The Curse Of Fenric (1989) Review

Chess: if it's badass enough for devils and Time Lords,
it should be good enough for you. Play more chess, kids.

The Curse Of Fenric is one of the most emotionally fulfilling stories in the classic series' run, and a showcase for the modernisation of storytelling that occurred in the last two years of the Seventh Doctor's run.

WRITTEN BY

Ian Briggs, who greatly improves on his original mediocre offering, Dragonfire.

PLOT

It is time for the Doctor to rematch wits with Fenric - a metaphysical manifestation of evil originating from the dawn of the universe, that has manipulated his most recent incarnation's life as revenge for trapping him for 1700 years.

The battleground - a World War II-era naval base in Northumberland. The stakes - Earth's future. The pawns - all the innocents.

ANALYSIS

Aside from a somewhat cluttered and frenetic script(you really have to watch this one under a magnifying glass to follow the plot), The Curse Of Fenric is really a work of genius. The scope is breathtaking - not only does Briggs weave in various elements from the Seventh Doctor era as part of Fenric's plot, but the character of the Doctor is pushed as far into villainy as he ever was in the classic series.
Until now, the Doctor had always been more or less a straightforward character - Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker may have given him a melancholy and secretive side, but that can easily be attributed to a combination of eccentricity, experience and old age. For the most part, the Doctor was a sort of combination of Q and James Bond - a charming gadgetmeister with a curious spirit and a moral need to right wrongs.

Here, however, the Doctor's alien nature comes into full force - he keeps everything in mind, and juggles the character traits of the various people he meets(most notably Ace) so they'd do the right thing at the right time in the right place. I would most definitely like the Doctor to one day encounter another villain(or even Fenric himself) that would inspire him to step up his game to such an extent.

Productionwise, the story is very well made. The direction is dynamic(I particularly loved the POV shots when Ace was climbing the ladder), the special effects are good for the time and the location filming is of course excellent.

I also love the 1940s setting and how it allows the writer to explore fallout from World War II and the tension of the oncoming Cold War. It was very heartfelt and really put you into the era. Speaking of the era, I greatly appreciated that the Russians were not depicted as being any more villainous(less so, in fact) than the British. Human beings are, after all, only human beings.

CHARACTERS

Sylvester McCoy was born to entertain children, and thus has a knack for making himself seem magical and all-knowing, which helps his master manipulator persona without ever becoming unlikable. Even when considering the possibility that he has betrayed Ace, you could see why he would do it and it'd be pretty hard to hold a grudge at him when he's trying to save billions of lives.
Of course, as an actor he has his own limitations(he can either be understated and detached, or a ball of manic energy, anything in-between means cringeworthy gurning), but this story makes good use of his strengths.

It's Sophie Aldred's star hour as Ace, and she shines bright. Unlike most companions on the show, Ace is practically unrecognisable as the character she originally was in her introductory story, and it mostly comes down to her loyalty to the Doctor, whose influence has greatly matured her. The fun thing is that Ace is never really aware of how much she's changed(apart from not being a little girl anymore cough cough), but is simply smart enough to know that following the Doctor's example is usually the right thing to do and has thus unknowingly become the wiser, more perceptive version of herself.

Dinsdale Landen's manic, but restrained Dr Judson manages to be both charming, but also quite intimidating at the same time. His childlike obsession with the Ultima machine is initially endearing as he can't wait to show it off, but at the same time, when he starts snapping at people to get out of his way, he exhibits signs of a darker, more ruthless side. It's quite a marvel how layered Landen manages to make the character in only a few minutes of screentime.
Of course, when Fenric takes over, he gets to play villain and he does so with awesome intensity and portrays Fenric's egotistical need to triumph over the Doctor in a chess match extremely well.

Alfred Lynch gives a peculiarly doddering performance as Commander Millington. I think the main problem is that his motivations regarding Fenric are never made entirely clear. We're given enough to assume that he's a disturbed soldier dedicated to winning the war, but his obsession with Norse mythology and knowing enough about Fenric to try and destroy all the chessboards so he wouldn't get caught in another game with the Doctor are never explained.

As Captain Sorin, Tomek Bork isn't all that notable: his random relationship with Ace is kinda cringeworthy, but he does carry an aura of strong authority. However, as Fenric, he is gleeful and cruel. Not quite as good as Landen, but a good villain in his own right.

