THE PLOT
The Doctor and Susan's travels bring them to 1933 Berlin - just prior to Hitler's rise, in a time when Germany is in chaos. The Doctor is aware of the dangers of this time and place, but he is also excited about a gathering of scientists at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Though Einstein has already left for America, several other luminaries are still present: Heisenberg, Planck, and Fritz Haber, whose work with ammonia revolutionized the production of fertilizers for farming (as well as explosives for war and terrorism).
The Doctor takes some gold coins he received in the Roman era and changes them for local currency to reach the Institute. He talks his way inside very easily, his scientific knowledge acting as a calling card. But when a kidnapping attempt on Haber fails, the criminals settle for taking the Doctor instead. Susan is left to search for him on her own, and the money she received draws all sorts of unwanted attention: from shady British expat Pollitt (Wayne Forester), to crooked jeweler Strittmater (also Forester), to the force that has in many parts of Berlin taken the place of the corrupt police - the fascist Brownshirts!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: The Doctor is so eager to meet the scientists at the Institute, he is oblivious to caution. He happily accepts Strittmater's offer to drive them to their destination and ignores Susan's wariness of the jeweler. His joy at discoursing with other scientists seems to be more one of conversing with men of intellect than an actual desire to learn; Susan observes that he spends as much time engaged in conversation on a theory that he knows to be absolute nonsense as on other, more potentially valuable conversation. He trains a gun on Pollitt at one point, declaring his intent to shoot - Something Susan insists is a bluff, though evidently a convincing one.
Susan: An outsider in a time and place she knows nothing about. She does not even know the value of the money in her possession, drawing quite a few eyes by giving it out a little too freely. When she meets Hans, a member of the Brownshirts, she finds him ridiculous: an awkward boy in a poor-fitting outfit, pretending an authority beyond his years or intelligence. She scoffs at the Brownshirts' claims that all the city's crime is the work of a single, organized enemy, and argues against the idea of any mastermind behind a situation driven purely by the poverty and desperation of individuals. Carole Ann Ford is superb, and particularly impressive in her recreation of her 1960's performance - When voicing Susan's dialogue, she sounds as young as she did in the series' early stories.
THOUGHTS
The Alchemists is another addition to the increasing library of stories set before the series. Per the writer's notes in the CD insert, this was because the pre-World War II setting would have made it too much Ian and Barbara's story had they been present. World War II was still quite recent history when Doctor Who premiered, putting it too much in the original companions' living memory for it to be Susan's story - leaving no choice but to set the story before their arrival.
This makes it evident that the setting of 1930's Berlin was Potter's starting point for the story, and he brings it to life effectively. Susan's descriptions of the beggars who interfere with their drive to the Institute effectively shows how widespread the poverty was in this time and place, and the discussion of why so many of the beggars are drunk reinforces the hopelessness that was the lives of too many of German's people. The lack of any strong government, the corruption of the authorities, and the flourishing of seedy nightclubs that attract criminals of all stripes... The decay of Berlin society is an ever-present character in itself. You can see how so many people to support the fascists, if only for the promise of order and safety.
The Doctor's kidnapping leads to Susan spending time in the company of a group of Brownshirts, and shows just one of many situations in which people would turn to them for help instead of the police. We are also shown their potential for brutality in their harsh questioning of a minor criminal who's singled out simply because he's too drunk to get out of their way.
Susan's desperation to find her grandfather also makes it just plausible enough that she would go along with Pollitt when she should know better, leading to the most vivid scene of the story - In which Susan is herself captured, and threatened with violence unless she provides information she doesn't actually possess. Carole Ann Ford's performance makes tangible the horror, as Susan cries over and over that she knows nothing and that she just wants her grandfather.
The actual narrative is fairly thin, with the kidnapping plot more a justification to get Susan into the company of various shady characters, and it takes a fair bit of time to build momentum. But even before the story proper starts moving, the tone is very true to 1960's Who; and it should be said that while it takes its time, it's never dull.
Not among the very best of Big Finish's Companion Chronicles. But if it's not great, it is at least generally quite good. The strong sense of setting and Carole Ann Ford's performance combine to make it highly worthwhile listening.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Next Television Story: An Unearthly Child
Preceded by: A Big Hand for the Doctor
Followed by: Quinnis
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