Review of the Seventh Doctor’s era
| 1987 – 1989 | ||
| Time and the Rani Paradise Towers Delta and the Bannermen Dragonfire |
Remembrance of the Daleks The Happiness Patrol Silver Nemesis The Greatest Show in the Galaxy |
Battlefield Ghost Light The Curse of Fenric Survival |
For fans who liked the way Series Six wrapped up and the hints of where the show is going next (all that business with The First Question), Seven ought to be right up your alley. Part of the production team’s new vision during Seven’s tenure was to bring back a bit of the character’s innate mystery and make the show a little darker and more engaging thereby.
It really starts up during the 25th anniversary season’s opening story, Remembrance of the Daleks. Some of the Doctor’s word choices are suggestive of his presence in the time of Rassilon and Omega (possibly as The Other: “…and didn’t we have trouble with the prototpye”). In the following story (Silver Nemesis), he again elaborates on Gallifreyan history, mentioning Rassilon and Omega in the same breath once more. More tellingly, though, antagonist Lady Peinforte has learned the Doctor’s secret, taunting Ace with, “Doctor Who? Have you never wondered where he came from? Who he is?” before talking of the Old Time and the Time of Chaos on Gallifrey. Seven seems apprehensive until the moment passes, his secret safe. In yet a later story, he’s asked if he has any family. His quiet “I don’t know” makes the certainty of the upcoming Last Great Time War almost seem like a relief.
And if his history isn’t enough, then there’s his future. Hints are dropped that at some point in his personal future the Doctor will become Merlin, helping King Arthur himself and crossing Morgaine again/for the first time. Head spinning yet? How about the fact that the second-to-last story (The Curse of Fenric) included in the denouement the revelation that there were clues to Fenric’s involvement all the way back to Dragonfire, two seasons before? A “Bad Wolf,” indeed…
Given how many interesting twists appear in Seven’s later stories, it’s almost surprising how rocky a start he got. I’m not entirely sure what was going on, but it’s like there’s a sharp delineation between Seasons 24 and 25 (his first and second seasons). The most obvious difference is the change in Companions, but I can’t credit that entirely, even if I don’t particularly care for Mel. Somehow these stories don’t quite reach their potential, though, and one of the most endearing (in my opinion) parts of Seven’s character as it’s developed here – his tendency to mix metaphors – seems to disappear with his tiny, ginger Companion.
Like Six, Seven only had two Companions. Lucky for me, one of them’s among my all-time favorites. Here they are in order, with the stories in which they first and last appeared and how they left the Doctor:
- Melanie “Mel” Bush
Six’s era to Dragonfire
Decided to travel with Sabalom Glitz instead - Dorothy “Ace” McShane
Dragonfire to Survival
Series canceled
Putting aside for the moment ideas that Ace would eventually become a Time Lord herself, had the series not been canceled, I found it amusing that her character somehow manages to evoke Eleven (not to mention Rose), some twenty years early. At one point, she briefly dons a fez; at another, she leaps into danger, shouting “Geronimo!” Even when the stories aren’t fabulous, I can’t help loving anything with Ace in it.
For the first time in years, the show seemed to have direction – a sense of where they wanted to take the overall plot line. But there was really no way to delay the inevitable any longer. The BBC had decided it was done with this particular commodity, and thought perhaps it would benefit from a bit of a breather. Thus, it was put on hiatus, with the thought that perhaps it would return in a year or two or three…
Summary
Seven’s era had such promise. As I watch it now, I can’t help but think what a shame it is that the proposed stories for the following season never got to be filmed. Apparently the show – like that first Incarnation of the Doctor himself – was just sort of wearing out. Maybe it just needed to sit down. Sit down and rest. Just for a bit…
No one at the time could have known that the “little rest” would turn into the Hiatus – sixteen years between regular seasons, with only The Movie in the middle to keep fans’ hopes alive. Nor could they know how many people would come to believe the show was well and truly dead. Leave it to the Doctor to spring a surprise Regeneration on everyone.