor does and isn't just writing a fluff piece about the headmaster.

A student, Kenny, walks into a class room and sees some sort of creature with wings under a desk. But when they both stand up, it is Mr. Wagner facing Kenny on the other side of the desk.

That night, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey sneak into the school to look around. Sarah Jane breaks in on her own as well. They all hear strange screeching noises and the flapping of wings as they explore. Rose gets a sample of the mysterious oil that injured a cafeteria worker earlier. Sarah Jane stumbles upon the TARDIS and realizes who the Doctor actually is. Their reunion is cut short when they hear a scream. It turns out to be Mickey who freaked when he found a bunch of vacuum packed rats is a closet. Sarah Jane thinks they are for dissection but Rose points out that is no longer done is schools. The Doctor speculates they may be food for something. When the group checks out Finch's office, they discover exactly what that something is: a group of winged creatures are hanging from the office ceiling, sleeping in a manner similar to bats. There are thirteen of them - the exact number of staff members that were replaced when Finch took over the school.

Outside, Sarah Jane shows the Doctor that she has another old friend of his with her - K-9, a robotic dog that the Doctor picked up during his travels and ultimately left with Sarah Jane. K-9 isn't working at the moment, but the Doctor decides to fix him so he can analyze the oil Rose had collected. They all head off to a diner to do so. They are unaware that they are being observed by Mr. Finch who is on a nearby rooftop. He is soon joined by one of the winged creatures. Although Finch always remains in human form, he and the creature communicate and Finch crouches down in a way that mimics the creature. In the diner, K-9 has been repaired and identifies the oil as being Krillitane. The Doctor explains that Krillitanes are a composite species that takes on the best physical attributes of those they conquer. The last time the Doctor encountered them, they were mostly human in appearance, just with long necks.

Outside, Mr. Finch and the other Krillitane continue to watch as the group leaves the diner. Finch warns the other to wait for his command. As they wait, Finch hears that the Doctor is a Time Lord. The other Krillitane then flies at the Doctor, but doesn't actually attack. It makes its presence known and then flies off.

The next morning, the Doctor and Mr. Finch both seem to feel it is time for a showdown. After staring each other down in the halls, they finally meet at the school's indoor pool. When the Doctor asks who Finch is, he replies without hesitation that he is Brother Lassa and he confirms that he is a Krillitane. While the others have taken on the wings of another species, while using an illusion to appear human, it is Finch's personal preference to maintain a human form in fact rather than illusion. Finch goes on to remind the Doctor that all the other Time Lords are now gone and that the Doctor is the only one remaining. The Doctor ignores that and asks about Finch's plan. Finch seems surprised the Doctor doesn't know and tells him to work it out. The Doctor warns Finch that he will stop them, if he doesn't like what they are doing. Finch assure the Doctor that the next time they meet, he will join with the Krillitanes.

Finch goes back to his office where his fellow Krillitanes are waiting. He informs them that the time has come for them to become gods. The students are all sent to their classrooms, while the staff is sent to the staff room. The Krillitanes enter the staff room and Finch advises the assembled staff that it is time for an early lunch. Mr. Wagner closes the door and, similar to what happened at the beginning of the show, we see the shadow of wings and the sounds of screaming.

Finch enters his office, picking his teeth and burping slightly, indicating he just ate. He initiates a lockdown of the school and all doors to the outside are locked.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Sarah Jane and Rose are attempting to break into a computer hard drive to see what is being taught to the children. But the system is locked and even the sonic screwdriver that normally breaks any seal is being blocked. In other room, Mr. Wagner starts up the mysterious computer program and the students get back to work on it. The program also starts running in the room where the Doctor is and he recognizes it as the Skasis Paradigm. He explains to Rose and Sarah Jane that whoever breaks that will have the building blocks for the universe: time, matter and space. He realizes that the Krillitanes have accelerated the students' intelligence by feeding them food cooked in Krillitane oil. Just as he points out to Rose and Sarah Jane that the children are being used for their imaginations and souls, Mr. Finch enters the room. He tells the Doctor that with the Paradigm solved, the universe can be improved. The Doctor is not impressed with the idea of a Finch controlled universe. But Finch turns it around and says it could be controlled by the Doctor instead, as he could give them wisdom in addition to power. Finch tells the Doctor that the Time Lords could be saved with this power. He also tries to tempt Sarah Jane and Rose with promises of eternal youth and immortality. The Doctor is actually tempted by the idea of having the ability to save his people from the war and destruction that left him the last of his kind. Sarah Jane jumps in and tells him that the universe has to move forward and that everything must come to an end. The Doctor finally picks up a chair and uses it to smash the main computer in the room, stopping the program in that room. He, Rose and Sarah Jane run out, leaving Finch behind.

Outside, Mickey has been waiting with K-9 when he sees Kenny, the student who saw a Krillitane earlier, trying to get out the door. Not being allowed to eat the chips, Kenny has not been affected by the oil like the other students. With some help from K-9, Mickey figures out that he can break down the door with the car. Once inside, Mickey and Kenny meet up with the Doctor, Rose and Sarah Jane. They are being chased by Krillitanes who are responding to a scream let out by Mr. Finch. The Doctor's group makes it to the lunchroom with Finch (in human form) and the other Krillitanes (in their winged form) close behind. Finch warns the Krillitanes that he wants the Doctor alive, but they can feast on the others. Suddenly, K-9 appears and starts shooting with his laser driving off the Krillitanes. Finch responds with an angry scream before finally telling the others to forget the "shooty dog thing".

The Doctor's group makes it to a classroom. There, the Doctor realizes that the Krillitanes have changed their physiology so much that their own oil has become toxic. Outside, the Krillitanes are attempting to break through the door. The Doctor wants to get to the kitchen. He tells Mickey to shutdown the computers and get the children out. The Doctor is trying to think of a way to drive away the Krillitanes when Kenny smashes a fire alarm. The ringing is painful to the Krillitanes in their bat-like form. It affects Finch as well, despite him still being in human form. The Doctor's group is able to get out and walk past them. Finch manages to have the presence of mind to smash through a wall and pull out the wires to disconnect the fire alarm.

Mickey heads to the classrooms, but the students are too absorbed in the program to notice him. He eventually realizes that the solution is simple and unplugs the computers from the wall socket. He then gets all the students outside.

The Doctor's group makes it to the kitchen. The sonic screwdriver cannot open any of the vats and the Doctor suspects Finch locked them to prevent access. K-9 says that the vats will not withstand his lasers. The Doctor sends everyone else out while he and K-9 stay behind. K-9's batteries are running low and he could only get in one shot and he would have to be directly in front of the vat. The Doctor realizes that K-9 won't survive that but has no choice but to agree and leaves the building. Outside, Sarah Jane is upset when she realizes that K-9 has been left behind.

The Krillitanes have all reverted to human form and reach the kitchen. Finch tells the others that they can kill the Doctor, but Finch wants his brain. Inside, they find only K-9. Finch doesn't think K-9 seems so powerful now. K-9's response is to shoot the vat, splashing the Krillitane oil all over the aliens. They shriek in pain as the toxic oil burns the. Finch, however, is noticeably less affected by this than the others and seems more annoyed with K-9 being a bad dog than being in actual pain.

A few moments later, the school explodes, with everyone except the Krillitanes and K-9 having made it outside.

Later, the Doctor and Sarah Jane say a proper goodbye and, after the TARDIS dematerializes, she sees a new rebuilt K-9 that the Doctor has left for her.

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