England, 1400. Winter. Blood in the snow. Henry IV has usurped the throne, and deposed King Richard II languishes in Pomfret Castle.
Meanwhile the Doctor and his companions preside over New Year revels at Sonning Palace.
But Sonning is a prison, treachery is in the air and murderous Archbishop Thomas Arundel will stop at nothing to crush the rebellion.
As the Doctor and Barbara take the road to Canterbury, Vicki finds a royal friend and Ian is dragged into a dark web of conspiracy at whose heart sits that teller of tales, Geoffrey Chaucer.
THE EARLY ADVENTURES: THE DOCTOR’S TALE
While the second Early Adventure remains in the Hartnell era – as indeed will the entire first season – it swaps out Susan for Vicki, placing itself firmly within season 2 continuity. Furthermore, it embraces the Doctor Who historical style, something Big Finish has never shied away from. The problem, unfortunately, is that the strong pedigree behind Marc Platt’s “The Doctor’s Tale” completely fails to make it at all interesting.
Almost every Doctor Who historical story has a hook of some kind. Perhaps the TARDIS crew meets a famous person, or participates in a famous historical event. Perhaps the story is grim and violent, or perhaps it’s a humorous pastiche. Perhaps it’s a “pseudo-historical,” with aliens running around behind the scenes, or perhaps it’s a traditional story free of sci-fi elements. While the latter certainly describes this story, it’s also the most significant thing one can say about it. It’s 1400, and Henry IV has usurped the throne, but we’re spared any court intrigue or tales of battle in lieu of a quiet stop at Sonning Palace with the powerless young queen Isabella. Thomas Arundel is stomping around, freshly restored to Archbishop of Canterbury, but he doesn’t really do anything other than proclaim his distaste for the Lollards. A character takes an undesirable romantic interest in Barbara, and then she promptly disappears for the majority of the running time. Ian remarks that he is a knight of Jaffa, yet nobody ponders that, given his age, this doesn’t make any sense. I could go on, but the point is clear: there are a number of interesting avenues this story could head down and yet it opts for none of them.
Which isn’t to say that “The Doctor’s Tale” is a waste of time. While Geoffrey Chaucer (Gareth Armstrong) isn’t given the usual celebrity treatment, he is given a fascinating presentation as a conspirator – indeed, his writings are his least interesting characteristic in this story. In one of the more entertaining scenes, Barbara’s decision to recite Chaucer as entertainment backfires as she doesn’t grasp the political climate as well as she thinks. Isabella (Alice Haig) is portrayed as a bratty pre-teen but somehow manages not to be irritating but instead rather endearing, and her relationship with Vicki is quite pleasant.
The whole story is pleasant, in fact. Platt’s script has a very languid, almost nonchalant pace, and despite the bloody national climate there is rarely any true sense of danger to the regular characters. Even when Ian faces execution, there’s a sense of expectation for some sort of savior to arrive, due to his placement at the end of a very long line of convicts. “The Doctor’s Tale” is very much a stroll through history – in fact, the characters have every reason and ability to leave in the second episode, and the only reason the story continues is that the Doctor and Barbara arbitrarily decide they want to make a pilgrimage like in the Canterbury Tales. The production is equally solid – Ken Bentley directs to his usual high standard, while the sound design from Toby Hrycek-Robinson is quite evocative of the period.
Ultimately, I don’t know quite what to make of “The Doctor’s Tale.” It’s certainly not a comedy, but it’s not especially dramatic. It doesn’t seem to have much of a story to tell – the TARDIS lands, the crew wanders around for a while, and then they leave. The title is an ode to Chaucer, but the story isn’t, even with his presence. But it’s well made, well acted, and I suppose there are less pleasant ways to spend two hours.
6/10