Day 278 — October 5th 2021
The Keeper of Traken Parts One and Two
The Keeper of Traken — Part One
Tell you what, as rubbish and sudden as Romana’s departure was yesterday, it’s worked wonders for Adric. His relationship with Doctor Who is completely different in this episode — far warmer — and there’s something refreshing about not having Romana there to be catty and difficult to the boy. Now I think back over it, Adric was paired more with Romana than Doctor Who in all of the E-Space stories, so this is the first opportunity we’ve really had to see these two together.
It’s really nice to watch them, and Tom Baker seems oddly lighter as a result. I wonder if removing Lalla Ward from the production has made his working life a little easier? There’s times when their love for each other shines through on screen — the prison scene in State of Decay is the perfect example.
Unfortunately their relationship was by all accounts somewhat fractious, and I think that can be seen on screen too, as the location work for State of Decay shows. In this episode, though, it’s like the weight of the world has been lifted from Baker’s shoulders, and we get some proper beaming grins. Doctor Who’s been a bit dour lately, trapped in E-Space, so it’s nice to see him lighten up.
I’d usually be complaining about the fact that our heroes spend the first half of this episode stuck inside the TARDIS having exposition spouted at them (there’s a full five minute flashback sequence to get us up to speed with the plot) but it’s so much fun watching Waterhouse and Baker together, and the script is filled with some brilliant moments for the pair. I’ve written down loads of quotes from these scenes, but I think my favourite is probably;
Doctor Who: ‘I thought so.’
Adric: ‘Thought what?’
Doctor Who: ‘I thought you might appreciate it if I gave you the impression
I knew what was happening. We could panic, of course, but where would
that get us?’
It helps as well that all the material outside the TARDIS looks great, right down to the model shot of the TARDIS flying through space at the beginning, with a backdrop of stars and planets. I don’t think we’ve ever had a TARDIS model shot quite like this before and I think if looks great.
Down on Traken the sets are huge and nicely designed, and the Grove is especially impressive — there’s some shots of it bathed in moonlight which look huge, and are lit with real care to make them stand out. We’ve not seen much of this society yet, but I already feel like I’ve got the measure of it, and I love Doctor Who’s description of their eternal peace;
Doctor Who: ‘The Traken Union, famous for its universal harmony. A whole empire held together by…’
Adric: ‘By?’
Doctor Who: ‘Well, by people just being terribly nice to each other.’
It’s a strong start. 8/10
The Keeper of Traken — Part Two
There’s a really fine line between a good Doctor Who story and a bad one, and I find it really interesting that people’s reactions to individual stories can vary so widely. As we’ve seen already in this marathon there’s several stories often considered absolute classics which I’ve not understood the love for. And I’m sure there’s some stories which I’ve enjoyed lots while other people might not be fans.
I’m thinking about this because I’m enjoying The Keeper of Traken but can easily imagine a world in which I’d find it boring. There’s lengthy scenes in this one which feature Traken councillors standing around discussing protocol with no incidental music. By rights these should be incredibly dull and should see my score plummeting. But for whatever reason I’m engaged by them, and I’ve enjoyed seeing just how this world works. I praised State of Decay the other day for featuring a well-rounded and believable society, and the same is true of the Traken Union on display here.
Crucially I believe that there’s a whole world outside of what we’re seeing on screen. When the Fosters were first introduced in Part One I assumed they’d be written out of the story fairly quickly, because I couldn’t remember them from my last viewing and I liked their costumes enough to think that they’d be memorable. But no, they’re still playing a key role in the cliffhanger to this episode.
There’s also ‘ordinary citizens’ gathering outside the Grove, giving hint of a society outside the palace. This sort of thing isn’t always the case — they tried to make the Starliner look packed in Full Circle, but it only ever looked like a handful of extras stood in a corridor. Here, on the other hand, I believe that these people have come from somewhere. Even more interestingly there’s little hints of the class structure to the society — Nyssa’s dislike of seeing commoners inside the palace tells us far more about her character than anything else in the story. Even though she’s playing her part to clear a path for her and Adric, the words come a bit too quickly to her tongue.
Again in common with State of Decay, the design work in this story is working together across departments — sets, make up and costume — to create a place that feels totally in tune. It’s perhaps telling that this shares many of the same New Romantic flourishes from that earlier story. Clearly this is a style I’m fond of in Doctor Who…!
7/10
