Starring Jean Marsh & Niall MacGregor
Written by Simon Guerrier
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Space Security Agent Sara Kingdom is dead, her ashes strewn on the planet Kembel. But, in an old house in Ely, Sara Kingdom lives on...
Now joined in the house by her confidante Robert, Sara recalls her travels in the TARDIS with the Doctor - and a particular adventure when the ship appeared to land inside a giant clock, where old men are caught in it's workings...
And behind this nightmare is their enemy: Mavic Chen, Guardian of the Solar System.
Then and now, Sara's past is catching up with her. The cogs have come full circle...
The final part of the 'Sara Kingdom as a house' trilogy is a story that directly links back to Sara's only TV adventure, The Daleks' Master Plan. While the obvious path to take would have been to show The Doctor and his friends evading Mavic Chen and the Daleks, Simon Guerrier has decided to place it as a prequel to the events of The Daleks' Master Plan, and while that, may, at first, seem like a mistake, it gives us a chance to explore some of the events that lead up to one of the longest Doctor Who stories of all time. It also gives this story a 'season finale' feel to it, with returning cameos and filling in the gaps left from the first episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan. And, with the range on the verge of ending, it still today remains one of the very best Companion Chronicles.
After The Drowned World, I was a bit worried that this storyline was getting out of hand. While The Drowned World wasn't a bad story, by any stretch of the imagination, it did suffer from an apparent disconnection between the framing sequence and the main story. However, The Guardian Of The Solar System manages to make this link more obvious by having the difficult moral choices in the past counterpointed with those in Sara's present. The ideas behind the story, particularly the Great Clock, are very 60's in feel, something which is matched by the 60's cover design by Simon Holub. However, it very much feels like a story that has been written in the modern era, due partly to the obvious budget limitations in creating a massive space clock, but mostly through the way it handles it's characters. Certainly one could say that the plot is pretty lightweight, but through it's characters, the story is so much more involving. We're really made to feel for our characters, and it's especially heartbreaking to hear Sara break down at not being able to prevent Bret's death. It's very much like what The Aztecs was to Barbara, only here, it's more personal. That's why it's probably much more effective. There's some beautiful imagery involved and all of that builds up to a real visual image for the story.
There are some beautiful moments between our two actors as well. Guerrier is more sensible than to just look to the past, and keeps the framing sequence advancing forward. It actually goes in some suprising directions (which I won't reveal for fear of spoilers!), but I believe that with the end of a trilogy, that's where you have to go. It's just a shame that I don't think that the cliffhanger at the end of the story is ever going to be resolved, because it's a stonkingly good one and sets up something that I think would be interesting to see. The acting, however, really doesn't have any faults. Jean Marsh and Niall MacGregor really get to grips with the juicy material that they are being given, particularly Jean. I also find it so lovely when a character from the classic series is given the chance to be involved in a very contempary story, one that was clearly written today. Those companions from the 60's, in particular, I find it extrodinary. To think that a character from nearly 50 years ago can be brought into a modern style of story must be considered a stroke of brilliance. There ably supported by Lisa Bowermen and Richard Fox and Lauren Yason, who all help to build up a wonderful sense of claustrophobic oppression that adds another layer to this already rich script.
No one could have wished for a better end to the 'Sara Kingdom as a house' trilogy. All the pieces come together, the traumatic events of The Daleks' Master Plan are dragged back to the surface and Sara Kingdom is now set on a new destination. The Guardian Of The Solar System gives the nostalgic thrill that comes with these Companion Chronicles, but also advances there characters in new directions, and it will be a shame to see them go. But at least we have stories like Guardian Of The Solar System, showcasing Big Finish at it's best.
TARDIS Rating - 9/10
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