Earth & Beyond: Dead Time

1 episode.  Approx. 35 minutes.  Written by: Andrew Miller. Directed by: John Taylor.  Performed by: Paul McGann.


THE PLOT

Trapped within a dead, forgotten derelict, totally paralyzed and helpless, the Doctor finds himself besieged by ghostly voices invading his mind. He will have to use all his mental powers to defend himself, before these beings known only as "The Forgotten" not only kill him, but wipe his very existence out of history!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: The story confirms that this is still comparatively soon after the regeneration into his 8th persona. We also are told that a tiny part of the Doctor's brain dies every time he regenerates, healing over but remaining essentially dead tissue. Once he figures out the true nature of "The Forgotten," his fear of them is replaced by scorn, as he regards them as incompetent bunglers and murderers.

Sam Jones: Has a strong sarcastic streak in this story - maybe too strong, as she has a sarcastic response to almost everything the Doctor says to her, though at least it's played off as a reaction to their spooky surroundings. Her crush on the Doctor is still strong, as evidenced by her blushing when he ties his cravat around her to keep them together in the darkness, and she is nervous about showing her fears within this darkened derelict, lest she come across as a frightened child.


THOUGHTS

This is a well-crafted short story that is given an extra boost by an excellent audio production. The production is approached very much like a ghost story, with the voices of "The Forgotten" rendered in ghoulish whispers that shift from one side of the audio frame to the other, echoing to chilly effect. Sound effects and music enhance the atmosphere, while Paul McGann's voice lends itself quite well to the gothic mood. McGann seems to particularly relish voicing "The Forgotten," who whisper lines about how they "are going to kill you, Doctor... so slowly."

The story itself is a good one, with writer Andrew Miller using a flashback structure to good effect. The story begins with the Doctor already trapped, fighting against the mad voices who seem not to threaten his death so much as promise it. From that point, the story moves back and forth between the Doctor's struggle against "The Forgotten," and the events that led to him becoming trapped. When the flashback has fully caught up with the story's opening, then the narrative moves on to a solution - one which could seem like a continuity overload, but which manages to work within the context of the story.

As with other short stories, there really isn't much to add. It's a tidy little piece, very well-produced and well-read by McGann. If you can get hold of it at a good price, either in the original cassette release Earth & Beyond or in the Tales of the TARDIS collection, this one is recommended.


Rating: 7/10.

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