The Doctor, Romana and K9 have found themselves trapped in a temporal war. On Aoris, the past battles the future – and the future fights back!
With both sides of the war now capable of time travel, the conflict is about to enter a deadly stage. As the pieces of history lock into place, there is little the Doctor can do.
With more Time Tanks moving into combat, the endgame is approaching. The people of Aoris risk extinction at their own hand.
Can even the Doctor save the same planet twice in the same day?
LEGACY OF DEATH
I said after “The Paradox Planet” that this two-part story would be the best Fourth Doctor Adventure by far if Jonathan Morris could stick the landing in “Legacy of Death.” To my immense relief, he did exactly that: “Legacy” is every bit as good as its first installment, capturing humor and drama in equal measure and delivering a fine, enjoyable experience.
The story reveals the ontological paradox that seemed evident in the first part: the people of Aoris need xenox crystals in order to build technology to repair their shattered planet, shattered because of the negligence of their predecessors. So they go back in time to steal the crystals from those same predecessors – but now, without any xenox crystals, the people of the past have no way to construct clean sources of energy, and the planet falls into ruin. There’s a bit of “Day of the Daleks” in here, with the Doctor thundering at both Drang (Simon Rouse) and Embery (Tom Chadbon) that they caused their own destruction – but this situation is more complex, as both men are simultaneously responsible and not responsible – they couldn’t help but act, but they were compelled to act by their own actions. The resolution is excellent: Morris smartly refuses to resolve the paradox but still manages to give each civilization an acceptable ending. I was afraid this would end with the future Aoris wiped out of existence or something, but the story is better than that.
Equally impressive is Morris’ use of time travel, reminiscent of Steven Moffat at his finest. Actions in the past impact the future with immediate effect for people traveling between the two, and yet Morris never loses track of who is located where and when and in what order. It’s an incredibly complex plot but it feels easy, even obvious, a testament to Morris’ skill. And the environmental themes are carried on from the first part, with a strong message about climate change awareness. I also like some of the concepts that dance on the margins, like K-9 adding 2000 years to his life or the way he founds a religion that, as its adherents point out, isn’t a cult because all its predictions come true!
As “Legacy of Death” is basically just episodes 3 and 4 of “The Paradox Planet,” there’s not much more to say about it. Ken Bentley directs well, Jamie Robertson’s sound design is first-rate, and I like the score which is very reminiscent of season 17. Overall, “The Paradox Planet” and “Legacy of Death” combine to produce easily the best Fourth Doctor Adventure thus far. If the range had been doing stuff like this from the beginning, imagine what might have been?
Excellent.
9/10