"What happens next in the story?"
Keith Drinkel has a bigger part to play in this episode, and although
his character's speech is clipped and to the point - contrasting with
Vicki's more florid, literary style - his role rather neatly brings the
framing and framed stories into closer contact as time goes on.
Unlike The Suffering, we've known almost from the start that this
is not a pure historical. Rather, it's a celebrity historical somewhat
in the modern style, although Jane Austen is less at the heart of the
action than fellow authors Charles Dickens or Agatha Christie. Indeed,
while she has a larger part than Steven, Miss Austen seems more on a par
with Jem, the boy from the chimney introduced at the end of the last
episode.
This really is the perfect period to feature a chimney sweep's
apprentice as a character. It sits in the uncomfortable gap between the
invention of mechanical brushes in 1803 (the results of a prize
competition, no less - shades of Longitude!), which took away the last
excuse, and the new legislation introduced in 1834 to replace the
(completely unenforced) act of 1788. We may be a long way from the end
of this particular chapter of human misery (The Water Babies still has relevance nearly half a century in the future), but the practice is at least at the beginning of its long decline.
So it's a bit of a shame that Jem is a completely programmatic,
stereotypical urchin. Like Valzaki, he's exactly the sort of figure we
might expect from the 60s TV show; but the rest of the production has
moved along, so we can't use "faithfulness to the period" as an excuse
(even if we wanted to, which in cases such as this I don't). And sadly,
this observation also points up the shallow characterisation of the rest
of the guest cast. It's not a deal killer for the entire story - which
has plenty of other charms - but it does damage it.
[Mild spoilers from here on.]
"I live it again with each telling."
I mentioned that the framed and framing stories grow closer here, and we
do actually learn quite a bit about Vicki's life after leaving the
Doctor. The struggles she's had living in history make me a little sad -
part of me just naturally wants a fairytale ending for one of the
brightest shining companions, and there is also my general impatience
with the pessimistic outlook for the Doctor's friends expressed in my
review of The Schoolboy's Story. However, she is not crushed or
made totally miserable: she simply has to deal with a less-than-perfect
world. And she has obviously continued to grow as a person, which is
great - her travels with the Doctor have merely been part of a full and
rich life. So, overall, it's not really a bad thing. And the fact that
we learn so much about her is vital to helping us invest in the framing
story as much as the 1814 section.
(Incidentally, it was also this which prompted me to refer to the
episodes as "scrolls", since Vicki mentions when beginning the narrative
that she is starting to read the first scroll. My alternative idea was
to break it into four scrolls corresponding to the four tracks on the CD
- the joint-lowest track count, I believe - but that was too
restrictive.)
[And major spoilers for the rest of this review - skip down to the rating if you want to avoid details about the ending.]
"Perhaps next time it'll change."
The series of quotes I've taken here from Frosty - and what a perfectly
Vickiesque name that is! - really set the tone for the structural twist
which is revealed at the end to form the retroactive driving force of
the story. (And incidentally, it was given just enough emphasis that I
spotted it before the reveal, but not too long before.) I've recently
been relistening to the anthology release Circular Time, which
looks at the difference between cyclical time (for example, the seasons)
and linear time (e.g., mortal lives); and this is at the heart of Frostfire, too. The story goes round and round in a timey-wimey fashion, and who knows? Perhaps the story can
change on each iteration - certainly my second time hearing it (as with
other twist-ending stories ) was not the same experience as my first.
But for Vicki and Frosty? I suspect not.
Rating:
Good, but not quite so good as the opening episode, despite a superb build-up to a perfectly judged ending.
7/10.
Next Time:
Companion Chronicle 1.01 as a whole.
Thursday 30 July 2015
Monday 20 July 2015
Episode CC1.01a: Frostfire, Scroll I: The Eye in the Egg
And back to audio, with Maureen O'Brien's previous (and, inevitably,
first) Companion Chronicle. Here she is not so strong on voices as the
other performers we've encountered in this marathon so far - an aspect
she improved on by the time of The Suffering - but she reads it
beautifully. In terms of simply being a listening pleasure, I'd rank her
performance in this episode right up there with many of William
Russell's, which long-term readers will know is high praise indeed.
