1963: The Space Race

Main Range #179

Released: 29 October 2013

Listened: 5/11/20

This is part of the “1963” trilogy that came out for the 50th anniversary, with three stories that each take place in 1963. “Fanfare for the Common Men” is my favorite of the trilogy, and probably the most popular, but this story has a lot going on as well. It’s set at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, with the Doctor and Peri pretending to be Russian scientists, but it’s got high concepts all over the place: the fate of Laika the dog, a sentient black hole, and an American base on the far side of the moon. It’s also got some of the best cliffhangers the Main Range has seen. Unfortunately, the parts don’t really add up to a coherent story, as the high concepts don’t connect as well as you might think. There’s also some pacing difficulties. Because a rocket to the moon takes three days to arrive, the plot has to skip rather abruptly over the stretches where nothing happens. It’s also got rather a high body count, but that’s a Sixth Doctor story for you. Ultimately, it’s several good ideas that don’t quite gel as well as they ought to.