3-b. The Five Dimensional Man.

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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1-b. A Stain of Red in the Sand.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 14 minutes. Written by: David A. McEwan. Directed by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: David Richardson. Performed by: David Troughton.


THE PLOT:

All is not well in the dreary council estate known as "The Slab." It's suffering not just from the usual problems of poverty, neglect, and urban decay - It is the site of a most peculiar alien invasion. An insect-like species the residents have dubbed "Caretakers" are bleeding through from another world, a desert planet with two suns that is only visible from one specific window within "The Slab" - the window of sculptor Roger.

Indigo has an undefined but strong relationship with Roger. She is also drawn to the view from that window - enough so that, despite her fear of the Caretakers, she continues to visit every day.

Much to her annoyance, Roger has become obsessed with his latest work of art: a depiction of an innocent-looking young woman the artist insists on naming "Zoe." He speaks about her as if she is alive, which only increases Indigo's ire. But still she goes to that window, where a stranger known as The Doctor, who had promised he would sort everything out, is engaged in a confrontation. She can't make out the details of the struggle, but she can tell that it's a matter of life and death...


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor/Zoe: Sometime before the story's opening, the Doctor promised to "sort out" the problem of the Caretakers. In the story's present, we see through Indigo's eyes that he's in dire straits while locked in conflict with (presumably) the Caretakers' leader. Zoe is also in some form of danger, with Roger seeming convinced that accurately sculpting her will result in him saving her.

Indigo: The story's viewpoint character. What little we glimpse of the conflict is entirely through her eyes - leaving us very much at a remove from the action. The focus is more on her trips to The Slab, despite her fear of it, and her general resignation to the idea that her life will never deliver anything good. She is concerned for Roger, particularly as he refuses to pause his work to eat, but she is also jealous of the attention he pays to Zoe the Sculpture.


THOUGHTS:

A Stain of Red in the Sand is a rather odd piece. There is a Doctor Who story going on - but since we are locked to the viewpoint of a character who is only peripherally involved, we only catch glimpses. At the end, we are told that the Doctor "won" - but we are left with very few clues as to what happened to create this situation, who the Caretakers are, what happened to Zoe or how Roger's sculpture helped, or what the Doctor and Zoe did to resolve the problem. We only see what Indigo sees... and that is extremely little.

For some listeners, I suspect this was annoying. Truthfully, though, I'm not sure this was a bad approach. What we can glean of the story boils down to: aliens invade; Zoe is put in danger; the Doctor confronts the lead alien; with Zoe's help, the Doctor wins. Which is to say, the actual conflict is a "Who-by-numbers" runaround that would be entirely uninteresting if presented traditionally. Never mind that the scant 14-minute running time would be woefully inadequate to telling it traditionally.

Writer David McEwan instead focuses on Indigo and her emotions involving the building, Roger, the Caretakers, and even the Doctor. This approach allows him to create a strong sense of setting and atmosphere. McEwan's prose is effectively descriptive, whether describing the smell of urine hanging in the air of the lift, the color and texture of the clay Roger uses, or the hues of the sand on the other world that Indigo sees from Roger's window. Her overall attitude of resignation to what we can presume has been a hard life also makes it effective when, near the end, she begins to feel a faint sense of hope.

The story feels entirely controlled in a way that isn't always true of the briefer "Short Trips," and I enjoyed both the writing style and performer David Troughton's narration. Still, I will admit that this is an odd piece that won't be to all tastes. Even at the end, we're kept determinedly at arm's length from the actual conflict, left to piece it together from the scraps seen by someone who only observes a few key moments. No explanation is forthcoming at any point, and I can't blame anyone for feeling frustrated by that.

I will say that within the confines of its running time and format, this story worked for me. I think the end result largely meets the writer's ambitions for it, and I found it atmospheric and engrossing. As a result, within the confines of its very restrictive format and running time, I'm awarding a solid score.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Set During: Season Six

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One Small Step.

1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 17 minutes. Written by: Nicholas Briggs. Performed by: Nicholas Briggs.


THE PLOT:

The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are enjoying a much-deserved break on the Isle of Wight. It's a rare time when the beach is completely deserted: July 16, 1969, the day that Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the moon, with the entire world glued to television sets to watch.

Which means that there's no one to disturb the time travelers' fun. As Jamie and Zoe play on the beach, the Doctor impulsively decides to buy an ice cream. Just a tiny impulse that couldn't possibly lead to any trouble, now, could it?


CHARACTERS:

One remarkable thing about this extremely short story is how well the three regulars are captured. The Doctor is whimsical and compassionate. Jamie and Zoe are enjoying their break, playing and teasing each other on the beach. Zoe is more perceptive than Jamie, picking up on the Doctor's change of mood and worrying about him. Jamie is slower to notice, and Zoe has to wordlessly redirect him - at which point, he feels ashamed of having missed his friend's distress.

Writer Nicholas Briggs also does well in writing a conversation between an adult and a child when the Doctor runs into a small boy. The boy innocently directs jets of random talk in a way that anyone who's spent time around children will instantly recognize, with the Doctor trying to humor him while having no real idea how to respond to such things as a description of a cow's giant poo.

The audio version benefits from Briggs's excellent reading. It's surprising how well he manages to capture all three regulars. He successfully conveys Patrick Troughton's intonations and a reasonable hint of Jamie's Scottish accent, while also finding suitable voices for Zoe and the child.


THOUGHTS:

"Short Trips" tend to be best when telling simple stories, and One Small Step is the simplest of tales: a day at the beach, with a minor impulse by the Doctor leading to an unexpected consequence. It fills its time without demanding any extra time.

It's sometimes fashionable in Doctor Who fandom to sneer at Nicholas Briggs, but his writing here is quite good. The story opens and closes on scenes from the child's viewpoint, and those scenes feel correct for the thoughts and feelings of a small child. Briggs also describes the setting clearly and efficiently, and his recounting of Jamie's and Zoe's beach antics raised a smile from me just as they did from the Doctor.

This is a story that's particularly well suited to the Second Doctor, whose era was characterized by a certain innocence. Up until the unexpected consequence of his ice cream impulse, he is utterly carefree. Then he's stricken by events, with the change in his behavior effectively realized without being overdone.

The entire piece is thoroughly enjoyable and successfully emotional. Given that this story is a free download, which was re-released as the main feature of their June 20, 2016 podcast, I'd rate it as being well worth a listen.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

Set During: Season Six

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