Monday 28 May 2018

D is for... Dulcians


A peace-loving race from the planet Dulkis. They appeared humanoid, but had two hearts. The Dulcians had renounced violence after experimenting with nuclear weapons. The island used for atomic testing was left an irradiated wasteland. Parties of students would visit the "Island of Death" each year to study the effects of the tests on the local environment. The Dulcians were ruled by a council of elders, led by a man named Senex. His son, Cully, liked to rebel against the staid lifestyle of his people. He set up various ventures - including trips to the vicinity of the island. Radiation meters were supposed to warn when they got too close, but an alien spaceship had recently landed and absorbed all the radiation as fuel. Cully's party ran aground. His passengers were killed by the Dominators and their robot Quarks. Cully sought sanctuary at the survey unit where the latest students had arrived with their tutor Balan. He also encountered the Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe. The Doctor had previously visited the planet and thought it the perfect place to have a holiday. Cully took Zoe to the capital by rocket to try and warn the council, but they were not believed. Senex ruled that if there were aliens on the island, they would let them take whatever they wanted. After the Doctor and Jamie had visited with the same warnings, and they had seen one of the Quarks on a video monitor, the chairman of the emergency committee, Tensa, was called in to offer advice. He suggested fight, flee or yield to the invaders. The Dominator Rago later arrived in the capital, and he killed Tensa. He told the council that their people would be enslaved. Tests were carried out on the captured students back on the island to see if the Dulcians would make good slave labour. When it was found that they would not, the Dominators decided to destroy the planet - turning it into a nuclear fuel dump for their fleet. The Doctor destroyed the Dominators with their own atomic seed capsule, whilst the island was turned into a volcano.

Played by: Walter Fitzgerald (Senex), Arthur Cox (Cully), Johnson Bayley (Balan), Brian Cant (Tensa). Appearances: The Dominators (1968).

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