Return To Telos is a fun messing about with the show's past.
WRITTEN BY
Nicholas Briggs, who needs no introduction.
PLOT
Hoping to alter the future in their favor, the Cybermen travel back in time to their tomb on Telos to plant Cyber-particles on Jamie McCrimmon, which end up in the TARDIS, and eventually, through K-9, infect the technological utopia of Krelos.
ANALYSIS
Okay, first of all I must admit I haven't listened to The Fate Of Krelos yet. In my haste to buy a Fourth Doctor audio, I failed to do my research and just bought it based on the cover. This did cause some confusion and if I somehow misunderstood the plot, I'll rectify it if and when I review the earlier story.
But overall, it was an endearing callback to Tomb Of The Cybermen with a touch of the Williams era magic(which, stylistically speaking is the closest Doctor Who has ever come to recreating the Troughton era, so it's an interesting crossover). Sadly, it didn't have a chance to become something more than that, as a large chunk of the story is spent on tying up the Krelos storyline and how it ties to the Second Doctor's era.
Fun is to be had, but it's heavily tempered with just figuring out how it all makes sense. Convoluted is the word.
And of course, by the end we press the reboot button, making it feel as if the very inclusion of the Troughton era was little more than a gimmick. Those Cyberparticles could've come from anywhere.
CHARACTERS
It's marvellous hearing Tom Baker reprise the Fourth Doctor in all his witty, gonzo glory. The man is just infinitely charismatic, isn't he charismatic? YES.
I do have to say I miss the ad-libbing, though. Tom can make anything sound cool, but I did constantly feel like he was held back by having to be inside a cramped studio, reading off a script(his rambling came off a lot more naturally when he was actually pacing around sets).
It felt less Fourth Doctor and more "Tom Baker plays the Fourth Doctor", if you catch my drift.
I'd forgotten how much I loved Leela's character until I heard Louise Jameson's firm, but inquisitive voice again. Time has not slowed her down a second, and honestly, I feel like now there's even more chemistry between her and Baker since now they're actually friends and have a clear idea what their characters' relationship is all about.
Frazer Hines pulls double-duty as Jamie and the Second Doctor, and I must say I have some issues here. First of all, Hines just sounds too aged to be convincing as the youthful McCrimmon lad. Honestly, he's better o' pulling a School Reunion in the main show, like. As for his Patrick Troughton impersonation, his excellent grasp of the great actor's inflections can't hide the fact that he's... well, Frazer Hines(so it comes off sounding like... sigh, a hybrid).
Not to mention, none of the "present" leads aside from K-9(and even that is very brief) ever run into either Jamie or the Second Doctor, making their presence a mere plot point. Disappointing, as the whole Tomb setting is seamlessly recreated, even with the presence of one of the original actors from that serial.
NOTES
*I honestly can't tell which one was the Cyber-Planner and who was the Cyber-Controller. It was just two voices, one Tomb-era and one that sounded kind of modern, like the Cybus Cybermen.
*I love the musical callbacks to the 60s. Hopefully with a new composer, the TV show will start doing the same.
*Is there anything more amazing than Cyber-K-9? "You may refer to me as mr. Clever, Master!"
*Just to indulge in my shipping for a moment, I love how proud and confident Leela sounds when she declares the Fourth Doctor's cleverness.
*Tom's faaaaallling acting is priceless.
*The box cover suggests the Fourth Doctor is in his season 13 costume, with the scarf draped around his throat. I mean, it's possible I guess, but I find it hard to imagine.
*The Doctor would rather eat colorless blocks than fish? Eh? Since when?
*I love it when the show talks about Gallifreyan daily life: the Doctor had a nanny who spoke of gadgets? Sure! The Lord President's cat was killed by a giant rat? Why not?!
*It's cool that we get to see Earth technology in a new context: on another world, microwaves are called radar cookers.
*I was really surprised by how short the Fourth Doctor Adventures are. Why not just four-parters like in the classic era(and no, pairing it up with another story doesn't count)? I was also surprised the running time wasn't on the box and even the wikis just said "two parts".
*"We must initiate a temporal intervention." Yeah, I could use one of those in 2014 or so...
*There is no way the Fourth Doctor was a good enough pilot to materialise the TARDIS around the Geralk robot. This is the classic series! Even Davison had that deal with Heathrow, remember?
*Even in audio form and at 83 years old, Tom remains the master of innuendo. Listen to this: The Doctor instructs Leela to take a decontamination shower, where she ends up(his words) "dripping wet", followed by a swim in the pool."Then I will come find you." He of course, has a mysterious other method to get rid of the Cyber particles on him.
*"I think there's been a disturbance in
*One of my major pet peeves about the audio format reasserted itself here and it's my inability to follow what's going on. I couldn't make out anything in the scene where the robot saves Jamie from contamination until they explained it way later. Doesn't help that getting a straight answer out of the Fourth Doctor is like sticking your fingers in a Chinese puzzle.
*"Odd, but happy... like us." Omg, Leela is so in love.
*The final scene where the Doctor shows Leela the distant planet Telos in the Krelosian night is simply wonderful. It's the kind of moments that were badly needed on the show(and heck, are still needed if the Clara Oswald era is any indication).
CONTINUITY ADVISOR
1) The Cybermen and the Fourth Doctor travel back in time to the events of Tomb Of The Cybermen. Makes sense in context, but oh so indulgent.
2) The Fourth Doctor mentions that the Cybermen are always on the lookout for "spare parts". Subtle callback, I love it.
3) K-9 changes the desktop theme, a skill the TARDIS was revealed to have in the 2007 minisode Time Crash.
4) The Fourth Doctor's reaction to his earlier self being tortured is a mix of the Fifth and Sixth Doctors' in their respective multi-Doctor stories. Nice bit of consistency.
BEST QUOTE
"They are evil?" "Well, they've got no sense of humor, which in my experience is more or less the same thing." That's the Fourth Doctor for you.
CONCLUSION
Frivolous fun.
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