1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 18 minutes. Written by: Kate Orman. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: David Troughton.
THE PLOT:
Betty is a 1950s American housewife with aspirations of becoming a science fiction author. One day, while she is sitting down to do an hour's writing before her husband gets home, a strange figure appears in her kitchen: a dark-haired girl in a spacesuit.
The girl is Zoe, who has escaped from mad 28th century scientist Ferdinand Stirling. Thanks to the properties of the crystal she swiped to stop his evil plan, Zoe was catapulted to the past - and into Betty's kitchen. The Doctor follows in the TARDIS, with Betty tagging along to catch a glimpse of the future!
CHARACTERS:
Writer Kate Orman captures the Season Six TARDIS team well. The Doctor recognizes Betty's desire to travel in time, and a mixture of whimsy and compassion compels him to show her just a little. Zoe is protective of Betty and, later, of Jamie. Jamie gets the least to do, spending the story as the mad scientist's prisoner. Still, when he gets a chance to help his friends, he takes it.
This is told entirely from Betty's point-of-view, and she gets the most character development by far. She is the picture of a 1950s housewife. The story opens with her reflecting on her housework, all of which she has completed in readiness for her husband's arrival. None of this is presented resentfully; it's just her daily routine, with her exulting in the realization that she has a full hour to work on her stories before he returns. She begins the story with a small case of writer's block; by the end of her brief adventure, she sits back at her typewriter ready to start writing.
THOUGHTS:
I never got much into the Doctor Who novels during the Wilderness Years. I read a handful, and I mostly found that they didn't scratch my itch for new Doctor Who the way I wanted. Eventually, I gave up on the print range as a result.
Which isn't to say there weren't some gems mixed in there, books that managed to capture the "feel" of Doctor Who while at the same time presenting stories with a hint of storytelling ambition. A fair percentage of those gems were written or co-written by Kate Orman, so it was with some anticipation that I downloaded and listened to her Big Finish Short Trip.
At 18 minutes, The Five Dimensional Man was never going to be a standout. This isn't a story with big things to say, nor does it push the limits of the format. It's a throwaway. But it's a fun throwaway, gleefully channeling 1950s pulp sci-fi/monster tropes in a way that's highly amusing - and which itself links the overall narrative to Betty's 1950s existence.
David Troughton gives a spirited reading, giving Betty a voice that's just different enough from his Zoe voice to keep the characters distinct. He seems to have fun with bookends in which he slips into a Rod Serling-esque American accent to introduce Betty and her world, a little touch that made this classic Twilight Zone fan chuckle immediately.
OVERALL:
The Five Dimensional Man is unlikely to live long in my memory. It's a trifle that has some fun with 1950s science fiction and doesn't do much more than that. Still, it captures the characters of the regulars quite well and does a good job of establishing and maintaining a consistent tone. I visualized this one in black & white. When the mad scientist was unveiled in all his glory, I just about pictured John Goodman's Matinee producer gravely warning the audience about "Mants."
In short, it's good, silly fun - and I'm not about to object to that.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Set During: Season Six
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