Doctor Who:
Enlightenment
By Barbara Clegg
Reviewed by Paul Bowler
"I would point out that under our agreement, it is mine. Unless, of course, you wish to surrender something else in its place. The Doctor is in your debt for his life. Give me the Doctor, and you can have this, the Tardis, whatever you wish."
When the Doctor (Peter Davison), Tegan (Janet Fielding), and Turlough Mark Strickson) receive a dire warning from the White Guardian the TARDIS lands on board the SS Shadow, an Edwardian sailing yacht, which they discover is really a spaceship that is taking part in a race against other sailing vessels. The crew of the ship are Eternals, beings who exist outside of time, and they are racing each other across the Solar System to claim the most treasured prize in the universe - Enlightenment.
The Doctor tries to keep the TARDIS secret from Captain
Striker (Keith Barron), but the Eternal learns of the time machine with his
telepathic powers and prevents the Time Lord and his companions from escaping.
When other ships in the race are mysteriously destroyed the Doctor begins to
suspect foul play. Tormented by his secret pact with the Black Guardian
(Valentine Dyall), Turlough jumps overboard, only to be rescued by a pirate
ship, the Buccaneer, where he is taken to meet Captain Wrack (Lynda
Baron).
Turlough discovers that Captain Wrack is secretly in league
with the Black Guardian and has a deadly weapon on her ship that concentrates
mental energy. Captain Wrack invites the crew of the SS Shadow to a dinner on
board the Buccaneer, where he hypnotises Tegan, placing a focusing crystal in
her tiara that will destroy Striker’s ship. Later when Captain Wrack is defeated
the Doctor and Turlough steer the ship towards the gleaming crystal structure
that is Enlightenment, winning the race, and defeating the Eternals.
Turlough is presented with a gleaming crystal. The White
Guardian (Cyrl Luckham) offers Turlough a chance of Enlightenment while the
Black Guardian offers him untold riches and demands he gives him the Doctor.
Turlough chooses Enlightenment, grabbing the glowing crystal, he throws it at
the Black Guardian - who bursts into flames and fades away. As the White
Guardian departs the Doctor and Tegan acknowledge that Turlough is now free of
the Black Guardian’s influence, and realise that Enlightenment was not the
crystal, but the choice Turlough made.
Enlightenment is one of the highlights of the twentieth
season. This is a great story by Barbara Clegg that brings the Black Guardian
Trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. Right from the opening moments in the
TARDIS, which look really spooky with the dark lighting, as the action shifts to
the Edwardian yacht the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story continues to
build. The attention to period detail is remarkable and the costumes are
brilliant, director Fiona Cumming really makes you believe you are a on a
sailing ship, perfectly building up to the astonishing reveal at the end of
episode one. The model sailing ships are also of a really high standard, as are
the scenes where they skim close to the planets and the final port of call at
Enlightenment itself.
The Eternals are beings who exist outside linear time,
dwelling within eternity itself, they fill the emptiness of their existence by
feeding off the thoughts of their human crew - who they have kidnapped and
brainwashed to do their bidding. Captain Striker is a cold and calculating
adversary for the Doctor, but it is his first officer Mariner (Christopher
Brown), who develops a creepy fixation on Tegan, that really illustrates how
parasitic the Eternals really are. Janet Fielding is really good in
Enlightenment, she gets plenty to do in the story, and she really conveys
Tegan’s disgust when she turns on Mariner and blocks her thoughts so he cannot
read them.
The Black Guardian has another ally in this story, Captain
Wrack, and Lynda Baron gives a marvellously over-the-top performance as the evil
Pirate Captain. It’s also good to see Valentine Dyall and Cyril Luckham return
as the Guardians from the Key to Time saga, and Valentine Dyall is brilliant as
the chillingly evil Black Guardian… This story also brings Turlough’s story full
circle, with Mark Strickson giving one of his best performances as the
character. There are some quite shocking moments in Enlightenment as Turlough
has to come to terms with his actions. His deal with the Black Guardian rapidly
begins to sour, sensing that he is doomed; he desperately tries to commit
suicide by jumping from the deck of the SS Shadow. After being rescued by
Captain Wrack his loyalty to the Doctor is challenged again, until he finally
chooses Enlightenment at the end of the story - finding his own redemption and
defeating the Black Guardian.
Enlightenment is one of my favourite stories from Peter
Davison’s tenure as the 5th Doctor is always right at the heart of the action,
quietly guiding his companions, and always managing to stay just one set ahead
of the Eternals and the Black Guardian’s plan. He even acquires a new stick of
celery on the Buccaneer, which is strange as everything created by the Eternals
is not actually real, but it is still on the Doctor’s lapel at the end of the
story. Enlightenment is a fascinating story, full of great performances and
special effects, and is a real jewel in the crown of the programmes twentieth
anniversary year
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