The Keeper of Traken
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DVD NTSC
1-story disc
Region 1
for North America
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DVD PAL
3-story box set
Region 2
for the U.K.
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VHS Video
NTSC
A
NTSC
B
NTSC
PAL
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(Doctor Who Story No. 115, starring Tom Baker)
- written by Johnny Byrne
- directed by John Black
- produced by John Nathan-Turner
- music by Roger Limb
- 4 episodes @ 25 minutes each
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Story: The ailing ruler of
the Traken Union, known as the Keeper,
asks the Doctor and Adric to help
make the transition of power to a new
Keeper as smooth as possible.
Even after enlisting
the aid of a conscientious councillor and his
daughter Nyssa, the event
is anything but, as an all-too-familiar
evil has begun to corrupt the high council
to make a grab for the secret technological
powers behind the throne.
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New Beginnings
3 DVD boxed set
NTSC Region 1
for North America
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DVD Extras include:
- Audio commentary by writer Johnny Byrne,
actors Matthew Waterhouse (Adric),
Anthony Ainley (Tremas),
and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa).
- "Being Nice to Each Other" making-of featurette (30 min.) with Byrne, Sutton,
Sheila Ruskin (Kassia),
Geoffrey Beevers (Melkur),
director John Black,
and script editor Christopher H. Bidmead.
- Featurette on the return of the Doctor's arch-enemy
with Geoffrey Beevers, Chris Bidmead and John Black (9 min.)
- Noel Edmunds interviews Sarah Sutton on Swap Shop (11 min.)
- Isolated Music Score by Roger Limb (original mono)
- Pop-up Production Note Subtitles
- Photo Gallery music montage (8 min.)
- DVD ROM .pdf files: 1982 Dr. Who Annual, Radio Times,
& BBC Enterprises literature
Buyers' Guide Review
by Martin Izsak
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(A more in-depth analysis, containing "SPOILERS" and intended
for those who have already seen the program, can be accessed
here.)
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The excellence of season eighteen reaches its zenith with
this story, showcasing the best of what the John Nathan-Turner era
could do. Writer Johnny Byrne delivers what is quite possibly
his strongest script ever, which goes on to inspire grand work
from all the other participants in the production.
Traken is the type of world we should see more of in Doctor
Who. Its richly tasteful sets and costumes speak of a grand
civilized culture which is a delight to explore. Its people
are ceremonial yet also technologically advanced. They are
philosophically and politically interesting. And they are alien
enough to surprise us with a few twists.
The TARDIS earns its marks
for showing us more of the universe in this tale.
All characters are introduced exceptionally well, beginning
with the Doctor and Adric, and continuing with the Keeper and all
of the important guest characters. A proper opening materialization
for the TARDIS would have been additionally satisfying,
but the basic ideas
of the craft are presented exceptionally well thanks to the use
of the scanner screen during the opening shots, the model shot
later on, and the general clarity in the well-laid out opening
sequence.
Curiously, where Adric nearly took over the opening episode
of his first story, new crewmember Nyssa only appears in two
scenes of her first episode, containing a total of only one significant
close-up and only one line.
Thankfully she more than makes up for this in later episodes,
giving us an easily-watchable well-rounded character with many
strengths. Top marks are due to the entire cast.
Adric is also at his season 18 best in this story, now out
from under Romana and K9's shadow. In fact, he often stays better
focused on their mission than the Doctor, and is given almost as
much to do in solving the challenges of this adventure. Good writing
and directing bring out one of Matthew Waterhouse's best performances.
The Doctor and Adric take a bit too long to get to the scene
of the action in the first episode for my tastes, after which the
remainder of the episode is a bit too formulaic. Tom Baker plays on
that fact, keeping it entertaining. Notice here though, that the
people of Traken are refreshingly open to the truth about the Doctor
and his TARDIS, which plays in his favour, while deception remains
the method for the villains. Quite the opposite of many dreary
openings approved of and written by David Whitaker during the earliest
years of the show.
There is a healthy dose of action in the piece, and
the Doctor puts in a good showing in the adventure, but I feel
the script still needed to give him more to do in investigating and
tackling local problems.
Mind you, that isn't too noticeable a deficiency,
given all of the wonderful
character scenes and developments that the guest artists are able to
indulge in. Additionally, you know the Doctor wants to cobble together
some solution to the Trakens' problems once he gets to where he is
going. Plus the action is generally an improvement on much of
what the show had been producing previously. Dave Chapman does
outstanding work in creating visual beams for various weapons and
gadgets, while Dick Mills provides energetic sound effects.
The development of the adversarial force in this tale can easily
be an unusual set of surprises, even if you think you already know
its identity.
Its slow reveal contains many of the great escalating moments
in Doctor Who or any other sci-fi show, no matter how you take
the rest of the story. It's not done as often as
you might think, and even then, this is one of the best examples ever,
worthy of goosebumps even on repeat viewing.
Everything leads up wonderfully to the Doctor's
confrontation with the adversary, and the final unveiling of
secrets, mysteries, and back-stories.
You would hardly know that the true villain was a late addition to the
story. His motivations, discussed at length in the
In-Depth Analysis version of this review
where I can give away as many SPOILERS as I want,
are a perfect fit here.
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Musically, Roger Limb delivers one of his best scores here in
his Doctor Who debut. It is ultimately memorable due to the
introduction of Nyssa's theme, arranged here at its best - fresh, light,
and bubbly. There's also a nice menacing instrument sound for Melkur,
many interesting pieces for Kassia's encounters with the
creature, and several very respectable cues for the story's major
turning points. Limb's waves and washes of synthetic sounds are
tasteful, and his Achilles' heel - the overused semitone drop -
is difficult to find. Very good job; I like this score a lot.
Though I will probably still rank the rest of the season's music ahead
of this score, the season's music sets a good standard, where even
last place shines bright.
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Music by Roger Limb and
Special Sound by Dick Mills
"Nyssa's Theme" (stereo version, 0:43),
"Kassia's Wedding Music" (0:49), and
"The Threat of Melkur" (0:55) are available on:
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The Keeper of Traken is full of excellent elements and heavy
with series mythology. It also gels very well as a compelling
story in its own right, neatly catapulting one on towards the
season finale. An easy choice for the season's best story.
This story has become available on DVD and VHS video.
Single Story versions:
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DVD NTSC Region 1
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
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DVD PAL Region 2
for the U.K.:
See boxed set below.
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VHS Video
NTSC
A
in the U.S.
NTSC
B
in the U.S.
NTSC
in Canada
PAL
for the U.K.
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3-story boxed sets:
(Story Nos. 115-117: The Keeper of Traken,
Logopolis & Castrovalva.) |
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New Beginnings
3 DVD boxed set
NTSC Region 1
in the U.S.
in Canada
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New Beginnings
3 DVD boxed set
PAL Region 2
for the U.K.
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Comments on this article are welcome. You may contact
the author from this page:
Contact page
LYRATEK.COM
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Read the Buyers' Guide Review for the next story:
"Logopolis"
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