The Fourth Doctor Adventures #403 - Requiem for the Rocket Men

Written by John Dorney 
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, and John Leeson
with Geoffrey Beevers, Mark Frost, Damian Lynch, and Olivia Poulet
Released March 2015

The third in the current run of Fourth Doctor Adventures continues a purple patch of strong stories. Requiem for the Rocket Men is an absolute gem. Some stories are layer cakes. This one’s more like pass the parcel, as layers of story become more apparent as it progresses.

This is a caper movie in Audiobook form, more Ocean’s Eleven thanThe Sun Makers. Ostensibly this is the story of the Doctor’s capture by the fading Rocket Men, who have a price on his head in true Jabba the Hutt style. The Doctor is delivered to their blustering King Shandar at their orbital base at the same time the Master arrives to talk business, with predictably chaotic results involving explosions and Tissue Compression.

However, all is not as it seems – and writer John Dorney cleverly heaps double-cross on double-cross, with Tom Baker having a very good day as a Doctor revelling in just how clever he’s being.  You almost feel sorry for Shandar (Mark Frost), a dim thug at the head of a fading criminal empire - outclassed and humiliated at every turn by a pair of warring Time Lords. The Doctor’s out to destroy Shandar's operation. The Master is just unimpressed. Even when Shandar tries to boast about his ‘most wanted’ status, K9 corrects him and points out that the Rani and the Terrible Zodin are higher up in the league table.

This story is particularly strong for both the Master and Leela. Geoffrey Beevers is as silkily charming and malevolent as usual, and, for a change, the Master gets some good character moments. At one point, believing he’s actually killed the Doctor, the scales fall – and, briefly bereft, he asks “What will I do tomorrow?” His introduction to K9 (unbelievably, they’ve never crossed paths up to now) is also priceless.

However, this story really belongs to Leela. Told partly in flashback, it opens and closes on the same moment -  her musing whether she has learned all she can from the Doctor in her travels, and whether she should move on, as the pupil becomes the master (no, not that one). The main reason for her decision to leave is her serious chemistry with the man sent to hunt her, Rocket Man Marshall (Damian Lynch). Marshall’s not a good man yet, but he’s trying to be – and Leela thinks she could teach him more. One final dramatic rug-pull later though, and we’re left with a cliffhanger carrying through to Death Match, as the Master swoops in and kidnaps her.

This character development really works for Leela. She and Marshall are well-matched, and the relationship is played well by Louise Jameson and Lynch. The only problem is that their chemistry is too natural. We already know how she leaves the Doctor. In her not-too-distant future, she’s going to inexplicably settle for Andred, a union which, 37 years on, still has fandom scratching his head and saying “Is she really going out with him?”. Requiem for the Rocket Men manages to fit a far more convincing relationship curve into around an hour than The Invasion of Time manages in six whole episodes. It’s not Big Finish’s fault. Dorney’s script is excellent. It’s what happens in the TV series that feels wrong in this light.

Nevertheless, it’s going to be interesting to see how this pans out, and if it makes some sense of a famously rushed exit. Next stop: Death Match.