Equilibrium

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Mistfall

"Not my cup of tea", is how I would describe this story. It's got so much going for it; the the beautiful setting of Isenfel, the mystery of the black snow, great performances from the cast. All that and yet it ends up feeling so generic. Maybe it's partly due feeling like this 'Older Nyssa' stuff has dragged on. Maybe it is just dull but at the end of the day, it's not my cup of tea.

One thing I do appreciate in this story, is the dynamic between the characters. Especially between Nyssa and the Doctor here, she's tired of him always getting involved and trying to fix things for the better when that sometimes just isn't possible. It's a really nice moment and one I think is very fitting of the Fifth Doctor.

Overall, you've got a solid story that I'm sure other people will be able to find a lot of pleasure out of, just not me. And I have to say, I'm just excited for the 'Older Nyssa' arc to end.

Next Story: The Entropy Plague

Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#196. Equilibrium ~ 10/10

◆ An Introduction

The second E-Space trilogy has gotten off to a pretty poor start, but Matt Fitton is about to save it with one of my absolute favourite Fifth Doctor adventures. I’m writing this during the last week of May 2023, and it has been incredibly warm of late… so allow me to introduce you to a land of snow and ice, of snarling beasts and killer black snow. A fairytale kingdom known as Isenfel.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Still looking for a way out of E-Space, the TARDIS crashes to Isenfel – a realm of snow and ice. Snarling beasts stalk the frozen plains, a feisty princess leads the hunt, and a queen in an ice palace rules over her loyal subjects.

But this is no fairytale kingdom, and everyone in Isenfel knows the price of survival. While Nyssa and Tegan uncover deadly secrets hidden in the palace, Turlough flees for his life across the tundra.

And as for the Doctor... he only ever wants to change things for the better. But in a world such as Isenfel, such a hope may not even be possible.

◆ The Fifth Doctor

Having such a large team travelling in the TARDIS can often present a problem for the writers, with one member usually being forced to slink off into the background for the duration of the adventure. It’s one of the reasons I adore stories like this one, because everyone gets something to do and something to say, so I commend Matt Fitton for that. ‘Equilibrium’ features a terrific performance from Peter Davison.

The Doctor asks many questions, and Queen Karlina believes that he has an enquiring mind. Nyssa claims that he upsets the balance for the best, that there is no equilibrium with him – he will always tip the scales in everybody’s favour but his own.

◆ Tegan Jovanka

‘Equilibrium’ is the penultimate release of this long story arc, and it gives us a chance to hear how much Janet Fielding has blossomed on audio. An utterly stellar performance.

Tegan isn’t a scientist, just a tourist. Of course she would end up kidnapped at the end of this story!

◆ Vislor Turlough

‘Equilibrium’ gives Mark Strickson a wealth of great material, making excellent use of his character’s royal background. He puts on a tremendous performance.

Turlough claims that his pioneering spirit is back in his room, with a hot cup of cocoa. Queen Karlina describes his hair as a “fiery crown”. He has done nothing to deserve Tegan or Nyssa as his wife! Death is something Turlough plans to put off for as long as possible.

◆ “Older” Nyssa

‘Equilibrium’ is a tremendous adventure for Sarah Sutton, who delivers yet another superb performance.

Nyssa thinks that they shouldn’t disturb the order of things on Isenfel, that they should leave with the minimal of fuss (she does remember whose TARDIS she is travelling in, doesn’t she?) She knows that once you become a parent, there is nothing you wont do to keep your child safe.

◆ Story Recap

In hot pursuit of an Alzarian who has stolen a vital component of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his friends find themselves in the snowy, fairytale kingdom of Isenfel. They soon become the guests of honour at a feast held by the charming Queen Karlina, where they bare witness to the horrifying proceedings that keep this realm afloat.

Isenfel has always had the same number of people, animals, crops, etc and they keep meticulous count, or the planet does the job for them… by sending a strange black snow to execute the citizens of the kingdom.

The Doctor is unsurprisingly disgusted by the so-called “balancing” and wants to find a better way of life for these people, but he could end up causing much more harm by helping them.

◆ Fairytale Kingdom

‘Equilibrium’ is an adventure that spirits us away to a realm carpeted under sheets of ice and powdered snow… so it’s an absolute tonic for someone like me who despises the ever approaching British Summertime heat!

The location of Isenfel is really one of the script’s crowning achievements, reminding me somewhat of the fantasy world of Narnia. It appears to be this gorgeously Medieval kingdom, but scratch beneath the surface, and you uncover the horrifying truth – it’s nothing more than a laboratory experiment, set up to simulate the collapse of E-Space, and ways to keep it constant. That is why the royal family have these rituals to make sure all resources are balanced, and why the black snow will erase people if the equilibrium is disturbed.

The Doctor thinks he can save the people of Isenfel by shutting the experiment down and allowing them to live a life free from the balancing… but he instead speeds up the eventual entropic collapse of this universe. Isenfel is such a complicated and beautiful location, but Fitton has done a tremendous job at fleshing it out.

◆ Sound Design

Given how hot it has been these past few days, I really welcome the chance to be transported to a frosty fairytale kingdom. Richard Fox and Lauren Yason have received an immense amount of praise from me in the past, but their work on this story is simply enchanting. I have such a vivid picture in my mind of the Kingdom of Isenfel, with its lands carpeted under a sheet of pure white snow, and the beautiful Disney-esque castle sat at the centre of it all. The sound design is just absolutely stunning in this story. Fox and Yason should be VERY proud of themselves.

The TARDIS console room is consumed by sparking electronics and blaring alarms as it hurtles through E-Space without the stabiliser. Icy winds fly past the Doctor and his friends, and across the snowy tundra. Feet crunching through powdered snow. The ice cracks around the TARDIS, before the ship falls into the frozen waters below. A pack of snarling snow-beasts stalk our regulars. The ticking of Skaarsgard’s “balancing” machine. Queen Karlina’s servants cook up a great feast for their visitors, with food bubbling in pans.

◆ Music

Fox and Yason are also handling the score for ‘Equilibrium’. It definitely carries on that ethereal fairytale theme that surrounds this entire story, with a twinkling piano that sounds like the music is being played on instruments made of pure ice and snow.

Our composers then begin to add more layers to the score, with the string instruments seamlessly fading in to build up tension in the story, followed by an incredibly epic and bombastic percussion section.

I have often made the claim that “this is the best score I have ever listened to”, but that claim actually holds true for ‘Equilibrium’. Fox and Yason left me utterly entranced and speechless the first time I heard the music for this adventure, and they deserve a huge pat on the back for doing such an immaculate job here.

◆ Conclusion

“Only a human life can balance a human life!”

Matt Fitton is one of the most prolific writers for the audio adventures, but ‘Equilibrium’ is easily his greatest script. We are transported to a realm of icy wastes and snowy tundras, where a charming royal family has to keep the energies and resources of their kingdom balanced; all arrivals in Isenfel are balanced by departures, and all births are balanced by a death. It is a barbaric system that the Doctor wants stopped… but interfering in the workings of this realm will have dire consequences for the entirety of E-Space!

‘Equilibrium’ is an extremely well-written and performed adventure, but my favourite aspect has got to be Fox and Yason’s music; it is pure perfection.

If you were to place ‘Scherzo’, ‘The Holy Terror’ and a copy of The Chronicles of Narnia into a metaphorical blender, then you would get this adventure. That is a huge compliment.