Doctor Who: The Renaissance Man

With my review of the opening episode in this series of Fourth Doctor stories, Destination: Nerva, I have to admit that I was on the generous side, forgiving some of the foibles on the grounds of what I felt the story was aiming for. And, in fairness, it did largely succeed in that aim, if not much else. Here, there is no need for such generosity, since, while it is not without its flaws, The Renaissance Man succeeds as a story in its own right.

The Doctor and Leela find themselves in a 20th century village (the exact date is unclear, although it's probably in the first half of the century). They encounter a mysterious man, who it is evident from early on is using unorthodox methods to complete his collection of historical books and artefacts. From there, things get steadily stranger, as the setting begins to unravel.

It's one of those all-is-not-as-it-seems stories, but, while The Android Invasion is probably the closest analogy from this era of the TV show, it's very much its own story, and what's going on is quite different. It's an engaging tale, with good characterisation of both Four and Leela, building on the Pygmalion-like nature of their relationship.

On the downside, the fact that a number of the characters are, in the story, putting on different voices and personae does sometimes make it difficult to tell who is who. It's an issue that wouldn't arise on TV, so perhaps audio isn't the best possible medium for the story. There is also some heavy-handed moralising, with the script making it absolutely sure that we've understood the moral of the story, long after everyone will have got the message. (“I have learned something today!” says Leela at the end, in one of the few lines that's unintentionally corny).

Despite these flaws, the story works, and there are some unexpected twists and turns along the way. This time, it's an easy four stars. In all honesty, unless you're buying the whole season together for the discounted price (as I did), this is a better place to start than the actual first episode.