Prisoners of Fate

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

Previous Story: The Lady of Mercia

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I take back what I said about The Emerald Tiger, THIS is the best story in the 'Older Nyssa' arc. I think the Fifth Doctor is at his best when put in impossible situations and what could be a better example of that than this. It's not something I want to spoil because few situations in Doctor Who have felt as hopeless as this. I love the way it ties all the hints we've been getting of Nyssa's family together, although there is one plot thread opened up at the end that I imagine they'll use for the final trilogy.

I'm a sucker for timey-wimey stuff in Doctor Who, I find paradoxes incredibly fascinating and this story has it all. Couple that with deeply emotional themes and fantastic performances from Sarah Sutton and Peter Davison and you get a story that could contend for one of the best Fifth Doctor stories of all time. I'm hesitant to say it IS the best (though that says more about the quality of the Fifth Doctor) but it's certainly close. The funny thing is I personally thought this story started off quite weak so when someone told me that they thought it was the best 5 story released by Big Finish while I was halfway through I could hardly believe them.

It was definitely with the introduction of the sentient Type 50 TARDIS that hooked me and turned this story from generic to outstanding. TARDISes are shown to have so much power in the Doctor Who universe so that have one as the villain for a story makes for some incredible stakes. I also really like the touch that it was vengeful against the Doctor because he ran off with another TARDIS and that it only seeked him out because he was such an exceptional TARDIS pilot.

Naturally because Nyssa and the Doctor are the focuses of this story Tegan and Turlough get sidelined a little. But it speaks volumes about this story that even they manage to be entertaining and make an impact for me despite being way out of the spotlight. I also found Nyssa's son, Adric, to be a really interesting character. I think the whole cast of characters is great and I really have to commend Big Finish for turning Nyssa from the very two-dimensional character she was on TV to such an iconic companion.

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Next Story: Mistfall

Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#174. Prisoners of Fate ~ 10/10

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◆ An Introduction

We’re rapidly approaching the end of the “Older Nyssa” arc, so it’s about time the writers tie up some loose ends. Jonathan Morris was responsible for reuniting our favourite Trakenite with the Doctor, in a story where her goal was to find the cure for a deadly disease that was ravaging the cosmos. But she will never be able to go home, never be able to pick up her life where she left off.

Destiny has made its decision, and Nyssa is now just another prisoner of fate.

Hearts will be broken, reunions will be shocking, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Strap yourselves in folks, because this is going to be spectacular!

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

Twenty-five years ago, with Richter's Syndrome running rampant throughout the galaxy, the brilliant biochemist Nyssa, formerly of Traken, bade a painful farewell to her young family... and set off into the space, in search of a cure for this deadly disease.

She never returned.

Now, her grown-up son continues her work on the penal colony of Valderon, still desperate to make the breakthrough that eluded his presumed-dead mother.

So when the TARDIS lands on Valderon, bringing the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa to its fortress prison, the scene is set for a painful reunion... but not only for Nyssa. The Doctor's past is about to catch up with him too...

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◆ The Fifth Doctor

Jonathan Morris has long been one of the most revered Doctor Who writers, and for good reason. His characterisation for this TARDIS team is absolutely spot-on, and the entire cast are acting their socks off! ‘Prisoners of Fate’ could easily take home the prize for Peter Davison’s best performance overall.

The Doctor expects the chronoscope comes in useful for weather forecasts on Valderon. He feels a certain obligation to help the old Type 50, but that doesn’t mean he trusts it. He seems to spend half of his life running after Tegan!

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◆ Tegan Jovanka

‘Prisoners of Fate’ features another spectacular performance from Janet Fielding.

Tegan gets called a genetic throwback by Turlough, which makes her a perfect research subject for “Galen”. The Mara has left her vulnerable to mental control, which the Type 50 is quick to take advantage of.

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◆ Vislor Turlough

‘Prisoners of Fate’ sees Mark Strickson delivering a top-notch performance.

Turlough knows that his fellow travellers still don’t trust him – it’s the same wherever they go, with him being kept in the dark about what is really going on. Being taken over by Eldrad has weakened his psychic defences, leaving him vulnerable to the Type 50’s control.

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◆ “Older” Nyssa

‘Prisoners of Fate’ is a pretty pivotal story for the character of Nyssa, and Sarah Sutton really gave 110% with her performance here.

Nyssa practically breaks down when she sees her son again, and she is horrified to learn that she’s been believed dead for twenty-five years! Her daughter has been put into suspended animation after becoming infected with Richter’s, and her husband died alone many years ago… and hearing all this just breaks her. Nyssa is angry with the Doctor for trying to keep the truth from her, that she never made it home. She has lost her parents, her world, and everything dear to her. Now she feels as though she has lost her trust in the Doctor. Nyssa is so glad she got to see the man her son grew up to be. She promises that she’ll meet him and Neeka again in one months time, on Maxis Realtor… but she will never see her children again.

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◆ Story Recap

Valderon was originally established as a penal colony for the most dangerous criminals across Earth’s empire, but things have changed in the past two decades. Crime has been eradicated thanks to a device known only as a chronoscope, allowing the world’s leader to convict criminals before they even have a chance to act.

Adric Traken is someone who has taken full advantage of the excess of incarcerated felons, using them in his research to find a cure for Richter’s Syndrome. He is carrying on the work started by his mother, twenty-five years ago… his mother who is presumed to have died during a mission to the planet Helheim.

It isn’t long before the TARDIS arrives on this troubled planet, and a recently rejuvenated Nyssa is reunited with her grown-up son. They quickly realise that, if they combine their research, they can cure Richter’s. Meanwhile, the Doctor is also about to have a reunion, one which will unveil the disturbing truth of the chronoscope.

