Mistaken identity, dopplegangers, clones, duplicates, robot doubles – all staples of Doctor Who storytelling for a very long time. The Daleks’ robot Doctor in The Chase, the parallel universe in Inferno, Commander Maxil, The Android Invasion, Caecilius – even the Meta Crisis Doctor – the Whoniverse seems to be littered with people who look like our heroes for one plot reason or another. And this months Short Trips release uses the hook of a lookalike to draw us into the story – but maybe not the lookalike you were expecting.
Remember Peri’s first story Planet of Fire? Remember her stepfather Howard? Well he is the lookalike that drives the story. But I get ahead of myself. This story is very Sixth Doctor, its setting is a giant casino in space and you can just imagine the awful gaudy 1980’s costumes and too bright lighting used to great effect as the Doctor and Peri play detective to find out what exactly is going on and why “Howard” is on board the casino and why he is winning so many “Prime Wins”?
Nicola Bryant is a fantastic actress – I tend to forget that she is not an American – I am so used to her playing Peri, but in this story she slips effortlessly from herself as narrator, to in character as Peri, to getting Colin Bakers’ bombastic intonations off to perfection, to imbuing all the minor characters with a sense of individuality. The writing is very visual – Nigel Fairs has completely evoked the feeling of a Saturday night in 1985 (if the hiatus hadn’t happened), in fact with the running time of 42 minutes this episode would have been a perfect one part story, if such things had been done back then. The pacing is excellent, slightly longer than the usual Short Trips release but the extra 12 minutes or so are used to good effect fleshing out the rather complex but perfectly resolved plot. Yes it’s a mistaken identity story, and quite a small scale bit of villainy – but written and performed this well, this release can hold its head up high with the most epic of releases. A definite Prime Win and an odds on 9/10.
Written by Ed Watkinson
SYNOPSIS:
The TARDIS makes a forced landing in a lavish room looking very much like the foyer to a 1930s casino. But the games being played in the halls are unlike anything they would find on Earth, and the players are far from human. And then Peri sees her stepfather…
CAST:
Nicola Bryant (Narrator)
Written By: Nigel Fairs
Directed By: Lisa Bowerman
Producer Michael Stevens
Script Editor: John Ainsworth
Executive Producers: Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs