The Perpetual Bond, The Cold Equations, and The First Wave, by Simon Guerrier
February - November 2011
I have to say, it is totally fascinating how well-established the idea of a post facto companion is in Doctor Who media. Fans of most long-running series would revolt, I think, if an officially licensed entry tried to "retcon" in a new main character into an epoch that's already long over, but in our funny little section of the universe, barely anyone seems to bat an eye. Oliver Harper isn't exactly the first, but he is, nevertheless, the first we'll actually have a look at. I find myself returning again to the recurring idea of rewriting the past. For a series that said you can't do such a thing in its first season, Doctor Who still seems to do it quite a bit! A companion like Oliver could never have existed during the time period in which his stories are set.
There is, of course, the fact that in 1966, the Sexual Offences Act which legalized male homosexuality in England and Wales had not yet been passed, and so there wasn't a prayer that a character like Oliver could be written into a BBC program. It wouldn't be until after the series' revival in 2005 that an explicitly LGBT character would be included in the show. But that's just the obvious one. It's worth pointing out that he also differs from the other companions we've had so far in having a discrete character arc that's delineated from the moment he's introduced. His end informs his beginning, and everything in between. This in and of itself would likewise be revolutionary for this period, where serialization (and most likely the lack of six decades of progress in the medium of television writing at large) means that the characterization of companions is startlingly ad hoc and treated almost as an afterthought.
We saw a little bit of course correction on this in, for example, the Sara Kingdom audios (also authored by Guerrier of course), where a past companion was given a little more material to work with. This gives old characters a new life and new ways to grow, but there are limitations on what you can do without creating a new character entirely. The natural consequence: more post facto companions. Sorry, I do go on, I just find this phenomenon totally fascinating.
Bringing it all back now. Does having the benefit of originating in writing of the 21st century mean that Oliver Harper is necessarily a more successful character than his costar, Steven Taylor? Considering the short tenure he actually gets (only these three audio stories), Oliver doesn't get the screentime (or speakertime) necessary to really grow on you like he would have, had he been a season-long regular like other companions. Thus while he isn't that memorable as a character, I can still call his presence in this trio of audios a success, as he enables the central narrative thread of the trilogy, one which in my opinion does fit in quite well with the Wiles era. Steven and the Doctor's angst over living on "borrowed time" is surely felt after the rapid-fire departure of Vicki, Katarina, and Sara, with all the mortal peril still endangering our two leads on screen at this time, and particularly so knowing the behind-the-scenes drama including Wiles' desire to push Hartnell out.
But, put into so few words, no, I still think Peter Purves is the star of this trilogy. He and the "new guy" have some decent chemistry and a number of great scenes together. As is usual for Companion Chronicles starring Purves, he voices the Doctor as well. This means that Oliver suffers a little for never getting to actually interact with "his" Doctor, and even the Doctor as impersonated by Peter Purves is relatively less prominent in these stories than he would have been in a televised serial from this period. Thus, while Oliver is good, he's gone too soon to make much of an attachment to. I do think this was intentional in a way, but it did make it difficult to get invested.
The final scene of The First Wave where the Doctor and Steven finally get tired of running and, believing they are on "borrowed time", give themselves up to be killed by the Vardan, is quite chilling. It's easy to believe that the two of them would feel this way after having lost so much and dealt with so much death, such that Oliver subverting it by sacrificing himself is a great twist. Considering that the story belabored how their deaths were a fixed point in time, though, I'm confused that the deaths being prevented isn't treated as a bigger deal. And in the very next story chronologically (The Massacre) the Doctor still insists that you can't change history! I'm sure there's more to be read into this, but that's all I have for now.
Overall I did like this trilogy, with the last part being by far the best and the middle part the weakest. I'll have a lot more of import to say about The Massacre, which is next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 27 April 2020.)
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