The hour's late and the omens are ill...

People being terribly nice to each other. What is that again? In today's day and age, where people go around bitching behind other people's backs, slagging other people off, bankrupting, happy slapping, swearing etc, people being terribly nice to each other is about as alien as a horde of Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Autons and Plasmatons.

It is however, a concept rife on the tranquil planet of Traken. People seem happy. They are invited to each others' weddings. They may drink too much, but hey, it's a celebration.

Unfortunately, as soon as a statue called Melkur lands out of nowhere in the Grove, that's when things start to go wrong. Trust a certain emaciated Time Lord to put a spanner in the works, he's the sort of person who would gatecrash a birthday party, eat all the cake, break the DJ's records, drunkenly snog the girls and then scuttle off again, the great killjoy.

Good thing then that the Keeper of Traken can detect this evil invading the planet. The Keeper himself is quite a cool idea, a wizened old man who flits about through time and space in a chair - perhaps DFS should try this sort of revolutionary new product in their next campaign. The Keeper, however, is not immortal and can sense the end of his days in the very near future. So who else to call on but another powerful alien nearing the end of his days?

Yes, the Fourth Doctor is chosen as the man for the job. No sooner has the poor sod just entered N-Space, he's immediately signed up to another adventure rather than taking a holiday while dumping Adric off on a planet of angry crocodiles. But he still agrees, maybe feeling some common ground with the Keeper who is feeling the years. Despite losing his beloved Romana and K9, The Doctor is still on breezy form, and amazingly has quite a good rapport going with Adric. It's a return to the teacher/pupil style of Doctor/Companion, and dare I say it, Waterhouse is actually quite good here. It's possible that Waterhouse is relieved to get more of a chunk of the action, rather than having to share the limelight with two other established companions.

But as ever, Tom Baker effortlessly steals the show. You sense that he's managed to get away with a few more ad-libs here and there. "What can't be cured must be endured," he muses at one point, to which Adric splutters: "That's the stupidest thing you've said!" only for The Doctor to pithily comment: "Oh, don't take any notice of me, I never do!" However, his more serious side comes through, especially when chiding Tremas for not showing him the plans which could help to restore order from the new regime of Melkur and Kassia. It's a very subtle tack he takes, saying that at least Tremas has the comfort of keeping his honour intact. These mind games work on Tremas though, as he recognises The Doctor's authority and knowledge.

"Anthony Ainley may be best known for his Heh-Heh-Heh-ing performance as The Master, but it's in The Keeper Of Traken that he actually provides his most subtle and effective contribution to Doctor Who"

Tremas is easily the best supporting character in The Keeper Of Traken. It's nice to see a character who takes a genuine interest in The Doctor's abilities. He recognises The Doctor as a kindred spirit, a man of science and learning, and so agrees to look after the Time Lord and Adric after they have mistakenly been taken for an "infinite evil". At the same time though, Tremas is a compassionate man, caring for both his daughter Nyssa and his ever-estranged wife Kassia, who's been hanging out too much with - um, a statue. It's this compassion that makes the end of the story so sad, as Tremas is chosen by the decaying Master as his new host. Anthony Ainley may be best known for his Heh-Heh-Heh-ing performance as The Master, but it's in The Keeper Of Traken that he actually provides his most subtle and effective contribution to Doctor Who.

Generally, all of the characters work well, and writer Johnny Byrne proves to have a particular talent for establishing both their strengths and weaknesses. Seron is stubborn but dedicated. Luvic is amiable but wimpy. Kassia is loyal but misguided. Out of them all, Kassia's potentially the most interesting character apart from Tremas. She is so desperate to keep Tremas as her husband instead of him allowing to be chosen as Keeper, that she goes along with Melkur's dastardly plan. However, as events spiral out of control, Kassia's mental state becomes more fragile. "This will all come to good in time!" she bellows at Nyssa, before collapsing in a sobbing heap. She's also rather a pathetic figure, nothing more than Melkur fodder, as she becomes the Keeper for about two seconds - only for her to fade away in a blaze of gaudy colours and be replaced by the statue.

All of which would be great, but unfortunately, Sheila Ruskin's performance as Kassia is a bit hit and miss. In some scenes she's fine, but in others, her OTT histrionics reduce the character to a bit of a laughing stock. "The evil is before yoooooo! Befooooore yooooour eeyyeeeesaaahh!" she screeches before doing a fake faint and falling to the floor. In her death scene, she inexplicably starts making a noise like a toddler straining on a potty, while waving her arms about like a drunken air traffic controller. Shame really.

Otherwise, the acting is generally good. Plaudits to Who veterans Denis Carey, John Woodnutt and Margot Van Der Burgh. Woodnutt is especially amusing as Seron, his fruity tones bellowing about the place ("Rapporrrrrt with the Keeper?"), while Van Der Burgh is more of an older, wordly-wise Cameca. It's good that finally Carey got the chance to be in Doctor Who after the aborted Shada, and makes the Keeper an unearthly but likeable presence.

"Nyssa's more gutsy than she will be in future stories, whether she's trying to bribe the money-hungry Neman or arguing with Kassia"

The other important character in The Keeper Of Traken is of course, Nyssa. At this point there's no indication that Nyssa's going to become a regular companion. To be honest, I don't think that her character works that well as a regular, on account of the writers not giving her anything substantial to do. In this story though, she's allowed some good scenes, and she generally works well with her fellow brainbox Adric. She's also more gutsy than she will be in future stories, whether she's trying to bribe the money-hungry Neman or arguing with Kassia. It's a decent enough performance from Sarah Sutton, which oddly isn't as bland as in future stories.

The Keeper Of Traken's thoughtful, entertaining script from Johnny Byrne is brought to life by newcomer John Black's fine direction. It's a studio-based story, which generally works thanks to some detailed sets from Tony Burrough (although at one point you can see the studio lights as The Doctor and co move about the Grove set). The whole production has that Shakespearean feel about it, in the sets, costumes and make-up. Even Roger Limb's music is genuinely atmospheric and evocative rather than tinny and shrill. Just ignore Kassia's painted-on eyes.

"The icing on the cake though is the reappearance of The Master, who appears without warning at the end"

The icing on the cake though is the reappearance of The Master, who appears without warning at the end. Inexplicably he's back to his fried egg look, even though he was healing at the end of The Deadly Assassin. Geoffrey Beevers does a good job as the renegade, even if his voice lacks the unusual rasp of Peter Pratt's. And just when you think he's been thwarted, The Master takes control of Tremas and uses his body to regenerate himself into "A new body at last!"

It's a brilliant scene, simply because it's so out of the blue. Everything's happy again on Traken - Luvic's the new Keeper, balance is restored - but if only Tremas didn't go to investigate the clock in the corner. And so that potentially happy ending is blown out of the water thanks to The Master's steely determination to stay alive - whatever the cost.

Fantastic stuff, and another winner from a season that I'm gradually warming to more and more.

But look at the clock face - ooooh, five to twelve. Looks like time's running out for everyone's favourite curly headed, jelly baby-proferring hero...

John Bensalhia limbered up for this mammoth task with a full four-series review of Blake's 7, and writes professionally and recreationally all over the web. Check out his portfolio of work at Wordprofectors.

Check out John's previous Doctor Who review, Warrors' Gate

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