Holistic Review: A superb premise concerning a fascinating alien society; although it never quite lives up to its potential, it's still quite entertaining. And the twist is a real jaw-dropper.

The Keeper of Traken is one of those stories that I've had a divided opinion about all my life. On one hand, I love it to bits. On the other hand, it has faults that I sometimes think would have sunk any other story. But in the end, I think the positive points far outweigh the negative ones. In my opinion, The Keeper of Traken has two main things going for it. One is its mythology: Traken is a fascinating society, with a history that I would like very much to know more about. The idea of a society built around universal harmony is incredibly appealing; in fact, when I'm asked (which doesn't happen very often) which Doctor Who planet I would most like to live on, I invariably say Traken (assuming, of course, it's still intact). I would really love to live in a place where everyone was always nice to one another, Keeper or no Keeper. The juxtaposition between Traken's high level of technological sophistication and its almost medieval society is also quite interesting. I suppose it hearkens back to State of Decay a bit, but it feels completely different (probably because technology is actually encouraged on Traken). The other major plus about this story, for me at least, is the introduction of one of my top favorite companions, Nyssa. As an introductory story, Traken is certainly atypical, because, of course, when it was written, nobody knew Nyssa was destined to become a companion, so she really doesn't get all that much to do beyond the usual guest-star role. During her first scene in the TARDIS, she even comes across as a bit stupid (or, if I'm feeling generous, laudably inquisitive), playing the typical companion to Adric's Doctor and asking Adric the meaning of every single thing he says. Despite this, Sarah Sutton still portrays Nyssa as sweet, polite, helpful and independent - and the scenes in which she first bribes Neman, then later gets to whip out her stepped-up ion bonder ("I think this is powerful enough.") and stun Neman and the other Foster, are superb. I really love the fact that she doesn't make the typical mistake of allowing herself to get distracted and overpowered; instead, she sensibly stuns the guards first and then retrieves the key to the cell. One thing I've wondered, though, is: on the basis of this story alone, would I have wanted Nyssa as a companion? Or is her appeal based largely on her subsequent interaction with the other characters? Given that Nyssa doesn't really spread her wings until Castrovalva, it's an interesting question. I think the answer is a definite yes - when I was rewatching it this time, I wasn't even thinking explicitly about this question, but I still started pondering what a great character she is, and how lucky we are that things just happened to work out for her to get picked up for another two years. And boy, am I glad that they didn't stick with the original idea of only keeping her around for three more stories.

Before I discuss the other positive points of the story, I want to address the aspects that make it less than totally satisfying. There's really only one that I feel actually hurts my enjoyment of Traken, which is that for all the talk of universal harmony and everybody being so nice and lovey-dovey, we hardly see any evidence of it here. Tremas and Nyssa are about the only people on the planet (or, at least, in the environs of the court) who seem to embody Trakenite philosophy. Aside from them, we've got venomous evil traitor Kassia, a trio of Consuls who seem all too ready to execute the Doctor and Adric, and money-grubbing Neman with his Foster thugs. So, I think Traken is one of those things about which I like the concept much better than the execution. The other big problem, which doesn't bother me hugely although I think it keeps the plot from being as engaging as it otherwise might, is that the storyline is largely driven by meaningless technobabble: Adric's analysis of Tremas' energy readings, the Doctor's standing wave that recovers the TARDIS, the servo shut-off device Adric builds to sabotage the Source, and the Doctor's calculation of the Ultimate Sanction code ("three-three-seven!"). As a couple of minor notes, the dialogue of the story is occasionally a little awkward - Nyssa, for example, gets the very out-of-character line "He is no criminal! Nor are the strangers! This Melkur has made you mad!" (which Sutton nevertheless manages to pull off) - and the story is periodically halted to accommodate a long-ish scene of people sitting around debating something or other. Well, isn't that interesting? I have fewer objections to Traken than I'd realized. This may be partly because even the negatives aren't completely irredeemable - the characters are less-than-angelic because otherwise there would be no plot, the characters overall handle the literate dialogue quite well, and most of the talky scenes do contribute something to the plot.

