21x2. The Awakening
Writer: Eric Pringle
Director: Michael Owen Morris
Script Editor: Eric Saward
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Synopsis: The TARDIS arrives in a small
English village to visit Tegan's grandfather, only to find the
residents obsessed with a re-enactment of a battle from the English
Civil War, which in turn feeds the energy of an alien creature known as
the Malus.
Review: I commented in my review of "The King's Demons" that the original Doctor Who series'
two-parters suffered from maintaining the slower pace typical of the
longer serials. "The Awakening" at least avoids that pitfall, but
unfortunately I still can't give it a full recommendation. It's been
about two weeks since I actually watched it, and it's so relentlessly
pedestrian in plot and characterization that I again find myself
struggling to find much to say. The script relies a bit too much on
"psychic energy" to explain all the goings-on, and none of the
characters, aside from maybe the 17th century transplant Will Chandler,
emerge as particularly memorable. I will, however, give the serial
credit for one particularly clever line, in which the Doctor, in
response to the accusation, "You speak treason," responds, "Fluently!"
Rating: **1/2 (out of four)
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