The TARDIS materializes in Spain in the late sixteenth century. The country is at war with England – and the travellers find themselves on the wrong side of the battle lines.
When Ian and his new friend Esteban are captured by the Inquisition, the Doctor, Susan and Barbara plan to rescue them.
But these are dark days in human history. And heretics face certain death…
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE FLAMES OF CADIZ
For the seventh series of Companion Chronicles, the four-episode double-disc release is Marc Platt’s “The Flames of Cadiz,” a historical story set constructed around the Spanish Inquisition and Drake’s battles with the Spanish Armada. While the story certainly captures many of the finest elements of the Hartnell-era historicals, it was a mistake to make this the double-length story, as the second half is much more tedious and uninteresting than the first.
But let’s start with the first half of the story, which is generally excellent. Many of the classic historicals involve the TARDIS crew becoming embroiled in historical events and simply trying to flee back to the Ship to escape – and that’s exactly what happens in “The Flames of Cadiz,” as Ian’s trademark heroism lands him before the Inquisition in Seville. From there it’s a mad scramble by the Doctor and his companions to rescue Ian before he’s burned at the stake – and there’s some fantastic material in here, including the Doctor dressing up in the robes of a cardinal and bluffing his way into a face-to-face meeting with the King of Spain. As each successive plan fails, the panicked feeling builds – there’s a ton of drama here, both in the plot itself and in the characters’ reactions. Even the guest characters are sketched well, from the maniacal head of the Inquisition to the ineffectual, dithering king. And finally, just when things seem hopeless, the TARDIS crew escapes, and, with the Inquisition close on their heels, retreat back to the Ship, where they escape to their next adventure, right?
Well, no. They escape the Inquisition and flee back to the Ship, but instead of leaving Seville, Ian decides this is the perfect time to get on a wagon bound for Cadiz – several days away – and meet his personal hero, Francis Drake! He makes this decision less than an hour after literally being tied to a stake with flames licking his feet, and with the Inquisition searching the city block-by-block and door-by-door to find him. Ian Chesterton has many characteristics – heroism, impulsiveness, and self-righteousness among them – but I’ve never known him to be a complete idiot, and yet that’s exactly what he is here. And of course Barbara doesn’t tell anyone until Ian is long gone, which just complicates matters further and launches the story into a travelogue of their overland journey in pursuit.
The lead plot in the second half, with Ian meeting Drake, is incredibly clichéd. It turns out that Drake isn’t the swashbuckling hero that Ian imagined as a child – he’s a boorish, arrogant lout that also happens to be a skilled pirate and brilliant tactician. That’s about as far as that part of the story goes – though Ian saves Drake from being killed, because that’s what Ian does. The subplot of the second half is Barbara’s apparent desire to change history to favor England even more than it already does, and the Doctor’s righteous anger and attempts to stop her. The resolution here is quite smart: the Doctor has completely misread Barbara and the situation because he doesn’t actually know what year it is! This is very much in keeping with the impulsive, mercurial Doctor of season 1, and adds more depth to his complex relationship with Barbara.
Instead of a guest actor, “The Flames of Cadiz” features both William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, and they alternate narrative duties based upon where their characters are in the story. Platt handles this quite well, as things never get confusing, and I hardly need to point out what a pleasure it is to listen to William Russell perform. Lisa Bowerman is always reliable as director, and the sound design from Toby Hrycek-Robinson is solid as well. Overall, “The Flames of Cadiz” probably would have been better served as a two-part story, as the second half is a step down from the first, but there’s enough good here to keep it solidly above average.
Recommended.
6/10