‘DANGER DOWN BELOW’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Aronassus 49 with the Fifth Doctor and Tegan but not Much of Nyssa
I’ve read the ‘Doctor Who Annual’ with Peter Davison’s Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan at last! 🙂
When I attended the ‘Big Blue Box 2’ convention in Tunbridge Wells in March 2013, I purchased the 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’ in its hardback glory. The 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’ was released in August 1982 after Season 19 was on TV, just in time for Season 20. 🙂
I wanted to check out this ‘Doctor Who Annual’ for some time. I’m not really one for short stories in ‘Short Trips’ collections by Big Finish and in ‘Doctor Who Annuals’, but because this annual has Nyssa, my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ companion, in it, how could I resist? 😀
This especially with the purpose to review the book for ‘The Nyssa Challenge’ on ‘Bradley’s Basement’. The 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’ is unusual and unique, as it features mostly the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan, who are the trio for the early part of Season 20.
And yet Tegan is in her air hostess uniform from Season 19. By the time ‘Time-Flight’ came when the 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’ was released, Tegan had left. Shouldn’t she be in her Season 20 costume for this annual? The continuity of these ‘Doctor Who Annuals’ is debatable.
There’s also a comic story featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric as a TARDIS foursome in the annual. I don’t know if many people were confused when reading this ‘Doctor Who Annual’ back in 1982 and 1983, considering Adric got killed in ‘Earthshock’.
For the sake of argument, I’m currently going by the theory that these ‘Doctor Who Annual’ stories take place during Season 19. Adric is probably somewhere else or is sick in bed in the TARDIS whilst the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan are having their own adventures. 🙂
The ‘Doctor Who Annual’ stories don’t make it very clear regarding their continuity, sadly. The stories are ‘Danger Down Below’, ‘The God Machine’, ‘The Armageddon Chrysalis’, ‘On the Planet Isopterus’, ‘The Haven’, ‘The Penalty’ and ‘Night Flight to Nowhere’. Seven stories!
‘On the Planet Isopterus’ is the comic story that features the complete Season 19 team whilst the other stories featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan are in text form. There are also brief features that accompany the stories throughout the ‘Doctor Who Annual’. 🙂
‘Danger Down Below’, the first story of the 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’, features the Fifth Doctor and Tegan and there’s a brief cameo by Nyssa. I’m very disappointed that this ‘Doctor Who’ story didn’t feature much of Nyssa, as she was mostly stuck inside the TARDIS.
Nyssa didn’t even get to say a line of dialogue in this story. It’s very appalling! Anyway, the story has the Doctor and Tegan on the planet Aronassus 49, as the TARDIS responded to a distress call from an old friend of the Doctor’s. He happens to be High Minister Threll. 🙂
The Doctor and Tegan find the Prime City of Aronassus 49 in crisis with a rather short food supply. The city’s people have also become increasingly belligerent. I didn’t find ‘Danger Down Below’ very inspiring. 😦 It’s decent enough, but the action takes a while to occur. 😐
The characters are also rather bland. Despite Tegan getting enough dialogue in this story, I don’t think she stands out well as a character. She doesn’t have many familiar nor recognisable lines of dialogue that would help to identify her from the TV show, which is pity. 😦
It’s interesting how the story introduces Threll, a character that the Doctor knew from a previous incarnation. Threll doesn’t react much to the Doctor’s change in his appearance since they last met. The story feels quite plot-driven than character-driven, in my opinion.
The story’s main monster happens to be a giant squid-like thing with tentacles called the Migrator. The monster is quickly defeated, as the Doctor materialises his TARDIS around the Migrator before sending it into outer space. Threll is returned home three days later.
In ‘The Cloud Exiles & Other Stories’ audio collection, there’s an audiobook version of this story read by Janet Fielding, who plays Tegan Jovanka in the TV series and the Big Finish audios. It was nice to hear Janet read ‘Danger Down Below’ in the audio collection.
It’s clear Janet is enthusiastic when reading this ‘Doctor Who’ short story. Mind you, I noticed the text version of this story doesn’t match to what’s on audio. I know it’s a minor point, but it’s fascinating how Janet reads this story compared to how it’s written in the book.
There are three features after ‘Danger Down Below’ in the 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’. There’s ‘Our Neighbours In Space’, ‘Behind the Scenes at Doctor Who: The Visual Effects Department’ and ‘Enter Peter Davison as Doctor Who’.
‘Danger Down Below’ rating – 5/10
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