| THE CURSE OF FENRIC by Ian Briggs |
| Story 157 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands near a secret Naval camp in 1943, where the Doctor wants to visit the Enigma machine. He and Ace learn that the camp is manufacturing a new chemical weapon, which will be used by the British on the Russians, who have come to steal the Ultima machine. But the real danger comes from the sea - Haemovores, blood-sucking vampires who are brought in by Fenric, a coalescence of evil. The Doctor trapped Fenric with a game of chess, 17 centruies earlier, and Fenric wants revenge. Ace unwittingly allows Fenric to win, but the Doctor has tricked Fenric again. By convincing the Ancient Haemovore to kill Fenric's body, the Doctor ensures Fenric is imprisoned again. |
| Review:- This was quite a major story for the late period of the Doctor's life, and the most crucial adventure for Ace. Over the previous 7 stories, she had come across as a teenage tearaway, with admissions of past delinquency, but only vague hints of how and why she became the way she did. This story provides answers. It also gives us a cast-iron World War II drama without any Germans, and a hard-hitting lesson about pollution and chemical weapons. At the heart of all is the Doctor, and his long-running feud with Fenric, a force of evil that the Doctor had previously trapped. A match for the Time Lord's deviousness and planning, Fenric manipulates all the people we meet to enable him to break free, and defeat the Doctor's "game of traps". I have previously been terse about many aspects of this story, but watching it again lately, much has become stronger, whilst other parts remain weak. Alfred Lynch is a revelation as Commander Millington, driven mad not my war, but by his guilt over Judson, and his beliefs in Norse mythology. Dinsdale Landen, by contrast, is imbecilic as Judson, and has some awful dialogue as Fenric. Jean & Phyllis, the evacuees from hell, turn out to be so hopeless, it almost makes Ace seem an adequate character, although the appalling 'seduce the guard' scene is one of the series' worst. Tomek Bork makes a good soldier as Sorin, although he becomes less impressive when Fenric takes him over. Nicholas Parsons does well enough as Reverend Wainwright, who seems to be frowned on and belittled by everyone, and is ultimately brought down at his own last stand. In the novelisation, Ian Briggs describes Christianity as the "two-thousand-year-old-lie", which caused some concern at the time. Certainly compared to most of what happens in the story, the irreligiousness is glossed over. The Haemovores are quite nasty, although they don't really get to do much. The Ancient One is nothing more than a plot device to destroy his kin, and then bring down Fenric. Once again the all-knowing Doctor pretends to know nothing, and everything works out for him. Quite why this has achieved so much praise is a mystery to me, as it reduces the intrigue. On the whole, the messages are more interesting than the medium. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |