| THE INFINITE QUEST by Alan Barnes |
| Story ? Synopsis: The Doctor and Martha foil Balthasar, but are warned that he intends to see a lost ship, the Infinite, which is reputed to offer one's heart's desire. Reluctantly, they locate the info-chips that eventually lead them to the location of the Infinite. At that point, Balthasar steps in, and knocks the Doctor out, taking Martha in the TARDIS. But the Doctor catches them up anyway, and trashes the ship, which is on its last legs anyway. |
| Review:- The brave new world of animated adventures led to this, originally shown in short bursts during S3, but generally screened in omnibus format now. The dull title is at least a straightforward play on words, and the plot allows for trips to several planets to showcase the skill of the animation. Both David Tennant and Freema Agyeman were on hand to provide the voices, and Tony Head brought a typical villainy to Balthasar. The story itself isn't really that deep, but does sustain interest, with the missing chips being tied in with the story of Balthasar and the prison on Volag Nok (or however it's spelt). After pirates, insects and a high-tech prison, the story thankfully cuts to the chase, displaying an economy of narrative that many actual episodes would benefit from. Certainly this is Martha's 2nd best adventure after her debut in Smith And Jones. It's tempting to wonder how great an influence the telly team had on the story, in many ways it feels liberated by a non-Cardiffian overtone, and it's definitely shocking to do a story not set on Earth or relating to humans whatsoever. Perhaps that marks it out more than it should. The sledgehammer-subtle moralising about oil, about eco-habitat destruction, about punishment of crime, and so on, would be entirely in keeping, and it's lucky that each little section is so brief as to not outstay its welcome. On the whole, then, this is worth seeing for different reasons, and if the animation is variable (Martha tends to look right, the Doctor doesn't), then it's still a bold experiment. |
| Disclaimer: I have seen it. |