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Friday, May 15, 2015
7-10. The Library of Alexandria.
2 episodes: The Library of Alexandria, The Pathway to the Stars. Approx. 61 minutes. Written by: Simon Guerrier. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: William Russell, Susan Franklyn.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS brings the Doctor and his companions to 5th Century Alexandria, home of the great Library of Alexandria, a center of knowledge and study in the ancient world. Barbara is thrilled, and begs the Doctor to let them stay for a while. It's a request he's happy to grant, and they enjoy a few weeks of rest during the height of ancient scholarship.
Ian strikes up a friendship - and flirtation - with Hypatia (Susan Franklyn), a female philosopher who teaches and lectures at the Library. While looking at newly-arrived books found in the hold of a Roman ship, Hypatia shows him the strangest of them: A book not in scroll form, but in the (to Ian) more familiar form of pages attached to a binding. The writing is alien, and the astronomical diagrams clearly beyond Earth's current knowledge.
The Doctor recognizes the book the work of the Mim, an advanced alien race, and declares they must take the book away before it does any damage to the timeline. But it's already too late. Just as the time travelers prepare to leave, enormous sea monsters rise from the port, laying waste to the city. Their target is the Library - and the Doctor knows there's nothing he can do, because the destruction is already fixed in history...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Insists that they cannot interfere with what is destined to happen to the Library. But when Susan points out that they don't actually know what happens, he's willing to exploit that loophole to limit the damage. The greatest single image of the story takes place in the second episode, with the elderly First Doctor facing down the enormous Mim armed with little more than courage, intelligence, and a tremendous amount of innate authority.
Ian: Though his friendship with Hypatia is flirtatious, he enjoys her company at least as much for the chance to debate with a fellow scientist (something he really can't do with the Doctor) as for her attractiveness. He insists to both Hypatia and himself that he and Barbara are only friends - though Hypatia is quick to point out that the evidence doesn't really support his statement. In the fashion typical of the character, he marshals several of the Library's scholars to defend the building using the surrounding artifacts and the one weakness Susan is able to reveal about the Mim.
Barbara: When she realizes they are in the Library of Alexandria, she is in awe at actually standing within such a significant institution. She revels in the chance to soak in the long-lost documents on the Library's shelves. When the Mim attack and the Library begins to burn, she risks her life to save as many of the scrolls as possible... Which results in a funny final gag that would not have been at all out-of-place in one of the television stories featuring this team of regulars.
Susan: Also very much in keeping with stories of the era, Susan gets the least to do of the regulars - Though unlike most writers of the era, Simon Guerrier remembers that she possesses knowledge far beyond that of Ian and Barbara. Since the First Doctor is tight-lipped about his knowledge of alien races, Susan is used to let their companions (and the listeners) know the necessary exposition about the Mim, and her observation that they are entirely nerve tissue leads to Ian's heroic stand at the end.
THOUGHTS
The two halves of The Library of Alexandria really shouldn't fit together. The first half is a character-based historical, with us observing the regulars' interactions with this time period and particularly Ian's interactions with Hypatia. The best scenes in this episode are the conversations between the two voiced characters, with Guerrier's well-crafted dialogue making talks focused on ancient theories about the relationship between planets and the sun into genuinely absorbing drama.
It's quite jarring when the Mim appear just before the cliffhanger, and what had been a pure historical suddenly becomes a Godzilla-like tale of monsters on a rampage. But somehow, it continues to work. The script doesn't lose its intelligence when the monsters show up. The Doctor uses scientific knowledge and a couple of items readily available to draw the Mim's attention and keep them at bay, and Ian does the same in his stand against them at the end. This, and the smartly-written debate between the Doctor and the Mim about interference in timelines, means that even with the sharp change of tone it still feels like the same piece, even with monsters laying waste to the city.
There's a lovely tag that witnesses the First Doctor interacting with children, giving a science lesson of his own that you just know is a scene in which William Hartnell would have excelled. William Russell does his usual terrific job as the primary narrator, and guest actress Susan Franklyn is also excellent as Hypatia. I give the story points for alluding to the subsequent Library, by having the scholars save a lot of the material. They may make the first Library's fall into a monster movie, but the definitely manmade destruction of the material that survives still lies ahead.
I still prefer the pure historical first episode, which creates an authentic-seeming Alexandria, and I love the way Guerrier opens on action in a way that fits the story and setting without creating confusion. But even in the second half, this remains a terrific story, one that I enjoyed enormously.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
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Monday, April 15, 2013
7-8. House of Cards.
2 episodes. Approx. 57 minutes. Written by: Steve Lyons. Directed by: Lisa Bowerman. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: Anneke Wills, Frazer Hines.
THE PLOT
The Doctor decides it's time for a holiday, and so takes his companions to a casino in the distant future. Though Jamie and particularly Ben are thrilled at the chance to partake in some games, Polly does not like this place. She doesn't enjoy the gambling machines, she finds the sight of the transfixed gamblers downright disturbing... and that's even before she sets eyes on the snake-headed Sidewinder Syndicate, the gang that runs the casino's operations.
