I've experienced maybe half a dozen stories by this author, and they have been a bit hit-or-miss. In audio, neither The Dark Flame nor Something Inside
have really hit the spot; but in text he has the benefit of a solidly
entertaining prose style which lifts his more mediocre plots, and when
the storyline sings too - as in Prisoner of the Daleks, for example - he is very, very good indeed.
The plot for Mars is exceedingly simple, and unoriginal to boot. That doesn't mean it's not a good
one - in fact it's a classic, which is why it's been used so often -
but it does mean that Baxendale has to work harder to make the tale
enjoyable.
Structurally, the story is very sound, opening in the middle of the
action and filling us in on the details of how we got to that point in a
natural way as the plot progresses. It also stops in just the right
place - as a writer I would have been tempted to drag it out a bit
further, but this is definitely a case of "less is more".
As is common with this particular plot structure the peak of the action
actually comes right at the beginning, and the rest of the drama
concerns the consequences. This puts a lot of pressure on the character
relationships - in this case, Steven with the alien he is trying to help
on the surface of Mars, Vicki and the Doctor on Phobos Base with the
crew (and an alien ambassador). None of the guest cast have much space
to breathe, which is a problem, though the explicit focus on the
thoughts of Steven and Vicki distracts from that.
Steven's part of the story - which is the primary plot, although similar
wordcount is devoted to each - is definitely the better developed.
There's some excellent visual imagery, and for once Steven actually gets
to use his piloting skills! I can't remember this happening on TV, and
certainly it hasn't happened in any of the audios I've heard so far in
this marathon. Mars doesn't add anything particularly new to his
characterisation, but it is solidly presented. The only exception is
that he swears mildly, saying "damn you" more than once to his
companion. This feels slightly off, since Steven comes from the
clean-living Dan Dare school of space pilots; but it occurred to me that
even if he was modelled on real air force pilots it would have seemed
out of place, since they would use much stronger language! It's almost
an 'uncanny valley' of swearing. Still, this is a nit, and otherwise
this was a good use of Steven.
The scenes on Phobos Base, while not bad, are less successful. The
Doctor's mannerisms are exaggerated - I lost count of the number of
times he called someone "my boy" or "my child", he "hmm"s, grumps, and
is generally something of a caricature. Vicki also comes across as
slightly off. She keeps her childlike sense of wonder and hope, but
displays less of her logical intelligence than usual, even going so far
as to wonder out loud if, perhaps, they could get the TARDIS to work
this time. It's made clear afterwards that she knows this is a vain
hope, but I still can't see her saying that.
Still, I've nitpicked enough. The problems I've listed weren't
sufficiently bad to stop me enjoying reading it, though they were
noticeable enough that I got to thinking about what the point was of
publishing the story: what does Mars add to this classic plotline, or indeed to Doctor Who?
The answer to the former is probably 'nothing', but the focus on Steven -
and in particular his abilities as much as his good character - is
something that was lacking from the latter.
And in any case, it was fun, and for me that's generally enough.
Published:
Date: September 2005
ISBN: 1-84435-148-3
Rating:
6/10.
Next Time:
In a change to our advertised programme, The First Doctor Tarot (Season One).
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