The Alchemists

"What difference does being a Jew make?"

Writer: Ian Potter

Format: Audio

Released: August 2013

Series: Companion Chronicles 8.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands in Berlin in the 1930s, where Hitler and his National Socialist party are in the ascendant.

Some of the greatest scientific minds are gathering here: Einstein, Heisenberg, Planck, Schrodinger, Wigner. The people who will build the future of planet Earth.

But the Doctor and Susan have brought something with them. Something apparently harmless, something quite common. Yet something that could threaten the course of history...

Verdict

The Alchemists was a very good Companion Chronicles audio! I thought this was a solid adventure from start to finish and I really liked Carole Ann Ford's narration in this one. She was hugely impressive and I thought her take on the First Doctor was terrific. That was an unexpected delight I have to say. I'm always a fan of stories set prior to the events of An Unearthly Child because that is unchartered territory and there is so much potential for things to go wrong and skew just a little bit from what we are used to. Hearing the TARDIS described with the chameleon circuit intact will never fail to be a little strange but I love that it happens because it shows that it did once work and also gives importance to that first televised serial whilst also establishing that this wasn't where things began. I liked the idea of Susan writing a letter to Barbara describing the events of this particular adventure before she and Ian came aboard and her envisaging a time where she would no longer be travelling with her grandfather in the TARDIS showed a level of maturity which was fantastic. I thought she was great in this one. The TARDIS arriving in Germany during the rise of Nazism was magnificent and such a good setting. Placing the curious and daring First Doctor in this period was superb and let's not forget, his favourite period of Earth history was during the French Revolution so who knows what he made of this era! The suggestion from Susan of Hitler being the person he was hoping to see whilst in the time was fun and I enjoyed how her grasp on German history wasn't quite up to scratch. The Doctor's fascination with the scientific breakthroughs of the time and locale was wonderful and he really did seem like he would fit in well. Given the range, it was a good move to have him left at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. The cliffhanger with the suggestion of help from the SA was decent, but surely the moment of him being kidnapped would have been better? I thought Pollitt was a good character and Strittmatter was fantastic! The humour regarding the latter's taxi service was brilliant and I liked how the pair linked up by the audio's conclusion as British spies. The desire to create gold in secret and economically was a very unique premise for a Doctor Who story but I really enjoyed that this was a pure historical. There's nothing better sometimes and having the Doctor and Susan mixed up in current affairs of the time is just terrific. The way the German economy and the continued impact of reparations following World War One were used to present the society was good, and the Doctor and Susan presenting gold that seemed recently pressed because it was new was marvellous! I do think there could have been more of the Doctor featuring despite the companion focus of this series/range and I wasn't a huge fan of how easily he and Susan escaped the hands of Pollitt. It seemed a bit quick and easy and from nowhere the audio seemed to be over which was a little shame as I was enjoying it very much! The mentions of history and not being able to change it was fun and educational and pondering over whether the Doctor and Susan ensured that World War Two still took place was a good element. The thought! Overall, an enjoyable audio! 

Rating: 8/10