Since I've already talked about how wonderful Sarah Sutton is, let me turn my attention to the other actors. One of the - well, not "delights", but perhaps "unexpected surprises" - of this story is what a great rapport Tom Baker and Matthew Waterhouse have. Adric really does work very well as the Doctor's sole tutee - it's no wonder he got a bit petulant when the TARDIS got so stuffed and the Doctor quit paying so much attention to him. (Especially if, as seems to be the case, he was an orphan - the Doctor must have been rather like a father figure to him.) Here, he's great - Adric and the Doctor have an easy friendship, he's very devoted, he's clever at coming up with solutions and he gets to show off his mathematical ingenuity. Nyssa, even as bright as she is, ends up playing second fiddle to his genius. His alien nature also gets re-emphasized with his ignorance about the put-your-hands-up concept (I like the way that Adric balls up his fists, rather than leaving his hands less threateningly open). Waterhouse also does a great job of looking convincingly terrified when the Doctor grabs him from behind. So it's really quite a good story for Adric. The Doctor seems a bit subdued here, perhaps as a consequence of being under threat of death for practically the entire story, but he still handles the situation lightheartedly and gets in a few good jokes. It's interesting to see the fourth Doctor and Nyssa interacting, since Nyssa's character practically seems designed to match the fifth Doctor, but they make a good team as well, the Doctor seeming particularly protective of her. Incidentally, Tom Baker does an amazing job of not blinking during the scene in which the Master renders him immobile. I tried to see if I could hold out as long as he did, and it was very difficult.

Of the other actors involved, Anthony Ainley is by far the most impressive. Tremas comes across as a broadminded scientist, a caring husband and father, and a devoted friend - in short, an excellent character, very well acted by Ainley. Aside from the voice (that giveaway sibilant 's') and the eyes, it's hard to believe we're watching the same man who will be providing the Doctor with an arch-nemesis for the next eight years. On the other end of the scale, we have Sheila Ruskin, who is just a little bit overdramatic for my taste. She's far from bad, but her acting isn't exactly subtle either; a good case in point is "The evil is here before you! Before your eyes!" after which she twirls around, hands splayed just so around her face, and then dramatically collapses / lays down on the floor with a little sigh. I wouldn't lay the blame entirely at Ruskin's feet either; Kassia is just plain not sympathetic, because from the moment we meet her, it's clear that her devotion to her Melkur borders on the unhealthily obsessive, and things just get worse from there. Once she becomes Keeper-nominate, she's almost insufferably pompous, the way she starts immediately and nonchalantly throwing orders about. If we just had a chance to get to know the sweet Kassia that Tremas married, we might feel more pity for the way the Master uses her (and clearly she does have that side to her, as shown by the aforementioned devotion to her Melkur, and also in that her motivation isn't initially evil, it's just because she loves Tremas so much, she doesn't want to lose him to the Keepership). Somewhere in the middle between these two fall the other characters. Of the remaining Consuls, the most successful is probably Margot van der Burgh as Katura, whose stern demeanor contrasts with her genuine desire to do the right thing. In the last couple of episodes, Robin Soans' Luvic begins to shine - it turns out he's rather sweet and self-effacing ("Oh, I do not have such greatness in me"), meaning that he'll probably be an ideal Keeper. Seron, as played by John Woodnutt, doesn't really last long enough to make much of an impression, but I do like the fact that he seems to be the only one who realizes that Kassia's up to no good, and treats her accordingly. Then we have Roland Oliver as Neman, whose single personality trait - his deep love of material wealth - is put to quite good use in the plot, and in fact we get the impression that he doesn't really care about much else other than money. Certainly he's not willing to go out of his way to do the right thing, unless he's getting reimbursed for his troubles. Geoffrey Beevers makes an interesting Master, although of course he's not in the same league as Delgado or Ainley (as he is, in effect, playing a completely different character in many ways), but he does a very frightening scream when his Melkur-ship goes up in flames. Finally, there's Denis Carey as the titular Keeper, who is another fantastic character. Carey's Keeper is aged and wizened, but very compassionate and very wise. It's easy to understand how Traken was so prosperous, in such good hands as his.

The story is helped immensely by the opulent décor, from the verdant fronds of the Grove to the gold-trimmed glass panels surrounding the Keeper's richly-upholstered throne. The Traken court clothes, with their velvet tunics, puffed sleeves, diaphanous fabrics and deep swirling colors, are also very appealing. Nyssa and Kassia (in particular) also get very attractive eye shadow to match their costumes (although, as long as we're discussing costumes, I think Nyssa's tiara looks a bit funny, kind of clunky). The Keeper, on the other hand, gets a most unusual makeup job that succeeds in making him look very very old, but also makes him look like a fish (the smooth domed head, his pale complexion, and his posture in the chair). The Melkur is a definite success - it looks very much like stone (and looks really cool with moss growing on it), I love the angular design (particular around its eyes and mouth) and it looks quite scary both when its eyes glow red and when it walks.

