After travelling with the Doctor through time and space, Ian Chesterton is back in his own time. But the mystery of how he and Barbara Wright disappeared in the year 1963 has alerted the authorities – and both are suspected of being enemy agents in the Cold War.
Ian protests his innocence. He has a story to tell about travelling through time and space.
And one adventure in particular – a visit to the city of Hisk…
THE COMPANION CHRONICLES: THE SLEEPING CITY
With only five stories left after the anniversary trilogy, the monthly Companion Chronicles releases start to wind down with Ian Potter’s “The Sleeping City,” the final Companion Chronicle to feature William Russell. And like almost all the other Russell-led Companion Chronicles, it’s a very worthwhile listen.
“The Sleeping City” is science fiction in classical mode, full of big, sweeping ideas, alien cultures, and very little action. It fits in perfectly with its chosen era, in other words, and Potter does a great job of evoking that era in his script. Hisk is a fascinating place, one that embraces the Star Trek socialist future – they don’t use money except when trading with outsiders, for example – and the TARDIS crew embraces this with open minds and without judgment.
The big feature is the Limbus, a massive neural network constructed by the people of Hisk to link their sleeping minds together. The “sleeping city” of the title is the one inside the Limbus machine, where people come together to realize their dreams in a collective environment. The idea here is the shared experience binds the people of Hisk closely together, building trust between them – by seeing someone’s subconscious desires, it’s easy to understand them. It also helps reduce crime, as those that have done wrong will manifest their guilt in the dream world, and the collective fear of disappointment keeps them from breaking the law. Outsiders are also welcome, as Ian, Barbara, and Vicki all take their turns experiencing the Limbus world. (The Doctor does not, and it’s probably for the best that we don’t see how a Time Lord dreams.)
But any science fiction utopia must have a dark secret at its heart, and the same is true here: a creature called the Harbinger stalks the dream world, and anyone touched by this creature is doomed to die at their own hand within a few days. As this only happens to about fifty people per year in a society of countless thousands, the people take it in stride – which of course is what those responsible for the Harbinger want. Potter takes a brave step by having the Harbinger’s victims commit suicide, and Barbara’s (quite beautiful) intervention to stop a particular case makes clear that this is a metaphor for depression. Intelligent material sensitively handled – who could ask for more?
There’s also a framing device! Yes, after the range seemingly abandoned them, we’ve got Ian back on Earth interrogated by the police about the circumstances surrounding his two-year disappearance. But things aren’t entirely what they seem, and his interrogators seem quite familiar with the TARDIS crew. The twist here isn’t difficult to work out – yes, they’re still in the dream world – but the story isn’t constructed around that twist so the obviousness doesn’t hurt anything. There’s also a sly line at the end that I loved about how Ian perceives Barbara in his dream world that pokes a hole in the uniform chastity of the Hartnell era.
William Russell is of course fantastic in what is his final Companion Chronicle to date. Of particular interest is his impression of Maureen O’Brien: it’s utterly fantastic, both loving and gently mocking at the same time. I defy you not to smile when he says Vicki’s lines. John Banks is also quite good in his supporting roles. Lisa Bowerman directs with expected skill, and the sound design from Toby Hrycek-Robinson is up to his usual high standard. Overall, “The Sleeping City” is a fine slice of 1960s science fiction and a great snapshot of the Hartnell era.
Highly recommended.
8/10