Main Range 248: Black Thursday/Power Game (spoilers)

Our review indiemacuser.co.uk/2019/02/12/review-doctor-who-black-thursday-power-game/

I really enjoyed both of these stories, but especially Black Thursday.

Black Thursday is so bleak and dark. It’s really effective.

It’s a shame, then, that we get such a bloated resolution in the second part. The ending is that happy and under developed it undercuts the bleak atmosphere and the epilogue seems unnecessary.

I think it would’ve been better for Kamelion to have taken on the form of Gwyn, with the mother unaware he’d died. That would’ve been a better way of dealing with her grief, rather than Kamelion promising revenge. The Doctor would’ve had to recover Kamelion and the whole thing would’ve come to a head. It would’ve suited the atmosphere of the story much better than the ending we got and it would’ve prevented yet another story where Kamelion gets possessed by a very strong personality, though I suppose he feels more developed come the end of this story.

I'm not sure Black Thursday really needed to go so far as it did to make the point about Kameleon being susceptible to influence (or Power Game either for that matter) but it's very impressive that both of these stories were easily good enough to make up for that rather sizable complaint. My final impression of both is that this is some very good Doctor Who.

Black Thursday

As someone who is keen on history/historical fiction (just finished re-listening to The Peterloo Massacre) I opted for this story first. To be honest, I thought it wasn't too bad - was definitely a step up from the last monthly release and did develop Kamelion on a bit more (which was always the intention of these stories I think).

The first episode was a generally good set up - the depiction of a Welsh mining village and the hardships of mining life come across well here. Doctor Who, once again, can make interesting social commentaries without needing to be too 'in your face about it'. Again, Davison not liking historical stories is rather ironic as his Doctor is well suited for this genre and is generally well scripted here. The pace of the first episode, leading to the inevitable mining accident, is just about right and creates a dark tone - Gywn not wanting to go down the mines and his father thinking he is a bit 'soft' segue quite well into the plot and make the actual cave-in rather more emotional than it possibly needs to be. Again, the point that many of the working classes having to take what was available and not being able to choose their destinies is well served. 

I think the second episode is rather weaker and doesn't really fit with the gritty narrative that I would have liked. As already pointed out, the characters do become rather 3D Cliches - the uncaring toff, the 'good hearted working class man', the vengeful miner, the distrusting villager, etc. However, I suppose when the intention of the story is to develop Kamelion (rather than promote realistic drama) and allow him to understand human emotion - these things can be sidelined somewhat. Although unrealistic, the story does lift at the end and isn't entirely bleak - yes, it was highly likely that the miner who punched the mine owner would have lost his job (or been thrown into jail) and that Eira would either have ended up in penury, shunned by the village and/or had to live with another miner and carry on the cycle of her existence - but perhaps a more happier ending isn't always a bad thing?

I liked the mini-epilogue - the return to 1984 and the monument is a nice touch. Again, the subtle dig at the fact that the sacrifices of the miners being forgotten (and industrial policy at that time), is quite welcome.

All in all, not a bad release. Two episodes is just right for this. The story wraps itself up well and has good plotting. The first episode and the last section of the second are definitely strong. Whether the story needed to be very dark/bleak is down to personal taste I think. I would have preferred a more realistic approach as others have said, but I can see why the approach was taken here - after all Kamelion does appear to be developing more.

Will be interesting to see what happens with the next story. Are BF experimenting with this format again I wonder?

I agree. It will be interesting to see what they do with Kamelion. He is such a 'difficult' companion for BF in many ways - there are few TV adventures (if any) with him in it, so there's little material to work with. In addition, the name of the character implies shape-shifting abilities, which is rather difficult to pull off in the audio stories. Hence, they've got to go with his untrustworthiness and ability to be dominated/manipulated (that's the essence of his character from The King's Demons).

I wonder if there's a second batch of adventures already recorded for next year and this trilogy is being used to lay the groundwork for greater development. Certainly, the stories do need to move away from 'here's Kamelion being influenced again - first by the Master, then by Tegan in Devil in the Mist and then by Eira in Black Thursday. Not heard Power Game yet, so can't comment, but it might be a theme. Will the Doctor 'break' this habit or weakness is one to be seen - the final story in the trilogy might have the answers to this. How much this develops will depend on the availability of Mark Strickson I suppose - this set of stories is his first return to the MR since 2015.

In many ways this trilogy is interesting due to its *potential* and the sheer unknown direction it seems to be going in. As stories themselves, the releases aren't amazing and, sadly, I think are slightly down on what we've seen with Davison in the past - Equilibrium onwards has been a fantastic run, with some stories being very, very good. 

Two excellent stories but Kamelion is such a flipping liability, he needs sending to a intergalactic disposal tip straight away scapped for spare parts.