The Price of Paradise.

2 episodes. Approx. 145 minutes. Written by: Colin Brake. Produced by: Kate Thomas. Performed by: Shaun Dingwall.

THE PLOT

The planet Laylora is something of a myth, a paradise planet mentioned in the diary of a dead space explorer that has become something of a futuristic El Dorado - with its rich natural resources standing in for the fabled city's gold. Scientist Petra Shulough, owner of the SS Humphrey Bogart, has studied the diary for years, and believes she has found Laylora's location. She has accounted for every variable - except for the planet's reaction to being discovered. A violent EMP pulse knocks out the ship's systems, and trainee crew member John Hespell barely manages to send out an SOS before the ship crashes.

The Doctor and Rose pick up the distress signal and materialize on Laylora. While following the smoke trail to the crash site, they pass through a city badly damaged by a recent earthquake. Rose meets Rez, a young human whose escape pod crashed on Laylora when he was an infant. He has been raised by the natives, and considers himself one of them, taking the prayers of tribal shaman Brother Hugan far more seriously than native teens do.

While Rose gets to know the villagers, the Doctor finds himself captured by a search party sent out by the Humphrey Bogart. Not the reception a rescuer would expect - But it all makes sense when he learns that the ship has been attacked by monsters, creatures the Laylorans refer to as "the Witiku." They are the planet's protectors, emerging only in times of great distress... And the arrival of outsiders has summoned them in greater numbers than ever before!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Though technically taken prisoner by the spaceship crew, he takes complete charge in no time at all. While Hespell ostensibly "guards" him in his cabin, the Doctor questions the young man about the Witiku attacks. Very soon after, he is given free run of the ship. When another attack takes place, he stops the crew from interfering once it becomes clear that it is the ship's generator, rather than the people, that is being targeted. By the story's midpoint, both Hespell and crew member Ania Baker are basically acting as the Doctor's lab assistants, with even Shulough deferring to his judgment.

Rose: Quickly befriends Rez and the villagers, her open nature making it easy for them to connect with her. When attacked by a Witiku, she reacts quickly, throwing the only weapon she has at it - a hot beverage made with a local plant - which reveals the creatures' one weakness. Outside of that, she's largely in a "generic companion" role, though writer Colin Brake does make sure that she is used enough to come across as more than just a sidekick.


THOUGHTS

The Price of Paradise was the last of the 10th Doctor/Rose novels published during Series Two... and unfortunately, it is also the least of them. The audio version benefits from an excellent reading by Shaun Dingwall, whose Doctor and Rose voices capture the characters perfectly. Too bad the story itself is so by-the-numbers to offer much to hold the attention of either a reader or a listener.

The story feels more like something out of the middle Jon Pertwee era, with an environmental message delivered with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer blow to the head. The Doctor even spends a chunk of the story studying results of tests on tissue samples - which feels a lot more like the 3rd Doctor than the 10th.

Which wouldn't bother me, save that the story does little to distract me from the sense that it's been written for the wrong Doctor. The pace is slow, even with the audio abridgement cutting the text in half and jettisoning one entire subplot (a background romance between Hespell and Ania). There is a lack of imagination, the story proceeding steadily in a very predictable line. There isn't even any imagination to the action sequences. In need of a human villain, the story brings in a tribal shaman who - as tribal shamans living near a temple are required to do - wants to use Rose as a human sacrifice. Because the perfect paradise planet has a tradition of human sacrifices in its past, as is required of all tribal cultures in science fiction.

I will grant the story one positive: That unlike many of the Pertwee stories it resembles, the humans do not come with ill intent. They are interested in the planet's natural resources, sure, but there's no indication that they plan to strip-mine the world or enslave the natives or any of the usual hocum. Kendle, a member of the crew who is career military, is thoughtfully characterized, rather than being the stock trigger-happy moron one might expect. He's the focus of what may be the story's only good character scene, in which he talks with the Doctor about Dr. Shulough's past. He is willing to use deadly force, but not as a first resort. Long before the end, he's emerged as the one truly well-rounded character among a collection of cardboard figures.

I should stress that The Price of Paradise isn't actually a chore to wade through. The audio gets a boost from an excellent reading, and the story does hold together. It's just too generic, and too slow-paced, to feel like a worthwhile addition to the series. It comes across as a mediocre mid-season filler episode... Only much, much longer.

All of which makes it my pick for the weakest of the 10th Doctor/Rose audio books. Tolerable if you must read/watch/listen to absolutely everything... but one I'd consider as for completists only.


Overall Rating: 3/10.


Search Amazon.com for Doctor Who



10th Doctor Television Review Index

10th Doctor Audio Review Index