The Jupiter Conjunction

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

Previous Story: The Emerald Tiger

And after the excellent The Emerald Tiger we're back to our regularly scheduled programming. This story managed to hook me at the start with the Doctor being put on trial and betrayed by Turlough. Turlough is probably the only companion where you can do a betrayal story that actually makes you question whether it's for real. Of course, it wasn't and he was just doing it as a scheme to help him and the Doctor escape. I knew it wouldn't be a real betrayal but I felt like it was something they could have expanded for longer.

After that, this story devolves into generic Doctor Who running-about-a-space-station action and I find it very difficult to care. The peace treaty stuff is essentially what we've already seen with the Draconians only with a different alien this time. None of the cast or characters particularly stand out. All the performances here are just ok. I'd rather this was an actually bad story because as it is it's all just... ok. It's very difficult to write a compelling review about something average.

Next Story: The Butcher of Brisbane

Doctor Who – The Monthly Adventures

#160. The Jupiter Conjunction ~ 8/10

◆ An Introduction

It’s the 10th May 2023 as I write this, and hotter than the flaming Sahara Desert outside, so I am more than happy to be covering a story which is more traditionalist Doctor Who.

Don’t for one second think that is a mark against ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’, it just means that Eddie Robson is just going to have work twice as hard to impress me. That’s the thing about doing a more traditionalist story; they are so common that it’s very easy to notice when they are falling apart…

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Eight slash Q Panenka, a craggy comet with a 13km circumference, has an elliptical orbit that takes it between Earth and Jupiter. Which, in the year 2329, makes it a cheap means of space freight – the second class postal service of the solar system.

But when the TARDIS lands on Panenka, the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa discover a community falling apart at the seams – plagued by thefts, and mysterious disappearances among the 'piggybackers' who eke out a desperate existence on the comet.

While Tegan and Nyssa suit up for a dangerous excursion into the comet's Unstable Zone, the Doctor and Turlough find themselves pawns in a game that could lead to tragedy for both Earth and Jupiter alike…

◆ The Fifth Doctor

I think a lot of people tend to underestimate the more traditionalist adventures, despite the fact that they often feature some excellent performances. Peter Davison is really good in ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’.

The Doctor wants to land on the comet simply because he can (which is the perfect attitude to have when you can travel through all time and space). He sometimes wishes the TARDIS would go one step further and translate his analogies. He’s rarely, if ever, armed. The Doctor believes that it is never too late to stop killing.

◆ Tegan Jovanka

‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ is another opportunity for Janet Fielding to show off what a fabulous performer she is.

Tegan thinks she could do with a dip in the fountain of youth herself (travelling with the Doctor is exhausting).

◆ Vislor Turlough

‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ is an absolutely brilliant story for Mark Strickson, who gets to showcase one of his character’s best features; his deviousness.

Turlough decides to confess to the thefts, but only on the condition that he gets immunity from prosecution. He even tries to sweeten the deal with Falcao by telling him that he’ll give evidence against the Doctor! He gives the security staff a list of locations where the stolen goods are apparently being kept hidden… all so that there is only a skeleton crew left at the main colony, allowing him and the Doctor to escape. Turlough really is a cunning fox, ain’t he?

◆ “Older” Nyssa

‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ features another great performance from Sarah Sutton, though I’m shocked that Eddie Robson doesn’t really go into her character’s recent rejuvenation.

Nyssa has read about life in Earth’s solar system, but didn’t know anything lived on Jupiter.

◆ Story Recap

The TARDIS lands on Eight slash Q Panenka, a comet being used as a cheap means of space haulage due to its elliptical orbit between Earth and Jupiter. It isn’t long before our protagonists run into trouble though – the Doctor and Turlough are arrested and accused of stealing large amounts of cargo, whilst Nyssa and Tegan go spacewalking with one of the colony’s “piggybackers”… only to stumble across a plot by a rogue member of the Jupiter Axis Military, who wants to set the combined forces of the Axis and Earth against the ancient natives of his world; the Jovians.

◆ Traditionalist Gem

‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ is a review I have rewritten several times now, because it is so formulaic and just what you’d expect from a Doctor Who adventure. That doesn’t make it an inherently bad release, it just means there is nowhere for the writer to hide; no experimental storylines or unusual narrative structures to fall back on.

One thing that Eddie Robson really gets right with ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ is how he portrays our regulars. They’ve all hit their stride from a performance stand point now, so it’s great to hear them all working like a well-oiled machine here. Turlough definitely gets the best material in this script, because it uses that moral ambiguity and that knack for self-preservation he has. There is a moment where you genuinely think he has betrayed the Doctor to save his own neck, when he is actually just trying to give them both an advantage.

◆ Sound Design

Fancy joining Nyssa and Tegan on a shopping trip? How about a spacewalk? Richard Fox and Lauren Yason are some of my favourite composers for the audio adventures, and they do a fab job with the sound design here.

A comet wooshes past the TARDIS scanner. People go about their business at the heart of the Panenka colony, browsing the various shops and restaurants as announcements boom out of a loud-speaker. Alarms begin ringing around the shopping precinct as Nyssa, Tegan and Violet steal a bunch of spacesuits. I feel like I have compared a lot of aliens in this franchise to Nihilanth from the first Half-Life game, but the Jovians really do sound like him with their slow and breathy voices. Falcao’s shuttle lands in the midst of the Unstable Zone; electricity begins sparking before the shuttle comes crashing to the ground. Crackling bolts of lightning, as the Jovians begin electrocuting the colonists.

◆ Music

Fox and Yason are also handling the score for ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’. Some might argue that this duo’s music is a lot more understated than their peers (especially compared to the cinematic bombast we get from the likes of Carter) but I believe that it puts them at an advantage.

This score in particular gradually builds itself up, becoming more tense as the events in the story do. I also have to commend the overall quality of the instrumentation in this score, but Fox and Yason rarely fail to impress me.

◆ Conclusion

“It’s not even a proper court, it’s a shopping precinct!”

There really is nowhere to hide when you decide to write a more formulaic Doctor Who adventure, which means you’re going to have to work extra hard to make all those traditional elements pop. Many might accuse Eddie Robson of playing it safe with ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’, but his script is elevated beyond being just another sci-fi romp by the gorgeous post-production work and a stellar showing from our TARDIS team.

It’s not without fault though; Violet comes across as a really two-dimensional villain, who lacks the personality of someone like Major Haggard (from the previous adventure with this team). The Jovians sound absolutely fascinating but come across as just another “monster of the week”. ‘The Jupiter Conjunction’ is a fun little adventure – nothing more, nothing less.

This is a pretty run of the mill 'war is bad and don't murder people' episode. It's not unenjoyable but I expect it to float out of my memory without much impact in a few days.

It's a busy episode, with many new side characters, which doesn't help on top of the three-companion team, and the plot wants to be more complex than it really is. As I say, I didn't not enjoy it, but I didn't find it overly engaging - the idea of a secret alien species being scapegoated as world destroyers is... interesting, especially when they're supposed to be completely peaceful.

Part one and two did okay by Turlough, and really this whole episode, and indeed this stretch of Fifth Doctor episodes is about Nyssa, so she was treated well by the story, but neither Five nor Tegan get a whole lot to do which was a shame to me.

tl;dr, it was okay. Nothing bad, but nothing special.