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Liam Carey reviews

Doctor Who:
The Marian Conspiracy

Distributed by
Big Finish Productions

During 26 years of televison, historical adventures were rare for Doctor Who., The earliest seasons (1964-65) alternated between futuristic stories that caught the imagination and those which could educate young viewers on the past, but there would be a gap of two whole decades before Black Orchid briefly returned to such a format, and just one more story based around actual history (1985's Mark Of The Rani, coincidentally starring Colin Baker) was ever committed to screen thereafter.

It took Big Finish until only their sixth production to utilise the huge potential Who has always had for working within the boundaries of real events from points in Earth's existence, while simultaneously playing with the timespace paradoxes. The Marian Conspiracy takes place in Tudor England, as the Sixth Doctor and new companion Dr. Evelyn Smythe, a university lecturer from the 20th Century, are forced to travel back in time in order to avert a change in history which will have disastrous consequences for Evelyn and all her ancestors, whose documented associations with Elizabeth I have mysteriously disappeared from the records.

Contrary to their expectations on arrival, however, the incumbent Queen of England is not in fact Elizabeth I... the TARDIS has, lo and behold, materialised in 1555 not 1558. The unbalanced, and fervently Catholic, Queen Mary needs to be convinced that our time travellers are not attempting to plot against her, so that her imprisoned sister can become ruler and bring an end to the persecution of those who do not share the Catholic faith.

Colin Baker, even moreso than Paul McGann, sounds as though he is thoroughly relishing his BF lifeline, investing a marvellous energy and authority into his performance... and you can hardly blame him when the scripts are as good as The Marian Conspiracy. For this is how the misunderstood and poorly-served Sixth Doctor of those dark mid-80s times should and could have been... this particular story would have made a fine spectacle, and been far more engaging than the poorly thought-out contrivances, featuring pointless returns for pantomime villains, which characterised his TV tenure.

As the most senior Doctor Who companion to date, Evelyn Smythe is a brave creation and, on this evidence, a successful one at that. True, her old-fashioned virtues and quirky passion for chocolate cake might not sit well with the MTV generation, but the inclusion of such a character within Who comes as a refreshing change to the pretty young things consistently served up through the years. Maggie Stables finds an instant chemistry with Baker, and the banter between this well-matched pair is often gently amusing.

Nothing that happens is superfluous or unresolved, as an expertly constructed story is very cleverly and satisfyingly concluded. Yet writer Jacqueline Rayner makes it seem so simple to pull off a totally compelling, self-contained Who adventure, such is the comprehensive ease with which The Marian Conspiracy delights and surprises.

Review copyright © Liam Carey, 2003.

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