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| Image (c) Big Finish Productions Ltd |
Landing on Earth in search of the fourth segment of the Key to Time, the Doctor and Romana clash with the haughty and ruthless Millicent, Lady Ferril. Her body rebuilt after an accident in space, the sculptor, astronomer and former astronaut is engaged in mysterious experiments; experiments that, as so often happens, could spell disaster for the entire world.
Set between The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara, Ferril's Folly is told from alternating perspectives by Romana and Lady Ferril, each a fierce and determined woman convinced of her superiority, and by far the best elements of the play are where the switch in narrative reveals their divergent perceptions (such as when Ferril describes sweeping out magnificently, but Romana sees her storm off in a huff.)
The story fits neatly into a style of story common to Who, in which an alien force renders inanimate objects - in this case, anything metal - hostile. It's a scary idea, and unhampered by visual effects considerations is well-realised here.
The behind the scenes feature is a little melancholy here, as Tamm recounts her enjoyment of recording for the Chronicles and her desire to do another. While she would return for a number of full-cast plays with Tom Baker, this was to be her last Chronicle before her death in 2013*. I get the same sort of emotion listening to The Three Companions and in particular The Last Post, Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John's final Big Finish projects (reviews still to come).
Just one more story left in this fifth series of The Companion Chronicles, as Peter Purves and Tom Allen present the second Oliver Harper story, The Cold Equations.
* Correction; she would reappear in one of the four short segments of Tales from the Vault in series 6.
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