Direction is nice; my favorite is the lovely shot of the Grove at night. There aren't a whole lot of effects in this story; the only one that doesn't look so good is the electric-net effect, whereas others are pretty good (the eye-beams, the way Melkur fades in and out before vanishing as his Keeper power fluctuates, and the gun being propelled out of Tremas' hand) and some are just great (opening and closing the atmosphere safe, which looks absolutely flawless, and the scroll that bursts into flames and ash while Tremas holds it). The ion-bonder, oddly, shoots different-colored beams apparently on a whim - they're green for Nyssa, but purple for the Doctor, and thereafter they sometimes alternate back and forth even in a single shot!

Probably given how much of a Nyssa fan I was as a child (and still am today), it's not surprising that I have some pretty strong memories of this story from childhood. I distinctly remember thinking that Traken was pronounced 'tray-ken'; this must have come from reading about it in books, because I'm sure I had seen the story at that point. I think the point when I figured out the correct pronunciation was when I was in first grade (so, probably in 1983), because I remember going to the home (well, trailer) of a woman from church named Von, along with my friend Patric, and watching probably episode 1 of this story, and realizing that I'd been mispronouncing it. It must have been on a Sunday after the morning church service, because I think we had to leave before it was quite finished (probably to go to the evening service) and I was rather sad about missing the rest. My other strong memory of this story is going to a bookstore - not long thereafter, I'm sure - and asking the saleslady to help me find the novelization of Traken. Amazingly, she did - it was right there among the other Doctor Who books, and I don't think I even knew it was out yet - and when I took it to the register, I was so excited, and I thanked her for helping me because I would never have found it otherwise. ('cause, you know, I'd never have thought to look in the Who section...!) I think I was particularly delighted with the drawing of Nyssa on the cover (which I still love, to this day).

Minor points:

• The Doctor and the Keeper have clearly never met before, but the Keeper acts as though he knows the Doctor. Has he been observing him from afar?

• The Keeper tells the Doctor, "But unlike you, my time of dissolution is near." Clearly he hadn't yet watched the very next story.

• Among all the other Traken culture that we get, I like that we get a glimpse of their language as well, with the definition of melkur. Shame that's all we get, but it's better than nothing!

• The Keeper acts very portentous when he tells the Doctor about the danger he will face on Traken, apparently including power that could obliterate a Time Lord. But what exactly is he talking about? The Source? I suppose it could obliterate a Time Lord when used the way the Master plans to use it, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be anything quite that threatening on the planet.

• I like the unusual (in Doctor Who terms) narrative device of putting the early exposition in flashback form - it's a nice way to catch the audience up at the same time as the Doctor and Adric, and of course it works quite well in the context, given the vast powers of the Keeper to do such things.

• Why exactly does the Doctor start looking in his old journals? Is it really that important to find out if he's ever been to Traken before? That plotline seems to go nowhere, so I didn't get the impression it was all that vital to the story. Was it just filler?

• Nice performance from Waterhouse, as Adric tries to decipher the Doctor's journals:

  Adric: "As for your handwriting -"
  Doctor: "Handwriting? What about my handwriting?"
  Adric: (smiling insincerely) "It's marvellous."

• Apparently the Traken Union encompasses at least three planets, possibly all five seen in the Mettula Orionsis system - so do we assume from this that, despite outward appearances, Traken is spacefaring? At least over small distances?

• Despite what fandom would have us believe, and despite my personal preference, the adjective (or noun) for something or someone from Traken is not "Trakenite". It's "Traken", or at least that's what Tremas seems to believe on three separate occasions. We get "Trakens have survived times like this in the past", "The Keeper said one would come amongst us to help Trakens" (groan) and "The bioelectronics only permit a Traken to succeed to the Keepership." I wonder where exactly "Trakenite" came from? (not that I'm sorry; I like it much better, and it sounds much less clunky.)

• Mmm, apparently eggplants are a prime crop on Traken. Tasty. Looks like they eat them for breakfast, too. (Then again, maybe they're eggplant-looking fruits?)

• In an odd bit of mispronunciation, Matthew Waterhouse says, "[The Doctor] must see this, Neesa." Just like my linguistics students always did when I used "Nyssa" in a syntax example (such as "Nyssa destroyed the android with the sonic booster" - disambiguate!).

• When the Master is trying to hide his identity from the audience, he does some rather out-of-character things. First, he dismissively calls the Doctor "Time Lord" (as if he isn't one?) and later, as if having been previously unaware of the Doctor's tendency to royally mess up all his plans, comes to the sudden realization that "it is clear now he must be destroyed"!

