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Doctor Who: Full Circle

"Why can't people be nice to one another, just for a change? I mean, I'm an alien and you don't want to drag me into a swamp, do you... You do?!"

Say hello to Adric, the Nikki and Paulo of Doctor Who companions.

These days the Doctor has very high standards when it comes to selecting his companions. He claims to only take the very best, those who share his thirst for adventure and exploration. Back in days gone by, however, his standards were so much lower. So low in fact he'd take on any twonk who just happened to wander into the TARDIS. Which is exactly how he ended up with Adric.

The irritating maths wiz is not simply unpopular with fans, he is almost universally loathed and despised, an unholy union of terrible character with an appalling actor. Matthew Waterhouse clearly hasn’t got the foggiest clue what acting actually involves. He just wanders around the set, blank faced, dead eyes, delivering his lines with such unimaginable flatness it could level whole forests. If ever a companion deserved to be pulverised by a crashing spaceship, it’s definitely this annoying little plonker.

'Full Circle' is the first story of the E-Space Trilogy that sees the TARDIS slip out of our universe and into the smaller (and oddly greener) universe of E-Space. Although an improvement on the previous two stories, 'Full Circle' is the weakest part of the trilogy. It starts off quite well, but by episode three things quickly turn into the usual run around corridors, chased by lumbering monsters with all the speed and agility of a milk float with a punctured tire.

Notes and Quotes

--Andrew Smith was only 17 when he wrote this story.

--The Doctor mentions seeing Leela and Andred and K-9 Mark I when they get to Gallifrey.

--Romana makes it clear that she doesn't want to go back to Gallifrey.

--Even for this show, those fake spiders are bad.

--When the Deciders were introducing themselves to the Doctor I kept expecting someone to shout out:


Romana: "Doctor, I don't want to spend the rest of my life on Gallifrey – after all this!"
The Doctor: "Well, you can't fight Time Lords, Romana."
Romana: "You did, once."
The Doctor: "And lost."

Nefred: "Seek out the Doctor. He can teach you to fly the Starliner. It is my wish that you all leave Alzarius."
Login: "And return to Terradon?"
Nefred: "No, we cannot return to Terradon."
Garif: "If the Doctor shows us how?"
Nefred: "We cannot return."
Login: "Why?"
Nefred: "Because... we have never been there."

Nefred: "Garif, we must live up to our names. We must make this decision – together."
Garif: "Yes, of course. But you will agree, it does require some thought."

Two out of four Nikki and Paulos.
--
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.

4 comments:

  1. I think you're being a little unfair here...to Nikki and Paulo.

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  2. My favourite part is that Matthew Waterhouse used to give Tom Baker acting advice. !!!!!!!!!

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  3. If you want to hear Adric done right, check out: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-fifth-doctor-box-set-1014.

    It was released last year, and has the actors from the season 19 TARDIS team back in two new stories written for audio that actually use them well and highlight their characters, rather than the usual 80's generic companion.

    Andrew Smith has written a number of audios for Big Finish, including a Peter Davison story set in E-Space called Mistfall (sequel to Full Circle), a Tom Baker story set in E-Space told from Romana's perspective (The Invasion Of E-Space) and a Colin Baker story intended for TV called The First Sontarans (it got beaten by The Two Doctors for the TV slot).

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  4. Adric was my least favorite companion until a worse one came later...

    This is an interesting take on things, and I quite enjoy it overall, Adric and the other kids aside. The concept of the 'creatures' becoming the colonists and their descendants not really knowing that, barring the oligarchs on top, is one I don't think I've seen anywhere else.

    The E-space trilogy is overall decent even with the introduction of Adric, and this is a good, if not great, story.

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