The Revenants
The Revenants is a nice little story that came free to readers of Doctor Who Magazine back in May 2012. The offer to download it has now finished, but, with the upcoming 50th anniversary special, the Light at the End, the Revenants is about to get its first commercial release in the Limited Edition boxset.
Set decades after his travels with the Doctor and Barbara, Ian Chesterton recounts his adventures with the Time Lord to Jeannie, a trustworthy passengers on the Orkney Ferry, where Ian is travelling to pay his respects to an old friend. He begins to tell tales of the time when he first travelled to the Orkney, when he and Barbara were abandoned by the Doctor while encountering the Wissfornjarl and the danger faced there in.
William Russell’s narration is magical. There is no other word for it. It’s engrossing, full of emotion and also nostalgic. I could be wrong, but in his voice, there seems to be a fond tone for the time he spent creating such a beautiful television show, something that shows even through his characterisation of Ian. The areas of the story that are somewhat lacking in action are brought to fantastic life by Russell. Through his narration, a time that has been gone almost 50 years is reinvigorated; his voice was something I even found strangely moving. For a time I have never had the opportunity to live through, it has been recreated perfectly alongside the stories of this time. William Russell is truly a treasure to listen to.
Sharon Small plays the other part of the cast, portraying both Jeannie and Janet, and doing a brilliant job of it. Against Russell, she does a job I don’t think anyone else could. She manages to be interesting, providing the links to Orkney that Ian has missed in the years since his visit, and as the midwife of the Islands in the years before. Together, these two make up the story, they are what makes it magical, without them, it wouldn’t be nearly as good.
As for the tale, it is one that I could clearly see being made back in 1964. The Doctor’s absence for most of part one is just like they would have had back then, when the actors would go on holiday for a week while the episode was filmed. When he does reappear, I don’t think anyone will expect that he does so in quite this way. As the TARDIS abandons Ian and Barbara in 1950’s Orkney, the two are forced to fight creatures that are grounded in local folklore, as much of the land as the sea surrounding them is. As the menace grows closer, they are forced to consider that the Doctor is never returning and that they may be stuck on this island until they can resume their lives in 1963. It’s a neat little base under-siege story, that plays to the advantages of both the two episode format (even if both do have a longer running time than most episodes), and the plot device that has been used so many times. It’s a strong play, with plenty going on, but it is in the narration that it pulls ahead of other tales. Ian Potter’s description of events goes into so much detail that it is hard not to be drawn into it. The levels of narrative goes so deep that, mixed with Russell’s narration, it is hard to fault the story in any way.
As a free story, there is no way I can complain about it. It is worth the price you would pay for a full CD. If there is one simple reason to pre-order the Light at the End Limited Edition, then it is the full version of this story. No matter what the 50th anniversary tale will finish up like, the little jewel that is The Revenants should never be missed. It is pure nostalgia, and a moving tribute to an era that has since been lost.
Set decades after his travels with the Doctor and Barbara, Ian Chesterton recounts his adventures with the Time Lord to Jeannie, a trustworthy passengers on the Orkney Ferry, where Ian is travelling to pay his respects to an old friend. He begins to tell tales of the time when he first travelled to the Orkney, when he and Barbara were abandoned by the Doctor while encountering the Wissfornjarl and the danger faced there in.
William Russell’s narration is magical. There is no other word for it. It’s engrossing, full of emotion and also nostalgic. I could be wrong, but in his voice, there seems to be a fond tone for the time he spent creating such a beautiful television show, something that shows even through his characterisation of Ian. The areas of the story that are somewhat lacking in action are brought to fantastic life by Russell. Through his narration, a time that has been gone almost 50 years is reinvigorated; his voice was something I even found strangely moving. For a time I have never had the opportunity to live through, it has been recreated perfectly alongside the stories of this time. William Russell is truly a treasure to listen to.
Sharon Small plays the other part of the cast, portraying both Jeannie and Janet, and doing a brilliant job of it. Against Russell, she does a job I don’t think anyone else could. She manages to be interesting, providing the links to Orkney that Ian has missed in the years since his visit, and as the midwife of the Islands in the years before. Together, these two make up the story, they are what makes it magical, without them, it wouldn’t be nearly as good.
As for the tale, it is one that I could clearly see being made back in 1964. The Doctor’s absence for most of part one is just like they would have had back then, when the actors would go on holiday for a week while the episode was filmed. When he does reappear, I don’t think anyone will expect that he does so in quite this way. As the TARDIS abandons Ian and Barbara in 1950’s Orkney, the two are forced to fight creatures that are grounded in local folklore, as much of the land as the sea surrounding them is. As the menace grows closer, they are forced to consider that the Doctor is never returning and that they may be stuck on this island until they can resume their lives in 1963. It’s a neat little base under-siege story, that plays to the advantages of both the two episode format (even if both do have a longer running time than most episodes), and the plot device that has been used so many times. It’s a strong play, with plenty going on, but it is in the narration that it pulls ahead of other tales. Ian Potter’s description of events goes into so much detail that it is hard not to be drawn into it. The levels of narrative goes so deep that, mixed with Russell’s narration, it is hard to fault the story in any way.
As a free story, there is no way I can complain about it. It is worth the price you would pay for a full CD. If there is one simple reason to pre-order the Light at the End Limited Edition, then it is the full version of this story. No matter what the 50th anniversary tale will finish up like, the little jewel that is The Revenants should never be missed. It is pure nostalgia, and a moving tribute to an era that has since been lost.