The Revisionists

"You too are a warrior."

Writer: Andy Frankham-Allen

Format: Audio

Released: January 2019

Series: Short Trips 9.01

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela, Brigadier

Synopsis 

Guests at the Hotel de Rois are being haunted by ancestors that never existed. The Brigadier was only in Geneva to finalise his retirement, but how could he resist? Investigating, the Brigadier quickly finds something unusual. A warrior in leathers. A warrior called Leela...

History is about to catch up with both of them. History that neither of them thinks is real.

Verdict

The Revisionists was en excellent Short Trips audio! I thought this was really strong from start to finish and had such an exciting premise of the Brigadier encountering the Fourth Doctor once again, along with Leela for the first time. With Louise Jameson as the narrator, the focus was more so on Leela and that was actually tremendous. The humour that came from her pronunciation of hotel with the emphasis on the ‘Ho’ as the letter ‘O’ was really good and just great characterisation of her character. The comic value of the Tesh laser not being allowed by the Doctor was good stuff and I really liked the Geneva setting. We’ve heard that Swiss city mentioned countless times as the home of UNIT worldwide and actually encountering the Brigadier there was just brilliant. It’s about time! Leela being stumbled upon by the Brigadier was a lovely moment and I’m so glad that we now get an adventure with the Brigadier and Leela meeting. Instantly she knew that he had the baring of a warrior and the Brig thinking she was from the Congo because of her leathers was just marvellous. It’s exactly what I’d expect the Brigadier to say in his reaction! I thought it was a nice touch that Leela recognised the title of Brigadier and he was far from surprised to find the Doctor had some involvement. It had him written all over. The eery feel of the audio with the haunted hotel was good and I really liked the focus on ancestors coming back. The memories seemingly resetting was intriguing and had me very interested right from the off. The respect on show between the Brigadier and Leela was honestly a delight, but she was keen to emphasise that she was no ‘young lady’ which was magnificent. That was really good characterisation of both characters who were written so well. Somehow someway, a spin-off or just further meetings between these two would be most welcomed. The spirits of the dead being in the hotel provided a chilling atmosphere and it was really effective to have very little background music or sound effects. For a lot of the story we were just listening to a conversation and that was such a good approach. It helped that the Doctor’s whereabouts were unknown as the focus was firmly on the solider and the tribeswoman. The older woman of the Sevateem showing up as Leela’s ancestor was such a strong moment, and her being the High Priestess Beteema and one of the most esteemed of the tribe was really good. I loved the simplicity of Leela bowing and there really was a sense of power there. Leela believing there to be no threat at the hotel was good and I really enjoyed that she was honoured to be visited by the spirits of the dead. The shock of Beteema when Leela revealed the truth about Xoanon being a computer was excellent and she thought it was heresy after serving him all of her life, and thereafter. The concept of memories vanishing was strong and it turning out that they weren’t just forgotten, but were actually stolen! That kept things rolling nicely. The Brigadier encountering his own ancestor in the form of Henry John Lethbridge-Stewart was really well done and I liked how he was the first Lethbridge-Stewart. He was a royalist and proud and that didn’t surprise me when it came to the family position and pride they felt for their country. The Doctor emerging once the Brigadier’s memory vanished was welcomed timing and the dropping of a number of references to the likes of encounters with Yeti and Cybermen was terrific. The Doctor’s memories about being UNIT’s Scientific Advisor getting stolen was such a fun moment as his reaction to the suggested he worked for them was exactly what you’d expect from the fourth incarnation. The reveal of the Molai as the culprits was underwhelming at first as they sounded small and not exactly imposing, but I was glad we didn’t get to hear too much from them. They were peaceful and claimed to have borrowed the memories of ancestors because they were the victims of a hidden war that was severely impact smaller species. The memory of their race was wiped out as this faction was off world when the impact hit, and with them having a group mind they forced the rest of their species into a sleep in order to find a new revised history to feed into their race memory. That was a convoluted but very interesting concept that I thoroughly enjoyed! The Doctor saving the day by planning to teach them to copy and return memories, in return for giving them his entire memory as a copy to form quite the species history! That would be entertaining for sure. The Brigadier being somber on his pride for national service was a really nice way to finish things and mentioning that stories about ancestors kept them alive was lovely. Overall, a fantastic Short Trip! 

Rating: 9/10