Leviathan [Doctor Who, Diversion 41]

 Leviathan by Brian Finch & Paul Finch
21 January 2010​

By this point, Doctor Who is no stranger to faux-medieval settings. The Androids of Tara, State of Decay, and even the non-official Visions of Utomu have all passed us by over the course of this marathon. It's not really anything new by the time we get to Leviathan, so I was a little skeptical from the off. However, being something of a fan of Celtic horned deities, the presence of Herne the Hunter was enough to make me tentatively interested.

I was pleasantly surprised. While the side characters and even the villains aren't really too memorable (though I did enjoy the spiky Eada), this story's setting on a massive spaceship with a world in its bowels (the titular Leviathan) is a little different from the previous two instances and definitely a cool mental image. This is sort of the same idea as The Ark way back in 1966, and it would also turn up thirty-one years later in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, which is a fun coincidence.

The slow revelation that the people in this place are either clones or their robot minders is handled pretty well, and the scene in the "recycling" chamber certainly leaves an impression, as gory as it is. Herne, most likely derived from an ancient hunting god, is a part of the cultural imagination of Britain, as in fact is the entire setting; much is made of the fact that it's a rather poor recreation of the real 11th century, with its flimsy castle walls and good white bread.

My favorite part, all things considered, is that our two regulars are handled quite well here. Not very much like their TV counterparts up to this point, granted, but in this case that's not exactly a bad thing. Peri plays a more active role in the story than usual, and the usual bickering is basically nowhere to be seen. I quite like the Doctor here as well; his moral outrage feels a little more real than usual. When a dying boy implores him with his last breath, "Someone must..." it is only proper that the Doctor's quiet but strong reply is "Someone will."

All things considered, I don't know what this would have been like on screen, but I certainly like it here. Thumbs-up. The Hollows of Time is next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 28 May 2024.)