The TARDIS lands on an island off Singapore during the Japanese invasion of 1942. The travellers are found by some British soldiers – among them a certain Private James Jackson, who just happens to be Ben’s father. But they’re not the only visitors to the island…
THE EARLY ADVENTURES: THE FORSAKEN
You know what you’re going to get from Justin Richards when it comes to Doctor Who: a very traditional story with good characterization of the regulars but very little thematic significance or depth. And that’s pretty much what you get with “The Forsaken,” the second story in the second series of Early Adventures – except that this one seems even more slight than usual.
There’s very little for me to say about this story because Richards doesn’t want to say anything about it himself. There’s a huge deal made out of the fact that, by random coincidence, Ben’s father (Oliver Jackson) is among the soldiers encountered by the TARDIS crew. They have to keep him alive – if they don’t, Ben might cease to exist! How will Ben interact with a man who will become his father in just under a year? What will we learn about Ben by getting this unique look into his personal history? None of these questions or concerns are addressed after his identity is revealed. Frankly, “Jacko” could have been any generic soldier character and it wouldn’t have made the slightest difference to the story.
These concerns continue throughout. This is the first trip that I can recall by the Doctor to the Pacific theater of World War II, specifically as the Japanese are pushing the British out of Singapore. Certainly, since this is a new environment for the series, it is rife for exploration – but it could be set in almost any jungle at any time period in history for all the difference the setting makes. The only relevant feature is the fact that they’re on an island, automatically isolating the people from rescue and the villain from escape. Speaking of the villain, we learn that he is one of the Forsaken, a race that travels to war-torn planets and feeds on the fear of the population. So we know how they eat, which is vaguely interesting, but if you want to know anything else about this alien race or how they operate, you won’t learn it here. All the creature does is run around saying evil things and killing people. You can write a successful story around a relentless, single-minded killer, but this certainly isn’t one.
I commented before that the casting of Elliot Chapman as Ben was a success, and it continues here – it’s difficult not to forget that you’re not listening to Michael Craze, as Chapman has great chemistry with Frazer Hines and Anneke Wills. I’m not a fan of these stories making the second Doctor such a major part of the scripts, however. Hines’ Troughton impression is effective in small doses, but when you have entire scenes between the second Doctor and Jamie, it rapidly becomes apparent that this Doctor is just Frazer Hines putting on a different voice. There are moments, particularly in long sentences, when Hines just reverts to his natural accent. It would benefit these stories to be formatted more like the Companion Chronicles, and not just because the Companion Chronicles were (thus far) clearly superior.
I don’t know what else to say about “The Forsaken.” The TARDIS lands, some dangerous things happen, they solve the problem, and they leave. Absolutely nothing interesting or thought-provoking happens in the interim. So what’s the point of it all? Just to grind out yet another generic Doctor Who story to fill a release slot? Are we really already at that point in the Early Adventures? I shudder to think what’ll happen when they inevitably extend this range to 12 months a year. Oh, I did like the score from Toby Hrycek-Robinson. It was unique, memorable, and effective. So that’s something.
Blah.
5/10