It helps, of course, that the words are well written. Marc Platt, as I've mentioned elsewhere, is strong on worldbuilding and not normally particularly interested in plot, with characterisation sitting somewhere in the middle (which is a different mix to Jacqueline Rayner's, but - in the right circumstances - one that can be equally effective). Here the 'alien world' conjured up is early 19th Century London, and his carefully chosen prose gives a strong feel for the setting, the Frost Fair in particular. Supported by some well-placed snippets of music and sound I had no trouble picturing what was going on, visualising it in black and white, although on a cinematic budget that the TV show could never have matched.
Well, I say I had no trouble imagining it, but there is one instance where that is not quite true. During the scene with Vicki first meeting the egg I completely lost concentration, and came back to myself after she had been revived. I rewound, and the same thing happened.
It took me four times before I could force my mind to focus on what I was hearing, and I did so through sheer willpower. Afterwards I was surprised to find that I'd only tuned out for about half a minute; it had felt longer. I also remembered that the same thing had happened the previous time I listened to Frostfire, although in that instance I gave up after two attempts because I remembered the gist and couldn't be bothered to rewind again.
This I found to be a bit creepy, in all honesty. Still, I suppose the odd shiver is appropriate for this story! Though, actually, what is it about expanded-universe Hartnell-era stories and extreme winters featuring cold-related creatures? Kim Newman tackled one in Time and Relative, now we have this.
Anyway, the Frost Fair (a title I considered for this episode, before hearing Platt's preference) is only one of two major locations, the other being Sir Joseph's soirée. The latter is the more humorous, featuring a very different array of supporting characters and Steven being admired and ridiculed in equal measure. It's not so colourful, in a way; but provides a nice contrast. Valzaki - a character we first met at the fair - returns; and this is slightly unfortunate, since he's a stereotype of the sort that we might very well have seen in the 1960s. Having said that, he is woven more firmly into the story now, which helps. More unambiguously positive is the introduction (just before the cliffhanger) of the chimney sweep's boy Jem, about whom more next time.
Getting back to O'Brien, she elegantly (I was going to say effortlessly, but I'm sure it wasn't) distinguishes between the adult Vicki of the framing sequence and the teenager of the main story, while still showing her to be the same person. The warmth and irreverent cheekiness is in both, but she's slowed down and grown more worldly-wise - even a touch world-weary - since leaving the Doctor.
Which does bring up the issue of the framing sequence, but for reasons of balance I'm going to leave that until next time...
Rating:
It's gripping, atmospheric, performed and directed well, with a nicely judged soundscape. Other than preferring full-cast dramas on the whole, what more could I ask for?
9.5/10.
Next Time:
Miss Austen Regrets.
It helps, of course, that the words are well written. Marc Platt, as I've mentioned elsewhere, is strong on worldbuilding and not normally particularly interested in plot, with characterisation sitting somewhere in the middle (which is a different mix to Jacqueline Rayner's, but - in the right circumstances - one that can be equally effective). Here the 'alien world' conjured up is early 19th Century London, and his carefully chosen prose gives a strong feel for the setting, the Frost Fair in particular. Supported by some well-placed snippets of music and sound I had no trouble picturing what was going on, visualising it in black and white, although on a cinematic budget that the TV show could never have matched.
Well, I say I had no trouble imagining it, but there is one instance where that is not quite true. During the scene with Vicki first meeting the egg I completely lost concentration, and came back to myself after she had been revived. I rewound, and the same thing happened.
It took me four times before I could force my mind to focus on what I was hearing, and I did so through sheer willpower. Afterwards I was surprised to find that I'd only tuned out for about half a minute; it had felt longer. I also remembered that the same thing had happened the previous time I listened to Frostfire, although in that instance I gave up after two attempts because I remembered the gist and couldn't be bothered to rewind again.
This I found to be a bit creepy, in all honesty. Still, I suppose the odd shiver is appropriate for this story! Though, actually, what is it about expanded-universe Hartnell-era stories and extreme winters featuring cold-related creatures? Kim Newman tackled one in Time and Relative, now we have this.
