Equilibrium (2015)

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.