| FRONTIER IN SPACE by Malcolm Hulke |
| Story 67 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands in the cargo hold of a spaceship. To the Doctor's dismay, the ship is then raided by Ogrons, who take the ship cargo, and the TARDIS. Unable to explain their arrival on board, the Doctor and Jo are considered stowaways. When they arrive on Earth, they find a planet on the brink of war. The human race has an equal - the Draconians. There is talk of raids on ships of both sides, each thinking that it is the actions of the other. Since the Doctor cannot prove the existence of the Ogrons, his talks of a "third party" inciting the others to war is discounted. Shortly, the Doctor is sent to the penal colony on the Moon, with Jo imprisoned on Earth. The Doctor plots escape, and finds an accomplice. The Master arrives, claiming the Doctor and Jo as prisoners from his world, and he is allowed to take Jo away. His arrival on the Moon is fortunate, for the Doctor's attempted escape goes badly wrong. The Doctor deduces that the Master is using the Ogrons to foment a human-Draconian war. All the Master will say is that the people he is working for want the Doctor alive. The Doctor attempts an escape, but it goes wrong. Finding themselves at the Draconian court, the Master attempts to wheedle his way to freedom, but the Doctor is an old ally of the Draconian nobles, and is believed. The Ogrons attack, rescuing the Master, taking Jo, but losing one of their number. Now, with evidence, the Doctor and the Draconian Prince return to Earth. There is last minute objections from the top military chap, Williams, but when it transpires that the 20 year old skirmish between the two sides was an accident that he caused, he is enthusiastic to make amends. So, they all go to the Ogron planet, where they meet the Master's allies - the Daleks! The Doctor manages to get the humans and Draconians back to their ships, so that they can unite in a direct assault on the Ogron planet. The Master shoots the Doctor, who barely makes it to the TARDIS. Sending a telepathic message to the Time Lords to send them after the Daleks, the Doctor then collapses into a coma. |
| Review:- So, the 10th Anniversary attempt at a 12 part Dalek story is split into 2, and this is very clever, for there is no indication, not even a glimmer, that the Daleks are going to turn up at the end. OK, the Ogrons might raise some eyebrows, but the eventual arrival of the Master makes a good swerve. The story is pretty simple, and works because the tensions are just so obvious. The "third party" is so clever, that it's no surprise that no-one believes it. The Doctor and Jo are really just controlled by events, cut off from the TARDIS (homage to the early Seasons?), with no-one to turn to, and things only start picking up when their old nemesis turns up. The Master is so smooth, so easy at manipulating everyone around, it's not that surprising that the war is so close. It almost makes you think that he egged on Williams to make the fatal strike all the years before. It is a bit cliched that Williams should have been the pivotal man 20 years ago, and now is again. But his moment of revelation is good in plot terms. It is a neat touch that Earth's leader is a woman, and sort of subtle that her main opponent is a man, and a pretty bloodthirsty one at that. Having read the novelisation first, I marvel that whereas the book is paced so that there are some really powerful cliffhangers (read 1 episode = 2 chapters, you'll see it), on TV, the cliffhangers are really weak. It's odd to compare the two, e.g. when the end of episode 5 comes in the last chapter! I like this story, for not only does it stand up well on its own, but it serves as a set-up for the story to come. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book, and seen the video. |