Anyway, the Frost Fair (a title I considered for this episode, before hearing Platt's preference) is only one of two major locations, the other being Sir Joseph's soirée. The latter is the more humorous, featuring a very different array of supporting characters and Steven being admired and ridiculed in equal measure. It's not so colourful, in a way; but provides a nice contrast. Valzaki - a character we first met at the fair - returns; and this is slightly unfortunate, since he's a stereotype of the sort that we might very well have seen in the 1960s. Having said that, he is woven more firmly into the story now, which helps. More unambiguously positive is the introduction (just before the cliffhanger) of the chimney sweep's boy Jem, about whom more next time.
Getting back to O'Brien, she elegantly (I was going to say effortlessly, but I'm sure it wasn't) distinguishes between the adult Vicki of the framing sequence and the teenager of the main story, while still showing her to be the same person. The warmth and irreverent cheekiness is in both, but she's slowed down and grown more worldly-wise - even a touch world-weary - since leaving the Doctor.
Which does bring up the issue of the framing sequence, but for reasons of balance I'm going to leave that until next time...
Rating:
It's gripping, atmospheric, performed and directed well, with a nicely judged soundscape. Other than preferring full-cast dramas on the whole, what more could I ask for?
9.5/10.
Next Time:
Miss Austen Regrets.
Thursday 16 July 2015
Short Trips, Repercussions 11.09: The Schoolboy's Story, by Trey Korte
Repercussions was, I think, the first Doctor Who short
story collection I read - certainly one of the first two - purely
because it was on the shelf in my local library. At this point the only
1980s stories I had seen in their entirety were Earthshock and The Five Doctors,
and my only experience of Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann's Doctors was
the TV Movie. I had seen two full stories with William Hartnell (as
well as his cameo in The Three Doctors). So it's ironic that this is one of the most continuity-heavy collections, tying into the then-ongoing Charley Pollard arc.
This is, so far as I know, the only Who story written by this author. It's certainly a lot better than Corridors of Power, but it's also a bit of an odd beast.
Let's get my standard complaint out of the way first: the business of the Doctor controlling the TARDIS. Korte makes a couple of excuses for it - the ship can home in on a time anomaly on the outward journey, and the Fast Return switch is used on the way back - which is better than some writers, who forget that it was ever a problem. Nevertheless, I do wish more authors would make use of the features of the period rather than trying to work around them!
I was also unfairly irritated when Steven refers to "your precious web of time again, eh, Doctor?" - another anachronism in a similar vein.
Having said that, the way that this is written is a big plus. Events are portrayed entirely through the eyes of the various participants. We get to spend gets some time inside the heads of almost everyone involved (except the Doctor, which I think is appropriate for this period of the show), but the principle narrator is the child at the heart of the story, Bobby.
Bobby is kind of the companion who never was. Apparently he travelled in the TARDIS for quite some time (though probably measured in weeks rather than months, since nobody notices him age overnight), but we never see any of his adventures - just the odd name or sentence here and there. No, this story focuses entirely on the aftermath of his travels in a very New Series way, even down to use of the "it was wonderful but it screwed up my life" vibe.
This is both a strength and a weakness. It's potentially powerful stuff, but also something I've seen too often now, and to be honest I'm a bit fed up of stories focusing on the Doctor as a messer-up of lives. Still, this is unfortunately what the whole collection is about. It reminds me in a way of the axis from some of the Big Finish audios where the Time Lords dump their mistakes, and is such a negative thing. I want the Doctor to be a bringer of hope rather than disaster.
Bobby's travels and multiple off-screen adventures also mean that by now Steven must be a TARDIS veteran, so further stories should see him after he's lost much of his new companion status. I may have to revise the placement of this story or others still to come to account for that.
Oh, look - a full-length review after all. Maybe I was premature in my prediction regarding short story reviews!
Published:
Date: August 2004
ISBN: 1-84435-048-7
Rating:
5/10.
Next Time:
The Eye in the Egg.
This is, so far as I know, the only Who story written by this author. It's certainly a lot better than Corridors of Power, but it's also a bit of an odd beast.
