4 episodes. Approx. 94 minutes. Written by: Mark Gatiss. Directed by: Mark Gatiss. Produced by: Gary Russell, Jason Haigh-Ellery.
THE PLOT
Manhattan. October, 1938. The Mercury Theatre on the Air is preparing its Halloween episode, a piece the show's star and creator considers a minor piece of fluff to get through before tackling more important works. This Halloween special is an adaptation of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, and it is destined to become the most famous performance of a radio play in history - and a star-making moment for young actor/writer/director Orson Welles (David Benson).
The Doctor and Charley are also in New York, the TARDIS having slightly overshot an attempt to deliver Charley to her rendezvous in Singapore. They are barely out of the timeship before stumbling - almost literally - over a dead body. The corpse is that of a private detective named Halliday, and his death clearly came at the hands of technology that could not exist on Earth in this time period!
The Doctor's investigation plunges him into plots and counterplots involving spies both American and Russian, a ruthless but patriotic New York mobster known as Don Chaney (Simon Pegg), and gossip columnist Cosmo Devine (John Arthur), a secret Nazi sympathizer despite being openly and flamboyantly homosexual. All of them are after the same prize: The very alien technology the Doctor seeks, which crashed to Earth one month earlier.
But technology wasn't all that crashed to Earth. And even as Orson Welles broadcasts his realistic, news-style report of alien invasion, real extra-terrestrials land in the city, with plans of conquest.
As one of the aliens declares: "We'll take Manhattan! And Staten Island, too!"
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: The involvement of alien technology would have drawn his attention regardless - but he still finds the chance to "play detective" in 1930's New York irresistible. When Halliday's client, Glory Bee (Jessica Stevenson), is revealed to be other than she appears, he says it was foolish of him not to guess - though his manner and the lack of shock in his voice indicate that he had already guessed and was just playing along. He goes into full fanboy mode upon meeting Orson Welles, revealing that he's seen all of his movies (much to the confusion of a Welles who has yet to make any) and unable to resist blurting out: "Don't let them cut Ambersons!"
The Doctor: The involvement of alien technology would have drawn his attention regardless - but he still finds the chance to "play detective" in 1930's New York irresistible. When Halliday's client, Glory Bee (Jessica Stevenson), is revealed to be other than she appears, he says it was foolish of him not to guess - though his manner and the lack of shock in his voice indicate that he had already guessed and was just playing along. He goes into full fanboy mode upon meeting Orson Welles, revealing that he's seen all of his movies (much to the confusion of a Welles who has yet to make any) and unable to resist blurting out: "Don't let them cut Ambersons!"
Charley: Urgently wants to make her Singapore rendezvous, but otherwise seems in no rush to leave the Doctor. Though she shows some mild exasperation at his attempt to talk like a 1930's gumshoe, her fondness and faith in him is clear throughout. When Devine drugs her to get her to talk, what she reveals is her faith that the Doctor will stop "the meddling." She even laughs at Devine's antics, referring to him as "Canut," directly recalling the Doctor's story about Canut's attempt to turn back the tide.
Orson Welles: This story's major historical guest character, though he's largely on the periphery of the main action until the very end. For the first three episodes, Welles' role is a dramatization of the production of the War of the Worlds broadcast, with only minor crossovers with the Who story. David Benson's Welles barely possesses a fraction of the real Welles' enormous presence, but he sounds close enough to the real thing that it's very easy to accept him in the role, and his banter with "Jack" Houseman (Jonathan Rigby) is consistently enjoyable throughout. The serial barely scratches the surface of the brilliant yet unreliable, driven yet self-sabotaging auteur... But if it's a shallow sketch, it at least feels right within the broadstrokes, the Welles scenes melding nicely with the more fantastical material surrounding him.
THOUGHTS
The notion of an actual alien invasion being staged against the backdrop of Orson Welles' infamous War of the Worlds radio play is hardly original (among other works, it formed part of the backbone for cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai), but it remains an irresistible flight of fancy. And while Mark Gatiss may be very far from my favoriteWho writer, he has proved in his larger career that he has a deft touch with comedy. Invaders from Mars, an unapologetic comedy pastische, makes full use of Gatiss' strengths, and it remains highly enjoyable many years after its initial release.
Simon Pegg is the high-profile guest star, and he does a capable job playing the ruthless yet likable Don Chaney. But the top acting honors go to John Arthur, whose Cosmo Devine flat-out steals the show. Arthur takes this flamboyantly gay villain and makes him into a distinct character: Smart, silky, and with just enough of an edge to be genuinely threatening while remaining amusing. The story is at its best when Devine is center-stage.
Not that it gets a chance to lose steam when he's offstage. At 94 minutes, this is one of Big Finish's shorter releases. Gatiss' script is lean and fast. Every scene advances the story, and most scenes are short and snappy. In many respects, it evokes the screwball comedies of the era in which it's set: Rapid-fire dialogue and an abundance of comic energy. This is a story that actually improves on repeat visits - I suspect because it all goes by so quickly that you're bound to miss something the first time around.
Pure comedy Doctor Who is relatively rare, and usually not very good - But this one works like a treat. It's featherweight - But it's also a whole lot of fun.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Next Story: The Chimes of Midnight
Search Amazon.com for Doctor Who
No comments:
Post a Comment