It’s been over twenty years since Tegan Jovanka travelled with the Doctor but, as she soon discovers, you can never escape the past.
It’s been over twenty years since Tegan Jovanka travelled with the Doctor but, as she soon discovers, you can never escape the past.
THE GATHERING
It’s hard to classify what Joseph Lidster’s “The Gathering” wants to be: is it a companion piece to “The Harvest” and “The Reaping?” Is it an examination of a companion’s life, years after her departure from the TARDIS? Is it the story of a misguided doctor, desperate to bring back her dead brother by any means necessary? Ultimately, “The Gathering” is all three of these things — but unfortunately, it fails to join them together with any sort of cohesiveness.
I’ll begin with the good: the return of Tegan. Lidster inverts the new series episode “School Reunion” here, with the Doctor meeting his companion 22 years after leaving her on Earth — but instead of finding a woman struggling to find meaning in her life, he finds that things have (relatively speaking) returned to normal. It might not be perfect, but Tegan certainly has her life in order, and it only starts to fall apart again once the Doctor’s influence (from “The Reaping”) is brought to bear. Lidster really shows his mastery of the series regulars, as Tegan sounds exactly as one would expect her to sound after so much time away. Her scenes with the Doctor are gripping, and the revelation about her health is shocking yet carried off believably. Yes, some of it is difficult to take, but Lidster has never shied away from emotionally-charged writing, and here it once again works to his benefit.
Unfortunately, most of his other characters aren’t worth the paper upon which they were created. Katherine Chambers (Jane Perry), carryover from “The Reaping,” does the best — her desperation to save her brother and her hatred of the Doctor are both understandable, and Lidster even makes her inability to shoot the Doctor sympathetic. On the other hand, though, there’s James Clarke (Richard Grieve), a terribly clichéd megalomaniac with a ludicrous, unjustified plan to conquer the world by saving it. He’s barely given a motivation — simple insanity is rarely interesting. Michael (Dait Abuchi) does little more than whine, except for the scene in which he and the Doctor bicker like jealous thirteen-year-old girls, leading me to bury my head in my hands. Jodi (Zehra Naqvi) is the sort of person every right-thinking person despises, and Lidster’s attempt to humanize her through the blackmail plot only serves to infuriate.
Lidster’s desire to link this play to its predecessor — and the until-now unrelated “The Harvest” — leads to a number of awkward moments. I expressed interest after “The Reaping” in the “8687” clue, and was disappointed — Lidster explains its source, but fails to explain why it didn’t work as planned. This wasn’t subtle foreshadowing, either — much like C’rizz’s past, this is out there in plain view and demanding an explanation. Unfortunately, I don’t expect one for years. Eve Morris (Janie Booth), meanwhile, is only in this play to support the creation of the System computer seen in “The Harvest.” I’m really not sure why Lidster did this; I like inter-play continuity as much as the next guy, but what’s the point of going back and joining the dots between this and a play from over two years ago? Nothing in “The Harvest” demanded explanation in a separate play, and its thematic links to Lidster’s plays are tenuous at best. I know BF is abysmal at tying up long-term plot threads, but is the best solution really to approach the problem in reverse?
Peter Davison, unfortunately, doesn’t always sound like he wants to be in the room. His scenes with Tegan are expectedly wonderful, but he sounds utterly disinterested during his argument with Michael and distinctly unimpressed with Clarke’s villainy. But, as I said, he’s perfect when he’s with Janet Fielding, whose long-awaited return to Doctor Who more than lives up to expectations. Fielding steps back into the role as though she never left it: her chemistry with Davison is as strong as ever, and she expertly recaptures her character’s “brave heart” in the face of dangers both internal and external. Perry, meanwhile, returns to her role from “The Reaping,” giving Katherine both the maturity of 22 years’ growth as well as a ragged feeling of desperation. Grieve is totally over-the-top, and not in a good way — Clarke really is a terrible villain, and it’s unfortunate. Naqvi plays her character perfectly, even if that character is unlikable — sadly, the same cannot be said for Abuchi, who fails to convince.
Turning to the production front, David Darlington’s sound design is up to his usual high standard. His incidental music isn’t as distinctive as it was in “The Reaping,” but this is not a complaint — it is both subtle and in keeping with the tone of the play. Gary Russell’s direction keeps the pace high, and his actors mostly stay in line; it’s a shame that the script is so disjointed. The cover design parallels the two companion plays, but isn’t exactly representative of the play — still, that’s a nice-looking half-Cyberman.
Many people are going to buy “The Gathering” to hear Janet Fielding’s return to Doctor Who, and in this respect they will not be disappointed: Lidster’s writing for the Doctor and Tegan is excellent, and the two actors easily regain their old familiarity. Unfortunately, the rest of the play doesn’t measure up, with a threadbare, confusing plot, questionable characterization, and needless links to “The Harvest” throughout. Lidster can do better than this.
5/10