Let's get my standard complaint out of the way first: the business of the Doctor controlling the TARDIS. Korte makes a couple of excuses for it - the ship can home in on a time anomaly on the outward journey, and the Fast Return switch is used on the way back - which is better than some writers, who forget that it was ever a problem. Nevertheless, I do wish more authors would make use of the features of the period rather than trying to work around them!
I was also unfairly irritated when Steven refers to "your precious web of time again, eh, Doctor?" - another anachronism in a similar vein.
Having said that, the way that this is written is a big plus. Events are portrayed entirely through the eyes of the various participants. We get to spend gets some time inside the heads of almost everyone involved (except the Doctor, which I think is appropriate for this period of the show), but the principle narrator is the child at the heart of the story, Bobby.
Bobby is kind of the companion who never was. Apparently he travelled in the TARDIS for quite some time (though probably measured in weeks rather than months, since nobody notices him age overnight), but we never see any of his adventures - just the odd name or sentence here and there. No, this story focuses entirely on the aftermath of his travels in a very New Series way, even down to use of the "it was wonderful but it screwed up my life" vibe.
This is both a strength and a weakness. It's potentially powerful stuff, but also something I've seen too often now, and to be honest I'm a bit fed up of stories focusing on the Doctor as a messer-up of lives. Still, this is unfortunately what the whole collection is about. It reminds me in a way of the axis from some of the Big Finish audios where the Time Lords dump their mistakes, and is such a negative thing. I want the Doctor to be a bringer of hope rather than disaster.
Bobby's travels and multiple off-screen adventures also mean that by now Steven must be a TARDIS veteran, so further stories should see him after he's lost much of his new companion status. I may have to revise the placement of this story or others still to come to account for that.
Oh, look - a full-length review after all. Maybe I was premature in my prediction regarding short story reviews!
Published:
Date: August 2004
ISBN: 1-84435-048-7
Rating:
5/10.
Next Time:
The Eye in the Egg.
Short Trips, Steel Skies 8.01: Corridors of Power, by Matthew Griffiths
(Apologies: this failed to post last week, and I somehow didn't notice!)
Okay, I'm sorry to say this is my least favourite short story so far in this marathon, and as a result this will be a short review. I don't like to dwell on negatives.
My main problem was the prose, which I found a real effort to read. The initial setting and mystery were interesting, but I don't think the story managed to follow through. I admit I didn't even understand the ending: I picked up on the tone, but couldn't make sense of the actual events. The Doctor's explanation of the solution to the mystery was straightforward, but didn't seem to lead to the enforced decision the travellers had to take.
It's a shame because Griffiths obviously had a handle on the character of the TARDIS crew, and I think he might have had a good idea for a story; but here the execution let it down, to the point where I can't even tell if that feeling is correct or not.
You know what? I think I'm going to do short reviews for short stories, as a rule. Because I don't usually have so much to say about them anyway. Although, at a meagre 210 words including this paragraph, Corridors of Power will hopefully be the limit case.
Published:
Date: December 2003
ISBN: 1-84435-045-2
Rating:
1/10.
Next Time:
The Schoolboy's Story.
Okay, I'm sorry to say this is my least favourite short story so far in this marathon, and as a result this will be a short review. I don't like to dwell on negatives.
My main problem was the prose, which I found a real effort to read. The initial setting and mystery were interesting, but I don't think the story managed to follow through. I admit I didn't even understand the ending: I picked up on the tone, but couldn't make sense of the actual events. The Doctor's explanation of the solution to the mystery was straightforward, but didn't seem to lead to the enforced decision the travellers had to take.
It's a shame because Griffiths obviously had a handle on the character of the TARDIS crew, and I think he might have had a good idea for a story; but here the execution let it down, to the point where I can't even tell if that feeling is correct or not.
You know what? I think I'm going to do short reviews for short stories, as a rule. Because I don't usually have so much to say about them anyway. Although, at a meagre 210 words including this paragraph, Corridors of Power will hopefully be the limit case.
Published:
Date: December 2003
ISBN: 1-84435-045-2
Rating:
1/10.
Next Time:
The Schoolboy's Story.