The Sidewinders work for a mysterious woman named Fortune, who has strict rules against time travelers. When the casino's alarms are tripped by a time travel device, Polly finds herself in the Sidewinder's sights - and escorted to Fortune's office. The woman is absolutely charming and utterly chilling as she gives Polly an ultimatum. It's a simple command: Push a button that will determine the winner of "The Game of Life."
It's no simple game, though. Two players sit in booths and, when the button is pressed, random chance will result in one being disintegrated. And much to Polly's horror, one of the players is Ben!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Though sidelined for most of the story, the Doctor registers strongly at the climax as he gambles with Fortune for the welfare of his companions... playing with a tattered Happy Families deck! Anneke Wills continues to do a fine job of suggesting Troughton's tone and vocal mannerisms and, even if she can't hope to replicate the eerily dead-on audio resurrection of Frazer Hines' readings, it's more than good enough to help the listener visualize the Second Doctor. It is a shame, though, that he's in so little of this one.
Polly: Polly is very much at the center of this story, and Steve Lyons shows the same facility with her character that marked his first Companion Chroncicle, Resistance. Polly is quick-thinking and courageous, but she is also easily surprised by the darker side of humanity. She is immediately repelled by the Sidewinder Syndicate, but it takes a few minutes for her to realize that the attractive and soft-spoken Fortune is actually much scarier than the snake creatures. She is too quick to trust Lucky Bill, which leaves her vulnerable to him when he acts out of desperation in Part Two.
Jamie: Frazer Hines is not doing double-duty this story, as he voices only Jamie and not the Doctor (or Ben). But he does get a substantial slice of the action, the script cutting away to his observations of a time traveling gambler in Part One and of havoc on the casino floor in Part Two. Hines and Wills, who were actually together in the recording booth for this story (earlier efforts had them record their parts separately), bounce well off each other, and it's actually a shame Jamie and Polly have only a couple of scenes together.
Ben: Is largely sidelined, as usual. He isn't forgotten, however, as he falls under the influence of the gambling bug and manages to get himself into trouble in a way that spurs most of Polly's actions in Part Two.
THOUGHTS
I had high expectations for House of Cards. It reteamed the same writer, performers, and companion line-up as the wonderful Selachian Gambit, and the science fiction casino setting seemed like a sure bet to produce another fun piece. I knew this was the reverse of that one - with Anneke Wills as the primary reader, and Frazer Hines the secondary one. Still, Wills is a fine reader, and the Companion Chronicle Resistance - also by Lyons - remains probably my favorite of Big Finish's Second Doctor stories, so it's not like this was a concern for me.
I will say that House of Cards is enjoyable. It moves along at a good pace, there are several fun scenes, and the movement back and forth from the main action with Polly to the side action involving Jamie keeps it alive. The Episode One cliffhanger is terrific, and the showdown between the Doctor and the story's villain is cleverly done.
But while it's an enjoyable story, I can't help but find it a disappointing one. Something is missing this time, and the magic that happened in The Selachian Gambit just doesn't happen in this story.
The companion line-up is definitely not as well utilized here as in the earlier story, with Ben and the Doctor sidelined for the bulk of the story. The caricatured Lucky Bill, complete with American western accent, is annoying in a bad way, and the potentially interesting Sidewinder Syndicate never develop beyond their initial beat as James Cagney-like gangster snakes.
I also think Lyons' attempt to use the time travel element by telling bits of the story out of sequence is a flourish that doesn't quite work. Some of it is clever, as we see scenes laying groundwork for something just shown. Other times, the cutting back and forth between action happening to Jamie and action that had happened to Polly simply becomes tiresome. There's a twist involving the identity of a woman in a china mask that is particularly oversold. By the third or fourth time Jamie obliquely referred to the woman as "my friend," I grew irritated enough to snap at the CD player that "I got it already, move along!"
Wills and Hines keep things afloat with their spirited reading, and Lyons is too good a writer not to make sure that the various events all patch together in a way that works. The way the second episode pays off the (very good) first episode cliffhanger in a way that fits but is completely unexpected is quite satisfying. Fortune, wonderfully voiced by Wills, is an effective villain, and her scenes opposite Polly in Part One and opposite the Doctor in Part Two are the best two scenes in the story.
More of Fortune, particularly more of her opposite the Doctor, and less of Lucky Bill and the Sidewinders might have given this story the shot in the arm that it badly needs. As it stands, it's not at all bad. House of Cards is narratively solid and pleasant enough to listen to. But it never quite manages to connect the way the best stories do.
It's a perfectly okay story. It's just also a perfectly disposable one, and not one I expect to revisit.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
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Sunday, March 31, 2013
7-7. The Flames of Cadiz.
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.
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