1 episode. Approx. minutes. Written by: Juliet Boyd. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Louise Jameson.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS materializes in the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1885. For the Doctor, this is a wonderful stroke of luck - a chance to kick back and enjoy the show while taking in living history at the same time. Sarah Jane is less enthusiastic, but largely goes along to keep from disrupting the Doctor's good mood.
Unfortunately, their arrival was observed. Benjamin, a low-level circus worker, saw the TARDIS materialize. Entranced by the thought of selling such a marvel to P. T. Barnum, he and a circus clown hatch a plan to gain access to the blue box. The results will go down in history...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: The Fourth Doctor's more childlike qualities are on display here, as he reacts with joy at the prospect of enjoying some down time at P. T. Barnum's famous circus. He reacts to Jumbo the elephant with genuine awe, laughs hysterically at the antics of the clowns... and studiously ignores Sarah Jane's concerns until he reaches into his pocket and physically recognizes that his TARDIS key is missing.
Sarah Jane Smith: Is very much in her role as the Doctor's anchor. As we've seen in the television stories, Sarah Jane has far more empathy than the Fourth Doctor does. She finds it cruel to put "freaks" on display in the circus, something the Doctor dismisses as simply being in keeping with the time and place. She is also more pragmatic. The Doctor is carried away by being at the circus, but Sarah Jane doesn't surrender her instincts. She recognizes something is "off" about the clown who comes up to tickle the Doctor. When she hears the TARDIS move, she won't let the Doctor ignore it, pestering him until he checks for his key.
THOUGHTS
While Chain Reaction was more of a fun sketch, The Wondrous Box is an attempt to tell a proper (if minor) 20 minute Doctor Who story. It's not a bad one, either. Writer Juliet Boyd does a good job of capturing the characters of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane. It's easy to visualize both, because both characters feel very much in keeping with their television personas. OK, Sarah Jane's a bit grumpier here than she usually was on television... but maybe she isn't too fond of circuses.
It's an entertaining diversion, ideal for helping either a walk or a drive to go by just a little bit faster. The script even manages to sketch some added dimension to its two guest characters: Benjamin and the clown. There's a brief scene from the clown's viewpoint, in which he resigns himself to Benjamin's bossiness and takes advantage of a few minutes' respite to take a nap. It's a tiny moment, entirely unnecessary to the story - but it hints at a partnership between these two that has extended back well before this story, and will extend well beyond it, making these two supporting players feel much more real in the process.
As with most "Short Trips," however, it does come across as a bit insubstantial. The direction of the story is very obvious very fast, leaving it an exercise in preditability. The period detail is adequate, but it lacks texture. There's little sense of the life of the circus or of the community in which it's performing. That bit of extra life given to Benjamin and the clown? No real trace of that is given to the setting, leaving it existing solely to fuel the story.
It's an above-average "Short Trip," don't mistake me on that. But only just above-average, and largely on the strength of the characterizations. It's a limitation of the format, I think. Barring the odd, outstanding piece, the extremely limited format is better suited to showing a single scene or reaction than it is to actually trying to tell a full story.
Rating: 6/10.
Set during: Season 13
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