Doctor Who: An Ideal World

To my mind, this is another good entry in the Early Adventures range, although I can see why others might find it problematic. When the TV show started, a large part of its original remit was to be educational which, in the case of the SF elements of the show meant that it was supposed to teach about science. That essentially came to an end after Planet of the Giants early in the second season - well before the third season which we're supposed to be emulating here. Yet this story comes across as being firmly in that style.

The TARDIS lands on an uninhabited planet being surveyed by a slower-than-light colony ship from Earth. (The star fits the description of Tau Ceti but may, of course, be fictional). The first hour consists largely of a struggle against the environment, with bad weather and an only marginally breathable atmosphere providing the main obstacles. In the second half, the action moves to the orbiting colony ship and the science exposition switches to more medical and technological matters, with an important plot point revolving around Steven and Vicki's familiarity with nanotech.

The result is a slow-paced story that only really acquires a villain in the final thirty minutes, once the nature of the real problem is revealed. There is a monster, but it's not terribly important and doesn't last all that long. Plus, once we've dealt with the science in the first three ‘episodes' we get a lengthy discussion on ethics in the final one as different characters suggest different solutions to the situation.

I enjoyed this as a piece of comparatively hard SF by Doctor Who standards, and with distinct echoes of some of the very early stories - albeit without Ian in the science teacher role. Largely because of the nanotech, it's not the science we'd have likely got in a '60s episode, and the setting feels like modern SF (even if Steven finds the technology backward) but that's a plus when it comes to hard SF. On the other hand, the slow pacing, almost complete lack of action, and the lengthy discussions may put some listeners off.