And the biggest shocker of all - TV and radio presenter and game show host Nicholas Parsons as a depressed pastor who has lost his fath. And he is one of the best things in the whole story. His acting is 100% heartfelt, he has great chemistry with both McCoy and Aldred and you really want to see him prevail over the Haemovores.

NOTES

*What compelled the Doctor and Ace to visit the naval base to begin with? They both clearly knew where they were going, but also seemed to have no real agenda there until stuff started happening.

*Ace immediately understanding Dr. Judson's logic puzzle caught me off guard. It's not that Ace is thick or anything, but I just wouldn't expect her to have paid such close attention at school(then again, she did learn to make bombs, so what do I know?)

*Why do the Russians decide to speak in English?

*It's interesting how Ace immediately assumes the Viking children died because of the Viking curse pastor Wainwright mentioned rather than, you know, life. I guess that's what happens when you travel with the Doctor(who happens to be Merlin)

*Was 1980s British education really that bad that Ace didn't recognise Russian lettering?

*Why is Ace so rude to Kathleen about her baby's name? I mean, who cares if it belonged to her hated mom, it's terrible to say you hate it!

*The Doctor doesn't know if he has family or not? So, he left no one behind on Gallifrey when he left with Susan?

*Why is the Doctor worried about finding Ace when he should know exactly where he left her: the church!

*What's with Ace's "Bags, I get to do this or that" catchphrase in this story? Was "bags" a contemporary saying?

*Okay, Ace recognising a minor logic puzzle I can buy, but there is no way in hell she'd randomly be able to guess that the Viking writing was a puzzle when even Dr. Judson could not.

*I like that the Doctor points out how different Ace has become by reminding her of her initial willingness to drop anything for a bit of excitement.

*And to prove that his comedy slapstick routine hasn't entirely died out, McCoy drops a box on his foot.

*The belief in the crucifix(rather than the object itself) creating a psychic barrier between humans and vampires/Haemovores is a great update on an old trend.

*You have to love how Ace's nitro-9 completely fails to bring the wall down, only for it to be completely collapsed in the next shot.

*Why does Captain Bates refer to the Russians as "house guests"?

*"Professor.. I'm not a little girl." Oooh matron! Followed by the strangest seduction scene since a naked Jeff Fahey pointed two floor lamps at a girl in Psycho III.

*I love Fenric's backstory. No, not the generic "evil from the dawn of time" part, but the "trapped in the Shadow Dimensions for 1700 years after the Doctor carved chess pieces out of bones". That's such a great setup to this story.

*It's great how Sorin doesn't even question why the Doctor and Ace need a chess set. He's just like "a chess set? Hell yeah we can steal a chess set!"

*How does Millington's poison not kill the Doctor and Ace when they clearly take breath in several mouthfuls of it?

*Somebody needs to put a chessboard down in front of me and explain that final move.

*So why is Fenric so enamored by chess anyway? And if he is as powerful as he appears to be, how come a chess problem is any kind of problem for him?

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) Ace's portable ladder from Dragonfire makes a neat reappearance, to my mother's horror(fear of heights).

2) To create the required psychic barrier between him and the Haemovores, the Doctor recites the names of his companions. Most are sadly inaudible, but I could make out Susan, Ian, Vicki and Barbara. It's lovely.

3) Ace randomly brings up Gabriel Chase House from Ghost Light when hiding with Kathleen in a supposedly dark building. Apparently, it was supposed to be foreshadowing that story before the broadcast order changed, but it's still very noticeable and out of place.

4) Fenric boasts how he's manipulated the Doctor by placing the chess set in Lady Peinforte's study for him to play in Silver Nemesis(which, as I recall, was won, so it can't have been the same game) and by bringing Ace to Iceworld in Dragonfire. The latter actually works very well, since Ace's backstory was inexplicable to begin with and it would be plausible that this was the original intention, if season 24's tone weren't completely different.

BEST QUOTE

Really, the whole final dialogue after the Doctor and Ace escape the bunker. It's gripping to see Ace fall to bits at the thought of her, well, let's admit it, father figure disowning her and her achievements. Showing her insecurities come to the fore provides great insight into the character of Ace and just makes me love her more as a companion.

CONCLUSION

An extremely layered emotional character drama centered around an epic match between two titans. Yeah, it's good.