Sometimes a story just
can feel out of place in its own era of stories. The
Kingmaker is one of those stories which is a light hearted comedy near the
end of the Fifth Doctor’s era which was most famous for being hard science fiction
as John Nathan-Turner had thought Doctor Who should always be serious
drama. The tonal shift in stories isn’t
always a bad thing especially since The
Kingmaker has the comedic writings of Nev Fountain who is a writer who
knows just how to write the Doctor Who characters in a way that keeps them
shining through the tonal differences which is essential to keeping up with a
good story and writes an extremely entrancing setting for the characters and
the audience to explore that The
Kingmaker works well as a story.
The plot sees the Doctor
be loan sharked into completing the final novel in the Doctor Who Discovers… series which he wrote to earn money during
his exile which was to be Doctor Who
Discovers Historical Mysteries. When
in his Fourth incarnation he began writing about Richard III and the Princes in
the Tower and of course the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem have to
investigate. They of course get
themselves separated to add another time travel element to a story that really could
have made for a great representation of the Hartnell historical, but of course
it really doesn’t make it into that story type as while there isn’t an alien
threat, Mr. Seyton being a time traveler and the massive amounts of time
travelling featured. It really is
difficult to describe what should really just be a straightforward storyline
and honestly I love it. It cannot be explained
but Nev Fountain makes the simple into complex and the complex into the simple
in a way that just doesn’t feel contrived.
Big Finish of course use
a lot of talent on the acting in this release with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy alumni, Michael Fenton Stevens
playing the dastardly Mr. Setyon who is just a joy to listen to especially when
it is revealed who exactly he is. The
twists involving just how he can be there is also quite hilarious. The play also guest stars Jon Culshaw who
while Earl Rivers, the main character he plays, is completely bland, Big Finish
uses his impressionist skills to play the Fourth Doctor in a recorded message
which really is just what he’s in this story for. It’s a great cameo considering that Tom Baker
refused to return to the audios until over ten years after they began
production. It’s not like he’s a bad
actor, it’s just that Culshaw is a bit wasted on this story as he is a great
comedic actor. It’s really the only
problem in the story with the exception of Peter Davison who doesn’t do
anything wrong as the Doctor, but doesn’t have as much to do.
Nicola Braynt’s Peri and
Caroline Morris’ Erimem is really where the story shines as their relationship
is one of the funniest. Erimem is a
woman who will take none of anyone’s shit.
She breaks the arms of people who try to touch her royal behind and is
completely up to sacrificing someone’s life if it will save the web of
time. Of course Peri is the one who is
opposed to violence and is almost at odds with Erimem as they come from
completely different times, yet they act very much like two halves to the same
whole as they have to survive in a period unfamiliar to both of them. They know that the Doctor is going to come
and get them, but they just don’t know when so are waiting. The two actresses pull the roles and
situations off extremely well and just carry the entire story which is great.
To summarize, The Kingmaker is a great story that
takes a spin on the Hartnell historical with ease from the brilliant Nev
Fountain. 90/100
No comments:
Post a Comment