Saturday 4 July 2015
Virgin Missing Adventure 16: The Empire of Glass, by Andy Lane
As I was reading this, I felt it divided fairly well into four episodes.
While I'm only going to do one review, I am going to give subheadings
just for fun.
Episode 1: Politics and Poison (Chapters 1-4)
We open on Roanoke Island, and the explanation of what happened to the colony there doesn't, of course, fit well with events as experienced by the sixth Doctor, Jago and Litefoot in Voyage to the New World; though if you squint, you could say they were just about compatible. Those of us who like to pretend this is all one vast narrative across different media spend quite a lot of time squinting, I find!
Another squint concerns Steven's comment that he has been to the time of Torquemada. This is really an argument for placing the book later, I suppose, but everything else seems to imply that it's quite soon after The Time Meddler, as we shall see. It's also odd that the TARDIS should have taken the Doctor to the time of the Spanish Inquisition twice since leaving 1963 (The Flames of Cadiz recording the previous visit), but it's not impossible that they've been there since The Suffering - though I'd rather give Steven as few adventures as possible before this.
A harder detail to swallow is the comment that Vicki was happy on Dido. Really? I didn't see any evidence of that in The Rescue. Still, this is easily ignored.
Right, enough nitpicking; on to the main setting. Venice! Lane brings the city of the time to life very nicely, and I certainly learned quite a bit about Venetian politics and Galileo's life. I did enjoy the Doctor being mistaken for a priest, for example, being an idea very true to the period (both 1965 for TV production and the Seventeenth Century for plays).
One feature that surprised me was Steven's drinking (another was the introduction of Braxiatel, though I don't know why: it had to happen sometime before the Benny Summerfield audios, after all). This is one of the reasons I want to place this early, because it strikes me as being best treated as another after-effect of his captivity, and he actually seems to adjust quickly.
Episode 2: Ascension (Chapters 5-7)
OK, I said enough nitpicking, but I have to comment on the fact that we've got William Shakespeare again - and Christopher Marlowe, too! How many incompatible tales are there concerning these men? Someday soon I hope to get my hands on The Shakespeare Notebooks, which I am sure will add some more.
This part was less successful for me, partly because it fills in too much backstory in ways I found odd. The Doctor being agnostic isn't a problem, and although Vicki being so sensitive that she recognises the Doctor as not being human feels like an intrusion from a later time it doesn't really offend. But the Doctor describing Susan as "my granddaughter, if such terms can be applied to beings like us" just feels wrong.
I also found it hard to read Albrellian's speech. This is intentional, but it takes me out of the story in the same way as Venusian Lullaby, although on a smaller scale.
Episode 3: Towers of Destiny (Chapters 8-13)
The pace of the plot picks up here, and yet I find myself more interested in the characters. The scene where Bellarmine takes his cues from Revelations was both clever and amusing. I also loved the comment, regarding Shakespeare, that "the two contradictory stories sat together in his mind, indigestible and uncomfortable" - given the sheer number of incompatible stories about him, this is just perfect! The Doctor climbing the mast of the boat, however, is not. I know he's fitter than he appears, but there is such a thing as going too far.
I was also less than keen on the comment regarding the first Doctor acting against miniscopes - it's too much of a reminder that history really does revolve around him.
Episode 4: Laputa (Chapters 14-17)
The final episode provides a satisfying resolution, though again the historical coincidences grind a little bit, with Vicki coming to the court of King James I for the second time. Interestingly, although the Doctor's habit of saying "hmm" is commented upon, the verbal tic is not actually used that much in this book - and certainly not overused. Well done.
Missing Adventure 16 as a Whole
Lane's prose is workmanlike: it doesn't stand out as particularly inspiring, but it's clear enough and doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the setting and the plot. I could have read a legal electronic version of this, having downloaded it from the BBC website when it was available for free there, but I saw a reasonably cheap paper copy and picked that up. I prefer reading a physical book where possible, and this is one I think I'll be keeping.
Lane's inclusion of sources and historical notes was very welcome, too, and I wish more authors would do the same. Even if I never follow up on them I appreciate the touch.