• Perhaps as revenge, the Doctor (and occasionally others) insists on calling him "Melkor" up until episode 4.

• I'm always sad that Katura catches Nyssa trying to slip into the Grove behind Adric. Why does she have to be kept out of all the fun? However, I suppose since this is the reason that she gets to so dramatically rescue them from prison later, I can let it slide.

• A great line from the Keeper, as Kassia hovers in the background looking guilty:

  Seron: "Your judgment, Keeper?"
  Keeper: "You are blameless, Seron, but doomed. And we are both betrayed."

• Why is it that Kassia's eye-beams kill Seron, but only stun Tremas? Did love conquer all?

• I love the cliffhanger to episode two... it's very atypical (no action, really, just a vague threat) but very ominous!

• There's a very odd drippy noise in the penal wing, as though it's built inside a cavern, or at least underground. But, if the staging of Nyssa's rescue is to be believed (she ion-bonds Neman right outside the main doors, from which the Consuls later emerge), the penal wing would seem to be adjacent to the sanctum!

• A quote from the Doctor that's just as relevant today as it ever was:

  Doctor: "New technology dates so quickly these days."

• Hee, the Doctor pockets Nyssa's ion bonder... clearly he realized what a cool device it was, too! Good thing for him that she didn't protest the way Romana would have.

• I really like the tense scene in which the Doctor and Tremas try to persuade Katura not to complete Kassia's transition to Keepership, while she eggs Katura on from within the Keeper's chamber. The moment when Katura declares "Transition complete!" is actually quite tense because you know something's about to happen, but you're not exactly sure what.

• It's interesting that we get a couple of peeks forward into the rest of the trilogy here, with the Doctor saying "Talking of entropy..." and later discussing "a recursive integrator".

• Tom Baker's best delivery of the story, as Neman and his armed Fosters enter Tremas' quarters:

  Doctor: "Ah, Neman. How nice."
  (He raises one hand and waves.)

• So a light skull-tap knocks out all three Fosters? I find that hard to believe. One would think they would moan a bit, but get right back up, even angrier thanks to their new throbbing headaches. But I'm sure it would've been impossible to make the Doctor any more violent than he was already being!

• It sure is nice that the Source Manipulator just happens to have a couple of unconnected leads lying around inside the panel!

• There's a very cool and tense scene in which Melkur forces Tremas (looking both vacuous and unwilling at the same time) to shoot Neman, and then nearly to shoot himself. With even the Doctor looking unresponsive, it's pretty creepy.

• So inside the Master's TARDIS, the Doctor can be rendered immobile... except for his vocal tract. (A conceit on the part of the Master, perhaps?) Although see above, re: eyelids!

• So, the Melkur is the Master's "new ship", which has some TARDIS similarities (roundelled walls, the black paint scheme, and some degree of dimensional transcendence) and some not (eye-shaped viewscreens with a conventional console, and a door that seems to be made of glass). As the Master's old TARDIS is parked inside, that implies that this ship isn't a TARDIS (perhaps it's hooked up to his TARDIS, thus enabling its materialization and dematerialization), unless he's just using the original as a backup ship in the event of an emergency? It's kind of unclear!

• Katura strolls past Tremas and, in a nice bit of clunky exposition, tells him that the new Keeper has now been inaugurated. Yeeees, and wouldn't Tremas also have been there for that?!

• I wonder, when Tremas tells Nyssa he wants to stay behind and look into something, what was he planning on doing? It sounds like a convenient excuse to get him alone with the Master, to me. (Although I'm sure they had nothing of the sort in mind, oh no.)

• Okay, the final moments of this story are creepy in the extreme. Nightmarish, in fact. The whole "being unable to move while the monster creeps up on you and kills you" thing is deeply frightening (and worked quite well in Fendahl and Stones of Blood, too). This scene alone is certainly the most memorable of the story, maybe of the whole season - not least because it thoroughly jars with what was shaping up to be a nice happy ending. Shudder, shudder. And poor confused Nyssa is a very distressing sight. (For that reason alone, it's nice that she got kept on, to provide her with some closure!) On a more positive note, it also provides a really superb introductory scene for our new Master.

• As the credits rolled on episode 4, and people saw the name "Tremas" again, I wonder how many of them said "Ohhhhh!"

All in all, a fun story. It's a little dark and a little overblown, but it's got great performances by the regulars, an excellent introduction to both Ainley and Sutton, and a really wonderful new alien society. Such a shame it didn't last...