The BF Time Warp 038: The Church and The Crown

[SiHart]

A nation divided
A Queen's life at risk
A net of conspiracy closing in...
Sometimes being a time travelling adventurer just isn't easy...

For a start there's a temperamental TARDIS that lands a few thousand years off course in 17th Century Paris. But why shouldn't the Doctor, Peri and their travelling guest Erimem take a look around the city on the morning of King Louis' annual State Ball?

As Peri becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Queen Anne and smash the unity of the Church and the Crown, the Doctor finds himself duelling Musketeers on the streets.

With Peri missing, Erimem catching King Louis' eye and a Musketeer's sword at your throat, could things get any worse?

Probably...

What are your thoughts on this BF adventure?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I've always had a soft spot for this one. I love the setting and there a some lovely lines in it like "softly softly catchy Peri" and the pre-sword fight exchange between the Duke of Buckingham and the Doctor.
"I'm the best swordsman in England!"
"Yes but we're in France..."

Lovely stuff. A solid 4/5 from me

[Rob McCow]

A Big Hat For Davison. 4/5! I remember this one being pretty good, although the is it/isn't it gag about the aliens wore a little thin.

[Si Hunt]

It's a lovely little historical and there's really not much more to say than that. One day I shall slip it from its place on the shelf, settle down with a biscuit, and re-listen to it again.

One day. But not yet.

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

People on PS who know me well will know that I don't really rate "pure" historicals. So, you would be extremely unsurprised to know that I wasn't expecting much from this. And I was very, very pleasantly surprised by this one. Although, if I was going to like any sort of historical, this would be the one. I've always been interested in conflicts between the Church and the Crown: one of my favourite classes while I was doing my undergraduate studies was on conflicts between Popes and Emperors, and the political intrigue in this was absolutely perfect for me.

One thing that was nice to hear on this was the old 60s Who trope of having a guest character who happens to look exactly like one of our regulars. Here, it's Nicola Bryant's turn, and so she gets to use her real accent while portraying Queen Anne. It's a nice touch, and shows off Nicola's versatility as an actress, particularly since the two characters are absolute polar opposites.

I've always been extremely dubious of introducing another main character into this period of Doctor Who (in fact, I'm still disappointed that there are any adventures set inbetween Planet of Fire and The Caves of Androzani, but that's another complaint for another time), but actually, the Fifth Doctor/Peri/Erimem team is wonderful. It gives the Fifth Doctor a team that he actually gets on with, and is fantastically refreshing from the constant bickering in the TARDIS that went on through most of Davison's tenure on TV. What's nice here is just how quickly Erimem fits in with Sixteenth century France, easily fitting in with King Louis's Court. It's nice that at the end of this adventure, where Erimem proves herself, the Doctor invites her to stay on the TARDIS longer-term. Hurrah!

Despite my misgivings on setting stories in this period, it's a shame that Davison didn't stick around as the Doctor for longer. I can only imagine the difference to the show had there been a Doctor/companion team that had actually got on during Season 22. Would the show have still been cancelled/"rested"? Again, if there have to be some adventures in this period, having the Doctor and Peri get on so well explains why she stuck around with the Sixth Doctor so long!

Of course, the actual substance of the plot is just wonderful. There are so many wonderful little things that are really indicative of the time. The Queen unable to give her husband an heir, so she's putting it about, including with a senior nobleman from this strange place called England. Musketeers! A Cardinal who's described as a "viper in priest's robes", planning on excommunicating the King the first chance he gets - although the King plays his hand and arrests Richelieu first, inciting religious war. This is absolutely my thing, and I LOVE it!

For a story that I wasn't expecting to enjoy, this was pretty damned good. I was very pleasantly surprised, and this joins the likes of The Spectre of Lanyon Moor and Primeval as stories that have surprised me. A very solid 4/5 from me!

[SiHart]

It's nice that at the end of this adventure, where Erimem proves herself, the Doctor invites her to stay on the TARDIS longer-term. Hurrah!

Biggest mistake they made. The character was still the very worst companion BF created.

[Anthony Williams]

Biggest mistake they made. The character was still the very worst companion BF created.

To be honest, I haven't heard anything with her beyond this one. Up until this point, she's been a lot better than I was led to believe that she would be. Still, with the dreaded Nekromanteia coming up soonish, I shall reserve full judgement until after that!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

In fairness after two fairly strong historical stories to introduce the character the subsequent 5th/Peri/Erimem stories did experience a visible nosedive in terms of overall quality. Plus with all due respect to Caroline Morris, she was originally only cast to play a one-off character.
Gary Russell has subsequently stated he would have tried harder to cast someone of the appropriate ethnicity had they decided before the day they recorded Eye of the Scorpion that Erimem was going to be a new companion.

That said the reward that listeners eventually get in her last story The Bride of Peladon did make the whole experience worthwhile for me at least.

[Nyder]

Gave this a listen this week - better then I expected, although I did groan at the "companion lookalike" theme. But to be fair Nicola Bryant excelled as Queen Anne. Erimem is okay, but she speaks too much like Leela for my liking.


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