From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated
From Address: jphalt{at}aol.com
Subject: Earth & Beyond - The People's Temple (BBC Audio): my review

EARTH & BEYOND: THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE

BBC Audio. Available on audiotape as part of the Earth & Beyond set,
or on MP3 CD/download as part of the Tales of the TARDIS.  1 episode,
approx. 95 minutes.  Written by: Paul Leonard.  Directed by: John
Taylor.  Read by: Paul McGann.


THE PLOT

While reading a book about Stonehenge, Sam gets the bright idea to ask
the Doctor to take her there, to see it "when it was new, when it was
a temple." But she is not prepared for the sight that awaits her. Poor
villagers, enslaved by the cruel Bear Man, Coyn, labor night and day
to construct the perfect temple. Human sacrifices are performed as
ritual by the Deer Man, Shalin.

The Doctor warns Sam against interfering. But faced with such abject
misery, the young London girl cannot make herself stand by and watch.
The results of her meddling may just spark a war - and the Doctor and
Sam will be lucky just to get out of ancient Stonehenge alive!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: "You look like a man who keeps lists of the people he
kills." Paul McGann's laid-back delivery of lines such as this
condemnation of the Deer Man, Shalin, oddly helps to emphasize the
Doctor's moral judgment. It seems counterintuitive, but his light
touch is far more than if he spluttered and shouted. It also gives his
performance a place to go. The scene with Shalin, in which McGann uses
a light touch for the Doctor's lines, is followed about ten minutes
later by a similar scene with Coyn. In that scene, McGann does go for
harsher, sterner tones, which differentiates it from the earlier
encounter and keeps the performance varied.

Sam Jones: Unsurprisingly, by far the longest of the Earth & Beyond
stories also offers by far the best characterization for Sam. Writer
Paul Leonard neatly parallels her relationship with the Doctor to the
childhood relationship between Shalin and Coyn, with her loving the
Doctor's ability to take her suggestions and go a bit further with
them. Sam is impulsive, which is what puts both her and the Doctor in
their situation in this story to start with. But she also can think
quite quickly, drawing on what she knows of people from this time
period to bluff the superstitious natives. When the Doctor is held by
Coyn and Shalin, Sam is thrust into a leadership role with Dorlan, a
prisoner she helped to free. Sam feels guilt when her plan to help
Dorlan's people goes badly wrong, and even when the Doctor points out
that she isn't responsible for the actions of others, she insists on
claiming responsibility.


THOUGHTS

Many of the reviews of The People's Temple from the time of this story
collection's release complained about it: too long, too slow, no
science fiction elements. I will say that people who found the
Hartnell historicals dull probably will find this story dull as well.
But I was always a big fan of the Hartnell historicals, and that may
explain why I enjoyed this story so much.

It is a relief to listen to a full-length story again after a string
of entertaining, but insubstantial, short stories. The People's Temple
may originally have been published within a short story collection,
but it's more of a novella - and the added time allows writer Paul
Leonard to present characters, a society, and a situation with some
actual depth and texture.

Coyn and Shalin are particularly strong characters, complex
individuals whose lifelong friendship, and growing wariness of each
other, drives the story. An excellent prologue presents them as
children, and Leonard's polished and careful writing (a notable step
up from the prose of the previous two short stories) details that
friendship as a series of negotiations: Coyn makes Shalin feels
useful, Shalin makes Coyn feel brave. "That is one reason why they are
friends." An epilogue brings the story full circle in a way that's
highly satisfying, aided by the simple but effective sound effects
used in this production.

This is definitely a story aimed at adult readers/listeners, and would
probably be barely recognizable to fans familiar only with the new
series. The pace is slow and measured, the violence genuinely brutal,
and the tone often bleak. It presents two memorable guest characters,
each a seriously flawed individual responsible for many deaths, and
yet doesn't ultimately treat either of them as simply a villain. Most
reminiscent of the early Hartnell historicals, it's a story I'd most
recommend in its audio form (thanks to the production values and
McGann's excellent reading) and one probably best enjoyed by those who
appreciated the early Hartnell historicals.


Rating: 8/10.

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