Okay, this third post will comment on some more aspects that spread across both episodes, and tidy up some loose ends.
Let's start with Carole Ann Ford's performance. As always her younger Susan recaptures the youthful exuberance of the first TV companion, but particularly of note this time around are the effectively-alien Captain Rostrum and the way she gets the Doctor's speech patterns spot on. Even if the voice (naturally) isn't quite right she sounds more like the Doctor than she does in Quinnis. There are definitely too many hmmms, making him sound more like the First Doctor of season 3, but this is down to the script rather than the performance.
The First Mate is played by Stephen Hancock, who gives him an appropriate maturity and sense of presence; but not a lot is asked of him compared to Ford. I was interested to discover that Hancock played Ernie Bishop in Coronation Street; his tenure there pretty much corresponded to the time I watched Corrie, and his character's death was one of a number of changes that made me realise I wasn't enjoying it any more.
The First Mate's main dramatic purpose is to give Susan an opportunity for some emotional development. I like the way this is kept as one thread of a wider canvas, rather than being signposted as "what the story is about". It is scary heading off on your own, and the First Mate's suggestion that she could go by herself forces her to confront her own feelings - feelings which have been coming to the fore since The Sensorites. Most of this is handled in a subtle enough way, but the final comment from older Susan - that he gave her the courage to finally leave Grandfather because she would never again be lonely - doesn't quite ring true. After all, wasn't it the Doctor who left her? Still, this is outweighed by the benefits of including this emotional 'arc' at this point in Susan's journey. We've only got six more adventures with her as part of the original team (or at least, six I can revew) and this definitely enhances her character.
Appropriately for the first TARDIS crew, this story also has a small expository educational element, with the stellar navigation discussion in the first episode bringing in a little of the history of longitude and even sympathetic powder. As with the TV series there's not as much of this as there was in the historicals, and I think the level is just about right.
Finally, having got to the end, I must say that the title is very fitting. I immediately saw the navigator's/mapmaker's angle, but the double meaning works very nicely. A good title isn't vital, but it is nice when one works as well as this.
After a run of uncomfortable stories, it's refreshing to have one that is, frankly, a romp. It's also a pleasant change to have a story that focuses on Susan rather than Ianorbarbara. This is the final Hartnell-era Christmas present for me to review (I was also given The Key to Time boxset, but that's not important right now). I couldn't resist listening to it over a month ago, and my first impressions were that it was okay, but a bit bland. However, after all the bleakness, experimentation and high drama of the last half-dozen stories in this marathon, I enjoyed it much more; which goes to show just how much context matters.
Published:
Date: 31 July 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84435-350-7
Rating:
6/10
Next Time:
It might be back into the past - and the Past Doctor Adventures - for The Witch Hunters; but then again, unless I get more time for reading, I might take a break from actual reviews and put up some of my thoughts on how this is all going. Either way, there'll be nothing until Friday.
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