When the TARDIS materializes in a familiar junkyard in the 1960s, the Doctor and Steven are soon embroiled in a mystery in the City of London. Who are the mysterious bowler-hatted businessmen with their deadly umbrellas? And what secret is young Oliver Harper desperately trying to conceal?
Contracts have been signed. A deal is in place. And the Doctor discovers that perhaps not even he can stop a terrible business…
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE PERPETUAL BOND
After wrapping up the largely brilliant Sara Kingdom trilogy, author Simon Guerrier starts into another one, immediately following Sara’s time in the TARDIS. “The Perpetual Bond,” the eighth release in the fifth series of Companion Chronicles, breaks new ground for the range by introducing a new companion – and apart from this success, establishes itself as one of the range’s best stories in the process.
Big Finish is no stranger to introducing new companions – from Evelyn to Charley to Erimem, to more recent efforts like Klein and Flip, they’ve largely been successful in their attempts. But for a range structured around classic series companions, introducing an original character is an audacious move, and – at least in the first story – an outright success. Oliver Harper, played by Tom Allen, is a commodities trader in London, every inch the successful 1960s financier. But he’s done something illegal, and the police are after him – and only his encounter with the Doctor and Steven prevents his capture and arrest. This is much subtler than the usual 1960s companion introduction, but then that’s the beauty of the Companion Chronicles in general: bringing modern storytelling sensibilities to early periods of Doctor Who. We don’t learn Oliver’s secret by the end of “The Perpetual Bond,” providing a nice hook for subsequent stories. Allen’s performance is quite good: he’s confident enough in his element, is utterly taken aback by the existence of aliens, and then recovers his confidence enough to take a heroic stance. I’m definitely looking forward to more of this as the range continues.
As for the story itself, it’s a satire on the oft-callous nature of capitalist trading – yes, it’s more than a little obvious, but it’s good to have a 1960s story showing that the UK, in dealing with aliens to sell humans as livestock, hadn’t quite lost the colonial mindset that allows one to view people as commodities. The first Doctor is magnificent: dealing both with the emotional fallout from “The Daleks’ Masterplan” and his fury over the slave trade, he’s at his most self-righteous and pragmatic. His apparent decision to consign Steven and Oliver to a life of slavery is just about believable, considering how elegantly Guerrier positions this story relative to “Masterplan,” and his eventual reversal is a triumphant, manipulative moment on par with the second or seventh Doctors. I also love the initial conceit of the Doctor and Steven landing in 1960s London as a result of the TARDIS wanting them to visit Ian and Barbara to salve their emotions – and how the Doctor, at the conclusion, prefers adventure over reminiscence!
I haven’t even mentioned Peter Purves as lead performer; he’s just as good as the rest of the production. This is the best Hartnell impression he’s done to this point in the range: it may not sound exactly like him, but the tone and inflection Purves uses, especially in the angry sequences, is riveting. Steven is written well, too, emotionally vulnerable after recent tragic events and therefore understanding, if not necessarily supportive, of the Doctor’s positions.
Overall, there’s really nothing to complain about when it comes to “The Perpetual Bond.” From the acting, to the script, to Lisa Bowerman’s work as director, to the fine period-film-specific sound design from Richard Fox and Lauren Yason, this is an assured, confident production and something of which Big Finish should be rightfully proud.
Highly recommended.
9/10