There are dark skies on Krelos… and something gigantic is descending.
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Leela set off for some fishing in the mountain pools of Krelos. K9 has interfaced with the TARDIS and has reactivated the architectural configuration from the days of the Doctor’s second incarnation. In passing, the Doctor notes it could do with a good clean. And there’s a familiar piece of material snagged on the console.
Far up the mountain, an aged explorer is in trouble. Will the Doctor and Leela be able to save him and his planet? And what is it that K9 has discovered in the TARDIS?
THE FATE OF KRELOS
Much to my surprise, the fourth series of Fourth Doctor Adventures from Big Finish hasn’t been terrible – it’s focused on nostalgia as usual, and it’s dragged down by a couple of weak stories, but some strong releases mark the middle of the run. But with the Nicholas Briggs-penned series-ending two-parter on the horizon, I sharpened up my knives, ready for the usual nostalgia-obsessed, dreary runaround with terrible characterization and dialogue. And sure enough, “The Fate of Krelos” is – wait, it’s a minimalist tone piece?!
All credit to Briggs for trying something different, as “The Fate of Krelos” is unlike anything he’s written in a long time. There’s very little plot, to the point that the script is almost self-conscious about it, and the events that occur are designed to build a feeling of dread and anticipation for the concluding story. And it’s genuinely interesting in parts: you know it’s going to be Cybermen from the title of the next story, but there’s very little here to indicate they’re coming. Instead, the Doctor and Leela explore a ruined city, horrified at its seemingly instant destruction and with no ready explanation for what caused it to fall. There’s also some interesting characterization for the regulars (I know!). The Doctor gets a melancholy moment when he discovers a piece of torn fabric from one of Jamie’s old outfits, and ponders that his old friend likely died in battle after his return to Earth. And there’s a great scene near the end where Leela finally gets to have the classic companion-Doctor argument: why can’t he go back in time and change history to save people? His response is perfect: he tries to argue, then just walks away. So yes, there’s a lot to admire here.
The biggest problem with “The Fate of Krelos,” however, is that it doesn’t do enough to justify its almost total lack of incident. Briggs directs, and together with sound designer Jamie Robertson tries to construct a mounting feeling of dread, but they don’t quite capture the sense of existential terror necessary to build that feeling. Part of this is down to the first episode, which is largely an exercise in pointless wandering around. The aforementioned scene with the Doctor’s memories of Jamie comes in the midst of an extended sequence in which the Doctor and Leela wander around the TARDIS looking for fishing rods. K9’s possession is intriguing but after the eleventh or twelfth repetition of “Calculating…” it loses its effectiveness.
The other problem comes with the structure of the story. There’s obviously not enough material here for two episodes, and that becomes apparent from the very first scene: an extended sequence of context-free sound effects that convey absolutely nothing apart from confusion. Briggs resorts to sound effects for this purpose on multiple occasions, and though Robertson makes a valiant effort it’s often difficult to understand. The plot also involves K9 reconfiguring the TARDIS architecture and restoring the console room from the Troughton era. This is obviously aimed at instilling a sense of nostalgia in the listener, but how? We can’t see it! All we get is the Doctor and Leela remarking that it looks different, and the Doctor trying to find the old door switch. This is a similar mistake to “Destination Nerva,” in which Briggs somehow forgets that visual nostalgia cannot, by definition, work on audio.
So, ultimately, “The Fate of Krelos” is a flawed release. But it’s worth hearing if for no other reason than Briggs is finally trying to do something different with a Tom Baker story after four years of relentless nostalgia. Hopefully things won’t revert to normal in the next story.
Not bad.
6/10