| THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD by David Whittaker |
| Story 40 Synopsis: The TARDIS materialises on a beach. Plans for sandcastles are curtailed when the Doctor is shot at. He, Jamie and Victoria are rescued by a woman named Astrid, and taken to her boss, Giles Kent. The Doctor is identical to popular global figure, Salamander. Kent has a grudge against Salamander, and believes he intends to take over the world. He wants the Doctor to impersonate him, but the latter refuses until he sees evidence. Jamie and Victoria are taken to infiltrate Salamander's security base. Astrid tries to rescue a sympathetic leader, Denes, but Salamander has him accused of treason, and in the confusion, Denes is killed. Jamie and Victoria are placed under guard. Fariah, Salamander's food taster, goes to join Kent, providing evidence of Salamander's evil, and unusual requisitions for food. Finally convinced, the Doctor agrees to play along, although Salamander has found out he has a double. It transpires that there is a secret underground community working for Salamander, thinking there was an atomic disaster above ground. They create artificial disasters (volcanoes, etc), which he predicts, and uses in his power struggles. His scheme uncovered, Salamander tries to hijack the TARDIS, but the Doctor opens the doors in flight, and Salamander is sucked out into space. |
| Review:- Season 5 has gained a soubriquet over the years, as that of the "monster season". Fair enough 6 out of 7 stories feature monsters, 2 of whom are repeat offenders, but I'm not sure this is either conscious, or unique. One other point made is that the central story of this season features no monsters, but a villain who is the physical double of the Doctor. This in itself can in fact be seen as monstrous. Salamander is a slippery rogue on the brink of world domination. He keeps a close check on everyone who is anyone, and either kills or discredits those who threaten him. He is very well acted, almost as if Pat Troughton was a special guest star in someone else's show. His scheme seems very clever, too, a forerunner perhaps of Invasion Of The Dinosaurs ? The rest of the humans we meet are less well-developed or played. Benik overacts himself as the less-than-convincing bad-cop, whilst Kent is so charmless that his eventual revelation as a traitor is tiresome. Bruce manages to hold his own, and poor Denes is so drab that it's a wonder that he could ever have achieved high office (or perhaps not). Fedorin is so weak and spineless that Salamander could almost be cheered for bumping him off. Astrid and Fariah manage to show off well in positive roles, whilst Griffin arguably walks off with the whole show. Victoria and Jamie manage quite well, and Jamie surprises in his undercover role. The Doctor seems unusually cautious for far longer than seems probable, but when he does start into gear, he acts with conviction and daring. Overall, an unusual oddity, but exciting enough for that. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book. |