Published:
Date: November 1995
ISBN: 0-426-20457-3
Rating:
7/10.
Next Time:
Corridors of Power.
Episode 1: Politics and Poison (Chapters 1-4)
We open on Roanoke Island, and the explanation of what happened to the colony there doesn't, of course, fit well with events as experienced by the sixth Doctor, Jago and Litefoot in Voyage to the New World; though if you squint, you could say they were just about compatible. Those of us who like to pretend this is all one vast narrative across different media spend quite a lot of time squinting, I find!
Another squint concerns Steven's comment that he has been to the time of Torquemada. This is really an argument for placing the book later, I suppose, but everything else seems to imply that it's quite soon after The Time Meddler, as we shall see. It's also odd that the TARDIS should have taken the Doctor to the time of the Spanish Inquisition twice since leaving 1963 (The Flames of Cadiz recording the previous visit), but it's not impossible that they've been there since The Suffering - though I'd rather give Steven as few adventures as possible before this.
A harder detail to swallow is the comment that Vicki was happy on Dido. Really? I didn't see any evidence of that in The Rescue. Still, this is easily ignored.
Right, enough nitpicking; on to the main setting. Venice! Lane brings the city of the time to life very nicely, and I certainly learned quite a bit about Venetian politics and Galileo's life. I did enjoy the Doctor being mistaken for a priest, for example, being an idea very true to the period (both 1965 for TV production and the Seventeenth Century for plays).
One feature that surprised me was Steven's drinking (another was the introduction of Braxiatel, though I don't know why: it had to happen sometime before the Benny Summerfield audios, after all). This is one of the reasons I want to place this early, because it strikes me as being best treated as another after-effect of his captivity, and he actually seems to adjust quickly.
Episode 2: Ascension (Chapters 5-7)
OK, I said enough nitpicking, but I have to comment on the fact that we've got William Shakespeare again - and Christopher Marlowe, too! How many incompatible tales are there concerning these men? Someday soon I hope to get my hands on The Shakespeare Notebooks, which I am sure will add some more.
This part was less successful for me, partly because it fills in too much backstory in ways I found odd. The Doctor being agnostic isn't a problem, and although Vicki being so sensitive that she recognises the Doctor as not being human feels like an intrusion from a later time it doesn't really offend. But the Doctor describing Susan as "my granddaughter, if such terms can be applied to beings like us" just feels wrong.
I also found it hard to read Albrellian's speech. This is intentional, but it takes me out of the story in the same way as Venusian Lullaby, although on a smaller scale.
Episode 3: Towers of Destiny (Chapters 8-13)
The pace of the plot picks up here, and yet I find myself more interested in the characters. The scene where Bellarmine takes his cues from Revelations was both clever and amusing. I also loved the comment, regarding Shakespeare, that "the two contradictory stories sat together in his mind, indigestible and uncomfortable" - given the sheer number of incompatible stories about him, this is just perfect! The Doctor climbing the mast of the boat, however, is not. I know he's fitter than he appears, but there is such a thing as going too far.
I was also less than keen on the comment regarding the first Doctor acting against miniscopes - it's too much of a reminder that history really does revolve around him.
Episode 4: Laputa (Chapters 14-17)
The final episode provides a satisfying resolution, though again the historical coincidences grind a little bit, with Vicki coming to the court of King James I for the second time. Interestingly, although the Doctor's habit of saying "hmm" is commented upon, the verbal tic is not actually used that much in this book - and certainly not overused. Well done.
Missing Adventure 16 as a Whole
Lane's prose is workmanlike: it doesn't stand out as particularly inspiring, but it's clear enough and doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment of the setting and the plot. I could have read a legal electronic version of this, having downloaded it from the BBC website when it was available for free there, but I saw a reasonably cheap paper copy and picked that up. I prefer reading a physical book where possible, and this is one I think I'll be keeping.
Lane's inclusion of sources and historical notes was very welcome, too, and I wish more authors would do the same. Even if I never follow up on them I appreciate the touch.
Published:
Date: November 1995
ISBN: 0-426-20457-3
Rating:
7/10.
Next Time:
Corridors of Power.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)