The Genesis Chamber

Philip Hinchcliffe Presents #2

Released: 6 September 2016

Listened: 3/26/22

This next run of stories is from the “Philip Hinchcliffe Presents” range. We’re lucky enough that Hinchcliffe is still with us, and for this range, he came up with the story concepts and provides feedback on the scripts. So they’ve got that thread of darkness to them, with some Bob Holmes dark humor, and they’re long, a mix of four- and six-parters. This one has some interesting concepts, but I’m not sure it really gels properly. There’s a colony planet with a bunch of pampered city dwellers beholden to a central computer, and an outside group of back-to-the-land luddites. Which is a decent start, but it gets interesting when you throw in some invaders, and an alien “helper” who’s a bit too good to be true. There’s a Romeo & Juliet story, which works reasonably enough because the actors sell it well. Unfortunately, the Doctor and Leela aren’t really controlling events all that much, and mostly just seem to be along for the ride. The bad guys are done in by infighting and a deus ex machina, which is kind of unsatisfying.