Gallifrey; Chapter V  - “Lies" by Gary Russell

Gallifrey Series One was not everything I had hoped it to be. Overall, I think it was a consistently fine affair that I was promised acted as an extended pilot, a sentiment I definitely agreed on after finishing it. The stories all followed too similar a formula and too similar a style. The themes, whilst there, were surface level and the characters all had their moments but really it felt like the build up to something bigger, something better. Good, but not impressive. I expected Lies to be the entrance to a new era for Gallifrey, the new wave, and that was, ironically, a lie.

Weeks following the time disruption in Berlin, President Romana is trying to keep a furious high council at bay after she implements numerous, controversial changes. Meanwhile, as Leela sulks through the subterranean Gallifreyan vaults, an old and cunning presence grows ever stronger.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

The thing that really bothered me about Lies is that it wasn’t bad, it really wasn’t, but it also felt like Gallifrey eating itself; a scripted ouroboros of sorts where the formula that teetered on the edge of being unbearable for the whole first season finally grips the whole story in its cold, dead hands. But then again, Lies isn’t boring, or infuriating or disheartening, it’s just so unimpressive. The plot is barely even there, as simple as you can get for a political thriller (with a slight sci-fi twist). All it really tries to do is set up Series Two, giving Andred a new plot line and introducing villainous intelligence Pandora as an overarching antagonist, as well as setting up some tensions within Romana’s inner circle. It’s enough to keep the interest, at least. I also think the performances helped hugely; we get extended sequences with Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward playing off a surprise Mary Tamm, which was predictably delightful and fun. Add in John Leeson as an increasingly more loveable K9 and this story’s real strength is just having these four argue it out in a dark, dank tunnel. However, at the end of the day, Lies is set up, plain and simple. Disappointingly brief and uneventful set up as it may be, it has a purpose and serves it well. This series seems promising, if they can step up the pace, the stakes and the ideas then we have some nice conflict on our hands that I think could lend to some really stellar character work. Hopefully a little stronger than last season across the board, but frankly anything’s better than more of this.

And that’s not to say Lies is bad - as I’ve already mentioned - but it’s formula to the max. Even the worst of Series One had some good ideas; Square One had a really cool time travel mechanic, The Inquiry had a unique set piece. Lies just feels like all the dull bits combined, all the exposition and the confusion and the poorly woven political trickery. It has no particularly great moments, no particularly strong bits of character work. I actually think it does some rather dull things with its cast. Romana and Leela apparently haven’t talked for weeks following the incident with Andred but they reunite and simply get on with what they have to do, no “where have you been?”s or “what the hell have you been doing?”s. Hell, there’s not even a “how are you?”. What could be some really interesting examination of the interplay between the two just turns into a plot convenience. But then again, what plot? This is a lot of exposition used to set up some arcs at the end of the day, extended conversations about the same thing. How, even when stripped of most ingenuity, Gallifrey still manages to have half its script be exhaustive exposition is beyond me. And, as is tradition, it doesn’t make much sense.

Lies is promising, I will say that. It gives glimpses of some tense and complex plot down the road, those plots just aren’t here. I don’t really think it deserves the score I’ve given it, but I’m taking into account the type of story this is: a whole load of nothing. Will I care about this in a month; a week; to the end of today? Maybe not. I should congratulate Gary Russell for making a plotless synopsis for future stories interesting, but really I’m just lukewarm and hoping for some turn around in pace later down the line.

5/10

Pros:

+ Simple but captivating plot

+ Jameson, Ward and Tamm all play brilliantly off each other

+ The set up for the season seems promising

Cons:

- In all aspects unimpressive

- Skips over the gaps in Romana and Leela’s relationship

- Relies heavily on more convoluted exposition