Archeological Adventuress: Its so wonderful to hear Bernice
writing her diary again after so long although she does initially think of
framing her thoughts in a letter to Peter but her prolonged separation from him
is still too raw. She’s desperately homesick and trapped in a sector that she
is still trying to come to terms with. We’ve never quite seen the character
this dislocated from everything that makes her feel safe before. Flying through
the atmosphere, Bernice begins to find the fun in extreme sports and its nice
to see her let her hair (and her body) down for a moment and enjoy herself. A
series with an anxious Benny always on the run would be gripping but it would
lose the essence that this series is supposed to provide entertaining. Bernice
is not one to give up without a fight and fires all manner of plans at Otek so
he can let go of the button but she forgets that he has been in that position
for over two decades and that’s plenty of time to think through anything she
could come up with in five minutes. Why is it that everybody that gives Bernice
a job these days always seems to have a hidden objective? She’s such a trusting
soul but I would get the pretence out of the way straight away and ask them
what their real motive is before setting off. She doesn’t know if Peter is dead
or alive, it’s a really sore subject and so when Otek says it was careless of
her to lose him she loses her cool for a moment. During the climax Benny
channels the fifth Doctor (‘Sorry must dash!’). It genuinely feels like
this might be the end for Bernice, trapped in a cold place with no friends to
aid her and consumed by the merciless nothing from another universe. Imagine if
they dared to end the series at this point (eleven seasons is a breakaway hit
by anyone’s standards), stripping away everything that makes the character and
then killing her. Of course that isn’t the case but at the point where Benny
believes she is slipping away her thoughts turn to Peter and how she, like Otek
and his daughter, will never know what sort of adult he would mature into. Its
achingly poignant and I found myself trying to will her survival just so she
could be reunited with him.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Please follow me. Because if you do you
have far less chance of destroying the universe.’
‘When nothing gets in, everything goes…’
Great Ideas: After a season of game changing stories that
have kept the series constantly in flux it is refreshing to start a story on a
refreshingly old school note of a distress call on a distant planet that Benny
needs to investigate. Year Zero is constantly being referenced as a reminder of
the new arrangement of the series. An anti matter explosion wiping out an
archaeological expedition in a universe where unearthing the past is
outlawed…it could be a severe reaction to the crime or perhaps something
sinister and important was about to be disclosed. Its certainly an appetite
whetter, I was as intrigued as Bernice. There’s nice chemistry between Otek and
the robot that reminded me strongly of the 4th Doctor and K.9, his
prissy attitude and unhelpful suggestions are met with a general disdain by the
prisoner Its how I imagine 70s Who could have been if it was broadcast
post-watershed. Even for Benny, getting to the heart of the problem in ten
minutes flat is quite an accomplishment. Being told that releasing a button
could destroy the entire universe is quite an enticing notion – who wouldn’t
want to test that out and pull Otek’s arm away? In this case I would urge on
the side of caution, the universe has recently been renovated to a new design
so a suggestion as apparently fatuous as this could be true. A people that
vanished completely but left their technology intact – its hardly surprising
that Otek’s team wanted to peer beneath the surface of this planet and crack
the mystery (and possibly obtain some of their knowledge). Stealing the
technology of dead races and claiming it as your own is deeply immoral, I would
love for this character to meet one of the more morally strict Doctors.
Wormholes revolutionising interstellar travel. A universe of silence posing as
an anti matter explosion. Dorney & Dinnick introduce some wonderful ideas
in Otek’s exposition scene, enough to give muscle to an entire season of
Benny stories back in the day. Otek has been holding down the button to keep
the ‘nothing’ in its own universe, otherwise it would spread and consume ours.
Otek’s letters to his wife and daughter are chokingly emotional, you realise
precisely what he has given up to keep them safe. Its devastating to think that
he has missed the best days of his daughters childhood and that his wife must
have moved on with her life. His quiet acceptance that they will no longer be
waiting for him is heartbreaking. How gorgeous is the parallel between Peter’s
potential survival and Schrodinger’s Cat? Creatures that feed on anti-matter
might just be one of the most terrifying that Bernice has ever faced but
Matka’s motivation is based on maternal instinct which gives things a
satisfyingly poignant edge. Bernice can empathise with her need to protect her young
but at the same time she has to make her understand that her misunderstanding
of the circumstances could lead to catastrophic results. It means that either
way this is going to end badly which is made out of pure win in dramatic terms.
That Time Ring has been nothing but trouble ever since the Doctor first gave it
to Bernice, its passing as a way to satiate the appetite of the ‘nothing’ is a
particularly gratifying in this respect. Its her last link to her own universe
being severed. Perhaps her dealings with Braxiatel have rubbed off on her,
trapping the planet in a 20-second time loop to force feed the nothing an
endless banquet of time is exactly the sort of grandiose and intelligent scheme
that he would come up with.
Standout Scene: There are lots of contending moments
throughout this story but the concluding scene that sees Benny wrap up one
mystery and warp head first into another proves that her solo adventures are
going to be unrelenting. Just why has Earth been renamed Atlantis? Has the
lives of everybody on the home planet been rewritten? Check out the Epoch box
set to find out.
A quick word to Adrian Salmon who’s unforgettable artwork
has been of an extremely high quality throughout and unique to the series. From
the next box set onwards there is more of a cinematic, movie poster look to the
covers of the series. It might be nice to utilise some actual photographic
images of the characters and some of the imagery is gorgeous but the overall
feel of the new covers is something that has been photoshopped to death. Salmon’s
unique spiky art always manages to produce something that is far more memorable
and striking. I will really miss his input into the series because its one of
things that makes it really stand out.
Result: Dead Man’s Switch opens with Benny writing her diary
and heading off to solve a mystery and for a moment you might think that the
universe has returned to normal after its dramatic reformation at the end of
Escaping the Future. However this is just to lull the unsuspecting listener
into a false sense of security before the writers plunge Benny into a
fascinating and intricate adventure that is based on a Phone Booth style
‘how the hell are they going to maintain that?’ scenario. Both Dorney and
Dinnick were relative newcomers when this was released but its clear from the
quality of the writing that they were going to go on to greater things. They
have managed to tell an old style economical Bernice tale (like Year Zero it
has to make up for the blockbusting cast of the opening two parter) that never
feels like a cheap production because they are juggling some terrifyingly huge
ideas and manage to give the few characters real depth by exploiting the
motivations behind their actions (Otek trying to save a family that has
forgotten him and Matka potentially bringing about the end of the universe to
save her children). Both characters come to a sticky and leave behind loved
ones that will suffer for their passing leaving Benny to clean up the mess.
Bernice is once again written as a really smart character, stripping away her
comfort zone has forced her to think on her feet and rely on her significant
intelligence. Eddie Robson deserves massive kudos for pulling together four
unforgettable stories to make the strongest (and a near flawless) season yet
and John Ainsworth has directed each tale magnificently, proving equally adept
at producing epic and diminutive stories to a very high standard. I hope they were both extremely proud of what they accomplished this season. Bernice is
more determined to find Peter than ever before, the series has been reshaped to
make that her mission: 9/10
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