The Perfect Prisoners, part 2

Fourth Doctor Adventures #8.8

Released: 13 February 2019

Listened: 5/15/22

The big secret is finally revealed: Ann Kelso is revealed to be Anya Kingdom of the Space Security Service, operating as a sleeper agent on Earth in the 1970s. In fact, Ann Kelso never existed at all. Beyond that cover, Anya is a brainwashed agent of Zaal of the Syndicate, using her to wipe out the other members. That explains, among other things, Ann’s ability to fly the TARDIS accurately. Which makes for a great reveal the first time around, but knowing that doesn’t really add much to a relisten. However, Jane Slavin’s portrayal makes Ann/Anya vicious and cunning at many points, but ultimately sympathetic when it becomes clear she wasn’t responsible for her actions. If Anya never appeared again, it would seem odd that nothing was ever made of her family connections. However, she’ll be back again in the Dalek Universe stories, when considerably more time has passed for the Doctor, and he’s got a better perspective on the matter. On the whole, this season represented a strong attempt to do something different, give the Fourth Doctor a new companion, and give that story a strong twist, all of which succeeded. Having the story tied so tightly to “The Daleks’ Master Plan” seems like a less-good idea, partially because it’s a lost story, but also because the villains didn’t do much in that story, so they don’t seem very effective or threatening here.