4 episodes: The Morisco, The Justice of God, The Doleful Knight, The Queen's Pirate. Approx. 121 minutes. Written by: Marc Platt. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, Nabil Elouahabi.
THE PLOT
The Doctor and his companions find themselves in Spain, 1857. The war with England is at its height, with Catholic Spain in a fervor in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's execution of her Catholic half-sister, Mary. The Spanish Armada is preparing to set sail for English waters, and paranoia about foreign spies soon lands Ian in front of the Inquisition.
With Ian facing the auto de fe, the Doctor determines to free him by marching straight up to the king's palace, disguised as a Cardinal from Rome. It's a daring disguise - and a dangerous one, with the King Philip's royal secretary instantly suspicious of this strange old man who has appeared, demanding the release of a condemned prisoner.
Meanwhile, Sir Francis Drake draws ever closer to Spanish waters, awaiting a rendezvous with an agent who will tell him which target he should attack: Lisbon or Cadiz. History tells that the decision will result in a massive shift in world power, one which see England's influence rise as never before. But the Doctor's own actions may unintentionally put that history in peril...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: A combination of arrogance and fallibility is a large part of the First Doctor's early characterization, and writer Marc Platt uses that to good effect. The Doctor makes a serious error in judgment in the second half of the story, taking a dangerous situation and making it much worse - all because he refuses to take a moment to make sure he has his facts straight! He does apologize for his error (eventually), and Barbara admits that she understands why he did it, but she also doesn't hesitate to point out that the misunderstanding was something that could have been cleared up with a five-minute conversation.
Ian: Though he's normally a fairly pragmatic sort, he despises injustice. When he sees the Inquisition soldiers beating Esteban (Nabil Elouahabi) after burning his house, he acts before he thinks, putting himself directly in harm's way. His bond with Barbara remains evident. When he faces public execution, his strongest hope is that she does not see it. His outrage at the Inquisition is matched by his disappointment when he finally meets Sir Francis Drake, a childhood hero of his. The real Drake is little more than a pirate, in Ian's view, and falls so far short of the man he wants him to be that he cannot stop himself from denouncing Drake's shortcomings to his face.
Barbara: Barbara visited Spain in the early 1960's, and as a history teacher she is familiar with both the Inquisition and the Spanish Armada. She recognizes very quickly that they have not come to a safe period in history. When the Doctor makes his snap judgment about protecting history, Barbara is furious - not at his error, or even at his reasons, but because of his continued mistrust of his companions. She is also consumed with worry when Ian is arrested by the Inquisition, becoming withdrawn and snappish to a degree rarely seen. Marc Platt's script keeps the character feeling alive and organic through all these layers demanded of her by the story, and Carole Ann Ford continues to do a splendid job of bringing Barbara to life.
Susan: Oddly, for a story that's half-narrated by Susan, this is not a very strong Susan story. She largely acts as an observer of the more interesting interactions between the Doctor and King Philip and the Doctor and Barbara. The first person narration does give some insight into how she views her relationship with her grandfather, however, as she observes how her role is to protect him - sometimes from himself. She attempts to urge him to talk to Barbara, and tries to dissuade him from rash action, though she keeps his confidence when he refuses to heed her advice.
THOUGHTS
It's almost surprising that Doctor Who never attempted to do a story about the Inquisition. I say "almost," because any halfway serious treatment would inevitably be a bit strong for family viewing.
Even presenting a relatively sanitized portrayal, The Flames of Cadiz presents us with descriptions of torture implements and an unexplicit but still disturbing mention of victims "twisted with the signs of torture." We get sharp whip cracks on the audio track, sharp and loud enough to truly startle. This isn't Doctor Who villainy, with people locked in rooms with villains gloating at them for a bit. This was a real life horror, and the hopelessness of the situation as Ian describes himself and his fellow prisoners as cattle led to the slaughterhouse is chilling.
The Flames of Cadiz is at its strongest during the Inquisition material, which is at the center of the first half or so of the story. The Inquisition fades to the background during the second half, which is more concerned with the Spanish Armada and Francis Drake. But other than a somewhat clunky transition in Episode Three between one phase and the next, writer Marc Platt does an admirable job of keeping the serial unified. This doesn't feel like a pair of two-parters slapped together; it feels like one story that simply shifts gears halfway through.
The tone is appropriately somber. The Inquisition material speaks for itself, with fear and despair dominating particularly Ian's scenes. The Cadiz scenes near the end are also grim, the chaos of Drake's attack on the city described vividly enough to reflect Ian's horror at witnessing the loss of life. The climax is a fairly standard confrontation, with a villain holding Susan (of course) hostage - but the details of the surrounding chaos and the surrounding flame and smoke lends it an added dimension, and the way Ian uses the villain's religious fervor against him is memorable.
I also like the way the script creates a scenario with no real heroes. As Ian observes, who's in the right or wrong is dependent entirely on which side you are on. Drake is as callous and bloodthirsty in his way as the Inquisition is. The Inquisition is responsible for massive loss of life, but Ian reflects on the oppression of Catholics in England during the same time period. No one here is innocent, and the only particularly likable characters are the members of the relatively powerless family that shields the Doctor's group.
In the midst of a war that would shift the global balance of power, this portrayal feels right - and thrusting this particular TARDIS crew into such a grim scenario is strikingly effective.
On the whole, an excellent story, one that I will certainly revisit. Highly recommended.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Television Story: The Reign of Terror
Next Television Story: Planet of the Giants
Preceded by: The Wanderer
Followed by: The Library of Alexandria
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