Being the middle story of a series which has a story arc
running through it is never easy. So credit must go to Matt Fitton for at least
giving it a go. The story sees the TARDIS land on Isenfel and they are after
the interface stabiliser that was stolen in the previous story. It’s obvious
from the front cover and the sound effects used that this takes place in the
snow and ice but it’s the setting that should be more interesting and indeed it
is.
There is a nice plot idea about there being a one in and one
out policy that they have on Isenfel which does seem to be at least partly
based on the rule that they had in China were they were not allowed more than a
certain number of children. It does lead to a question being asked by Tegan as
to why people bother to have children and Nyssa says that sometimes it can’t be
helped. I thought that the performances from the regulars was quite good. Sarah
Sutton is always someone that I think gives a solid performance. I think that
Mark Strickson though is somewhat disappointing because all he does is moan and
this is becoming somewhat tiresome in these adventures.
The supporting cast is interesting. Annette Badland is of
course well know as Margaret Slitheen in the 2005 TV series and at the moment can
be seen on Eastenders. In this piece she plays Queen Carlina and I thought it
was a strong performance. Another strong performance came from Nikolas Grace as
Lord Balancer Skarsgard. Skarsgard & Carlina work together with the general
impression that what they are doing is in the best interest of the residents of
Isenfel. It seems usual in these stories that they start off with this point of
view but when the Doctor joins them then that opinion changes.
Credit should go to Richard Fox & Lauren Yason for
creating a wonderful atmosphere. I think that I don’t give enough credit to the
music and sound effects used in these stories but I was impressed with what
they have come up with.
The problem ultimately is that I wasn’t wowed by this story
and despite the best efforts of the cast I just didn’t find the story very
interesting. I can’t quite put my finger on what the problem was. I think that
it took a while for me to pick up on what the actual plot of the story was and
by that time I had sort of given up on it.
As a middle story it does what it needs to do but I cant help think that
if I listened to this again in the future that I might start to value this more.
