The Cult of Blood

The Cult of Blood is the eleventh episode of the first season of the BloodLoomis Productions' Lego Doctor Who Series; the episode was first uploaded on 8th May 2016. It was written and directed by Cameron Hughes.

In the episode, the Doctor and Jess join an archaeological expedition who are investigating Barrowvine Castle, which is said to contain a mythical crypt. The Doctor soon begins to suspect that the occupant of the crypt could be the lasts survivor of an ancient warlord race.

The story had been around for years as an idea for a homage to the Fourth Doctor's Gothic stories, and had been through many forms: action figure story, comic book, before finally being incorporated into the season as a filler episode before the finale, now a watered down version of the original intent. The story received fairly mixed reviews.

Plot
Barrowvine Castle, 1457: a knight takes a prisoner to a crypt, where some sort of punishment awaits him. The prisoner screams in horror as an unseen force attacks him.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor picks up a signal from a coastal town on Earth, and decides to investigate. Upon arrival, he and Jess are told that a team of archaeologists have been living in the town whilst they excavate Barrowvine Castle. Their search for the source of the signal goes unrewarded, so they take rest in a tavern, where they run into a team of archaeologists, lead by Coldeen. The Doctor wins them over, and he and Jess agree to go with them to the castle to find the legendary crypt.

Upon arriving at the castle, the team find a secret entrance through the wall. They find a strange carving on the wall, depicting the Devil being worshipped by a group of cultists, along with the word 'blood' written in an alien language. Even more strange are a number of metal pillars in a courtyard, connected by cables. The team find the entrance to the crypt, where Coldeen reveals that he is actually a worshipper of a supposed 'god' from medieval times known as Trataxl. The Doctor is aware of who Trataxl really is: an alien warlord who crash landed on Earth and was deemed a god by the people of the time. Coldeen plans to reawaken Trataxl to gain immense power.

In the crypt, Coldeen offers his blood as a sacrifice to Trataxl, but is possessed by the warlord instead. Trataxl explains that he will use the pillars in the courtyard to call his race to destroy the planet, and escapes, leaving a walking suit of armour to kill the others, but the Doctor quickly dispatches it. The roof gives way, and the team get out, rushing to the courtyard to stop Trataxl. Mitchell attacks him, absorbing Trataxl's energy and killing them both. The Doctor and Jess leave, with the last remaining archaeologist, Sanders, who is left on Earth. As the TARDIS dematerialises, it is monitored by a warship in space, manned by an unseen figure.

Continuity
The Doctor mentions the Metatraxi, a race which previously appeard in the planned Season 27 story Earth Aid, which was then adapted into a Big Finish play. The race Trataxl belongs to were said to be destroyed during a war with the Daleks. The figure watching the Doctor and Jess is the Vulture Commander.

Writing
The story had been in the pipeline for many years, as a homage to the Philip Hinchcliffe era stories, featuring the Fourth Doctor. It was finally used as a story in the season to fill an episode gap. As a result, it was not what was intended, in essence, a more treasure hunt type story.

Filming
The story was fairly simple to film, yet the sets were deemed quite nondescript, being mainly grey and bland. Coldeen's blood was a play-doh style substance.

Trivia

 * The name 'Coldeen' was inspired by mishearing the character Colby's name from Image of the Fendahl.
 * This is the first true appearance of the Vultures onscreen.