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| A family secret is exposed. |
2 episodes. Approx. 50 minutes. Written by: Terence Dudley. Directed by: Ron Jones. Produced by: John Nathan Turner.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS materializes at a railway station in 1925, where the Doctor is mistaken for a cricket player being sent for a match at a party at Cranleigh Hall. The Doctor is happy to go along with this case of mistaken identity, enjoying the chance to show off his skill at the game. But Cranleigh Hall hides a secret - a mysterious figure, held captive in a hidden room.
Soon, the Doctor and his companions are dealing with multiple murders. The killings are somehow linked to Ann Talbot, who is engaged to Lord Cranleigh (Michael Cochrane) - and who also just happens to look exactly like Nyssa! It's a relatively minor murder mystery, a case of family skeletons bringing themselves violently out into the light. The sort of thing the Doctor can sort in minutes. Except the Doctor happens to be the prime suspect!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Enjoys the chance to relax and play a game of cricket, which he plays with preternatural skill. Shades of the Eleventh Doctor playing football in The Lodger, as he joins a team suffering a miserable defeat and transforms it into a victory with seemingly no effort. When he's questioned for a murder in Part Two, he is unable to make himself believed. The more he talks, the more he makes himself look like a crazy man. He finally just stops talking and gives up - a scene Davison plays wonderfully.
Nyssa: This story gives Sarah Sutton a dual role. Though actual character work is light, we do learn that Nyssa is an accomplished dancer, part of her training on Traken - a detail that fits perfectly with her established character. Despite her aristocratic bearing, she is a young girl and can't help but be taken with Ann's suggestion of doubling up their outfits for the party. As Ann, Sutton gets virtually nothing to work with. Ann doesn't even register as a character, just as a plot device to justify Nyssa's being in danger at the end.
Adric: He can't dance, so spends the party stuffing his face at the buffet table. Which actually may be one of the more reasonable things he's done across Season 19! His general lack of common sense shows itself when he responds to the Doctor's arrest by protesting that it's Ann's word against the Doctor's... hardly the best way to try to garner sympathy or even willingness to listen by either the family or the police chief who is the family's friend.
Tegan: Opens the story by saying that she's decided to stay with the crew and that the Doctor can stop trying to deliver her to Heathrow - a major character shift, and one which apparently happened offscreen between stories. It is nice to see Janet Fielding giving a more laid-back performance, allowing Tegan to be something other than strident and high-strung. Her scenes opposite Sir Robert (Moray Watson) show a genuinely sweet side, and she seems to actually be enjoying herself for a change.
THOUGHTS
Director Ron Jones' first Doctor Who story. Though fandom tends to lump Jones in with Peter Moffatt as a director largely unsuited to Who, I've long felt that he's gotten a bit of a bad rap. He's certainly not up there with Peter Grimwade or Fiona Cumming, but he does understand the value of dramatic lighting. This greatly enhances some of the scenes in the house, especially in the secret passages. He also deals well with large groups of actors, cutting between different groupings without losing track of where the characters are in the room or making the scene feel like something out of a stage play. He may not be a brilliant television director - but he is a competent one.
Black Orchid works better than most of the classic series' 2-parters, thanks to a narrative that is deliberately slight. There are no aliens, no science fiction elements, just a very minor period melodrama about family secrets. Just about right to sustain 50 fairly laid-back minutes.
The first episode is quite good. The 1920's setting is impeccably rendered, and this is a rare classic Who story with no embarrassing production aspects. The tone is generally relaxed, with some pleasant scenes of the companions enjoying themselves at a costume party. The mystery is nicely built up in the background, from the cutaways to the mysterious figure who escapes his bonds, to the Doctor's crawling around the mansion's mazelike corridors after discovering a secret passage.
Once the Doctor is arrested in Part Two, however, it all goes a bit off the rails. There's a rushed and unconvincing scene in which the Doctor convinces Sir Robert to let him show off the TARDIS. While this little diversion is going on, the main story at the house becomes rushed. All entirely avoidable, as the story doesn't actually require the Doctor be taken off the grounds at all! Give that 5 - 10 minutes over to investigation within the house, and the script could jettison the silly TARDIS tour and give more breathing space to the resolution.
Despite the flawed ending, Black Orchid is an entertaining little diversion, a nice breather before the heavy action of Earthshock. The first episode, in particular, has a pleasant overall atmosphere, and both regulars and guest cast are in fine form. It could have been better with a little bit of rewriting to the second episode, but it's still highly watchable.
Rating: 6/10.
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