1.2. The Havoc of Empires.

4 episodes Running Time: Approx. 111 minutes. Written by: Andy Lane. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs. Produced by: David Richardson.


THE PLOT:

Harmony Station exists in neutral territory and serves a bridge for intergalactic rivals: humanity's powerful Teklarn Corporation and the warrior-like Chalnoth Alliance. These two powerful entities have been at each other's throats for years, animosity that's been of great benefit to others. Now a treaty has been signed, guided by the steady hand of respected diplomat Janos Pirell. It's an agreement that will be sealed in the Chalnoth way, through the marriage of Teklarn's Director, Tina Andresson (Lucy Briggs-Owen), and Regent Tharler (Hywel Morgan), Chalnoth's leader.

As a prelude to the ceremony, the Earth Empire sends security consultant Alex Filton to inspect the station. He arrives just as the TARDIS materializes. The Doctor has agreed to take Jo and Mike Yates on a quick trip to the past. Instead, the three find themselves staring down the barrel of Filton's gun - a situation Mike rectifies by knocking the man out with a cricket ball, with him and the Doctor securing him in a cupboard.

Because Jo is roughly the same size as the unconscious man, she dons his uniform and passes herself off as "Alex Filton," with the Doctor and Mike as her assistants. The plan is to stall until they can get back to the TARDIS. But the more they learn about the upcoming nuptials, the clearer it becomes how strong the opposition is to the ceremony even taking place.

With the wedding drawing near, Janos Pirell finally arrives on the station. But no sooner has his ship landed than an explosion tears through the docking bay - killing Pirell and leaving Jo in charge of the investigation into his murder!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: When Mike and Jo state that they should all get back to the TARDIS and go, he agrees... verbally. It's clear, however, that he wants to investigate what has happened, fulfilling Jo's prediction that he won't be able to stop himself from getting involved. He seems nonplussed when Jo insists on impersonating the security consultant instead of him, though he can't argue with Filton's uniform fitting her. When the Chalnoth express skepticism about Jo, he responds by expressing confidence in her ability to get the job done.

Jo Grant: This story is a fine showcase for Katy Manning's Jo. Thanks to the impersonation, she takes the lead on the investigation. When she questions the Teklarn and Chalnoth executive officers, she asks some very good questions... though she quickly steers the conversation away from taking too close a look at security recordings, which would reveal her deception. Her inherent compassion serves her well when she befriends the station's AI (Helen Goldwyn), which helps her and the Doctor to stop a disaster in the final episode.

Mike Yates: He's eager to travel in the TARDIS... but he has a different preferred destination than Jo, preferring the prospect of seeing the final cricket match of the great W. G. Grace over her desire to visit the 1960s to see the Beatles. Mike even brings a cricket ball along, to get the man's autograph, which comes in handy for resolving their close encounter with the real Alex Filton. When the Doctor chides him for the act of violence, Mike makes no apology, pointing out that Filton was pointing a gun at them. Jo argues that the Doctor could have talked them out of trouble, but Mike is firm that he wasn't willing to take that chance. For the record, I'm on Mike's side on this one.


THOUGHTS:

The Havoc of Empires is the second of the two stories included in The Third Doctor Adventures, Vol. 1. As with Prisoners of the Lake, it's authentic to its era. The Doctor and Jo get involved with tensions and diplomacy among alien governments in a story that mixes a pinch of The Curse of Peladon with a dash of Frontier in Space.

A quick perusal of contemporary online reaction tells me that I'm in the minority in finding this to be the better of the two stories. Prisoners started strong, but I thought it became less interesting as it went. The Havoc of Empires keeps me engaged thoughout, Andy Lane's script introducing complications at regular intervals to keep the pace alive.

I enjoyed the character interactions. Jo pretending to be in charge, even giving orders to the Doctor as part of the act, makes for some amusing moments. The scenes between Regent Tharler and his executive officer, Lady Gurlen (Joanna Bacon) make me believe that these two truly do have a long history. The actual conflict between the Chalnoth and the Teklarn Incorporation is weakly defined, but there are several well-written interactions between Tharler and Tina Andresson that help the two leaders to feel reasonably well-realized.

There are flaws. Given Janos Pirell's importance to the story, I can't help but think there should have been at least one significant scene with him early on. It would have helped his murder to matter a bit more, as opposed to simply being an excuse for the plot to happen. The solution to the mystery also suffers, with the resolution relying heavily on a character who has barely had a role up to that point. As a result, the ending ends up being the weakest part of a generally entertaining story.


OVERALL:

I liked The Havoc of Empires. There's some solid character writing and just enough incident to keep things moving through all four episodes. As with Prisoners of the Lake, I'm left with the impression that fidelity to the Pertwee era was prioritized above telling a story that was truly memorable in itself - but this one managed to keep me entertained.

Taken as a whole, I think Volume I was a solid launch to the range. Tim Treloar is quite good as the 3rd Doctor, conveying quite a bit of Jon Pertwee while also giving a good performance in his own right. Though I might have wished for more narrative ambition, the two stories do a fine job showcasing both him and the companions to good effect.

