An Unearthly Child: Susan is young so she is far less
paranoid than her Grandfather that anybody might be pursuing them. She’s
something of an outcast at school, always on the periphery of groups of friends
longing to be involved and to involve herself but never quite having the guts
to do it. They’ve been in London since the beginning of the Autumn term and
Susan slipped into Coal Hill School discreetly. She felt really out of place
until one of the sixth formers, Cedric, made the effort to get to know her.
Susan is the equivalent of a foreigner in London, even though physically she
fits in perfectly there is something otherworldly about her. Susan is appalled
to know that Cedric got close to her not because he was drawn to her but
because he was directed by his Uncle. Susan proves that her mental abilities
are very strong and the Doctor suggests that they work on honing those skills.
Hmm: The Doctor is a shifty, paranoid figure in this period
of his life, shuffling through the foggy streets of London always looking over
his shoulder. When Susan asks if he has been stealing again it sounded like she
was accusing him of thieving the TARDIS. The Doctor has been half inching the
parts he needs to repair the Ship, not wanting to account for the reasons he
needs the latest in scientific equipment. It turns out that people are far more
aware of him than even he realised, justifying his paranoia.
Standout Performance: Ford doesn’t quite have the ability to
differentiate between Susan and the Doctor through tone and mood and so they
both come across as sounding quite similar when that was clearly not the case
on screen. When the Doctor gets angry Ford sounds like a petulant child
stamping her feet rather than a firm old man standing his ground. Tam Williams
is superb and has a really love voice to listen to.
Great Ideas: Roses was a popular after school coffee bar in
London often frequented by the Coal Hill School students. The mention of Eagle
brought back memories of the Dr Who & the Daleks. Something is affecting
the children of London, turning them against the Doctor and Susan and the
sudden flash of a knife in Susan’s face recalls a similar horror that was
witnessed in season one. The appearance of the Magpie Shop from The Idiot’s
Lantern made my heart sing for a moment, Doctor Who is one of those shows that
has such a long history it can connect the old and the new in a gleeful fashion
like this. Gangs of youths gathering together might feel like something that
has only really caught in recent years but it all stretches back to the 50s and
the 60s where youth culture gained its independence and confidence. There is
something quite frightening about the uncontrollable nature of a gang of thugs
egging each other on and enjoying the fear of the person they are bullying.
Sometimes I think they don’t have that switch in their head that tells that
enough is enough, feeding on the excitement of the moment and going too far.
There’s something rather pathetic about the Doctor (in the guise of an old man)
being terrorised by a group of kids who are prompted by racism. Just us
disturbing is the scrawl on the TARDIS declaring ALIENS OUT. Suddenly the Earth
is rejecting the travellers, highlighting their differences and turning them
into dangerous foreigners. Rook has been monitoring the Doctor and Susan for
some time, aware of their sudden appearance, the disappearance of the spare
parts and his granddaughters uncanny intelligence and slips at school. He knows
they are not of this world. Hypersonics are being directed at the children to
encourage their tribal instincts and racial hatred. A German weapon to stir up
hatred, falling to England.
Audio Landscape: How could you start a series of audio
adventures celebrating the shows 50th anniversary more vividly than
with the bells of Shoreditch church striking in exactly the same way An
Unearthly Child open aurally? Scooters roaring down the road, Coal Hill School
bell, school chatter, the social burbling at Roses, whistling, rustling papers,
the screaming mob, bricks being thrown, broken glass.
Musical Cues: There’s a lovely discordant feel to the score
in the early stages of the story, Simon Hunt bashing on the piano when things
startle the Doctor and Susan.
Isn’t it Odd: Early scenes evoke a strong feeling of nostalgia
and excitement but they perhaps go on for a little too long, the plot failing
to kick in for quite an extended period and encouraging the audience to wish
for something to happen that might lead to some kind of excitement. The threat
takes a long while to establish itself and explain itself…for a long while I
thought that this was simply the work of a xenophobic group from the sixties
rather than anything more sinister. Bringing in the character of Rook only
serves to muddy the issue because he initially appears to be behind it all but
when he starts accusing the Doctor of mind control and directing the kids I was
really confused. The idea that the threat is something that has been caused
accidentally by a weapon forgotten during the war is a pretty lame answer. It
just happened to start malfunctioning now rather than being directed for a
purpose. John Ainsworth is fantastic director but there is something tentative
about his realisation of this story that is quite unlike much of his other work
with Big Finish. It was most obvious in the climax which felt as though it
should be far more claustrophobic and gripping than it was (children hammering
on the shop shouting xenophobic cries) and the lack of music in places is
really detrimental to some scenes. Looking at the script as a whole it is the
characterisation and setting that stand out whereas the narrative and elements
of the plot feel neglected and ill thought through. Rook is ultimately there to
serve a plot point in the resolution rather than for any discernable purpose. A
shame because somebody who has become aware of the Doctor and Susan’s unusual
appearance and behaviour could have let to something far more dramatic (I can
imagine another story playing out where the Doctor has to put an end to such a threat
to their secrecy). He ultimately winds up being an ally whereas he would have
made a much more interesting enemy. Goodness knows what Susan is talking about
at the end of the story about the Doctor’s destiny…it feels like a bizarre
attempt to shove in a reference to the Time War which is severely misplaced at
this early juncture.
Result: As far as I’m concerned Nigel Robinson is something
of an expert in the introductory period of Doctor Who as he was responsible for
bringing some of the earliest television stories to print (especially the
evasive Edge of Destruction) so vividly. Because this is where it all began (or
even more enticingly – like Kim Newman’s Time & Relative – before it
all began) it immediately has an atmosphere of its own and built in interest in
a way that few periods of Doctor Who do. In a way that is a double edged sword
though because you instantly expect something rather special from this
establishing era. Whilst it does take a little while to get going (trading on
nostalgia perhaps a little too much), Hunters of the Earth takes a disturbing
contemporary fear (mob youth culture) and social issue (racism) and creates a
genuinely chilling foe for the Doctor and Susan to face, one that feeds on
their paranoia. That feeling of looking over your shoulder and being exposed is
expertly realised but as a result this lacks the evocative fantasy of Time and
Relative and feels a lot more ordinary. Robinson feels far more seduced by the
chance to write for a pre-Unearthly Child Doctor and Susan than conjuring up a
decent standalone story and a lot of his passion is injected into the former
whilst neglecting the latter. Ultimately I think I prefer the far more intimate
feel of the companion chronicles that really allows you to get inside the
companions heads but I suppose third person narration is understandable when
the Doctor is supposed to be the predominant figure in this series of
adventures. It’s a personal issue too by I would have much rather had William
Russell read the first Doctor adventure because he is not only a far superior
performer to Ford (who does fine work here all the same) but his presence sums
up the best parts of the early years of Doctor Who far more evocatively as
well. I understand the focus on the unearthly child but its not what I
would have chosen myself. The Doctor and Susan are faithfully characterised
(and its nice to see Susan building a life independent of her grandfather) and
the setting is very evocatively brought to life but this is perhaps too slow
and stuttering to kick off the series. For a company as prolific as Big Finish
there was something oddly insecure and tentative about this story: 5/10
1 comment:
I quite liked this one. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I'm a sucker for the First Doctor (even if his era is the most uneven of the lot), so maybe that's why. I'd probably give it a 6, but I admit the extra point is probably sentimental in nature.
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