Sunday 1 October 2017

C is for... Chessene


A ruthless member of the Franzine Grig, one of the Androgum clans. She worked at the Chimera research station in the Third Zone, where Head of Projects Dastari carried out a number of genetic augmentations on her. This altered her appearance, making her look more human, and greatly increased her intelligence. She helped hatch a plan to ensnare a Time Lord, so that Dastari could experiment on him to learn the secret of successful time travel. The Third Zone had a time capsule, but people using it did not survive the journey. It was believed that Time Lords had a special genetic element that allowed them to travel safely through the Vortex. Chessene entered into an alliance with the Sontarans, and the Third Zone time experiments soon drew the Second Doctor to the station - sent by the Time Lords to put a stop to their work. The Doctor was taken to 20th Century Earth for the experiments. The Sixth Doctor was alerted to what was happening to his earlier self, and so he and Peri visited the region of Spain where Chessene and Dastari had based themselves, picking up Jamie from the station on the way. Unlike the rest of her species, Chessene could read peoples' minds.
Dastari was becoming concerned at Chessene's ambitions, and the Second Doctor warned him that her Androgum inheritance would soon reassert itself.
When the Sixth Doctor was injured whilst fleeing from the hacienda, Dastari spotted Chessene lapping at his spilled blood, and knew that the Second Doctor had been right. She ruthlessly disposed of the Sontarans once their usefulness was at an end. Dastari eventually turned on her and she killed him.


The Doctor tricked her into using the time capsule, believing it to be safely primed, but the machine self-destructed and killed her. She reverted to her natural appearance on death.

Played by: Jacqueline Pearce. Appearances: The Two Doctors (1985).

  • Pearce will forever be best known as Servalan, the villain of Blake's 7. Earlier in her career, she appeared in two of the better Hammer horror films that weren't part of the Dracula / Frankenstein cycles - Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile. These days she has a regular role as a Time Lord Cardinal with Big Finish.

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