Colditz

Main Range #25

Released: 22 October 2001

Listened: 11/24/20

This is one of my favorite stories from this era, because of the number of twists in it, but it’s also remarkably dark. The Doctor and Ace end up at Colditz Castle, shortly before the end of the war, and are promptly separated. Ace is watched by Kurtz, played by a young David Tennant, who’s pretty much a textbook bullying junior officer, petty and cruel, except his German accent slips a bit when he gets shouty, which he has to do a lot. Ace is being slightly too cavalier about the danger they’re in at first, especially when it comes to the contents of her rucksack, which includes some Nitro-9 and a portable CD player containing a laser. The Doctor, on the other hand, meets scientist Elizabeth Klein, a character so awesome she’ll recur for many years. She’s the real danger, as she knows about the TARDIS and the Doctor’s weak points. Exactly what’s going on with Klein takes a while to unravel, leaving this as one of those early Big Finishes that don’t so much build to a climax as come to an end with an explanation of what’s been happening all along behind the scenes. Ace gets a dose of maturity in this episode, as a result of the bleak surroundings. She decides to go by her real name for a while. This one is memorable because it’s so atmospheric, and because of Klein’s story, but it doesn’t really resolve well, at least, not for a long time to come.