Seeking help, they land on an unknown planet - and find a nightmare world where oppressed peasants toil for the Lords who live in the Tower, and where all learning is forbidden - a society in a state of decay.

What is the terrifying secret of the Three Who Rule? What monstrous creature stirs beneath the Tower, waking from its thousand-year sleep?

The Doctor discovers that the oldest and deadliest enemy of the Time Lords is about to spring into horrifying action.
 

Tom Baker stars in a collection of his best Doctor Who stories, in a brand new boxed set of three stories, previously unreleased on video, known as The E-Space Trilogy. The three separate but linked adventures, Full Circle, State of Decay and Warriors' Gate are available in November from BBC Video.

Originally broadcast in 1980, shortly before Tom Baker's departure from the series, the three stories see the Doctor, Romana (Lalla Ward) and K9 (voiced by John Leeson) accidentally travelling into a 'pocket universe' known as E-Space and then trying to escape back into the normal universe, or N-Space.

Full Circle is by Andrew Smith, the first Doctor Who fan to successfully pitch an idea to the Doctor Who production team.

State of Decay is by former script editor and long-time Doctor Who expert Terrance Dicks, whose novel The Eight Doctors launched BBC Books' Doctor Who range of novels earlier this year. The story stars the late Emrys James and Making Out star Rachel Davies.

Warriors' Gate is by respected Science Fiction author Steve Gallagher whose best selling books have made him one of the most sought after British fantasy writers of the last twenty years. Among the crew of the slaver ship are Clifford Rose (Secret Army and Kessler) and Kenneth Cope (Randall and Hopkirk Deceased).

Warriors' Gate saw the final appearances in the show of Romana and K9 - and this is a fitting video release as 1997 is the twentieth anniversary of the computerised dog's first appearance on the show.

All three stories are produced by John Nathan-Turner.
 

'The Great One Rises!'

Still searching for a way out of E-Space, the Doctor and Romana - and a new companion, the young stowaway Adric - land on a planet that is similar to medieval Earth. They soon encounter a village where the people are living in fear of the Three Who Rule, cruel lords who ruthlessly suppress all learning to keep the people ignorant and helpless.

The Doctor falls in with some rebels, and discovers hidden, advanced technology banned by the Three Who Rule to keep the planet in a state of decay. Meeting the lords and exploring their tower, he and Romana uncover a chilling secret...

What dark force are the planet's rulers protecting? Why do they thrist for blood? The Doctor realises that an ancient evil is rising once again - a terrible threat to the universe once fought by his own race long ago, and one that only he can destroy now...

Produced by John Nathan-Turner
Directed by Peter Moffatt
Duration: 85 mins approx