Doctor Who: The Alchemists

A First Doctor story told from the perspective of Susan. This is a straight historical, set in Berlin in January 1933, mere weeks before Hitler came to power, but, while the Nazis do make an appearance, the focus is much more on the economic conditions of the period, and the general atmosphere in Germany at the time.

The story is set before the An Unearthly Child, the first episode of the TV series, and so only features Susan as companion. This setting presents an unusual problem in that the Doctor is not yet a hero (something that's particularly obvious in the first televised story). Being a Companion Chronicle is a help here, since he's not actually in it all that much, with Susan forced to fend for herself through much of the story. This is, however, offset by the usual weaknesses of the format, with just two actors rather obviously playing at least six different roles between them.

Despite some decent atmosphere, with the mostly bleak setting of Depression-era Germany on the eve of something terrible, this is a fairly average story. The title refers, rather obliquely, to chemist Fritz Haber, but he's more of a plot device here than a developed character. The Nazi characters are actually quite well done, coming across as human beings, low-level brownshirts trying to look tough rather than pure villains. On the other hand, Susan does get abused a fair bit, although she makes up for it with a couple of heroic scenes.

Beyond that, there's little to either recommend or criticise in this story. It works, but it never really thrills or grips.