Cambridge, England, the mid 1930s. When the Doctor, Steven and Vicki get separated from the TARDIS they are forced to spend some time amongst the ancient spires of Sedgwick College. The college is mid-way through a leadership crisis following the unexplained disappearance of the Master of Sedgwick, Sir Isaiah Hardy. An election for his replacement is now taking place.
But is that all that’s happening in this seemingly peaceful location? The Proctors are behaving in mysterious ways and the students are prone to bursts of unexplained violence. When one of his companions also vanishes, the Doctor realises that there’s more at stake here than control of an educational establishment. A dark plan is underway – one that threatens the entire future of humanity itself!
THE EARLY ADVENTURES: ENTANGLEMENT
I enjoyed the first Early Adventure from Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, “The Ravelli Conspiracy,” which wholeheartedly embraced the Hartnell comedy historical style. Their follow-up, “Entanglement,” unfortunately takes itself more seriously, and feels bloated and creaky as a result. That said, it’s still quite entertaining and worth a listen.
I’ll be honest right off the top – this style of story doesn’t appeal to me at all. I have no connection to or experience with university culture like this, so it doesn’t speak to me and the stakes don’t make much sense. So I didn’t enjoy much of “Entanglement,” as I’m not particularly concerned about the political machinations involved with becoming a leader at a particular college. Khan and Salinsky don’t take it completely seriously, of course, but this is a situation in which overt comedy could have helped; instead, the story feels full of itself.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with the structure of the story. The Doctor, Steven and Vicki land in 1930s Cambridge, right in the middle of the disappearance of the Master of Sedgwick College and the election to replace him. Naturally, unusual things are happening – unexplained acts of violence, mysterious disappearances – and so the Doctor and companions jump in with both feet to investigate. We see the Doctor involve himself in politics, and show a surprisingly deft hand at backroom dealing – he practically manipulates an entire election by himself, much to his own delight. But he’s not infallible – the entire scheme blows up in his face. Peter Purves plays a chagrined, embarrassed first Doctor perfectly – you feel sorry for him, but it’s still entertaining to see his arrogance vanish entirely.
Vicki is basically the co-lead of this story, as she’s separated from the Doctor and Steven for much of it and makes the decisions that ultimately resolve the story. The resolution itself is brutal – trapping the bad guys in a prison dimension, possibly for all eternity? Reminiscent of “The Family of Blood,” though this is portrayed much less vengefully. Sadly, Steven doesn’t have much to do, shouldering most of the physical action, though that enables Purves to focus on his Hartnell impression.
I don’t have much more to say about this story. It’s lightweight, entertaining material, even if it feels a bit long. If you enjoy this type of story – endless well-mannered individuals roaming the grounds of a university being terribly witty to each other – you’ll like this quite a bit. If you’re more like me, it’ll probably leave you somewhat cold. Take that as you will.
6/10