The Fifth Traveller

Early Adventures #3.2

Released: 13 October 2016

Listened: 1/30/20

Early Adventures are four-parters, so we’re back to a longer story. Which is good, because the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki, and Jospa -- what’s that? You don’t remember Jospa? There’s a reason for that. The writer doesn’t really try to trick you for too long about that, but with the longer running time, the mystery can simmer in the background just long enough for you to accept Jospa. The only real flaw is that James Joyce, who plays Captain Carter in the UNIT series, doesn’t really sound like he’s Vicki’s age, which is what we’re supposed to believe. Speaking of voices, though, Jemma Powell plays Barbara again, William Russell plays both Ian and the Doctor, and Maureen O’Brien plays a much younger Vicki. It shouldn’t work with that many different actors, but for the most part, it comes off fine. Russell isn’t the best Hartnell impersonator, but he captures the essence. His Ian mostly sounds the right age, except for a few moments. Maureen O’Brien somehow makes you think she’s a girl without fail, and Powell’s accent, which sounded a bit out of place in the other Early Adventure she’s in, doesn’t really jar here. As for the rest of the plot, it’s serviceable, but a story about psychic orangutans is a little hard to get your head around.