2 episodes: Voyage of Discovery, Dangerous Endeavours. Approx. 50 minutes. Written by: Jacqueline Rayner. Directed by: Nigel Fairs. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell.
THE PLOT
The Doctor holds firm to his edict to put Ian and Barbara off the ship at its next stop. He materializes and declares them to be on "Earth, where you belong." But when Ian and Barbara emerge from the TARDIS, they are not in 1960's London. They are on an 18th century ship - and the superstitious crew reacts violently to their arrival. Barbara retreats back into the TARDIS, but Ian is knocked unconscious, and the TARDIS itself is thrown into the sea.
Fortunately, the Doctor emerged before the crew discarded his ship, and he is able to ingratiate himself with the men of the HMS Endeavour and its captain, James Cook. When Ian comes to, the Doctor fills him in on their situation. Some delirious mumbling of Ian's have convinced the crew that the Doctor and Ian are from Venus, whose transit across the sun had only just been observed when the TARDIS materialized. As the Doctor stays close to Captain Cook, Ian is assigned to work with Dr. Joseph Banks (Ian Hallard), a near-obsessive naturalist. It is hardly an arduous task for Ian, who warms quickly to Banks' scientific enthusiasm.
Then strange events begin to surround Banks. Ian hears Banks recite lines from a poem that has not yet been written, hears him describe events that have not yet taken place. Is Banks an alien in human guise, or a meddler from the future? The Doctor dismisses Ian's concerns. But little by little, Ian becomes convinced that Banks intends to destroy the ship - with his first victim none other than Ian Chesterton!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Quite gruff and arrogant, as befits his Season One persona, dismissing the men of Cook's time as "credulous fools." He disregards Ian's fears about Banks at every turn, countering each incident Ian describes with some rational explanation. Several touches keep him from becoming too unlikable or aloof, however. There is a particularly lovely scene in Part Two in which Ian gets just a glimpse, quickly covered, of how alone the Doctor feels cut off from Susan, as the two men sit quietly together providing silent companionship to each other. William Russell does an excellent job performing the Doctor, and it requires no great leap of imagination to picture William Hartnell when the Doctor's lines are delivered.
Ian: This story really fulfills the Companion Chronicles' promise of telling stories that are intimate and personal for the companions. Ian isn't just relating some random adventure. This story is deeply personal, for reasons that come clear when the twist is unveiled near the end. The story explores what Barbara means to him - without becoming soppy in doing so - and also sees Ian making his first real attempt to understand the Doctor's own point of view, rather than either clashing with or humoring him as has been the case. We also see a nice contrast between the Doctor and Ian. While the Doctor would as soon just disappear to their next destination once the TARDIS is recovered, Ian wants to take care to make sure that no one from the ship will endanger themselves searching for them, as would probably be the case if they simply vanished without a trace.
THOUGHTS
When this was first released, I had severe doubts about cramming an audio story in between The Sensorites and The Reign of Terror, given that one story directly follows on from the other. But writer Jacqueline Rayner knows her Hartnell, and weaves it together all but seamlessly. Indeed, in some ways it makes the start of Reign of Terror work better. Here, the Doctor makes good on his Sensorites threat to simply dump Ian and Barbara, without stopping to check that they're in the right place and time - and it backfires spectacularly. This could be taken to explain his lingering at the start of Reign of Terror. It could be argued that he is making sure nothing like this will happen a second time.
The Transit of Venus is leisurely paced, particularly Part One. This actually works in the story's favor, as the details of the sea voyage, the crew, and Banks' obsession with specimens envelops the listener in the story's world. As Banks grouses about the realities of sea travel interfering with science, I found myself reminded very much of Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series, and for close to half of its length this story does evoke some of that some atmosphere
...Which makes it that much creepier when we get the first "eerie" scene, with the albatross. Then there are several more minutes before the next such moment. By having the strangeness of Banks build slowly through the first episode, it makes the historical setting much more vivid, and Banks' "episodes" that much much more effective by contrast with the fairly calm events surrounding them.
William Russell does a superb job as narrator throughout. As Ian recalls the story, he is at times emotional, reflective, and instructional (as an ex-teacher would be). He even allows himself a few minor digressions. The best of these is a wonderful bit in which he recalls his interactions with a student in his science class, a memory that he connects to the sailors and their wagering over whether the land mass they are exploring is or is not a true continent.
It's a very good story overall. Jacqueline Rayner clearly researched her subject, and slips a lot of historical detail about Capt. Cook, Joseph Banks, and the voyage of the Endeavour seamlessly into her narrative. The story feels very much of a piece with early 1960's Who, without recreating it to such an extent as to make it a pointless exercise. Transit of Venus is not quite a great story - Part One is noticeably better than Part Two, as Ian's suspicions about Banks prove less interesting than the actual historical journey. Still, it is a very good story, one of the better Big Finish Companion Chronicles. Recommended.
Rating: 8/10.
Previous Television Story: The Sensorites
Next Television Story: The Reign of Terror
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