The Surprising Adventures of the Seventh Doctor.
Aug 15, 2019 19:21:12 GMT
doctorkernow, project37, and 1 more like this
Post by slithe on Aug 15, 2019 19:21:12 GMT
I'm borrowing from a post I'd made elsewhere ages ago, but I think the first run of Klein stories holds up and forms the best and most cohesive "trilogy" for BF Doctor Who.
It's remarkable just how strongly the three (well, four) stories click together, even though there are different authors and wildly different settings. Unlike my experience with a lot of the trilogies, this one felt like they had some time to plan it out and create a *journey* out of the overall narrative. I love how things started on a seemingly innocuous note with a cozy (so to speak) story to bring the leads together before effortlessly moving into a clever "flashback" episode to underscore their very uncomfortable and tenuous partnership.
Solid guest casting from start to finish (including the phenomenal use of Schmidt!), and I loved how the stakes get bigger and bigger as the arc continues. The "visual budget" seems to grow exponentially as the settings (and the soundtrack) increase in scale. Even though the Seventh Doctor and Klein can seem like a cold pairing on the surface, the writing manage to stir emotions in me, especially by the time we got to Rachel's fate (and Klein's).
The stories themselves aren't particularly unique (humans destroying an otherwise peaceful world, book-ended by variations of "base under siege" adventures), but the dynamic between the Doctor and Klein is well-charted throughout the stories (there's a meaningful sense of progression) and I found their relationship to be both uncomfortable yet compelling.
Was this just a matter of luck in terms of things lining up so smoothly, or was there actually a bit more time (and space) to develop an overall vision before heading into the studio? Either way, this for me is among the pinnacle of audio Doctor Who and is an easy highlight of the overall range. It's strange to think that it's been almost ten years (!) since this was released, but I'm hard-pressed to think of any other trilogies that hit similar heights in terms of concept and execution.
Other trilogies have come close and there have been some pretty good releases since, but this one is unique in that it does fit together really well and consistently so. The Magic Mousetrap Trilogy with Hex is also highly recommended, but the Klein trilogy just pips it.
Whilst I also liked the resolution of the Hex-arc, I do think that the Seventh Doctor has struggled a bit with the ordinary MR stories to find a direction. Personally, I think the New-Adventures stories (box set and novel adaptations) have given us some of the stronger stories with Seven and I would prefer to see this approach developed in the future.