The Fate of Krelos

Fourth Doctor Adventures #4.7

Released: 8 July 2015

Listened: 4/8/22

This story and the next are connected, but not so tightly that they can be considered one story. In fact, in this first part, not a lot seems to be happening at first. Basically, the Doctor wants to go fishing, and convinces Leela to come along. The planet where he chooses to go, Krelos, is at a point in its development where most of society’s tasks are automated, although there are still some citizens who object to that. It’s a very small plot, with the Doctor and Leela basically trying to rescue one person. There’s also an extended sequence where K-9 reactivates an older control room, in which a piece of Jamie’s kilt is snagged on the console, leading to the Doctor telling Leela about Jamie. (I’m guessing neither of them remember the events of “Dumb Waiter.”) After a timeslip, Leela and the Doctor have an argument about interference. It’s one of those in which the Doctor pulls out the “I can’t interfere” card for reasons known only to Time Lords, and the companion simply doesn’t buy it, except even more so, because it’s Leela. Parts of it are interesting, and parts seem kind of drawn out and repetitive (the number of times they climb up or down the mountain). Kudos to Nick Briggs for wanting to do a story without mortal peril (to the TARDIS team, anyway), but I’m not sure it really works, except as an extended lead-in.