Tuesday 20 November 2018

G is for... Gavrok


Gavrok was the sadistic leader of the Bannermen, who were hunting the Chimeron people to extinction. The Chimeron queen Delta was the last survivor of the race, but she had in her safekeeping the egg of a new princess, from whom a new generation could spring. Delta fled to a space-port but Gavrok gave chase, issuing a bounty on her head. When Delta transferred to a tourist craft which was heading for Earth, Gavrok killed the Toll-Keeper after learning of her destination. The Doctor's companion Mel was on the same tour craft, with the Doctor following on in the TARDIS. A collision with a satellite caused the craft to crashland elsewhere on the planet - just outside a holiday camp in South Wales. Unfortunately, also on the tour craft was a bounty hunter who knew of Gavrok's reward, and he gave away Delta's location. Never intending to pay the monies, Gavrok beamed a destructive signal to the bounty hunter's communicator, hoping that the blast would kill Delta as well. This attempt failed. The Bannermen ship then landed near the camp and Gavrok led his men on a hunt for the Chimeron. The Doctor tried to negotiate with him, but to no avail. A trap led to Gavrok and his men being covered in honey and attacked by a swarm of bees. They then launched an assault on the camp, after Gavrok had placed a sonic mine on the roof of the TARDIS. The Chimeron egg had hatched, and the child rapidly grew into a young girl. She could generate a high pitched sound which the Bannermen could not stand. Her voice was amplified to attack Gavrok and his men. Stunned by the sound, Gavrok stumbled into the detonation zone of the sonic grenade and he was destroyed, whilst his men were all captured.

Played by: Don Henderson. Appearances: Delta and the Bannermen (1987).
  • Henderson had come to fame as the rather seedy but philosophical D.S. George Bulman, in the spy series The XYY Man. This ran for 13 episodes between 1976 - 77. His character was then given another series, called Strangers, which ran between 1978 - 82, where Bulman was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector. Bulman then got a third series - called Bulman - in which he was no longer a police officer but investigated on his own. It ran from 1985 - 87.
  • He's probably best known for his appearance as an Imperial Officer - General Taggi - in the first Star Wars movie.

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