From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated
From Address: jphalt@aol.com
Subject: Re: jphalt's Doctor Who reviews

Since John Hall was able to copy + paste successfully, I'll test it
now.  Fingers crossed.,,


SHORT TRIPS: CHAIN REACTION

1 episode. Approx. 16 minutes. Written by: Darren Goldsmith. Directed
by: Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason
Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Louise Jameson.


THE PLOT

On a hot summer day at an English shopping centre, the Doctor sets a
coin rolling toward a pigeon. This simple act sets off a chain
reaction that has effects both minor and major on several of the
people in the parking lot - and attracts what should be genuinely
impossible interference from a particularly stubborn security guard.


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: This is a case of a story that's particularly well-matched
to its chosen Doctor. There are only two Doctors of the eleven that I
can comfortably see amusing themselves by pushing the rules of time to
test the impact of a simple coin roll: The 4th and the 7th. And if it
was the 7th Doctor, then it would probably be due to some grand master
plan to thwart an all-powerful villain, meaning that only the 4th
Doctor can really convince in setting this chain in motion for no
truly significant purpose.

Sarah Jane Smith: Appears (briefly), placing the story somewhere in
Season 13 or early Season 14. Otherwise, has no real role to speak of.


THOUGHTS

This story presents the Fourth Doctor at play, and it's a rather
engaging snapshot - the sort of thing a 15 minute audio Short Trip is
probably best suited for. It's easy to picture Tom Baker's Doctor
lounging against a wall, rolling a coin toward a pigeon and watching
to see what happens. Of course, like all good games, the chain
reaction he sets off has a purpose - a way for the Doctor to "win."
And like any good gamer, the Doctor plays until he finally beats the
game.

There is a complication in the form of the security guard, and the
guard's intrusion is used to create a challenge for the Doctor. It's a
classic three-fold structure. The first pass sees the most likely
result of a coin roll: Nothing of any consequence happens. This pass
also describes the basic setting (the parking area, the scaffolding
with the paint) and introduces the security guard as an irritant to
the Doctor's ploy. The second pass shows us the bulk of the chain and
the Doctor's urgency in observing the spectacle. I particularly liked
the detail of the three knots in his scarf, with a knot being undone
every time one of the major steps of the chain was completed. This
second pass ends by bringing the guard back and presenting him as a
more significant hurdle for the Doctor to overcome. And finally, the
third pass completes the chain, presents the punch line to the
Doctor's little game, and explains the guard's seemingly impossible
interference.

This very precise structure helps this minor little piece to maintain
momentum, while the portrayal of the Doctor keeps it engaging. I also
enjoyed the descriptions of the chain reaction itself. Each piece of
the chain is amusing, but nothing happens within that chain that's so
over-the-top as to strain credibility. There's no question of life and
death here: A woman will either get splashed with paint or she won't;
a businessman will either bump into a teenager or he won't; a young
man and a young woman will either meet, spark, and exchange phone
numbers or they won't. No lives hang in the balance, and no piece of
the chain provokes any actual destructive slapstick.

In short, tone and incident match. Chain Reaction is a light,
pleasant, clever diversion. Judged on that basis, I find it a
thoroughly enjoyable one.


Rating: 7/10.

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