Tuesday 19 June 2012

DWM12: The Revenants, Episode 1: The Marsh-Wains

Hooray, a brand new (and timely) Ian Chesterton Companion Chronicle! There'll be some very minor spoilers in this review. When I get to episode 2 there'll be some major spoilers, so I suggest you go out and get yourself a copy of DWM 448, download this and listen to it before Friday.

This one caught my attention from the start because it opens more like a new series episode, with a teaser before we get to the theme music. There's no peril, though, because it's just a framing sequence - a conversation that sets up the main story.

Well, I say "just", but that's doing it an injustice. Both performers - William Russell as Ian and Sharon Small as Jeannie - are spot on. It sounds as much like a real conversation struck up between strangers on a ferry as any purposeful, scripted dialogue can. I think there's an aura of safety that many men develop as they grow older which means that younger women find it easier to chat - I've noticed it, and I'm almost forty years younger than Russell.

The teaser also features a perfect soundscape. It really sounds like a ferry (again, as much as makes sense for drama), with incidental background noises and suitable treatment of the recorded speech. You can instantly tell when then they move inside, not just because they lower their voices (since they're no longer competing with the sea and gulls) but also because of the ambiance. The sound of the engine is ever-present but not so loud as to be intrusive, and music is used sparingly but appropriately.

There are some nice touches in this part of Ian Potter's script, in particular a number of little details whose relevance only becomes apparent on second hearing. And then there's the wonderfully meta comment from Jeannie, "kids love to be frightened" - which raised a smile. A run of (appropriate) references to previous stories did make me wonder briefly if the story was going to be too mired in continuity, but fortunately this turned out not to be the case. Interestingly, previous audios and novels are referenced as well as TV stories.

So much for the first four minutes: how about the next half hour? Let's carry on talking about continuity, just for a moment. Following a brief intro to the show for Jeannie's benefit, we get the Doctor assuring Iananbarbara that he has the necessary calculations to get them home. The way this is presented ties in very well with the ending of Venusian Lullaby - it's even referred to as an "alien formula" - but nothing about it requires you to know anything of that book. After all, "alien" could refer to the Doctor! This is probably the best sort of continuity reference if you're not writing an overt sequel like The Book of Shadows.

The beginning of the actual adventure, with Iananbarbara becoming separated from the Doctor and the TARDIS, is fine but nothing special - though again, there's more to be got out of it on second listen. And then we have a nice, slow build up as the two teachers decide what to do, appropriate to the Hartnell era and in keeping with the mood of the piece. Which is definitely the suspenseful sort of horror story.

The bulk of the episode takes place in the bog, and these scenes are brilliant. You can imagine them trying to do it in Riverside, Ealing and on location - and it wouldn't have worked. But on audio, the visuals are superb. The squelching sounds and creepy music bring it to life. When they finally meet Janet, Small manages to give her a voice that is older, distinct from Jeannie, without making her sound like an old lady - a fine line to tread. The description of the antagonists' motion is lovely, too. I don't want to say too much more about this part, though, because it speaks for itself if you listen to it.

As you can tell, I enjoyed this episode a lot. The cliffhanger was intriguing, a "how did that happen?" rather than a "how will they get out of that?": can the second half live up to the promise of the first? Find out on Friday...

Rating:
9.5/10.

Next Time:
Episode 2.

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