| THE SUN MAKERS by Robert Holmes |
| Story 95 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands on the roof of a very tall building, in time to stop a man named Cordo throwing himself off. This is Pluto, where the human race has been relocated by the Company, since Earth and Mars are no longer viable. As they descend the building, the Doctor, Leela and Cordo meet rebels, who force the Doctor into a test of character, whilst they hold Leela hostage. The Doctor has to try and withdraw money from an ATM, but his card is rejected, and he is gassed. When he awakes, he learns that a gas, PCM, is pumped into the air to keep the workers servile and anxious. The Doctor is freed, but secretly bugged. When Leela and Cordo try to find and free him, she is captured. Cordo explains this to the Doctor, who urges rebellion. Leela is threatened with being steamed, as a lure to trap the Doctor, but he frees her in the nick of time. As Cordo leads the rebellion, the Doctor meets the brains behind the Company, the Collector, who comes from Usurius. They are taxing the human race as well as keeping them servile. The Doctor induces an inflationary spiral into the computers, forcing the Collector to abandon the whole operation on Pluto. |
| Review:- Out in space, the human race faces the same old problems... Perhaps the basis of the story is Holmes' desire to poke fun at tax officials. It certainly gives a good foundation to things, with the human race at the mercy of an even greedier race, not only taxed, but kept quiet by mass gas attacks. No wonder people might be driven to attempt suicide. From this point, the Doctor and Leela are nothing short of saviours, more so than usual. So, it's an odd start with the Doctor forced to act criminal to save Leela's life. Given that the rebels endanger them, it's a wonder they're so willing to save the day. But here the bad guys are given little evidence of misguidedness. The Company is all-bad, and the Collector is really meant as one of the vilest nasties the Doctor has ever faced. The Usurians are no better than the Daleks for mass exploitation of slaves, certainly. So, it becomes merely a matter of waiting for the Doctor to bring down the baddies, whilst Leela handily foments revolution to unwittingly cover his tracks. Presumably the Megropolises would be better run after the changes implemented by her actions than by his. It's sometimes said that family entertainment can mean kids shows having jokes that adults could get. But here, there is slightly too much weight on the adult humour, with less concern for younger viewers. It's a reasonable adventure, but not going to change anyone's life. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and probably read the book. |