1 episode. Approx. 20 minutes. Written by: Bernard Venables. Produced by: David Little.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS is pulled back in time... Way back, to the creation of the Earth. The Doctor takes this opportunity to show Sarah Jane exactly how her world began. Using a two-person capsule, he takes his companion in close. As they move forward in time, he describes how the chaos unfolding all around - from space gas to volcanic fury - will result in the evolution of an ordered planet teaming with life.
But not if the Megron (John Westbrook) has his way. A member of the chaos-worshipping Carion race, the Megron insists that this world will remain a bastion of chaos forever. "Order will never come!" the Megron insists."There is no air for creatures to breathe. Only gases, totally smothering... There can be no life!"
Leaving the Doctor to confront the Megron in a battle for the future of the Earth...
CHARACTERS
Given its short running time and educational brief, it would be ridiculous to give a detailed look at the characterization. Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen bring their usual energy to bear and, to his credit, Tom plays it straight, showing no less commitment to the role here than he was at this point of the television series. Sladen gets the worst of it, having to stand in for the slowest of schoolchildren as she repeats variations of "What's that, Doctor?" throughout. Even the Doctor gets impatient with her at one point, snapping at her to "Stop whittering!" No surprise that, when Exploration Earth was metnioned in the bonus interview with Sladen on The Pescatons CD, she had nothing good to say about her role in this particular piece.
THOUGHTS
Much like Doctor Who and the Pescatons, this story marks a milestone for audio Who. This was the first Doctor Who audio story made for broadcast. It was also the first truly full-cast Doctor Who audio play. As opposed to the almost entirely-narrated Pescatons, all the action in this story is fully dramatized. Finally, it was the first Who story made for another series. Though I will refer to this as Exploration Earth for the sake of convenience, that was actually the name of the show for which it was made, an education radio series made for schoolchildren.
As with The Pescatons, it's of more value as a curiosity piece than as a Doctor Who story. But it's an amiable enough curiosity piece, one whose reach doesn't exceed its twenty-minute grasp. The Megron/Doctor arguments are there to create something resembling conflict, but the focus throughout is the Doctor giving Sarah Jane a very quick primer on the Earth's creation. As an educational tool, it's passable. As a story, it at least doesn't feel rushed - though I question whether the Megron was actually necessary, particularly given that an alien chaos monster doesn't really belong in a science program.
Really, I don't have much else to say about this. It's a functional twenty minute educational audio drama, and it's no chore to listen to. Given that Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen made only two Who audios together - this and The Pescatons - it is probably worth a listen on that basis alone.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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