Castrovalva

Dear Gary—

To my great surprise I find that I actually enjoy Castrovalva. I think that watching in order as I am has greatly increased my appreciation of certain stories, and this is most notably true of Castrovalva. In the past I always thought to myself, who is this guy who is trying to impersonate my beloved Doctors? Who does he think he is? The Doctor or something?

That’s the point, though, isn’t it?

“I’m the Doctor. Or will be if this regeneration works out.”

Peter Davison is the Doctor, and fresh from a steady diet of the incomparable Tom Baker, and having experienced this regeneration process three times previous, I now see the value of shaking off the looming presence of his predecessor. Rather than letting the action take control, as past kickoff regeneration stories have done, Castrovalva takes its time in letting us get to know this new Doctor and the latest additions to the TARDIS crew.

Channeling personas of past generations, Peter Davison reminds us that this has happened before. We are five generations in; this is nothing new. Dismantling the outer trappings of his fourth, Davison symbolically sheds the giant shadow he is following.

Now we have almost two full episodes that are TARDIS bound while the companions dither and the Doctor struggles with a difficult regeneration. It is a bit of sorely needed respite allowing us to settle in and get comfortable.

With the befuddled Doctor levitating in the Zero Room and Adric in some mystery web with the Master, the bulk of these first episodes falls on the shoulders of our two newest members of the TARDIS crew, Tegan and Nyssa, and in particular Tegan.

Tegan is the return to the traditional companion of old. The Doctor of late has been surrounded by peers and intellectual almost-equals. Tegan, if you will, is a poor man’s Sarah Jane. For that matter, I guess Nyssa is a poor man’s Romana (although more of a poor man’s Romana II who herself is a poor man’s Romana I) and Adric is a poor man’s K9.

I find it interesting that between the smart and precocious Nyssa and Adric and the somewhat shrill and hysterical Tegan, it is Tegan who is the more practical get-things-done type. Of the three companions currently inhabiting the TARDIS, Tegan is the most valuable of the lot.

“Tegan, you have it in you to be a fine coordinator, keeping us all together during the healing time.”

Yes, the Doctor has that pronouncement right.

“If. My dad used to say that if was the most powerful word in the English language.” Tegan, speaking in terms of hopes and dreams and emotion.

“Recursion’s a powerful mathematical concept, but I don’t see how it can help us now.” Nyssa speaking in terms of books and facts and knowledge.

Tegan wins. “If. I F! Stands for Index File!”

Even if it is Adric who is pulling the strings (at the Master’s command), it is Tegan who follows those strings, who learns to fly the TARDIS, who pilots them to Castrovalva. (“So, this air hostess person’s flying it, eh?”)

Once arriving on Castrovalva the Doctor slowly revives and the action slowly takes off and now we have a full fledged, if somewhat abridged, Doctor Who adventure getting us back into the swing of things.

“I feel quite like my old self,” the Doctor tells Tegan. “Well . . .”

“Yes?”Tegan prompts.

“Well, whoever I feel like, it’s absolutely splendid. Let’s go.”

The latest generation starting to take hold, time for some action.

The action centers on the fictional city of Castrovalva that is folding in on itself. As the Doctor and entourage keep finding themselves back at “that wretched square again” while they desperately search for the exit, I am reminded of the TARDIS and its endless corridors, especially as depicted in The Invasion of Time (“Doctor, we’ve been here before”).  Since Castrovalva is a creation straight out of Adric’s mind utilizing the leftover block transfer computation from Logopolis, it isn’t any wonder that shades of the TARDIS show through.

It is all cleverly done. Some may laugh at the dated effects used to depict the Escher like nature of the city, but personally I find them effective and laudable, and they are enhanced by some inspired editing and acting. Mergrave and Ruther, Castrovalvans who are themselves part of the recursive occlusion, are believably bemused as they attempt to explain the spatial anomalies on the chalk drawn map of their city.

And then there is Shardovan. When asked if he can see the irregularities: “With my eyes, no. But in my philosophy.”  In fact it is Shardovan and his philosophy that provides all of the needed keys to this puzzle. The Doctor, admittedly not at his best, relies upon Shardovan to give him the answers. What is out of reach for the Doctor is evident to Shardovan: “The books are old, but they chronicle the rise of Castrovalva up to the present day.”

It is Shardovan, too, who breaks through the Master’s web thus freeing Adric and destroying the illusion that is Castrovalva. Joining Shardovan in the self-sacrifice department is fellow Castrovalvan Mergrave who refuses to flee the dying city in order to prevent the Master from escaping his collapsing reality.

The Doctor doesn’t do much of anything in Castrovalva. He spends a good part of it dazed or unconscious in the Zero Room (or Zero Cabinet once the room is jettisoned from the TARDIS) and is mostly looked after by others. But for one serial that is OK. Castrovalva is more of a chance for the Master to get in a few good heh, heh, hehs and do some nifty undercover work as the Portreeve; for Adric to do his wooden best to defy the Master (I do have to credit Adric for all of the clever undermining he does and can only assume that such touches as the ancient books reporting up-to-date facts are part of his handiwork); for Nyssa to display her technical knowledge (and to rid herself of the more ridiculous aspects of her costume); and for Tegan to use “a bit of initiative.”

In the meantime, Castrovalva allows for the Doctor to try on his new body and acclimate himself to the role. Discarding the past and looking to the future, the Doctor dons a blandly coordinated cricket outfit and tops it off with a stalk of celery in the lapel. A much toned down Doctor from incarnations past.

“That’s the trouble with regeneration. You never quite know what you’re going to get.”

What we get, as we always get, is the Doctor. I look forward, Gary, to more from this new version.