The Beautiful People

Companion Chronicles #1.4

Released: 19 February 2007

Listened: 6/13/22

Welcome Lalla Ward to the project! This is a very early Companion Chronicle, and that shows in some peculiarities. The story is four parts, with (increasingly punny) episode titles, even though the full thing is only a little over an hour. The Doctor gets sidelined early on, which gives plenty of focus to Romana, but the actual explanation for his sidelining is laughable. Writer Jonathan Morris is definitely trying to channel some of the Douglas Adams era here, with some overt references, as well as a general sly humor to the dialog. Unfortunately, the “exasperated Romana” persona is in full effect here. Although Romana supposedly regenerated to be more in sync with the Doctor, she sounds annoyed with him most of the time, as though she’s outgrown him. The story takes place at a health spa, where the super-wealthy go to get miraculously thin, but of course there’s something sinister going on with the process. This results in rather a lot of cheap shots about fat people. Although both Romana and the Doctor profess that it doesn’t matter what someone looks like on the outside, it’s clear from Romana’s inner thoughts that she does harbor some prejudice and refuses to acknowledge it. It’s also fairly hypocritical coming from a character who looks like Romana, and especially from someone who can change their physical appearance. On the whole, the story seems rather badly dated, even though it’s only 15 years old, and it caused some cognitive dissonance to listen to it while working out.