Sympathy for the Devil (2003) Christmas Review

 

Sympathy for the Devil skilfully reveals hidden aspects of our beloved characters by artificially placing them in unique situations.

WRITTEN BY

Jonathan Clements, a successful British author and researcher of Chinese and Japanese culture. 

PLOT

In an alternate timeline, the Third Doctor arrives in 1997 Hong Kong to discover that a series of alien invasions have left Earth prone to paranoia and war. Teaming up with the aged and bitter Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, he investigates a crash site near a Buddhist temple and discovers that a fellow Time Lord is manipulating events behind the scenes... 

ANALYSIS

Much of the narrative is based around subverting the Pertwee era, and that's where the story is at its weakest, as the logistics are somewhat... hazy. It's not really clear why certain things have changed the way they have(for example, the Doctor makes a point of saying he was supposed to be sent to the 1970s, but it's never explained why he ended up in the 1990s instead) or what the Master has been up to, but to be fair, I don't think that's really the point. 

It's more about seeing how these changes affect the Doctor, the Brigadier and the Master on a personal level, how much is different about them and what has remained the same. It's also a kind of "pilot episode" for this alternate universe, meaning that there isn't a profound theme to the story as such, it's more just about drawing the audience into the new setting and then letting them imagine what the show might be going forward. Much like most DW pilots, the main plot isn't all that exciting - it's just the Master doing his thing, in a way that calls back to some Pertwee stories. I think the most interesting aspect of it was the location of the Buddhist temple. Not only is Buddhism generally intriguing as a subject matter, but it's one that is both a vital aspect of the original Third Doctor era whilst also not being immediately identifiable with it(in the way that, for example, a research facility might be). So I thought that its inclusion here was pretty clever. 

But yeah, mostly it's all about the...

CHARACTERS

David Warner was a rather spot-on choice for an alternate Third Doctor. I've always thought of him as a solid actor - not one that's ever blown me away, but one who always provides a dependably grounded performance, and that was what the Third Doctor essentially was. Grounded, reliable. Never top tier, but always great. 

I don't know why Mark Gatiss insists upon a writing career, when acting is clearly his biggest strength. His Master is a complete success - restrained, likable, subtle, prone to humor. A character you almost root for at times. Like James Dreyfus, Gatiss is very Delgado-esque, but it's a stronger performance. He seems childish in temperament - almost as if he sees his interactions with the Doctor like he's playing with a toy. And when it doesn't play out the way he wants it, he gets an entertaining temper tantrum.

Then there's Nick Courtney. He's always been one of the fandom's most favored recurring guest stars, but I've long held the opinion that the Brigadier's personality was somewhat dulled by the formulaic and perhaps overly cosy atmosphere of the Pertwee era, and that he didn't really regain the iron will he was originally depicted with until Battlefield. I'm thus happy to say that Sympathy for the Devil shows him at his very best. Yes, he's cantankerous. And deliberately out of touch and defeated. But it's interesting that in the absence of the Doctor's presence, the Brigadier managed not only to retain his sense of morality, but arguably even refine it. This version has lost his reputation, friends and is seemingly without a wife, yet as soon as the Doctor appears, he is revived and as powerful and dedicated as he ever was. It's yet another wonderful performance from Courtney, and makes me really wish we got some stronger TV stories with him, so we could see him put to the test in his prime. 

Despite playing the most stock, bullheaded and unlikable UNIT commander you could imagine, David Tennant practically steals the show as Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood. I loved listening to him and Courtney argue over their different approaches to running UNIT. Of course, we are inclined to side with the Brigadier, but it's gradually revealed that Wood is an effective and dedicated leader in his own right. Not the kindest, perhaps, but he's not a villain either. He might honestly be my favourite non-Brigadier UNIT character. 

NOTES

• I love the brain parasite in a jar. That's such a Classic Who thing to have. 
• The Doctor brings up the fact that the Time Lords had intended to send him to the 1970s, but it's never revealed why he landed elsewhere, or why he doesn't look like Jon Pertwee when Gatiss's Master is clearly implied to follow Roger Delgado's. I can't tell if this is an intentional mystery or hamfisted exposition.
• Furthermore, the fact that Warner's Doctor just gets his ability to drive the TARDIS back at the end is really cheap. 
• If you're wondering why China is so prevalent, it's because the writer has written entire books about it. 

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

• The Doctor's been in China before. We saw him there in Marco Polo.
• During his conversation with the Brigadier, there's references to the Yeti (The Web of Fear), a purge of plastics (Spearhead from Space), the Keller machine, political developments with China (The Mind of Evil) and the Doctor's exile (The War Games).
• The Doctor angrily asserts that the Master is not an inventor. Being "the Inventor" was the Master's original disguises in The Destination Wars. 
• The friendship between Chairman Mao and the Doctor is mentioned. 
• Upon gaining access to the Doctor's TARDIS, the Gatiss Master gleefully says: "A new TARDIS... at last!", an obvious callback to the Ainley Master's "A new body... at last!" from The Keeper of Traken. 
• On an alien world with the Brigadier, the Doctor comments that his shoes don't fit him, a reference to the freshly regenerated Eighth Doctor's happiness at finding shoes that did in The TV Movie.

BEST QUOTE

"Step out of the way or I shall lay your soul to waste!! ... Thank you so much." - The Master

CONCLUSION

An interesting curio.