What's it about: France, the year 1770: by special invitation, the famous 'Doctor', friend of Voltaire, arrives at the lonely estate of the lovely Marquise de Rimdelle – once a hostess to the highest of high society, now isolated by the strange, pernicious mist that lingers round the countryside. But there's more in that fog than mere vapour, confesses the Marquise's strange niece to the Doctor's ward, Nyssa. She senses some uncanny machine circling the fringes of the estate, in the space between the shadows. Watching. Always watching. She's given it a name: 'The Steamroller Man'. Meanwhile, the man in the cellar talks to the Doctor; a dead man, trapped behind the cellar walls. The Steamroller Man is coming, he says; coming to smash the place down. It seems the Doctor has been drawn into a very dangerous liaison…
An English Gentleman: 'You have such a pleasant, open
face...' The Doctor isn't quite feeling himself, forgetting the most
obvious information as he waltzes his way through the highest in the land of
French society. He thinks it is better to travel quickly through life and let
his deeds call loudly after him. Paris has been kind to him on occasion. He
can't get used to the clothes of the period, he is used to something with
deeper pockets to secrete all his gadgetry away in. Given where his incarnation
begin it seems that the fifth Doctor has become quite that expert on recursive
occlusion. The first time I felt a real beat of emotion between the Doctor and
Nyssa in this whole trilogy was when he thought she had met her maker at the
hands of the Steamroller Man and quietly whispers 'Nyssa, not you...' is
if she meant more to him than the others. There was a time when it was
suggested that there might be more between these two than meets the eye and I
would like to see that explored in more depth.
Miss Bartholomew: It appears that Cole is dealing with the
introduction of Hannah Bartholomew in the best way possible, simply accepting
that she is along for the ride and getting on with telling his own story. But
it soon becomes apparent that her effortless drafting in is an important part
of the plot and one that the Doctor and Nyssa have forgotten. She's not the
sort of woman who is bowled over by fulsome flattery which makes her stand out
in this period. I was wondering if the Order of the Crescent Moon might turn
out to have made a big name for themselves in the future but that wasn't the
case. At least Hannah expands upon the Order and it is used to give her
character a little more (much needed) depth. She used to think she might be
wrong in believing in things that other people find fantastic but she has seen
such sights with the Doctor and Nyssa that she knows now that fantastic is the
common place. Hannah isn't afraid of dragging the Doctor to safety when the
situation calls. Her sacrifice at the climax does show that she was firm of
character right up to the end and does leave her open to a return appearance.
Since the character has hardly set my world on fire I cannot say it is
something I would desire...but it does leave the producers with the possibility
nonetheless. More time was needed to explore this character rather than shoving
her into three plot-heavy stories where her inclusion boils down to make a
handful of brave decisions. I still don't really feel as if I know who Hannah
Bartholomew is beyond her belief in the Order and that is a missed opportunity
after she has appeared in three stories.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'A perfect dream of life?'
Great Ideas: Unlike Moonflesh and Tomb Ship there is
something less traditional and immediately mysterious happening in Masquerade
that dragged me to try and solve. With Antidote for Oblivion and The Brood of
Eyrs both taking the archetypal approach of Doctor Who storytelling it has
started to feel as if all the innovation has been bled out of the main range.
Thank goodness for Steve Cole, not a writer I would credit with being
especially audacious in the past but simply getting on with telling a good
story, who has structured this tale so we are kept guessing (and thus
interested) for much of the running time. The idea of these people, this
setting being cultivated just as somebody would with plants is chilling
and very deftly introduced. The Steamroller Man sounds like something from
nightmares and his saying ('You will be mine to roll upon...') is
memorable. There is no soil beneath the ground, only darkness and upon this
discovery the title of the story starts to take on a much greater meaning.
Shadowspace is a physical realm created inside a pocket dimension and fitted to
specially designed human spacecraft. It was created to make possible super
distance space travel for humans, where the minds of the astronauts can be
placed inside a living avatar to survive the stresses of the environment of
space travel. Earth Central needs the human Empire to spread beyond this galaxy
but test pilots were driven insane by the stress of warp mechanics. The
consciousness is transferred to a customised shadow spatial body for the
duration of the journey. What a fascinating idea. What an unexpected twist.
What a great premise for a story. I haven't said that for a while. It is
basically a similar concept to a Star Trek holodeck story with the scenario
being an illusion except this time the people involved don't know that that is
the case and there is a very personal stake in returning to the real world - if
the illusion is still running then it is terminal for them to return to their
real lives (although this does come dangerously close to the same scenario that
plays out in the superlative DS9 episode Our Man Bashir). There's trouble afoot
for the Doctor when it transpires that the TARDIS landing is what caused the
systems crash, he's responsible for the degradation of the Shadowspace fantasy.
The Steamroller Man is a data tool to delete corruption from the scenario
generator but following the systems crash its function has grown distorted.
Attempting to destroy all data...including the crew. The Internment Bay is the
storehouse for their bodies whilst their minds are in Shadowspace. Home-D is
not a spacecraft after all but an outpost was researching and traversing
intra-dimensional energies, set up to facilitate new ways of traversing the
universe. Where the development of Shadowspace is at an advanced state. There
was an infectious outbreak in Home-D, a fatal sickness and the bodies were
placed in stasis whilst Shadowspace became their sanctuary. The humans sought a
cure for their sickness by coming to Shadowspace but the Meshera stole into
their space whilst they slept. They intend to make the humans carriers of the
disease so they can return to Home-D and infect millions. Far and wide through
the human colonies, killing millions and returning those systems to the alien
races they usurped them from.
Musical Cues: The music is wonderfully, distractingly
eighties. A pure synth period soundtrack of the exact type that would have been
used during the period with moments that are akin to The Visitation and The
King's Demons. Whilst I don't think the music is perhaps as accomplished as it
could be were a genuinely orchestral piece of the sort Murray Gold produces for
every episodes these days, it is authentic and does plant you directly in the
era. And that is massive step up from the blustery action soundtracks that have
plagued the main range for some time. It's different and stands out because of
it.
Standout Scene: Masquerade is one of those stories that gets
it's winning moments from the advancements in the plot. The story is constantly
ripping masks away from the narrative, convincing us it is one thing when
something quite different is actually taking place. The reveal of the Meshera
and their intentions wasn't even on the radar in the first episode - that's how
far this story progresses.
2 comments:
Stephen Cole writing a good story of the Fifth Doctor? Impossible, and that I only use that word with Clara Oswald, however I consider that this story is better than the other two mediocre stories of this disappointing trilogy.
I feel sorry for Hannah Bartholomew, she was infinitely better than Thomas Brewster, but in the end she basically became a Nyssa version 2.0
Obviously the Fifth Doctor has fond for Nyssa, but I see them better as father and daughter or a teacher and his "favorite student". However in "The Butcher of Brisbane" Nyssa does not care to leave his family to be with a lunatic tyrant. When are you going to post a review of that history?
"(The music)... is massive step up from the blustery action soundtracks that have plagued the main range for some time. It's different and stands out because of it."
Spot on. The music may not be to everyone's taste, but it's something different at least.
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