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TARDIS Guide

Overview

Released

Friday, November 23, 2001

Written by

Lance Parkin

Cover Art by

Clayton Hickman

Directed by

Gary Russell

Runtime

108 minutes

Time Travel

Past

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

Telepathy, False Gods, It's bigger on the inside

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Traken

Synopsis

Nyssa will die at dawn, and the Doctor doesn't even know why.

To save her life, he must make a desperate journey to the only place in the universe where a cure might exist to heal her.

When even that fails, the Doctor has a choice —­ let Nyssa die, or make a deal with the devil.

After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

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12 reviews

This review contains spoilers!

Despite loving this duo, I again found it to be a very weak outing for them. They really gave the rubbish scripts to 5 in the early days, huh? Nyssa is very sidelined in this one, more so in the first half than the second, but even still I could've done with it being way more focused on her due to the nature of returning to Traken. The side characters aren't anything to rave about either, and neither is the villain. On a more positive note, I really enjoyed the additions to Traken lore, that was really interesting to learn more about!


Jamie

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A really interesting development in Traken culture, adding a lot of insight into evil and their early days, which was handled really well, and used perfectly to develop Nyssa as a character alongside the Fifth Doctor - this story has done wonders for me appreciating their dynamic, and is a favourite for me for this reason.


joeymapes21

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This review contains spoilers!

perfectly adequate prequel/sequel to keeper of traken, giving us an interesting backstory for why the source and the keeper exist in the first place. ALL HAIL KWUNDAAR


megaminxwin

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I don't remember much of this story, except most of the side characters I feel need a punch for being so blunt and rude.


KieranCooper

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This review contains spoilers!

Eis aqui mais um excelente trabalho de expansão de lore por parte da BIG FINISH - Eu devo dizer que adoro “The Keeper Of Traken” a ponto de Traken e Peladon serem os únicos planetas do mundo fictício de Doctor Who pelo qual realmente me interesso seja pela lore, política, história, civilização e etc. O enredo começa em um tom de desespero, em seus braços o 5° Doutor carrega Nyssa terrivelmente adoecida prestes a morrer, sua melhor estratégia é leva-la ao seu planeta natal “Traken” a procura de uma cura precisa. O interessante é que Primeval traz uma continuação do ocorrido com a companion nas cenas finais de Four To Doomsday que resulta na sua ausência em Kinda, os sintomas apresentados no segundo arco da temporada de estreia de Peter Davison retornam em níveis mais altos. Por mais cadenciado que seja o roteiro de Lance Parkin, o escritor não poupa os extremos detalhes, estruturando bem seus blocos e desenvolvendo muito bem seus personagens progredindo de forma instigante sempre com consistência – O áudio conta com um conflito bem interessante entre uma visão mais “primitiva” (descrito dessa forma pelo próprio áudio) e outra mais baseada na ciência e na logica em relação aos acontecimentos do planeta, Lance faz uma clara alusão as visões religiosas quando retrata o povo mais antigo de Traken, acreditando que um fator externo do além influencia os acontecimentos do mundo, aquela coisa do “Bem” e do “Mal”. Isso porque a “União Traken” acredita que a sociedade e decisões do Planetas são guiadas pela chamada “Fonte”. No outro canto do Planeta existe uma criatura poderosa e temida que se esconde na escuridão, o chamado Senhor Kwundaa – Um vilão extremamente assustador que exala maldade apenas pela sua presença e por uma simples troca de olhares. Interessado em dominar Traken, Kwundaa traça o objetivo ter acesso a “Fonte” para dominação total do planeta, para isso ele tenta usar e manipular o Doutor e Nyssa para que conspirem a favor. Infelizmente Primeval acabou não alcançando a nota máxima em minha avaliação, isso devido ao seu desfecho final – [⚠ SPOILERS] é uma pena ver uma história acompanhada de detalhes, tramas e situações muito bem elaboradas se inclinar para desfechos prevísseis e finalizar do jeito mais over the top (exagerado) possível. [⚠ FIM DE SPOILERS] Em resumo, mesmo com esse deslize no final Primeval ainda é um dos grandes destaques das primeiras 50 Main Ranges, recomendo muito!

Here's another excellent piece of lore expansion work by BIG FINISH - I must say I adore “The Keeper of Traken” to the point that Traken and Peladon are the only planets in the fictional world of Doctor Who that I truly care about, whether it's for the lore, politics, history, civilization, etc. The storyline begins on a note of despair, in his arms the 5th Doctor carries Nyssa, terribly ill and about to die; his best strategy is to take her to her home planet “Traken” in search of a precise cure. What's interesting is that Primeval brings a continuation of what happened to the companion in the final scenes of Four To Doomsday which results in her absence in Kinda, the symptoms presented in the second arc of Peter Davison’s debut season return at higher levels. As measured as Lance Parkin's script is, the writer spares no extremes in detail, structuring his blocks well and developing his characters very well, progressing intriguingly always with consistency – The audio features an interesting conflict between a more “primitive” view (described in this way by the audio itself) and another more based on science and logic regarding the events of the planet, Lance makes a clear allusion to religious views when he depicts the older people of Traken, believing that an external factor from beyond influences the world’s events, that notion of “Good” and “Evil”. This is because the “Traken Union” believes that society and decisions of the Planet are guided by the so-called “Source”. In another corner of the Planet, there exists a powerful and feared creature that hides in the darkness, the called Lord Kwundaa – An extremely frightening villain who emits evil merely by his presence and a simple exchange of glances. Interested in dominating Traken, Kwundaa aims to access the “Source” for total domination of the planet, for this he tries to use and manipulate the Doctor and Nyssa to conspire in his favour. Unfortunately, Primeval did not reach the maximum score in my evaluation, this due to its final outcome - [⚠ SPOILERS] it's a shame to see a story accompanied by details, plots, and situations very well elaborated leaning towards predictable outcomes and finishing in the most over the top way possible. [⚠ END OF SPOILERS] In summary, even with this slip in the end, Primeval is still one of the highlights of the first 50 Main Ranges, I highly recommend it!

(Translation generated by AI, so mistakes are possible).


KnuppMello

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