2 episodes. Running Time: Approx. 65 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Wendy Padbury, Charlie Hayes.
THE PLOT:
Zoe has been imprisoned and is facing execution in the wake of her refusal to share information with The Company.
She has one hope: Jen (Charlie Hayes), her defense attorney, dangles the prospect of leniency... but only if Zoe can remember her time with the Doctor. When Zoe insists again that she never actually traveled with him, Jen presents evidence: documents and photos that place her with the Doctor and Jamie in Uzbekistan, 1919.
This results in a breakthrough, with Zoe recalling that trip. She, the Doctor, and Jamie arrived in a village whose children were vanishing, one per night. Learning that the villagers are awaiting the arrival of Chebrakov, a Bolshevik official, the Doctor does what comes naturally: He impersonates the man in order to gain full access to investigate.
The children were taken from the poor and the privileged alike. At each house, the Doctor discovers a substance very like a spider's web. That night, the villagers remain awake and alert, and they are able to chase off what is either a badly deformed man or a creature. This leaves a trail for the time travelers to follow, to discover what became of the missing children.
Then the real Chebrakov arrives, and he has the expected reaction to the Doctor's impersonation: "I should have you all shot!"
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: Impersonating a Bolshevik official grants him full access to investigate, and he swiftly notices the webs at the abduction sites. He's also able to connect the pieces of both the abduction and the still-recent war.
Zoe: She's the only person who isn't afraid of Chebrakov. She doesn't cow when he threatens to shoot her, instead calmly pointing out that it would be more to his advantage to use what they've already discovered to resolve the village's problem. She and Chebrakov genuinely like each other - which is not a point in her favor for Jen, who points out the types of deeds the Bolshevik would certainly have carried out to merit his position of power.
Jamie: He gains the trust of the village children by playing football with them. It's a bond that he solidifies when he stands up for a shy girl who doesn't want to talk to the Doctor, instead escorting the girl home so that they can talk to her mother. This is a terrific character scene that shows that while Jamie may not be as intellectually smart as the Doctor or Zoe, he is more emotionally intelligent than either of them.
Jen: Supposedly Zoe's defense attorney, Jen comes across more as an interrogator. She tells Zoe that she might gain clemency if she can provide The Company with information, and she guides her into first remembering, then telling the story. She is a mother herself, which makes her all the more invested in an incident involving kidnapped children.
THOUGHTS:
The Memory Cheats is a direct sequel to Echoes of Grey, with an older Zoe being prompted to remember details of her travels by people who want information from her. The frame creates tension, even more here than it did in the previous story, as Zoe is now in a much worse position than before.
Writer Simon Guerrier talks in the release's extras about the concept of investigating history. This is an area I've always found personally interesting. When you study past events, you're really having to interpret them using sources that are inherently biased: individual memories, often recounted decades after the events described; documents written by people serving their own agendas; and gaps that you have to attempt to fill through context. This is why, far from being static, history constantly changes: "accepted understanding" of the past shifts both with new discoveries and with changing standards.
The story plays with the idea of the unreliability of history. This is most apparent when Zoe challenges Jen, pointing out that from this point on, she could just make everything up and the other woman would never know it. The idea is also used when Jen prods Zoe's memory with records: the journal entries of a British doctor and his wife, or the likely (but unconfirmed) misdeeds of Chebrakov.
The first episode is by far the better of the two. There's just enough of the frame story to create tension, and writer Simon Guerrier does a splendid job of bringing the post-World War I setting to life. The village is still suffering from the ravages of war, and the citizens - rich and poor alike - are apprehensive of their new government. There are effective descriptions of how a poor family sleeps on the floor of their only room, with a contrast drawn between that family and another, more affluent one.
The second part takes the Doctor and his friends out of the village to find the children. It remains engaging. But for me, at least, once the characters leave the village, a lot of texture is lost.
The climax is my least favorite segment of the story. I like what it's trying to do, bringing the story to a close in a way that plays on the unreliability of Jen's sole source (Zoe). I also appreciate the way it draws parallels among the story Zoe relates, her life now, and Jen's own situation.
Unfortunately, I find the climax to be a bit of a jumble. Events are sketched rather than playing out, and critical moments seem brusehd over. This may serve the theme by stressing the unreliability of Zoe's account - but it comes at the expense of providing a satisfying conclusion, and I just don't find that to be a good tradeoff.
OVERALL:
A short epilogue between Zoe and Jen somewhat compensates, with each character challenging the other in a way that leaves the ongoing frame arc on a strong note. However, the resolution of the main plot remains disappointing to me.
The Memory Cheats is more ambitious than Echoes of Grey, with more intriguing ideas and a more detailed setting. But if pushed, I found Echoes more satisfying overall, simply because it felt more complete as a story.
I'd still rate it as a good release. But I was left feeling a little let down by the ending, which is enough to knock a point off my total score.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Set during: Season 6
Previous Story: Echoes of Grey
Next Story: The Uncertainty Principle
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