Archaeological Adventuress: After the time ring falls in the
lava…65,000,000 years later Bernice digs it up again and comes back and saves
him! Clever cow! Beyond working mother and bon vivant it says archaeologist on
her CV and finding a working time ring in a volcano is all in a days work for
her. She tries to explain to her son that these are people in the middle of an
extinction event and it has to be allowed to happen in order for their future
to be.
Angry Adolescent: Already Thomas Grant sounds more
comfortable in the role and giving him the chance to take the limelight is a
great chance to get to know the character of Peter better. Just two stories in
and this new season is already finding new ways for the series to evolve beyond
the regular cast and the Braxiatel Collection and suggests that dumping all of
that baggage might have been the fresh direction that was needed. He doesn’t
like to be treated as a child because he is considered to be pretty smart where
he comes from. If you want to get on his good side call him Summerfield
although they describe him as looking confused every time she opens his mouth.
Dumping Peter 65,000, 000 years in the past is typical Lawrence Miles –
absolutely insane and completely gripping. They describe his skin as soft to
the touch as though he has been bred in captivity, there might be something in
that. Peter understands that saving people is something of a family trait but
wonders if his mother doesn’t get into more trouble than its worth in doing so.
I really like his jaded opinion of Bernice – whilst it seems like the easy
option that you should include an angst ridden teen that disapproves of his
parents Peter isn’t really like that. He’s a smart kid who understands why they
do what they do but sees a much quieter life if they avoided being quite so
pro-active. The main difference however between him and someone like Dawn
Summers from Buffy (who for two spectacular season played up to the hysterical
teenager stereotype) is that Bernice is actually scared of Peter. He has killed
in front of her eyes and was riled enough by Brax to murder his adopted
father…he’s dangerous and that makes the dynamic much more interesting.
Brilliantly he reasons that because he thinks like a mammal he can see things
differently and comprehend what precisely the storms are and how they can be
stopped. When asked to account for himself he describes himself as a ‘man’
rather than a child and given his maturity here I think it is a label that he
deserves. He realises the importance of saving people and how it is necessary
to sacrifice your life for a good cause.
Standout Performance: Its Thomas Grant’s breakout story but
there is still the odd moment for the ever reliable Lisa Bowerman to shine. Its
also wonderful to see Lois Baxter (The Androids of Tara) to make a return
appearance in a Doctor Who spin off story.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Its not a storm. It’s a battle.’
‘You can’t kill me jut to get some peace and quiet!’ ‘I am
the father of seventy! For peace and quiet I tear the sky open!’
Great Ideas: Peter takes hold of the time ring and it had
decides to toss him back into the Cretaceous period where he lands in the
middle of thin in a colony in the skies. To stand above the Earth and see the
cloud of dust that was thrown up by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs
on the planet is an incredible image. The dinosaurs talk of their ‘sister’
races living on the surface, the ones who walk on the land the ones who
colonise the sea. This is a great reference to the Silurians and the Sea Devils
and ties beautifully into the continuity of the Doctor Who audio Bloodtide as
they mention they are still trying to farm their animals on the surface and
those animals were revealed in the sixth Doctor story to be the human race.
They talk poetically about leaving the Earth as the cataclysm approached and
losing many of their people to the asteroid. The very idea of Peter being able
to fly a Pterodactyl through the dust cloud and dance around the Earth
untainted by technology and fly between sky colonies of evacuated dinosaurs
dazzles me. The worm pulls its slaves out of shape and poisons them and they
attack en masse in the shape of a storm, coming out of nowhere and dropping
burning rock on the colony. The worm colony is a whole lake of larvae bubbling
and glowing. There is a genuinely apocalyptic feeling to events as the colony
begins tearing itself apart as the sky turns against them. The Worm sent the
time ring into the future to find Bernice, not Peter. Its is a child, always
consuming but never full. How gorgeous to have a statue of Peter memorialised
in the past for his bravery and for his mother to find in 65,000,000 years time
and know where exactly in the past to go back and save him. Talk about tying
everything up in a very satisfying bow.
Audio Landscape: Biting winds, crackling flames, flapping
wings, whispering voices, chittering, screams, explosions, rubble breaking
free, walking on crunchy ground, the screeching, purring Worm.
Standout Scene: Bernice turning up in the story at the last
minute to save her son is a real moment of triumph because he has already
proven what it takes to be a man and all he had left to do was die. Her rescue
means that the story can have its cake and eat it.
Notes: The Worm tells Peter he has ‘flown from the beginning
to the end’ with regards to time travel.
Result: Lawrence Miles has become something of a joke in
later years with his abusive scratchings on his website attempting to criticise
every nook and cranny of the new series that has exploited a wealth of talent
from writers of the spin off media and that has singularly failed to include
him. Its sad that to see him reduced to this level of banal back biting to get
some attention because The Adolescence of Time proves that he is one of the greatest
talents ever to touch the Doctor Who books and audios. He is never interested
in doing things in a formulaic way and always looks at spanking new ways to
explore long standing characters in fresh, imaginative situations. Frankly he
would be a perfect fit for the TV show because his ideas are often ambitious
and emotive but I fear he may have burnt all of his bridges behind him a long
time ago. Having Bernice narrate this story at certain moments suggests this is
her telling Peter a bedtime story but we get to experience the wonder of his
adventures for real. There is some magical imagery that is buoyed by Lisa
Bowerman’s strong direction (this is her sophomore effort in her own range and
she is proving to be one of the best) and the resulting atmosphere is pure
fairytale. Kudos too to Thomas Grant who the creators take a massive gamble
with to give such a prominent role but it proves to be a gamble that pays off
and his performance is mature and nuanced. Its not a story that drip feeds you
answers all the way through and you have to work to make sense of it but
everything comes together in the second half leading towards an extremely
satisfying conclusion. For its top characterisation, intelligent detail and
striking imagery this is another example of the Bernice range at its best and
proof that even in its ninth year there are still great stories to be told: 9/10
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