Doctor Who:
Greatest Show in the
Galaxy
By Stephen Wyatt
“The climax of my act,
Gods of Ragnarok, requires something you do not possess in great abundance.
That is, imagination. And it starts with a piece of metal. This piece of metal
once belonged to a sword, and that sword belonged to a gladiator.
And that gladiator fought
and died in this ring to entertain you.”
The TARDIS gets a piece of
junk mail that advertises Psychic Circus and beckons them to come and see it. The Doctor and Ace proceed to the planet of
Segonax to visit the circus. Ace wants
nothing to do with it as she finds circus’s creepy especially the clowns. What they do not know is that the Psychic
Circus is in the control of the Gods of Ragnarok who want acts to entertain
them and if they don’t they die.
The main culprit and the
one that appears in charge is the Chief Clown who is creepy in his own right as
he constantly tries to keep Bell Boy in check and goes after those who try and
escape the circus. The Doctor and Ace
meet up with an explore Captain Cook and his woman friend who we find out later
is a werewolf. They proceed to the
Circus where The Doctor ends up getting imprisoned. What this means for The Doctor is that he is
next in line to perform and if he doesn’t do well he will end up dead.
When I think of all that
is good of the Sylvester McCoy era not to many stories come to mind. One that does is The Greatest Show in the
Galaxy. This is a fun story. It takes place at a circus on an alien
planet. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
is an evil circus that is controlled by the gods of Ragnarok to use for their
enjoyment and if the acts don’t satisfy them then the acts are killed.
The Greatest Show in the
Galaxy uses clowns to their creepiest and scariest form. If you didn’t like clowns growing up as a kid
then The Greatest Show in the Galaxy will really make you think that clowns are
evil. Take it from Ace who we find out
early on find clowns to be creepy.
But this story almost
didn’t happen. There was an asbestos discovery at BBC studios and the story
would not be able to do the studio filming.
So instead they erected a big tent outside in the parking lot and did
the studio scenes there instead. Thus
saving the day and preventing The Greatest Show in the Galaxy from becoming
another Shada.
The Greatest Show in the
Galaxy also lets Sylvester McCoy to be the showman that he is. He gets to perform magic tricks and other
acts of carnival side show lore. Mainly
in the famous stalling for time scenes with the Gods of Ragnarock while he
awaits the amulet to appear.
But I do enjoy watching
this story. From the circus atmosphere,
to the cranky old lady selling disgusting fruit, to Captain Cook and his
werewolf companion to me this story is just a really fun one to watch. Plus there is a murderous robot conductor
who asks you for your ticket. Upon not having your ticket he simply just kills
you. How’s that for service.
The Greatest Show in the
Galaxy is another of those stories during the 7th Doctor’s era that
explores Ace’s fears from childhood. In
what does become a theme throughout season 25 and 26 especially we see the 7th
Doctor manipulating Ace to overcome past demons. This time it is her fear of circus’s and
clowns. It’s a great side story going on
seeing the Doctor manipulating his companion.
Definitely enjoy the darker Doctor.
Too bad they never got to explore that more in the 7th
Doctor’s era.
The Greatest Show in the
Galaxy ends season 25 which was a celebration year and a season with a mixed
bag of stories that were good and not so good.
This story is on the good side and does stand toe to toe with
Remembrance of the Daleks as one of the best of the season. It is a very enjoyable story with tons of
things going on and will make you think that clowns are indeed evil.
Grade A
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