The Genesis Chamber

"I won't marry a murderer."

Writer: Philip Hinchcliffe (Adapted by Marc Platt)

Format: Audio

Released: September 2016

Series: Philip Hinchcliffe Presents 2.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis

The TARDIS has landed on a human colony world. In the city, where the inhabitants rely on advanced technology to create their children, a marriage is due to take place. But not everyone supports it, and a crash might just prevent it for good.

In the commune outside live the savages, shunned and detested by the city folk. But they have recently been visited by a man, charismatic and handsome, who may yet be their saviour – or their doom.

Two different sides, ready for conflict. But neither realises that a third force threatens their very existence...

Verdict

The Genesis Chamber was a decent story to continue my way through the Philip Hinchcliffe Presents series of adventures for the Fourth Doctor and Leela! I was intrigued by this one and I thought the concept of the titular chamber was very interesting. Having conflict between two parts of a colony world is obviously nothing new in Doctor Who but the little twist of the disagreement being how respective humans were born was very unique and I was a big fan. It was also fun for those to be naturally born to be the ones that were looked upon as savages and with disgust. It seems a little weird for natural sexual reproduction to be looked down upon but they really were met with distain from the outside. I thought the planet itself made for a decent setting and the arrival of the Doctor and Leela was a lot of fun. The Doctor's dream about waking up with thirteen heads was marvellous and I loved his comment about what it would do to his spine! Glorious humour and strong writing for this TARDIS pairing. The positioning of savages was always going to be fun for Leela to be incorporated into but I don't think enough was made of that. She did assert corrections that she was a savage but I'd have liked more pride from Leela for her savage roots. Volor was a good villain for the adventure and whilst I wasn't a massive fan of his inability to die, it worked well for him to come back at the final moments with just his head after tricking Leela and acting as a bomb. The Grarvan themselves weren't the most exciting species which was a shame and I thought they sounded a bit silly and I just couldn't take them seriously. I'm sure they would have worked well for the younger fans and especially on television, but in the audio format for a six-parter they just weren't sustainable to peak my interest. Whilst I think the idea at the heart of the story is really strong, I wasn't a big fan of the length and I think that hurt the execution. It just didn't have enough excitement to last three hours and ended up being a bit dragged out and ordinary despite the strong ideas central to the adventure. The Janz family were good characters at the heart of the story and the proposed wedding between Ana and Grillo was terrific and I loved how the former asserted her authority in not wanting to marry a murderer. Grillo's fate being sealed by the Grarvan was fitting and exactly what he deserved after trying to sell out the planet and also falsely reporting that Leela had been executed. The Doctor's reaction to that was shocking but I absolutely adored the ending where he called her the most brilliant savage and beautiful at the wedding that brought the different parts of the colony back together again. That was terrific. I thought Inscape was a fun element of the story and its ability to essentially planet build was very good. The revelation of the little advert was fun stuff and its role in the conclusion and sealing Volor's fate was excellent as it trapped him in his own world of torment where he could rule happily and not impact anyone. Overall, a decent idea but probably slightly too long to get a higher rating. 

Rating: 7/10