I hope that some of the later entries are a bit more substantial. Still, judged as a foundation, Volume I shows promise and leaves me wanting to hear more.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Television Story: Carnival of Monsters
Next Television Story: Frontier in Space

3rd Doctor Audio Review Index

3rd Doctor Television Review Index

Third Doctor Adventures Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On BlueSky:

Follow @RandomMusings09 on BlueSky

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

1.1. Prisoners of the Lake.

4 episodes Running Time: Approx. 108 minutes. Written by: Justin Richards. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs. Produced by: David Richardson.


THE PLOT:

The disappearance of several artifacts from an ancient structure located deep beneath Dunstanton Lake would normally not be UNIT business. However, a combination of financial and political interests leave Capt. Mike Yates driving down to the site to investigate, much to the annoyance of Paul Pennard (Robbie Stevens), the director of the dig.

It's as well that Yates is on site. When lead archaeologist Freda Mattingly (Carolyn Seymour) ventures into the structure, she discovers a stone statue... only for the statue to move and even talk before losing power. That's enough to catch the Doctor's interest. He and Jo travel to the lake, where the Doctor finds his suspicions realized: This is no ancient human structure, but a crashed spaceship!

The Doctor has a theory about the nature of the ship. But before it can be tested, another stone robot awakens - and declares that all of the intruders must be executed!


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: In his first full story as the Third Doctor, Tim Treloar is already quite good. His Doctor is pompous but knows it, and Treloar is at his best when showing the Doctor's ego and authority. Unfortunately, at least in this initial outing, Treloar only manages to put across a small amount of the spark Pertwee imbued in his era - though that may have less to do with Treloar than with a script that emphasizes plot and technical issues over character.

Jo Grant: As on television, she humanizes the Doctor through her presence. When he declares that he's an expert in "everything," she punctures that pomposity by archly adding, "Especially humility." She insists on joining the Doctor in diving to the site (she took a UNIT course on deep sea diving, naturally), and she ends up saving someone as a result.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: Since this first release follows a semi-narrated format, not dissimilar to that of the Early Adventures range, writer Justin Richards sidesteps any need to recast the Brigadier (for now) by presenting his scenes through narration. This works well enough, but it's already obvious that such sleight of hand wouldn't be viable as a long-term solution. Still, it was probably smart to postpone that need, leaving listeners with only the recast Third Doctor to accept at the start of the range.

Mike Yates: After the Doctor offends Director Pennard and dismisses him as an idiot, Mike eases the ruffled feathers. He points out to the Doctor that Pennard has strong qualifications and a good track record, then goes in search of the director to defuse the tension. When the Doctor and Jo descend to look at the structure first-hand, Mike stays above, investigating his original assignment: the theft of the artifacts. It probably goes without saying that the two threads link up in the second half.


THOUGHTS:

Prisoners of the Lake is in many ways an ideal introductory story for Big Finish's Third Doctor Adventures. It showcases Tim Treloar's Third Doctor, giving him a dominant role and allowing him plenty of interaction with both Jo Grant and Mike Yates, and it offers a narrative that feels absolutely of a piece with the Pertwee era.

The first episode is my favorite, introducing the various characters and plot points with efficiency. Notable is how much detail is given about the technical resources the characters will be using throughout the story, from the tunnel connecting the diving platform to the ship's airlock to the Ex-Cav diving suit that ends up serving multiple plot functions. This plants important elements for the rest of the serial, while at the same time grounding the situation to create a sense of authenticity.

Unfortunately, the rest of the narrative becomes increasingly standard as it goes. It isn't bad. Both major threads - the peril on the underwater ship and the theft of artifacts above ground - are developed alongside each other, and the two strands dovetail effectively. Sound design is particularly good, and the music score does as fine a job as the script in evoking the Pertwee era.

But it's so devoted to being just like the television era that it ends up feeling a bit generic. The stories from the televised Third Doctor era usually strove for some hint of substance. This never seems to have any ambition beyond being "median Pertwee." By Episode Three, my interest began to dip - and unfortunately, I found Episode Four to be the weakest of the serial, in which dull villains with overly-treated voices issue threats while the Doctor responds with indignation.


OVERALL:

Final episode aside, there's very little wrong with Prisoners of the Lake. It's well-produced and entertaining, particularly its first half. It just ends up being aggressively average, as if "being Pertwee" was prioritized over telling an interesting story. Ironically, for a serial so determined to feel straight out of the early '70s, I'm left with the sense that Dicks and Letts would have firmly rejected this as being too unadventurous.

I think it might be best taken as a Proof of Concept for The Third Doctor Adventures, and on that basis it is a success. Tim Treloar is instantly good in the role, and he plays well opposite both Katy Manning and Richard Franklin. At the end of the story, I'm left wanting to hear more of him in the role. I'm just also left hoping that the next stories have more to them than this one.


Overall Rating: 5/10.

3rd Doctor Audio Review Index

3rd Doctor Television Review Index

Third Doctor Adventures Review Index

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On BlueSky:

Follow @RandomMusings09 on BlueSky

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads

The Third Doctor Adventures: Volumes 1 - 2 (2015 - 2016).

Volume 1:
Release Date: September 2015

1.1. Prisoners of the Lake
Set during Season 9 or Season 10.

1.2. The Havoc of Empires

Set between The Carnival of Monsters and Frontier in Space.

To receive new review updates, follow me:

On BlueSky:

Follow @RandomMusings09 on BlueSky

On Threads:

Follow@randommusings09 on Threads