| THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN by Johnny Byrne |
| Story 114 Synopsis: The TARDIS is visited by a powerful being called The Keeper Of Traken. He knows the Doctor by reputation. He warns that there is evil brewing on Traken, and invites the Doctor to help. When he and Adric arrive, they are accused of being evil. The Keeper is summoned, but he gives the mistaken impression that they are evil. There is a Melkur creature, apparently a statue, kept in a Grove, which has been tended for years by a Consul, Kassia. Her husband Tremas has been made Keeper-elect, and she doesn't want to lose him. The Melkur offers her a bargain so that she may keep Tremas. The Doctor and Adric are put in a cell, whilst the Melkur hides the TARDIS. Tremas is sceptical that the travellers are so bad. Kassia has Tremas discredited, and he is prevented from becoming Keeper. But Melkur coerces Kassia into replacing her husband. The Doctor manages to avoid a death sentence. The old Keeper dies, and Kassia takes his place. But Melkur gazumps her, to become the new Keeper. Before he can fully take the power of the Source, the Doctor devises a short-circuit, expelling Melkur. The Doctor discovers that the Melkur is just a TARDIS, containing his old nemesis, the Master. With the Source again needing a new Keeper, Consul Luvic steps in. The Doctor and Adric rush away, but the Master manages to grab Tremas and take over his body, before leaving Traken. |
| Review:- So, with the longest run of any television Doctor rapidly drawing to a conclusion, and with the mini-series in E-Space concluded with a change of guard, the TARDIS arrives on the archaic world of Traken, at the behest of benevolent superbeing The Keeper. After clueing the Doctor and Adric (& the audience) of why they must go to Traken, he promptly becomes less useful than a chocolate teapot. But that is only the beginning for this story. Tremas, having got a daughter somehow, marries Kassia and becomes Keeper-elect. Sadly, Kassia is a nutcase who worships a statue. Despite having a clear personality problem, Kassia manages to dupe Luvic and Katura that straight-as-a-dye Tremas is the baddy. Seron is smart enough to defend Tremas, and gets pasted by Kassia. The neck-bracelet is a handy piece of science that allows Kassia to start zapping people with her fake eyes. It is somewhat ironic that Kassia favours Melkur over Tremas, when Melkur is as pro-science as her intended. Nyssa sadly is as wet a blanket as you could get without naming her Duvay. She actually makes Adric look good! Tremas is probably the best thing on the whole show, and in time-honoured tradition, doesn't get to live happily ever after. The Master's final act of meanness is perhaps his most effective (well, pushing Kassia over the edge was clearly no struggle). The Doctor is somewhat capricious here, seeming to recognise Melkur, but not cottoning on to the Master until it's almost too late. In fact, had he not found out, it might just have been more dramatic, given that their battle rolls on. Oh, and Neman really gets what he deserves. Overall, it could have been much worse, but equally, it should have been oh so much better. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |