Equilibrium

"We do not question the balancing."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: February 2015

Series: Monthly Adventures 196

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

Still looking for a way out of E-Space, the TARDIS crashes to Isenfel – a realm of snow and ice. Snarling beasts stalk the frozen plains, a feisty princess leads the hunt, and a queen in an ice palace rules over her loyal subjects. 

But this is no fairytale kingdom, and everyone in Isenfel knows the price of survival. While Nyssa and Tegan uncover deadly secrets hidden in the palace, Turlough flees for his life across the tundra. 

And as for the Doctor... he only ever wants to change things for the better. But in a world such as Isenfel, such a hope may not even be possible.

Verdict

Equilibrium was  a superb story to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures and serve as the middle instalment of an E-Space trilogy! This followed on very nicely from the climactic cliffhanger of Mistfall which saw Solas take the TARDIS interface stabiliser and leave the Doctor’s trusty time and space machine pretty vulnerable and not exactly easy to steer! I thought that was a strong basis to start the story and just being in E-Space is fascinating. I like the idea of it being a much smaller universe than N-Space which actually helped the TARDIS troubles this time around! There’s a lot of potential in another universe and the icy landscape painted quite an image. I thought the white camouflage of the foxes in particular was brilliant and I liked how they really couldn’t be seen. The Doctor and company being on the hunt for the stabiliser was good and I like that there was an end goal for their presence on Isenfel. The world that they would become encountered with though turned out to be something quite spectacular! This was a stunning example of world building and whilst it’s not original to have the people within being an abandoned science experiment, the world within was certainly unique. Karlina was a strong character as the Queen ruling over the realm and I must say I thought the entire guest cast of characters were fantastic. The Balancer was an intriguing concept and the way it was drip fed just what equilibrium referred to in Isenfel was quite horrifying. There had to be a balancing of lives and that meant grandparents sacrificed themselves for their own children to have babies. Not even the royals were exempt, although the palace was something of a haven against the black snow. The concept behind that as a means of matter dispersal was pretty gruesome but certainly effective. It also sounds tremendous as a threat. I really liked the characters of Jesper and Romy as two who were on the side of life and slightly upsetting the balance of equilibrium by trying to keep just a couple of babies safe and hidden to ensure no others had to die for them. But when the threat of nothingness and the end of the world came the active of Jesper was a powerful moment that bought her loved one and the rest of her people some time. I thought it was good to take Turlough out of his comfort zone a little here with Inger taking a fancy to him and the kiss at the end seemed to get his internal wheels in motion. Even the Doctor and Tegan could see she felt something for him and the latter’s comment about her eating him alive was glorious. I think Nyssa had an intriguing story and it’s often quite easy to forget this is not the version we saw on screen. She’s much older despite her rejuvenation and it’s interesting to hear her be so open about wanting to stop her travels. I sense an end is coming for her soon (again), especially with the discussions on the loss of both Adrics. Her appeal to the Doctor about his own equilibrium and only being on the side of good was wonderful though and a real story highlight even if the Time Lord struggled to believe it. The reveal of the Balancer being part of the System was really good and his emotional wellbeing was compromised with the knowledge of sending so many to their deaths. The Doctor reestablishing the boundaries of the experiment was good and I thought Skaarsgard secreting himself to save Isenfel at the end was a fitting conclusion. The threat of the TARDIS being swallowed up by the ice was magnificent although I think more could have been done to sell the jeopardy. The Doctor never seemed worried about retrieving it. I thought the story having another cliffhanger was good and I felt sorry for Tegan with how she was almost forgotten about! The Doctor was enjoying the silence before Turlough found out she’d been kidnapped. Overall, a fantastic listen! I’m very excited for the trilogy’s finale.

Rating: 9/10