2.1 The Transcendence of Ephros by Guy Adams
The Doctor and Jo arrive on the dying planet Ephros, where Galactux Power Inc is exploiting the world’s remaining resources. But something is stirring beneath the surface…
2.2 The Hidden Realm by David Llewellyn
The Doctor and Jo journey to Bramfield New Town when the husband of Jo’s cousin vanishes mysteriously. As magpies circle overheard, the Doctor discovers a terrifying alien plot…
THE TRANSCENDENCE OF EPHROS
After the success of The Third Doctor Adventures, and Tim Treloar’s impression of Jon Pertwee, it was only a matter of time before Big Finish produced a second volume. Volume 2 features two more four-part stories, the first of which is “The Transcendence of Ephros” from Guy Adams. It’s a very traditional Pertwee-in-space tale, but the streamlined length and the sheer amount of incident, coupled with an unexpected twist, make it a compelling listen.
I like the ways in which Adams unwraps the layers of his script. The initial mystery that draws the Doctor and Jo to explore Ephros is the geometric pattern of the stars in the night sky. But they discover that those stars are actually lights, and that the planet has been completely surrounded by a massive superstructure. Why? The planet is going to explode, and the Galactux Power Corporation intends to collect resources from the rubble. Simultaneously, Adams introduces multiple guest characters, including members of a local religion who believe that the planet’s destruction will lead to their transcendence into newer physical forms. This gives the Doctor a mystery to investigate and then a dilemma to solve: once he knows what’s going on, he has to find out if the planet’s destruction is a natural process, and debate whether he has the right to stop it. After all, if the religious adherents choose to stay on a dying planet, isn’t that their right? But does that right extend to their children?
A good Star Trek episode would have made that dilemma the centerpiece of the episode. But this is Doctor Who, and so of course the Doctor uncovers a nefarious scheme to destroy the planet and must rush to save everyone. Without getting into too many details, the scheme involves ancient technology and the influence of the Time Lords. I do want to discuss a particularly big spoiler, though – in the TV series, the Master was as much a part of the “UNIT family” as the Doctor, Jo, or the Brigadier. But Roger Delgado is long since passed away, and without resorting to another impersonation, there’s no good way to get his Master into one of these stories. Adams wisely sidesteps the issue, presenting us instead with a former companion of the Master. This gives the story a villain with a classically, unnecessarily convoluted scheme, yes, but it also allows Adams to parallel the Doctor/Jo relationship. While the Doctor inspires his companions to be better people and to stand up for what’s right, the Master inspires his to look for advantages wherever they can while looking out only for themselves. There’s a particularly great line, something like “Of course, eventually he grew tired of me and tried to kill me” – and the companion not holding that against the Master at all is a wonderful bit of characterization.
“The Transcendence of Ephros” is a very good story, and the production is equally strong. Treloar’s Doctor is still a caricature of Pertwee, but it’s a particularly good caricature so I don’t mind. Katy Manning is one of the best companion actors at recreating how she sounded on television, and she and Treloar have a fine chemistry. I can’t tell from the credits who provided the sound design for what story, but it’s quite believable here, and Nicholas Briggs provided his usual assured direction. This is only the third Third Doctor Adventure, but it’s the best of the lot by far.
Highly recommended.
8/10
THE HIDDEN REALM
By contrast to “The Transcendence of Ephros,” “The Hidden Realm,” from David Llewellyn, is a traditional Pertwee-on-Earth story in the vein of “The Dæmons” but without the UNIT trappings. It’s a well-presented story that passes the time well, but it lacks the characterization and thoughtfulness of its predecessor.
There’s only one Jon Pertwee story set on present-day Earth that doesn’t feature UNIT: “The Sea Devils,” which features a massive guest appearance from the Royal Navy instead. So that makes “The Hidden Realm” unique, and frankly I’m surprised that Yates isn’t along for the ride. But the Doctor and Jo find a close ally in DS Joseph (Alex Lanipekun), which makes me wonder if a Pertwee story can function on Earth without an establishment authority figure around. The story takes it for granted that the police are honorable men, and plays off the characters’ trust in the police to construct dramatic surprises. I wouldn’t find that remarkable except in this context – while the Pertwee era routinely featured ignorant or selfish individuals in the corridors of power, it never questioned the importance of those corridors, and even in the small town of Bramfield the same holds true.
Unfortunately, I find that diversion much more interesting than the actual story, which has compelling trappings but feels rather empty. A small town haunted by decades of mysterious disappearances? A flock of robotic magpies presaging the arrival of an interdimensional portal? A body-swapping alien race seeding humanity with spies for profit? All of these are neat ideas, but none are used in inventive ways. The story takes forever to establish just what’s going on, and the mystery plotting feels more like treading water than building suspense. Part of this is down to my taste, of course, as I’ve never really found much appeal in the “mysterious happenings in a local village” stories, perhaps because I’m an American and we don’t have villages like this where I live. The story does touch briefly on gentrification and modernization, but Llewellyn doesn’t take the opportunity to parallel the changes in the town with the alien threat.
There is an attempt to give the characters some depth. We meet Jo’s cousin Stephanie (Clare Buckfield) and we learn that she’s a famously brave woman who won’t let her tough façade crack for anyone. But we don’t really see that personality come out, and by the end of the story she’s reunited with her husband (Robert Whitelock) and sounding like any of a million other generic guest characters. DCI Finch (Richard Earl) is great – he’s a fairly predictable grizzled-cop-with-a-heart-of-gold but Earl really sells it – but I hated his ending. I’m growing quite tired of the heroic guest character sacrifice trope – it’s just a crutch at this point to have the Doctor concoct a solution that will result in his death and then have another character step in at the last minute to take the hit in his place.
The production is solid, although some of the sound effects, particularly the sonic screwdriver, sound oddly out of place. Nicholas Briggs directs again – for all the (often justified) stick he gets as a writer, his performance in the director’s chair is usually unassailable. Overall, “The Hidden Realm” doesn’t really go anywhere unexpected, but it does its thing convincingly and with minimal fuss. Buy the set for “Ephros,” but stick around for “The Hidden Realm,” which is worth a listen.
Recommended.
6/10