"For a race with two hearts they show little compassion."Who are we with?: The genius scientist and spacefaring medic Controller Nyssa of Traken.
Where are we?: We're on Reave, a planet not far from Gallifrey.
When are we?: We're in the 36th century, at some point before Nyssa rejoins the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough in 3530 in Cobwebs. For the Doctor, this presumably takes place before The Starship of Theseus.
Who are the bad guys?: The Time Lords.
The Good:
- Nyssa tending to victims of the Last Great Time War sounds so obvious that it makes you wonder why you never thought about it before. It's a brilliant idea to have the intelligent and kind-hearted Nyssa seeing to the poor people that get caught in the crossfire, wandering the universe in a hospital named after her home planet.
- Nyssa's difficulty to comprehend and accept the actions and new morality of the Time Lords makes it clear how much the race changes from their general passivity in the classic series to the war-like race we see in the modern. They've gone from having next to no contact with the universe outside of Gallifrey to threatening the nearby Reave, which wishes to remain neutral.
- The Doctor boarded The Traken fearing that Nyssa would come to harm because of the Time Lords' threats, saying that he wanted to protect the person with the most good in them that he had ever met. How sweet is that? Nyssa was always such an innocent character and the Doctor concerning himself with protecting her while the Time War is bubbling away perfectly represents his ethos.
- The Doctor leaves Nyssa knowing her looming fate in E-space in The Entropy Plague with just a kiss on the cheek, with Nyssa not even knowing who he was and thinking that he was unlike the Doctor. A beautiful final farewell.
- Some might find the lack of action to be a bad thing. Personally, I don't. This talkier story is a much more interesting way to explore Nyssa and the evolution of the Time Lords.
- The reveal of Dr Isherwood being a Time Lady doesn't really ring true after all the character building, and are the Time Lords really so vicious so early in the Time War? The explosions and Isherwood carving out one of her hearts sounds like something even Cardinal Ollistra wouldn't order. But then perhaps I'm a Time Lord apologist who doesn't want to accept it.
- The robotic Sisters bear the green crescent, said by the Tenth Doctor in New Earth to be the universal symbol for a hospital.
- Time Lords' allergy to gases in the praxis range was first mentioned by the Fifth Doctor in The Caves of Androzani whilst explaining to Peri why he wears celery.
- Nyssa has named a ward aboard The Traken the Turlough Ward after the Trion companion she would soon join once again. Another is the Adric Ward, named after the boy genius from Alzarius that died in Earthshock.
- The Doctor kisses Nyssa as they part, just as he did as a goodbye in Terminus.
I'll Explain Later: How does Dr Isherwood know about the Doctor Foster nursery rhyme?
The Inquisitor's Judgement: A very nice little story wonderfully performed by Sarah Sutton. It's an interesting take on the Time War by seeing how it affects the lives of previous companions and hopefully there'll be a few more to come. Nyssa was a character that wasn't given a whole lot to do onscreen so giving her centre stage in her own story is a great thing for fans of hers. Having the Time Lords seem like the villains of the Time War is a delightful new spin but after all of the characterisation of Dr Isherwood, her being a Time Lords isn't entirely convincing despite an earlier hint or two. Regardless, as a Nyssa piece this is a very good story that I would rate as an A.
The British Invasion | A Heart on Both Sides | All Hands on Deck
No comments:
Post a Comment