The Fifth Traveller

"The surface is our enemy."

Writer: Phili Lawrence

Format: Audio

Released: October 2016

Series: Early Adventures 3.02

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Synopsis 

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki and Jospa land the TARDIS on the homeworld of the Arunde. Emerging into the jungle that covers the planet and encountering the strange wildlife dwelling within, the travellers are unaware that the true rulers live high above them in the trees.

The ape-like members of the tribe are in trouble. The last Matriar's nest has been lost to the surface, and the people are hungry... Maybe these strangers may be responsible. And some believe they may be salvation.

The TARDIS crew are about to find themselves in the middle of somebody else's battle. But there's more at stake than even they can know.

Verdict 

The Fifth Traveller was not the greatest of Early Adventures unfortunately. It is a big shame as I had high hopes early on and I thought the opening part was actually really strong, but as the story went on I found myself losing interest and there was not a huge amount of stuff happening that was pulling me back in. It may be a slight on me as a listener but when I decide that a story is a little disinteresting or just isn’t doing it for me, it takes a lot to pull me back in and this story just didn’t have it. I enjoyed the idea behind it with Jospa infiltrating his way into the TARDIS and becoming part of the crew. It was essentially the Early Adventures version of the Torchwood episode Adam where a similar thing happened there. The idea of memories being planted in the psyche of all of the travellers was brilliant but I thought the approach of having them forget him quite early on was flawed. It was predictable then where things were going. I don’t think early in part two was the right time for some of the TARDIS team to be forgetting him, even if it was temporary. Once he was remembered again I just didn’t find myself caring because I knew that he’d be forgotten again or the truth would at least be outed. I think a bit more could have been made when Ian was forgotten and they seemed to remember him far too quickly. There was definitely potential there to explore a TARDIS team without him. I can’t envisage Barbara travelling without him alongside her! I liked the idea of the Vervidic organic technology and the potential of being able to use it to have the Doctor communicate with the TARDIS was very good. A very iteration of the The Doctor’s Wife would be quite spectacular! It never came to that through unfortunately. The potential of Ian and Barbara being able to get home was good though and is always something I enjoy exploring. Despite the enjoyment being had and the qualities they bring as companions, they’re always intent on getting back to their lives and that’s pretty rare for companions! I like that and it’s nice that they have something to work towards rather than just being there to ask the Doctor questions. Vicki trying to deal with the prospect of losing them was good stuff and probably my favourite aspect of the adventure. She would struggle without them and that was down to her lack of relationship with Jospa. They weren’t massive friends. I wasn’t really bothered by the Arunde home planet and the story that happened there because as the title would suggest my focus was only on the mysterious new fifth traveller. It was all just background to me with the Matriar’s nest and the fear of those on the surface. Some of the descriptions of the TARDIS team were amusing though with them being described as walking on their hind legs and bringing light in the form of torches. Sharna was a good character as the one trying to provide reason to Gark’s description of the newcomers, but she wasn’t overly fussed on his feelings and trepidation. I thought the cliffhangers were a little poor in their delivery as they seemed to just be announced by the narrator when there was ample opportunity for some performance and a bit more of an impact given what was described with the likes of Ian sinking in the mud. It almost felt like the adventure didn’t believe in itself which was a shame. I’m never a huge fan of catching up on a story that’s already happened unseen or unheard, and that’s how this one started so I didn’t overly get on with it from the off. Jospa’s demise was a strong conclusion but he gave himself up a bit too easily with mentions of stuff Vicki had never revealed. I liked the idea of him being on Vortis but he was never going to be able to stand up to the Doctor in a battle of the mind. That was a good showcase of the Doctor’s strengths. I wasn’t a huge fan of the team being respectful to him at the burial given what he’d tried to do, but alas he was no more. Overall, some good ideas but not the best way of putting them into action in my opinion.  

Rating: 5/10