The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: Slipback

 Slipback: Part One (25/07/25)

So, with the future of the show in the balance and the next series a long way off we've been given a bonus story c/o Script Editor Eric Saward consisting of six ten minute episodes broadcast of BBC Radio 4 - or 'Pirate' Radio 4 as this three hour kids magazine programme calls itself.

Today we get Parts One and Two and they've got off to an interesting start aboard a ma-HOO-sive Space Freighter where the crew are being eaten by a large, growling monster in the ducting. This was set up in an effective pre-credits sequence relayed to another crew member, called Grant, by the ship's Computer who has a voice like that annoying bitch Peter Davison is married to; the one who played Trillian in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.

We then joined the Doctor and Peri in the TARDIS, the Doctor hearing a voice in his head talking about 'Full Circle' as he woke with a hangover (!), and Peri informing him that he'd got his hangover after accidentally getting mullered the previous night, that they'd materialised beside said massive freighter and that the TARDIS console was winking and grunting "like a dirty old man in a park"! Not really the kind of analogy you'd expect in a kid's magazine programme, but then this is Eric Saward.

We then had a short scene of Grant arriving to meet the ship's Captain who, apparently, psychosomatically manifests diseases which then infect his crew. Which is a bit weird. After that, the TARDIS materialised in the ducting so that the Doctor and Peri could be confronted by the monster for the first cliffhanger.

It's not bad for a ten minute radio play and the Doctor and Peri's relationship certainly felt a lot mellower than in most of the TV stories we had this year. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out!

Slipback: Part Two (25/07/25)

Quite an interesting second episode. I'd forgotten that the TARDIS had latched on to the freighter because it had detected Time Travel experiments (shades of The Two Doctors here - you'd think Saward would have avoided such clear repetition so soon). Meanwhile, the voice that had appeared in the Doctor's head is also chatting with the Computer and getting her to conceal the Doctor's presence. Nevertheless, the Computer still alerted the Captain, Slarn, to Peri's presence and he lasciviously wants her brought to him; another bit of repetition which has already become very tiresome. Slarn is voiced by Valentine Dyall, famously the Black Guardian, which is a bit off-putting as I'm now envisaging him in his Bird Hat having a steamy 'lava bath'. Aren't there any other actors out there who haven't previously been in the show? If they wanted someone with a recognisable and commanding voice they could have cast Brian Blessed or something, though I'm not sure I like the idea of him lusting after Peri's body!

The Computer saved the Doctor and Peri by closing a bulkhead, and the Doctor reckons that the monster in the ducts is a Maston, an alien whose planet was destroyed millions of years ago. Then the Computer separated the pair after Peri wandered off to find a lever to prise open a door. The Computer claimed she'd fallen 12m down a shaft, cue what on TV would be a crash-zoom on Colin's face as he cried out "PERIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!".

It isn't badly acted or foleyed, on the whole, especially the scenes of the Doctor and Peri fleeing the Maston. There are some nice mysteries being set up and I'm enjoying Colin's portrayal - it's so much better when you can't see the coat! So, not too bad so far. Roll on August 1st!

Slipback: Part Three (01/08/25)

Well, next to nothing happened this episode. Peri survived her 12m fall down the ventilation shaft by landing on one of two men on the level below who then accused her and the Doctor of malpractice (don't ask) and gave her a device which shielded her (as it does them) from detection by the ship's Computer, suggesting that these are new characters who shouldn't be there. Slarn talked to his steward about being fat and unpopular and shouted at the Computer for not bringing him Peri fast enough, and the Computer sent a Drone (possibly Humanoid) to escort the Doctor but they were found by Grant who seems to have blown the drone up.

Saward seems to be recycling elements of Earthshock with the Captain insisting on calling Grant 'Mister' and Grant, on meeting the Doctor, stating "On this ship we execute stowaways". Oh, and the mysterious voice was back chatting to the Computer and planning to have the Doctor and Peri (or Grant) eaten by the Maston. For a 60 minute radio play this episode felt like a waste and nothing more than padding.

Slipback: Part Four (01/08/25)

In contrast, this episode was packed with events, or revelations, at least! Mister Grant is a thief using the freighter to go to the planets it visits on a Galactic Survey and steal their priceless works of art. The two guys Peri has found herself with are trying to locate Grant but maintain that they're not Policemen, and thanks to the Drone (not destroyed, just damaged) now think that Grant and the Doctor are the same person.

Meanwhile, the Mysterious Voice and the Computer have lured the Doctor to a secret room and are destroying his mind as they drain his knowledge about Time Travel. Whoever they are, it seems they're the ones responsible for the Time Travel experiments, or the Mysterious Voice is at any rate. Meanwhile, Mr Saward repeated Earthshock again when the Drone claimed to be "Composing (its) epitaph". He's either intentionally invoking the spirit of that story or reaching the point where his ideas have run out, but who am I to judge?

Slipback: Part Five (08/08/25)

Things came to a head this episode. It turns out that the Mysterious Voice is actually the 'Inner Spirit' of the ship's Computer which has been sickened by all the war and killing throughout history on the planets the freighter has catalogued, and plans on using information gleaned from the Doctor's brain to travel back in time and use her knowledge to influence the emerging lifeforms in this particular galaxy so they develop in a more civilised manner. She planes on having the crew killed by the diseases created by their Captain when he's angry, which is why she's had her ditzy Public Voice tell him Peri has disappeared with Mr Grant; Slarn is so angry he's cultivating an incurable, fatal disease which is so bad it made the Doctor cry out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" at the cliffhanger to cover for the lack of a crash-zoom on his face in the audio medium.

Elsewhere, Peri's two new mates, the leader of which I still haven't heard a name for other than 'Sir', located and beat up Mr Grant. It's an interesting idea, but repeats the Psychotic Computer trope we've already seen in both The Face Of Evil and Underworld. I guess they were both quite a while ago, though, and this story so far fits into the current era very well; somewhat better than some of the stories from Season 22, in fact!

Slipback: Part Six (08/08/25)

What a decidedly underwhelming conclusion! Snatch and his supervisor got eaten by the Maston (which we never did get an explanation for being there when its home planet was millions of years dead!), Slarn got so ill that he infected even himself, and everything went all Deus Ex Machina with the arrival of a Time Lord to tell the Doctor to get back in the TARDIS and hop it because the freighter, the Vipod Mor, had always travelled back in time and, due to a miscalculation, had overshot and created the Big Bang! Which is all very well, but wasn't that explained in Terminus? We then had a scene between the Computer's Spirit and the Computer's Public Voice where the latter revealed she'd set the ship's self destruct which, correct me if I'm wrong, solves the main problem anyway. We then got a very quick scene with the Doctor and Peri deciding to leave in the TARDIS immediately which left me wondering if they'd left Grant behind to die as, moments earlier when they'd been listening to the Time Lord, he'd been with them. One can only assume he was abandoned along with the rest of the gigantic freighter's crew and died in a huge explosion which may or may not have been the Big Bang depending on whether the Vipod Mor had travelled far enough back in time or was still journeying through the Time Vortex.

It really did feel like Eric Saward had no idea how to end the story so just fudged it by taking it out of the Doctor's hands. Not a great ending to a mostly okay story which showed how well the series can work on radio and gave us Colin Baker at, arguably, his best. Freed of the unnecessary outbursts and given a mystery to solve he was unquestionably the Doctor we've come to love over the last couple of decades. I actually hope we get more radio plays like this as he was incredibly good, even if the story ultimately wasn't.