1 episode. Approx. 18 minutes. Written by: Lawrence Conquest. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs. Performed by: Katy Manning.
THE PLOT
When the Brigadier all but orders the Doctor away from his lab for the afternoon, the Doctor goes to one of his few local haunts: the zoo. Liz is surprised when she finds him there, saying that she didn't think the zoo would be his kind of place. But he isn't really there to wander around and look at the animals. His attention is drawn by a single animal: A tiger in a tight, narrow cage, pacing endlessly back and forth in its confinement.
The Doctor's reverie is broken when the crowd sees that a small child has found his way into the cage. The tiger has the child's hand in its mouth. The boy is too terrified to react, which is probably all that has saved him from real violence. The Doctor works his way into the cage - but every step he takes toward the tiger results in it tightening its grip on the boy. With no way to help, the Doctor's only course now is to push the boy to help himself...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: It is surprising just how strongly Katy Manning is able to suggest Jon Pertwee's voice. The first of her Big Finish Companion Chronicles truly startled me, in that there were times when Manning got Pertwee's tones and inflections so dead-on that it was almost like hearing Pertwee delivering the lines himself. That proves to be the case here, strongly enhancing the sense of the Third Doctor's presence within this little tale. The script itself does a good job of capturing the Doctor's frustration at being trapped on this world, as he is downright intense in identifying with the tiger pacing around its tight and rigid cage.
Liz: Very much a supporting presence, though her warmth toward the Doctor shows itself when she tries to comfort him at the end. Again, Manning does a splendid job of suggesting Caroline John's characterization. When she speaks Liz's lines in the story, never for an instant does my mind summon up Jo Grant; it's firmly Liz I'm picturing, and credit for that is due to Manning's excellent impression of John's cool, occasionally harsh delivery.
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: The one regular Manning doesn't channel is the Brigadier. The deep and gruff voice she puts on for the Brig does the job, but is noticeably less dead-on than her Third Doctor and Liz impressions. Lethbridge-Stewart does get a decent role in this slight tale, mainly in his final speech to the Doctor about trying to show him what this planet is truly all about.
THOUGHTS
The problem with reviewing the Short Trips stories is that, while a few may be either outstanding or dreadful, the bulk of these little 20-minute pieces are going to be what you'd expect from such a time-frame: trifles. It's difficult to individually rate a trifle. In the end, you can only judge how the story stacks up against the limitations of its format.
In this, Walls of Confinement is a success. It's enjoyable, with a strong portrayal of the Third Doctor. The parallels drawn between the Doctor and the tiger are effective, and the story's final image comes close to being haunting. Within the confines of what it is, it works.
But it's always clear that the story is a trifle. It's a solid Short Trip, but I doubt many cite it as their favorite of the range. The same release features three stories that I find to be much better, though it also contains at least two stories that I find to be much worse. It's... average, maybe slightly above. Worth a listen, certainly - but probably not one to revisit.
Rating: 6/10.
Set during: Season 7
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