Starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Jane Perry, Richard Grieve, Dait Abuchi, Janie Booth, Zerhra Navqvi, Belinda Hoare, Jef Higgins & Nicholas Briggs
Written by Joseph Lidster
Directed by Gary Russell
On the morning of 22 September 2006, Tegan work up. She was expecting to spend the day relaxing at home, and, that evening, tolerate a party thrown to celebrate her 46th birthday.
But things don't always go as expected - it's been over twenty years since she chose to leave the Doctor. She's got a job, mates... a life.
Meanwhile her friend, Katerine Chambers, makes a decision that could change all their lives, and Tegan discovers that you can never really escape the past.
The Gathering is a story that, at the time of it's release, must have been hyped beyond belief. The return of Tegan made this one a story with impossible odds to overcome, but even without the hype, The Gathering is a story with, well, issues. There are some good things about it, but there are problems with the story and problems with the structure of it as well that mean that some of the good work that's been pored into this story has been wasted.
The first episode is all over the place, with a rambling structure that doesn't really make any sense. The idea of starting at the end and working backwards is a good idea (it's something some of the Companion Chronicles have done before), but here there's no real link to each sequence. Some of them are all over the place, with characters coming and going like nobody's buisness and plot elements that are quickly discarded. For example, the Gogglebox is a wonderful creation, also featured in the previous story The Reaping, but is so underused here. The energy spikes are a good idea too, but they also barely feature, they just turn up as a plot device to bring The Doctor to Earth. Now, because these elements are just thrown away, they just end up becoming redundant elements to be discarded. And that's a real shame, because this story does have some really good ideas. Mind you, this isn't quite the sequel to The Reaping that some would have hoped. In all honesty, it's proberbly got more in common with The Harvest from 2004, than The Reaping. Acting as both sequel and prequel means that The Gathering shouldn't really stand on it's own. However, the links to those previous stories are so tenuous that it proberbly wouldn't make too much of a difference had you heard those releases or not. The Gathering also lists itself as a Cyberman story, but the tin monsters don't really feature, instead the story deals with there technology and what happens when the wrong people get hold of it. Now, because this is so different, this should be so interesting, however the story starts to come across as a poor man's version of Spare Parts. And the villains aren't interesting at all. There's hints that James Clarke is working for the Forge, however they aren't developed upon, and his sudden departure from the story is more that a little jarring. It's almost as if the actor just disappeared before his final scenes could be recorded and Lister and Russell just decided to write him out. Mind you, he was far too like a Pierce Brosnan James Bond villain for my tastes, and didn't really feel real enough to be worth much time.
Now the main talking point about this audio was the return of Janet Fielding, and, while her performance is a little off, shall we say, she does a fairly good job of slipping back into the role of Tegan well. In this story, possibly more than any other, we get to see how her life shapes the person that she is, something that we got see again in Hexagora. Here, however, the story is built around her character, very much like Sarah Jane Smith is School Reunion, but, unlike that story, she doesn't seem essential. Joe Lidster may have constructed a story about Tegan, but it's not around her, and that means this story almost throws Tegan away. There are some good developments regarding her character, although I certainly wasn't keen on the idea that Tegan might have been in love with The Doctor. After all, at the time, this could have been the only story to feature her character, so I imagine Gary Russell wanted to make it good. The naked depths which we get to see Tegan in gives her more development here than in her three whole years on the show. The rest of the characters are very interesting too, because they feel so real. There all a bit bitchy and nasty, and, while, normally I despise characters like that, here there so well written and so real, that I can let it go. Sadly, the performances aren't quite as storng as they could be, although Jane Perry and Jaine Booth are pretty good. And Peter Davison is good as well, although some of it feels a little off. I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something that's doesn't feel right. Gary Russell's direction and David Darlington's post production work is good, but not particularly impressive. Neither really help fix the mess that is part 1, and the rest of it is average at best.
While it may sound like I didn't enjoy The Gathering, that view simply isn't the case. The Gathering is a good story, albeit one that is plagued by flaws. Part 1 is far too confused and dull, the acting and direction are way off and even when the story does kick in, it isn't as strong as it should be considering the shopping list of elements it's working with. However, where this story does suceed is in it's characterisation, which is so good it surely must bring this story's score up. It's a bit of a mess, but it's an enjoyable one. It's like a funny drunk: a bit all over the place, and you can never forget the problems at it's heart, but it's still enjoyable. That's The Gathering.
TARDIS Rating - 6/10
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