The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

"When I was a child, we were told about the white pyramid, where the greatest evil was meant to sleep. And if you see it, it means it will take your soul..."

For his Big Finish debut Adrian Rigelsford, writer of the aborted 30th anniversary Doctor Who special The Dark Dimension, offers The Roof Of The World - a story of an ancient evil awakening amidst the Himalayas, circa 1917. Although the "ancient evil returns" idea is extremely common in both contemporary Doctor Who and the original series, Rigelsford distinguishes his work through its tone as his story is a dark, introspective character piece which is more interested in the insidious terror of its evil than the typical hollow threats and monomaniacal destructive ambition.

After a promising beginning to her time in the TARDIS, the Erimem strand of the Fifth Doctor adventures have gone off track slightly with their last two outings as although both had either good characterisation or performances, neither featured exceptionally strong plotting. The Roof Of The World restores parity with an excellent depiction of the regulars alongside an uncomplicated but effective plot which exudes intrigue throughout.

The most famous Tibetan Doctor Who story focused on a remote monastery, so Rigelsford takes the opportunity to give a more varied flavour to the locale by taking the Doctor, Peri and Erimem on a journey through the surrounding area as they head towards the reason they have ventured there - a cricket match, held for explorers. This makes for an appealing start as the Doctor and his entourage's progression allows Rigelsford to subtly establish the boundaries and dependencies of their relationships (Peri brings a book for Erimem to read in case she gets bored, for instance) which is a crucial aspect of the story's second episode. Their passage through Tibet, though brief, gives them the chance to meet the story's main villain, Lord Mortimer Davey, who is played with style and class by the cultured Edward De Souza which lends his malevolence an unparalleled dignity.

Rigelsford admits he was encouraged to approach the story in a manner akin to a stage play, and nowhere is this truer than in the form of episode two which is almost a tangential aside from the main narrative as Erimem has all her beliefs and confidence stripped away in nightmarish scenarios, playing on her inherent fears. The opening at Erimem's apparent funeral is particularly triumphant as the Doctor and Peri's grief is conveyed genuinely and given the scene's construction it almost convinces that she really is dead. Throughout the episode, Davey taunts the young Egyptian with her constant failures, showing the contempt her father (played well by the sadly underused William Franklyn) held her in but it is the disappointment of the Doctor and Peri that hurts her the most, given the place among them she earned. Caroline Morris delivers arguably her strongest performance so far here as she becomes distraught and frustrated by her situation and is eventually ground down until she has no choice but to take the opportunity Davey presents her. Much of what is said here resonates strongly with aspects of previous stories and gives a sense of a strong internal continuity. Whilst this episode is slightly overlong, its importance cannot be underestimated as it gives the play its emotional heart.

Rigelsford's writing seems conflicted as to whether it should embrace or shun the series' past. It's a play that doesn't hide its influences but there is also a clear intention to play against type, perhaps embodied most by the way it struggles against the constraints of four part episodic structure. This becomes most noticeable when Rigelsford returns to the first episode cliffhanger in episode three (although there is cheatingly some extra dialogue added from the Doctor) the suddenness of which forces a loss of momentum.

Alarmingly, there are a number of parallels to the last two Erimem stories, with the psyche exploration whilst apparently being dead recalling Nekromanteia and the villain's ability to take other forms matching that of the Jester in The Axis Of Insanity. Rigelsford just about gets away with this by virtue of his story's greater consistency and also his willingness to acknowledge the cliché through self-aware dialogue when Doctor meets Doctor. But given the frequency that this plot device has cropped up recently, it's time for it to be retired for a while...

Despite this, The Roof Of The World works because of the sustained mystery regarding Davey's objective. This is something Rigelsford prolongs until well into the final episode when the truth is finally revealed. It's a very Lovecraftian solution, the novelty of which is diminished only by the fact that the New Adventures integrated this mythos into the series' own a long time ago. Still it ties in agreeably with both the retrospective thinking behind the omnipotent villains of Doctor Who's past (including the one skulking about nearby in the Detsen monastery) and also the Doctor's concluding remarks in Primeval.

The biggest problem with Rigelsford's script is his over-reliance on visual concepts such as the white pyramid and the cloud of death that stalks the mountains which causes him to use the characters to describe these in detail, rather than planting the suggestion of the image for the listener's imagination to do the rest. This is often off-putting, but it doesn't significantly detract from the play's quality.

The Roof Of The World is impeccably cast. Peter Davison demonstrates startling dynamism as the Doctor, Nicola Bryant is very determined as Peri (back to her old gutsy self after the feckless version in her last appearance) and Morris pushes the boundaries of her character superbly also. De Souza is a towering presence making Lord Davey the worthy and memorable adversary Rigelsford intended while Sylvester Morand and Alan Cox provide authentic support as the blustery adventurer General Bruce and his more cynical stenographer sidekick Matthews in a likeable Holmesian double-act.

With extremely atmospheric sound design and a suitably grandiose score, the success of The Roof Of The World is complete. Rigelsford's script is perhaps not the most daring but for the most part it is extremely effective and the inspired casting makes this a thoroughly absorbing and disturbing psychological play which builds precisely towards its superb conclusion.