Reviewed: Equilibrium

Peter Shaw is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Doctor Who in the early 80s is notable for a curious and short-lived phenomenon – the linked trilogy of stories. These included the “Return of the Master Trilogy”, the “Black Guardian Trilogy”, the “E-Space Trilogy”, and – of course – “Nyssa’s Mysterious Underwear Trilogy” (not really). While these connected stories are largely a later fan construct, it’s been adopted by official BBC DVD and video box sets, and the names have stuck. The other two trilogies were simply themed by returning villains: the Master and the Black Guardian. E-Space Trilogy is a bit different; the Doctor and his companions are trapped in the TARDIS in a ‘pocket universe’…

Now the nature (or point) of E-Space is not made very clear in the TV series. E-Space has a muddy greenish tinge a bit like bad pea soup, and the pocket universe is described as being smaller than ours. That throws up a bit of a problem of relativity: if our universe [N-Space] is infinite, what exactly does ‘smaller’ mean? And even if it’s just a few billion light years across, what possible difference does that make to the adventures – when the TARDIS can pop from one end of the universe to another almost in an instant? In the TV trilogy E-Space’s relative smallness isn’t that surprising. It’s a bit like visiting Luxembourg and expecting it to be a model village, somewhere you could stand in the middle and see Belgians and Germans either side waving to each other across the border.

E-Space throws up a bit of a problem of relativity: if our universe [N-Space] is infinite, what exactly does ‘smaller’ mean?

The first in the new trilogy, Mistfall, has all the hallmarks of a nostalgia-fest – a return to the setting of a much-loved classic adventure, with even the original writer on board to enhance the indulgence. But that too offers a constraint, it’s hard to reimagine a pocket universe when returning to an already-established planet. And, as a sequel to Full Circle, that’s not what Andrew Smith attempts to do, and I don’t expect that’s what he was commissioned to do either: ‘Go back to the setting of an old adventure but make sure it’s completely unrecognisable’. So it’s left to Equilibrium to attempt to explore the untapped potential of E-Space. Has the pocket universe only enough attractions for just a mini break, or is it worth coming back to explore more?

Equilibrium presents a pocket within a pocket. Isenfel is a very small icy realm within the mini universe of E-Space. And, although not described as such in the audio, author Matt Fitton says the inspiration behind the setting was a snowglobe. This neatly offers a parallel between the events of Equilibrium and what is happening to the whole of E-Space in this trilogy. As a much smaller universe, the effects of entropy are happening much faster in E-Space, and the whole pocket universe is dying.

Within that backdrop of a universe near to collapse, Equilibrium is smaller-scale story of a civilisation carrying out appalling acts to maintain its survival, with the truth about its origins unbeknown to its inhabitants. It’s familiar Fifth Doctor territory, with echoes of the invented world of Castrovalva, and the not-what-they seem humans onboard Monarch’s spaceship in Four To Doomsday.

Fitton’s script manages to achieve what many writers for the Davison era failed to do, he gives strong and integral roles to the Doctor and each of his three companions. The Fifth Doctor is much as we remember him, curious and brave but with a determination to uncover the truth, which often leads him into trouble and puts others in danger in the process. While on TV, Davison’s Doctor’s cautiousness was a welcome contrast to the confidence of Pertwee and Baker, he never quite showed the level of self doubt that Doctor Five displays in this story. In Equilibrium, the Fifth Doctor has a mini ‘am I a good man?’ moment – and it’s great that an actor of Davison’s skills is given some more emotionally-weighty material by Big Finish.

Nyssa is the voice of reason and objectivity, while assisting the Doctor with her technical abilities. She also gives the Doctor a reassuring pep talk during that moment when he questions his motivation for getting involved.Much more than a mouth-on-legs, Tegan is the brave heart and soul of the piece, questioning the ethics of Isenfel’s ruling elite, from bloodsports to their treatment of servants and, ultimately, the slaughter of innocent people to maintain the ‘balance’ the realm must maintain to survive.

As a thoughtful, exciting drama, with a good few twists along the way – on balance – Equilibrium really delivers.

Tricksy Turlough has more of a comic role in proceedings in a subplot where he is pursued by the brave and brash princess of Isenfel, Inger – enthusiastically played by Joanna Kirkland. Her lusty interest in the redhead (a source of wonder in a civilisation where everyone has blonde hair) is amusingly brushed aside by Turlough, who is more interested in self preservation than proving his hunting skills to the local aristocracy.

With such a packed TARDIS team, Fitton makes a crucial decision to keep the supporting cast to a minimum. This leaves plenty of room for Annette Badland (Aliens of London/World War Three and Boom Town) and Nickolas Grace (Robin of Sherwood) to shine as Queen Karlina and Balancer Skaarsgard/Viktor Skaarsgard. Both of the characters go through life-changing emotional journeys in Equilibrium – a story where there aren’t really any ‘baddies’, or ‘goodies’ for that matter. Although Isenfel has fairytale overtones – shades of Narnia with it’s world in winter, ice Queen and edge of the world setting – its inhabitants and their predicament feel real and significant.

One aspect that Big Finish has injected into E-Space is danger. It is not our universe… the Doctor might not be able to save it.

The success of all Doctor Who stories depends on balance: between things such as adventure and character, humour and pathos, fantasy and reality. And Equilibrium manages to deliver in each of those areas in equal measure. If it’s horror, villains and monsters you are after then this probably isn’t the CD for you. But as a thoughtful, exciting drama, with a good few twists along the way – on balance – Equilibrium really delivers.

But what of E-Space? It still seems to be a lost opportunity not making this universe a little bit less like just a smaller version of ours. Isenfel is populated by humanoids, they are surrounded by giant wolves, which they hunt on horseback. It has a novelty factor, a bit like visiting Gibraltar and noticing the red telephone boxes and the fact that they drive on the left, just like we do at home. But the one aspect that Big Finish has injected into E-Space is danger. It is not our universe and, perhaps, the Doctor might not be able to save it. We’ll have to find out in the final story in the new trilogy, The Entropy Plague.

For the record, I’d like to pitch a McGann E-Space adventure, with a new companion, Laguna, set on the planet Renault. It’s called Estate of Decay. Anyone? Oh, please yourselves…

Equilibrium is available to order from Big Finish now for £14.99 on CD and £12.99 download.

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