Doctor Who
(Main Range) #230
Time in
Office episodes 1 & 2
written by
Eddie Robson
Its the
annual Big Finish short story collection and this time its a comedy
with the Fifth Doctor taking up the role of Lord President Of
Gallifrey. Its a comedy, thank goodness, because I'm the sort of fan
who finds Gallifrey painfully dull unless its either not the main
focus of the story (The Three Doctors,
Heaven Sent) or a
vehicle for Romana and Leela to kick ass. Giving Davison, a
brilliantly funny actor, a chance to stretch his comedy chops in this
po-faced setting with Tegan and Leela on hand to puncture any
remaining pomposity seems like as good an idea as any.
So,
on to the episodes:
Period
of Adjustment
The
lack of Leela in The Five Doctors
is something of a longstanding grudge. Apparently Louise Jameson made
it known she was available for the filming but JNT decided there was
no way to include her, which just goes to show either the man's lack
of imagination or the weight of his inferiority complex about Philip
Hinchcliffe. Finally, though the accounts are being balanced as Eddie
Robson uses old friend and longtime Gallifrey resident Leela as the
bridge between the Fifth Doctor and Gallifrey's bureaucracy.
For
those concerned: Andred is away from the capital with the Chancellery
Guard moping up the mess in the Death Zone, you can listen to this
without fear of encountering the wettest man on Gallifrey. Let's face
it, the romance of Leela's departure only works when you don't think
too hard (or at all) about the fact she chose to stay with Andred and
not the Outsiders or Rodan.
Anyway,
the first episode is mostly what you'd expect: a couple members of
the High Council trying to get a square peg Doctor into the round
hole of the presidency and a secret Time Lord agency trying to stop
him making any reforms whatsoever who he has to outsmart. More
innovative and satirical is a subplot where Tegan is refused
residency on Gallifrey because she's been involved in toppling alien
governments, a plot point that considering the Doctor is President
comes off as subtle as a brick. Sadly, Leela's suggestion that Tegan
marry the Doctor to gain residency isn't pursued even though it
clearly has so much more comedy potential than just the Doctor's
muted horror at the idea.
There's
also a rather nice framing device of a Gallifreyan political debate
show, which is such a charming idea and never more so than when the
host declares he has nothing against women because he used to be one
a couple of regenerations ago.
Past
Indiscretions
I
adore Tegan Jovanka but even these days its rare for the character to
get the sort of agency she deserves. She is brash, headstrong,
stubborn, determined and almost always, always wrong. This episode,
by contrast, has her do the heavy lifting on defusing a diplomatic
situation whilst the Doctor, Leela and their babysitter/bodyguard
Castellan Lowry are trapped in a very uncomfortable situation.
The
Doctor and company are representing Gallifrey at a war memorial
ceremony but it turns out that back in the day the Doctor and Leela
killed the alien ambassador's brother when the guy was trying to
conquer feudal Japan. Sadly, they couldn't stretch the budget to
getting Tom Baker in for the flashbacks but its a fine story of
consequences, again something we tend to give presidents and the like
a pass on.
Aside
from some fantastic comedy moments of running away (such as Leela
speculating on weaponising a ride-on lawnmower) the best bit of this
story of Tegan Jovanka 007. From impersonating a god to questioning
the logic of her plausible deniability where it comes to “stealing”
a TARDIS, Fielding is fantastic. There's also a wonderful moment
where, having read the briefing pack, she gets to talk over the
Doctor during the big infodump which sounds like a moment of profound
catharsis for both actress and character.
Castellan
Lowry, meanwhile, slowly reveals hidden depths as she vents her
frustration about her charges and confesses to not liking time travel
for some reason. I'm looking forward to seeing how that resolves but
that'll have to wait for tomorrow as its almost time to post this
and, given the story's format, I can do this in two parts.
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