Lost in the Wakefield Triangle

"The tenderest rhubarb in the galaxy, grown at a rate unheard of on Earth."

Writer: Vin Marsden Henrick

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Short Trips 4.03

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Jo find trouble in the most unlikely of places when they stop off to buy some West Yorkshire rhubarb...

Verdict 

Lost in the Wakefield Triangle was not the greatest of Short Trips adventures by any stretch of the imagination. I just couldn’t enjoy any of this story really which is such a shame to be saying because it really did feel like the talents of the wonderful Katy Manning were somewhat wasted here. She’s so talented and she did her best with the materials she was given here, but they just weren’t awfully good. I’m not sure if I have ever given a lower rating in the history of my blog entries over the last decade or so, but I do think her narration alone saved it from complete disaster. The way she read the story was brilliant and her enthusiasm really is infectious. I’m always impressed with how easily she switches between characters when it comes to these early Short Trips stories because it’s not an easy task to be the sole narrator in an adventure containing multiple characters. Her impression of the Third Doctor is tremendous and it’s so nice to hear her put in considerable effort. She does sound authentic and given her gender and the elderly nature of the third incarnation, that’s a real achievement and it was no different for this story here. A story that I’m sad to say was just rather boring. I mean, when the whole premise of an adventure is some dodgy rhubarb that doesn’t exactly sound enticing. I was fine with the Doctor and Jo landing the TARDIS because they were after some rhubarb because that’s a good way to introduce them to the locals of wherever they have landed, but that shouldn’t then become the whole story. This just felt more like it was an introduction that never stopped until it was over. That’s not the right approach for an enjoyable story. Martin Chisom falling victim to the mysterious rhubarb was decent but it all just felt a little silly. Even the culprits of the metal big enemy just felt flat and never something that could be taken seriously which was a big shame to say. I thought Brian and Claire Forrest as the ones who found Martin in his condition were pretty good but they didn’t really have enough time to fully embellish themselves into proceedings. I do think that is a shortfall of these early series Short Trips in that for the most part, the running time just isn’t long enough for an entire adventure. There’s not enough time for a structure to take place that has some kind of impact. I thought Manning’s take on the metal bug was a decent attempt but it did feel a bit silly. Their claim of taking the world by conquest but getting confused and them actually just referring to Martin’s shed was a bit bland and just bang average to be honest. It was a bit of a sigh moment as I listened to the story on a rare office day commute. It wasn’t exactly my favourite conditions to be listening, but this didn’t brighten my day ahead of a shift! The absence of Jo from going to the wrong shed was also just a bit rubbish and sounds so stupid. She’s better than that. I thought the way things concluded was slightly underwhelming as Brian and the bug reached a trade agreement that meant the bug was happy enough staying in the shed with its supply of rhubarb. The Doctor assuring Jo that it wasn’t actually dangerous felt a bit like cheating and not entirely convincing as I’m not sure he’d had enough time to make that judgement! Overall, I just felt like this was a poor story that didn’t have enough time but to be honest by the end I was glad for it to be done. Considering it was only sixteen minutes long or so, that’s far from ideal!

Rating: 4/10