Doctor Who Review - "The Library of Alexandria"
rating: 5
One of the original ideas behind Doctor Who when it first launched in 1963, was that it would exist in part to teach people, generally children, about history. By watching the Doctor and his friends visit various point in history, the audience would learn about that era, the issues and the people. This has even worked for me. Back in the day, when I first saw Mark of the Rani, Id never heard of the Luddites. Because of that story, I know who they were. Thanks to this latest audio from Big Finish, I know have learned a couple things about Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria, such as the fact that it burned down long after Julius Caesar was dead. I hadnt known that. As for Hypatia, she was a philosopher and mathematician who lived in Alexandria around the late fourth and early fifth centuries. She was a major figure in Alexandria at the time, and a major figure in this audio. The story centers on Ian (William Russell), Barbara, Susan and the Doctor arriving in Alexandria and falling in love with the Library. They decide to stay for a while, with Ian getting a job so the others can spend time learning. While on the job, he encounters Hypatia (Susan Franklyn), and the two immediately bond. It would be incorrect to say that they have a romantic attachment, but quite accurate to say they are in love with each others minds. Of course, this being Doctor Who, not all goes well. Soon a book has turned up. Not a scroll, but an actual bound book. That book appears to be written in an alien language. The Doctor initially dismisses all of it as just being a bizarre artifact, but then the aliens themselves turn up, and they are none too happy. This was a very, very good story. All the characters seem very true to the way they were shown on the TV series, and Hypatia fits in very well with them. I really loved the interactions between her and Ian, where Ian got a taste of what it might have felt like to be Susan; listening to scientific facts that he knew to be incorrect, but not being able to say anything. The acting was, as usual, superb. Russell did his standard wonderful job, and Id still dearly love to see him show up on the new series at some point. Franklyn also did a great job, and if we cant ever see/hear Hypatia again, I do at least hope we can have more of her. Overall this was a pretty great little audio. If youve never experienced any of the Companion Chronicles, this is a good one to begin with. NEXT TIME: Jamie and Zoe investigate a strange, empty world.