Well, I really thought Ptolemy was going to die this time, even though he wasn't one of the conspirators' targets. As it is there's no deaths in the entire episode. Of course, we can see Alexander's death coming up (a quick trip to Wikipedia tells me that Antipater was really suspected of complicity in murdering the king, though Iollas was actually the wine-pourer). So that's alright then.
The cliffhanger resolution is really just a segue into a classic dungeon scene, which is in turn followed by a classic trial scene. The dialogue continues to be excellent, with not just sound logical and emotional arguments but original ones at that. I particularly liked the bit where they refused to defend themselves against a charge of being the gods' tools, on the grounds that there was no defense against such an accusation! Alexander's solution - to punish just Ian - got me at first, but I worked out that he was recreating the "Judgement of Solomon" before the TARDIS crew, so I got to feel good about my thinking.
The actual test seems in keeping with the times, and not unfair if you believe in the favour of the gods. Susan's overreaction on hearing about the Doctor's test irritated me, though it was in keeping with the TV show at the time; but my irritation at this paled when compared to my reaction when she was so slow to understand about how the firewalking was done. Genius, my foot!
My mood improved with the Doctor's ridiculous claim that he's "never one to bear a grudge" - and the scenes where Alexander is working things out with Ptolemy while the Doctor and his companions do the same really buoyed me up.
Meanwhile the repeated fanfare, sounding like it's intended for the common man (2,265 years early, but appropriate to the idea of Alexander presented here), tells us of the forthcoming games. Incidentally, Glaucias was Hephaestion's historical doctor, and the extravagant games really did take place at Babylon - but eight months earlier than Alexander's own death.
Ah yes, the games. As I feared, this features the return of Action Hero Ian; but in fact he's less annoying than he was in The Aztecs, so I won't knock off too many marks for that. The Doctor did pretty much what I expected, though I didn't know about the technique used, so there's some educational content right there. And actually I've been encouraged to find out a lot more about Alexander, so this is one of the most educational stories so far!
And so, as Ian triumphs over the adversaries in his group, we reach the end of this penultimate episode - and a different cliffhanger, at last! It's more of a teaser, really, since there is no immediate threat - I doubt even Seleucus is stupid enough to try and kill Ian in plain view of the others, and our awesome science teacher has already shown that he's more than a match for the heroes of the Greek army physically - but the story has built up so much momentum that I suspect anyone who hasn't lost interest already will be eager for next week's instalment.
Development of a Script, Part 5: Redrafting
An important aspect of script development is redrafting. It never had a chance to happen properly in this case, and I only really mention it for completeness. It is extremely unlikely that a first submitted draft will perfectly match the slot in the program for which it was written and be perfect in pace, dialogue and all other details. There is usually a back-and-forth between the writer and the editor, although sometimes the latter just takes on the job of redrafting. I may come back to this topic in a more appropriate story...
Rating:
8/10.
Next Time:
Episode 6, Farewell, Great Macedon!
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