Frobisher has left the Doctor and is having a largely unsuccessful career as a private investigator, when he gets the case of a lifetime.
Frobisher has left the Doctor and is having a largely unsuccessful career as a private investigator, when he gets the case of a lifetime.
THE MALTESE PENGUIN
By their nature, subscriber (or indeed DWM) freebies are not expected to be particularly deep, dramatic adventures — a fact I’m sure many people overlooked when considering that The Maltese Penguin was written by Robert Shearman. The Holy Terror or Jubilee it is not, but it is a fun little pastiche of detective films noir — and I doubt anyone could argue it’s not worth the cost.
This is very much a companion-oriented story, with the Doctor barely appearing in the action. However, the objective here is to create a comedic mood piece — we’ve got actors doing impressions of more famous counterparts (and sometimes of each other), an over the top musical score, and a ludicrous plot right out of the worst of the detective genre. But despite the material, the characters (minus ironic commentary from the Doctor from time to time) take the plot quite seriously, meaning that proceedings never degenerate into outright mockery. Quite simply, this makes the play a lot of fun to hear — it’s a familiar universe with new trappings.
Despite the lack of involvement from the Doctor, Colin Baker is very much the star of the show, as Frobisher brilliantly disguises himself as the Doctor for most of the play. This forces Baker to imitate Robert Jezek’s New York accent, and though objectively it’s of course terrible, it works for the same reason the accents in Invaders from Mars succeeded so well: this is demonstrably not an effort to create American accents but rather to create comedy. Of course, Baker also appears as the sixth Doctor, and he gives a very sympathetic performance, admitting loneliness when bereft of companionship.
Robert Jezek performs as Frobisher in penguin form (and as narrator) and effortlessly slips back into the role he perfected in The Holy Terror. He vacillates between cowardice and bravery, much as before, and even shows involvement in a love story, something that comes off very well. One never thinks of the character as Jezek doing a voice, something which speaks very well of his ability to inhabit the role.
As for the guest cast, Toby Longworth does his best Sydney Greenstreet impression as the villainous Josiah Dogbolter while simultaneously injecting the role with some exceptional comedic timing. BF sound wizard Alistair Lock, meanwhile, appears as Peter Lorre as Chandler, and this impression is similarly impressive. Jane Goddard is sufficiently sultry as Alicia.
The production is perfectly in line with Shearman’s script, as David Darlington fills the play with a distinctive score. The sound design lends a noirish feel, but the highlight of all has to be the reworking of the Doctor Who theme at the play’s conclusion. Gary Russell’s direction is excellent as usual — it’s obvious the cast is having a ball and the enthusiasm bleeds over to the listener.
Ultimately, The Maltese Penguin is nothing more than a pleasant, humorous diversion from the epic McGann season and the bleak Excelis trilogy. But as a subscriber freebie it works very well, providing a solid hour’s worth of humor and entertainment. Not essential listening, but a lot of fun.
7/10