Persuasion

Main Range #175

Released: 10 July 2013

Listened: 3/14/21

This begins another Main Range trilogy with Klein, although the friendlier UNIT model seen in the last story. It also introduces Will Arrowsmith, one of Klein’s scientist subordinates, who can be thought of as “Osgood, if she were pathetic.” He manages to sound sad and panicky at all times, even though he claims to want to do field work and have adventures. This Doctor is approaching the end of his life, and states outright that he’s trying to combat evil head-on because he thinks his next persona won’t be able to. He’s also aware that his companions wouldn’t understand, but suspects that Klein would. Still he’s being even more cryptic than ever, especially in bringing Klein to Germany right after WWII, which isn’t lost on her. He’s after a Nazi scientist named Schalk, who has designed something called the Persuasion machine, a device so powerful that multiple alien species want to get their hands on it, including a couple of old gods from another universe. Although these old gods are set up as a serious threat -- in addition to being omnipotent, they speak in iambic pentameter and always end a scene on a rhyming couplet -- the Doctor doesn’t have too much trouble manipulating them. In fact, most of what the Doctor plans comes off exactly as he wanted, which is pretty unusual, and a sure sign that something bigger is being set up down the road. Because this is one of those tightly tied trilogies, where the immediate crisis resolves, but the overall story doesn’t. It’s fine as an opener, but it isn’t a complete story.