Astronomical navigation is a tricky business. To help Adric with his studies, the Doctor sets course for Gallius Ultima – a planet on the edge of the Milky Way, housing one of the most impressive observatories ever constructed.
But the TARDIS arrives to find Gallius U in a state of emergency, tracking the return of the Explorer-class ship Johannes Kepler from its mission into the heart of the mysterious Large Magellanic Cloud. A mission that met with disaster…
To find out what overtook the crew of the Johannes Kepler, the Doctor and his companions must journey into the heart of the Cloud… and beyond, into the darkness of another reality altogether. The universe of the Star Men.
The Star Men contains examples of:
- Another Dimension: The Keltin, called Star Men, are fleeing their own dying universe, where the laws of physics are completely different from our own.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite their usual bickering, Tegan and the Doctor are both completely overjoyed when they are reunited at the end of the story.
- Bad Liar: Poor Nyssa really couldn't have been less convincing in pretending not to know the Doctor, and Rovus tells her so.
- Bait-and-Switch: Adric is learning to pilot the TARDIS, and it seems like everything's gone horribly wrong, sending the crew straight into a supernova.. and it was just a simulation. Tegan mentions it was not the first time.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Tegan leaps on Kala's assumption that she and the Doctor are members of Earth Security and runs away with it.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Adric and Autumn turn up in a gunship to fight off the Krayle, just as they were about to kill Tegan, Nyssa and Nomar.
- Tegan and Nyssa also save the day by deploying space mines to seal the rift and blow up the solonium core, destroying the Star Men before they could kill Kala and the Doctor.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Star Men are defeated and the Rift sealed, but Autumn has died in the process, and Adric is heartbroken.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The Keltin, also known as the Star Men, are living holes in the world, and are also living coral that can transmute from gas.
- Borrowed Catchphrase:
- Tegan uses the Doctor's "brave heart" to try and keep Nyssa calm.
- Adric, probably unknowingly, use the Second Doctor's "when I say run, run".
- Call-Back:
- Adric compares the ship Kepler to the starliner on Alzarius.
- Kala thinks that Tegan and the Doctor are members of Earth Security.
- Catchphrase: "Brave heart" and "Rabbits!" are used by the Doctor and Tegan, respectively. Tegan later uses "brave heart" herself to comfort Nyssa.
- Chekhov's Skill: The Doctor teaching Adric how to pilot the TARDIS at the beginning comes in handy later when he needs to navigate another ship through space on his own.
- Child Prodigy: Autumn is roughly the same age as Adric and Nyssa, but is the director of her own department. She vehemently refutes any accusations of nepotism on the part of her mother, the captain of the ship.
- Distaff Counterpart: The similarities between Autumn and Adric are a big part of what attracts them to one another.
- Distressed Dude: Nomar, permanent "guest" of the Star Men.
- Girl of the Week: Autumn, for Adric.
- Improbable Age: Despite being only a teenager, Autumn's job comes with a lot of rank and responsibility. This seems to be quite common at this stage of human history, as nobody bats an eye at Nyssa and Adric involving themselves in the situation, and actually seem to welcome their assistance.
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Magnificent Bastard: Rovus, leader of the Keltin. He manipulates everyone he comes across with remarkable ease and is able to figure out and foil the Doctor's plans in moments. It takes several large explosions to stop him, and he was moments away from gaining access to the TARDIS by that point. - Mind Rape: Rovus attempts this on Adric, who is able to hold him at bay by doing sums in his head.
- Our Zombies Are Different: They're animated by alien coral.
- Pet the Dog: After Autumn's death, Tegan is remarkably kind and sympathetic to Adric.
- Psychic Link: As a result of the attempted Mind Rape, Adric develops one of these with Rovus, and is able to use it to predict his plans.
- Running Gag: At this relatively early point in her TARDIS travels, Tegan makes sure to spend a few moments banging on about wanting to get back to Heathrow. The Doctor isn't even trying to get her back there, anymore.
- Strangled by the Red String: Adric and Autumn are remarkably devoted to one another, despite the story only taking place over the course of a few hours. Somewhat justified by their young age.
- This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Adric's mathematical genius helps him to both stave off a psychic attack and prevent the Kepler from being destroyed.
- Trapped in Another World: Tegan, Nomar and later Nyssa are briefly trapped in the Star Men's universe with no hope of escape.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: The Doctor details his scheme to destroy the Star Men; naturally, they figure it out, and it fails.
- Unwitting Pawn: Poor Nomar thought he'd managed to escape from the Star Men, but they'd actually allowed him to go free so that he could lead the Doctor and the others back into their trap.
