‘LINK’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

The Mystery of Princess Catra with the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane

This story is by Pete Kempshall and it features the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane. In ‘Link’, the Doctor and Sarah Jane visit a spaceship that has crash-landed on an alien planet. There’s a sleeping princess aboard as well as a soldier who has come to collect her in order to marry a prince of an alien planet.

The princess is called Catra and she’s an Arradan. She is meant to marry Prince Strobel, who is a Voitan. I believe this is to end a war between the Arradans and the Voitans. The Doctor and Sarah Jane get separated from each other quite a bit throughout the adventure, and it raises the tension. 🙂

It’s interesting when it’s revealed that the princess has gained telepathy. It’s also intriguing how she uses it in the story, as Catra’s mind connects to other telepaths on the alien planet, and she wishes to stay on the planet. However, the soldier Hrinth, bound by his duty, removes her from this planet.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane are shocked by Hrinth’s actions once this occurs. I wonder if Catra ever loved Strobel, as this is presumably an arranged marriage. There are nice references featured in this story, including Sarah Jane comparing the crashed spaceship to the Mary…or is it Marie Celeste?

It turns out that Sarah Jane has only visited Exxilon and Peladon so far in her travels with the Doctor. She also calls Princess Catra ‘Sleeping Beauty’. I can easily imagine the 1959 Disney film when thinking about that. 😀 Overall, this is quite a decent tale in the ‘Short Trips: Transmissions’ collection.

‘Link’ rating – 5/10