A new adventure with the Fourth Doctor as told by his companion, Leela.
1 Comment
Styre
on May 9, 2016 at 9:36 PM
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE CATALYST
The second season of Companion Chronicles draws to a close with Nigel Fairs’ “The Catalyst,” the first Companion Chronicle to feature Louise Jameson as Leela. Much like Fairs’ “The Blue Tooth” from the first series, “The Catalyst” is a thoughtful script combined with a skilled narrator to produce a successful, enjoyable production.
“The Beautiful People” channeled the Tom Baker of season 17, the often-uncontrollable force of personality that dominated a season devoted to wit and silliness over drama. “The Catalyst” winds the clock back to season 14, one of Doctor Who’s most violent and most serious. And that violence is certainly on display here, as this is one of those stories in which every character save the Doctor and Leela themselves finish the play dead. When the Z’nai is freed, he rampages through a country house with no apology, slaughtering the inhabitants without mercy. It’s brutal, yes, but it fits with the tone of the story, and indeed the era, which often saw large body counts piling up.
What sets “The Catalyst” apart, though, is its attempts to achieve resonance beyond an homage to the Hinchcliffe era. This is a story about morals: how the Doctor’s decisions are reflected through the perspectives of his savage companion. Nuance and subtlety are not Leela’s tools, so when the Doctor refuses to take lives directly yet causes deaths to happen indirectly, she cannot resolve the conflict. She’s given good reason to suspect the Doctor’s motives, and though he’s eventually cleared, the audience suspects right along with her. And with the fourth Doctor being at his darkest and most contemplative in this story, suspicions never really clear, even when it’s over. Granted, this isn’t the deepest material ever written, especially in light of the current TV series exploring similar themes, but the classic series needs more material like this if it is to remain interesting.
Louise Jameson is no stranger to Big Finish – even by the time of “The Catalyst” she’d already appeared as Leela in several seasons of Gallifrey – but it’s still refreshing to hear her approach to narration. Any short list of most talented companion actors would include Jameson’s name, and she proves why right from the beginning as the framing scene is established. Her chirpy, irritating turn as Jessica is almost unrecognizable, and the sincere emotion she injects into the narrative itself is quite compelling. No, her Tom Baker impression isn’t very good, but that’s hardly a black mark against her – actually, it sounds a lot like Lalla Ward’s! Maybe he just sounded a certain way to his co-stars? After two series of Companion Chronicles, part of the fun is listening to the different approaches to narratives by the different actors, and Jameson is probably the best thus far.
The framing device here is interesting – it’s an interrogation, something we’ve heard before, but this time Fairs works in some subtle hints about the future of Gallifrey. This is an elderly Leela, who refers to the loss of her homeworld – is this the destruction of Gallifrey in the Time War? Something else? It’s deliberately unclear, and intriguingly so. Indeed, when the story ends, Leela’s fate is left up in the air, but not in unrewarding fashion.
The entire production is handled by Fairs himself: writing, directing, sound design, music, and it’s all quite effective, which often happens when a capable artist has full control over his vision. Overall, “The Catalyst” is a success. Nigel Fairs has shown a talent for digging into the regular characters and it’ll be interesting to see where things go as this series continues.
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE CATALYST
The second season of Companion Chronicles draws to a close with Nigel Fairs’ “The Catalyst,” the first Companion Chronicle to feature Louise Jameson as Leela. Much like Fairs’ “The Blue Tooth” from the first series, “The Catalyst” is a thoughtful script combined with a skilled narrator to produce a successful, enjoyable production.
“The Beautiful People” channeled the Tom Baker of season 17, the often-uncontrollable force of personality that dominated a season devoted to wit and silliness over drama. “The Catalyst” winds the clock back to season 14, one of Doctor Who’s most violent and most serious. And that violence is certainly on display here, as this is one of those stories in which every character save the Doctor and Leela themselves finish the play dead. When the Z’nai is freed, he rampages through a country house with no apology, slaughtering the inhabitants without mercy. It’s brutal, yes, but it fits with the tone of the story, and indeed the era, which often saw large body counts piling up.
What sets “The Catalyst” apart, though, is its attempts to achieve resonance beyond an homage to the Hinchcliffe era. This is a story about morals: how the Doctor’s decisions are reflected through the perspectives of his savage companion. Nuance and subtlety are not Leela’s tools, so when the Doctor refuses to take lives directly yet causes deaths to happen indirectly, she cannot resolve the conflict. She’s given good reason to suspect the Doctor’s motives, and though he’s eventually cleared, the audience suspects right along with her. And with the fourth Doctor being at his darkest and most contemplative in this story, suspicions never really clear, even when it’s over. Granted, this isn’t the deepest material ever written, especially in light of the current TV series exploring similar themes, but the classic series needs more material like this if it is to remain interesting.
Louise Jameson is no stranger to Big Finish – even by the time of “The Catalyst” she’d already appeared as Leela in several seasons of Gallifrey – but it’s still refreshing to hear her approach to narration. Any short list of most talented companion actors would include Jameson’s name, and she proves why right from the beginning as the framing scene is established. Her chirpy, irritating turn as Jessica is almost unrecognizable, and the sincere emotion she injects into the narrative itself is quite compelling. No, her Tom Baker impression isn’t very good, but that’s hardly a black mark against her – actually, it sounds a lot like Lalla Ward’s! Maybe he just sounded a certain way to his co-stars? After two series of Companion Chronicles, part of the fun is listening to the different approaches to narratives by the different actors, and Jameson is probably the best thus far.
The framing device here is interesting – it’s an interrogation, something we’ve heard before, but this time Fairs works in some subtle hints about the future of Gallifrey. This is an elderly Leela, who refers to the loss of her homeworld – is this the destruction of Gallifrey in the Time War? Something else? It’s deliberately unclear, and intriguingly so. Indeed, when the story ends, Leela’s fate is left up in the air, but not in unrewarding fashion.
The entire production is handled by Fairs himself: writing, directing, sound design, music, and it’s all quite effective, which often happens when a capable artist has full control over his vision. Overall, “The Catalyst” is a success. Nigel Fairs has shown a talent for digging into the regular characters and it’ll be interesting to see where things go as this series continues.
Highly recommended.
8/10