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◆ The Truth of the Chronoscope

‘Prisoners of Fate’ is easily one of the most unique and well-written Fifth Doctor adventures, which should come as no surprise when you realise that it’s a Jonny Morris script. There is a lot to talk about in this review, so where better to start than my favourite aspect of the adventure, that being the incredibly creative villain.

The Doctor’s oldest and most dear friend is easily his faithful Type 40 TARDIS, but he owned another prior to his life as a renegade Time Lord. His original time ship, a Type 50, was understandably hurt and angry at being abandoned in favour of an inferior model.

It decided to go in search of its former pilot, jettisoning nine tenths of its interior just to escape Gallifrey’s transduction barriers. It crash landed on Valderon in a dire state – it could make a few short hops, its telepathic circuits were intact, and it could still see into the future. It was at this point that an incredibly ambitious politician, Sibor, decided to use the ship for her own gain.

The Type 50 was imprisoned for twenty years, tortured into becoming the planet’s famed chronoscope. But when the Doctor and his friends arrived on Valderon, it got the perfect opportunity to get revenge on its former pilot. Manipulating events so that it could feed off of the energies of paradoxes, like a Weeping Angel, to rebuild its internal dimensions.

This is an absolutely incredible idea for an antagonist, having the Doctor’s former TARDIS acting like a jilted lover that’s out for blood, but it could have easily went wrong. I really commend Jonny Morris for doing such a good job when it comes to his execution of this idea, and I’m glad that the Type 50 actually gets a chance to redeem itself before the end too.

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◆ Trakenite Tragedy

‘Prisoners of Fate’ is in-keeping with the other stories in this trilogy because it puts the spotlight on one companion, and it’s Nyssa’s turn this time round.

Richter’s Syndrome has hung over her from the moment she resumed her travels in the TARDIS, and it was her goal to find a cure with the research carried out on Helheim. Due to the Doctor’s abysmal skills at piloting his own ship, she would not be reunited with the family she left behind until twenty-five years in her future.

Whilst the combined research acquired by both Nyssa and her son mean that a cure for Richter’s can be easily synthesised, it’s clear that a lot has happened to their family in the intervening years she has been away – her husband Lasarti died alone ten years ago, her daughter Neeka has been placed in suspended animation after catching Richter’s. That isn’t even going into the emotional trauma Adric has been through, crying himself to sleep for years because he believed his own mother had perished.

Jonathan Morris has always been one of the best writers with BigFinish, but the scenes between Nyssa and Adric here genuinely broke my heart. Alastair Mackenzie deserves a huge amount of praise for his portrayal of Adric Traken in this story, and this isn’t the last time we’ll hear from the character. Tragedy isn’t done with the Traken family yet.

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◆ Sound Design

Anyone who reads my reviews with any degree of regularity will know how much I absolutely adore the creative partnership of Kelly Ellis and Steve McNichol, so it might surprise you that I don’t have much to say about the sound design for this adventure. It is extremely polished and atmospheric, but it absolutely takes a back seat to the incredible story and character building present throughout, which is no bad thing in this instance.

Rain pouring down, as Lasarti sends a crackling transmission to his son. Adric’s lab is filled with bleeping scientific instruments, bubbling test tubes and vials. Feet squelching through muddy ground. The settlement on Valderon is filled with the sound of chiming bells and bustling citizens. Whispering voices speak to the Doctor’s companions telepathically.

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◆ Music

I’ll likely always associate Ellis and McNichol with their incredible use of the electric guitar, meaning this is a complete departure from what I’m used to hearing them create.

This score is incredibly synthesiser heavy and really manages to evoke the feeling that this could have been made back in 1983. It is an incredibly nostalgic piece of music, but excellent none the less.

https://soundcloud.com/foolcircle/pofmusic-suite

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◆ Conclusion

“It should have been me! Not this antiquated relic!”

Jonathan Morris has long been regarded as one of the greatest writers for this franchise, but you simply cannot deny that this is the apex of his work. ‘Prisoners of Fate’ is the Nyssa-centric story of this trilogy, and it’s quick to beat your heart to a pulp with a sledgehammer.

She is reunited with her son twenty-five years too late, only to discover that her husband died alone and her daughter is a victim of Richter’s. Life has changed beyond all recognition for the Traken family, and it is going to get a lot worse before this story arc ends… but I’ll save talking about that for my review of ‘The Entropy Plague’.

I’ve already praised the incredibly creative villain of this adventure, but it needs reiterating. Jonny Morris takes the Doctor’s original TARDIS and turns it into almost a spurned lover, one that is jealous of the faithful Type 40 and out for blood! It really is such an amazing idea.

With some of the best writing and acting in BigFinish history, you’d be an absolute fool to miss out on ‘Prisoners of Fate’.

This episode started one way, and looked like it was going to be pretty dull, but then around the halfway point it became very interesting. I will confess, Nyssa is not one of my favourite companions and so I wasn't too thrilled by the idea of another Nyssa-centric episode, but I was pleasantly surprised by the way this episode turned.

I think, if my memory was a little better and I could remember more fully the events that led to them picking the older Nyssa up, this might have had more impact, but nevertheless I found the way she was torn between leaving her son behind to grow up without a mother, or shattering the timeline and going back for him to be quite heartwrenching.

However, it was when the Doctor's 'original' Type 50 TARDIS came into play that things got actually interesting. I was, as many are, a fan of Alien Bodies, and this very much gave me that vibe - I love it when TARDISes are a little eldritch and spooky. I mean a TARDIS possessing a corpse! I love that, personally, and that kind of mind bending, time manipulation, time machine too sentient for its own good thing really elevated this story into something good for me.