There is nothing in this
world that can bring a tear to your eye like a good, old fashioned love
story. Yet whenever Doctor Who has
delved into love stories I often find myself needing to wretch from the amount
of cliché’s present. There’s also
usually quite a lot of problems when it comes to characterization in these
types of Doctor Who stories as the characters usually have their romance be
their only character trait of note. The Rocket Men however is actually a
story that gives the fans exactly what they want when it comes to the romance
of Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
The opening narration questions when someone can know they’re in love
and how far they will go to save one another.
The Rocket Men is a story that
pushes Ian over the edge and makes him take the active role in saving Barbara’s
life as they are both pushed to the edge of sanity while the Doctor is
sidelined for most of the story as he’s trying to find a way to defeat the
titular rocket men. The story itself
sees the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki arrive on a floating city that is a
holiday spot above the planet Jobis.
Outside are flying manta rays and everything is peaceful, but the story
opens in media res so the audience knows that there is going to be an invasion
from the Rocket Men so we know everything is going to fall apart which is a
great hook for the story and creates a feeling of dread in the listener.
William Russell as Ian
Chesterton goes through a large character arc over the course of this story as
he realizes just how much he feels in love with Barbara Wright. In the beginning of the story when they’re
just going around having a bit of fun on Platform One, the Doctor’s off doing
scientific experiments, and Ian and Vicki are exploring, Barbara gets
sick. This is really the first inkling
that Ian and the audience really gets that Ian’s feelings for Barbara may be
more than just being friends. Ian wants
to stay with Barbara while she’s sick and has to stay in bed but is convinced
to let Vicki have fun and when he ignores his feelings, the Rocket Men show
up. It’s a wake-up call for Ian that he
does care for Barbara as the Rocket Men identify the TARDIS team as a threat
and are the ones to capture them and torture them. The story not only has scenes of torture, but
then has Ian in the role as the action man, taking one of the Rocket Men’s
rocket packs and fistfights the Rocket Men’s leader outside the floating
city. This is the climax of the story
and is just an excellent way to frame a climax.
The Rocket Men are really
the only other element of this story outside of that excellently written love
story. John Dorney has created an
antagonist that works really well with the era of the show that he was working
with. Pirates who steal using jetpacks
is something straight out of a science fiction B movie. Disney had a film where the Nazi’s had rocket
packs and the Rocket Men are a villains at least partially inspired by this
type of villain. Dorney has also done
more than make them stereotypes, but makes them terrifying villains for the
length of the story. They are ruthless
when it comes to killing those who get in their way. They come to Platform One to rob it and are
packing heat. Ashman is their leader and
it is Gus Brown’s portrayal of the character that really does a lot to ensure
there’s a bit of fear in the character.
He forces Ian to do things that Ian would never do like abandoning his
friends so he can rescue them and almost suggests doing a double suicide as a
way to end their air battle in the end of the story.
To summarize, The Rocket Men is the best love story
Doctor Who could ever have thought to give an audience, and it isn’t even a
television story. William Russell gives
Ian a life outside the Doctor and gives a real chance to express Ian’s feelings
to Barbara. The titular Rocket Men
create a credible threat for one story that comes straight out of the time the
audio is set and John Dorney crafts an excellent narrative for us to
follow. The release is flawless in the
presentation of the story from Big Finish. 100/100
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