A besmirched Dr.... hiptho | Doctor Who - Keeper of Traken (Episode 115)

"If I knew everything that was going to happen, where would the fun be?" | Doctor Who - Keeper of Traken (Episode 115) | Tom Baker

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	• Doctor Who - Keeper of Traken (Episode 115) Tom Baker BBC Warner, 2007 average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

this is NOT going to be released in wide screen that is misinformation

The show was recorded in TV format wide screen is impossible and the info is wrong. Traken was one of the better Doctor Whos and the best of Nathan Turner(who later cheapend and went to pot in a laurle in the Davison-McCoy eras). Very atmpsheric like most of Tom Baker's Late 70's/early 80's from Ribos to Creature from the Pit(and I'll not be second guessed for thinking it was superb despite others 'opinions' of it!) as well as the bulk of season 18 with serious stories for more mature audiences and well placed actors and sets. I am surprised they are releasing Traken and Logopolis(even thouhg they are the best of them) as most people don't like the gothic brainy non-flashy Doctor Whos in theatrical format. And how dare Carolin John say you have to be an old foogie to like this I am 36 and I got hooked in highschool becasue of this "boring" stuff. And to not sound like a Nyssa of Traken young foggie in old folks towne, my H.S buds talked about these "last Baker Season" in class all the time. these Turner shows(before his laurel resting place in the inner sanctum) were the talk of the school and the subject of art class drawings(to my shock). right next to my taco bell clay mod sht and the 'dog faced boy'

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A besmirched Dr.... hiptho

A lot of anagrams went into the making of "The Keeper of Traken". That's the fact you'll remember best after watching the story's DVD release. Three of the four guest commentators (author Johnny Byrne, and actors Matthew Waterhouse and Anthony Ainley) make much play of the origins of the names "Adric" and "Tremas". For fun, Ainley also comes up with an anagram for story editor "Christopher H. Bidmead". The result is reprinted in the title of this review, and it almost makes sense.

Of course, "The Keeper of Traken" doesn't need a whole lot of effort invested into the DVD to highlight its strong points. Tom Baker's penultimate story is one of "Doctor Who"'s finest-looking entries. The combination of Byrne's first "Who" script, a small well-portrayed cast of characters, Roger Limb's melodious background score (so unlike his later militaristic "DW" themes), and the intricately designed sets make "Traken" a joy to watch.

Waterhouse played the sole companion in this story -- a rare instance where the Doctor has no female companions. But while the much-maligned Adric has taken his lumps in mainstream fandom for a quarter-century now, "Traken" stands as one of his better stories. Waterhouse and Tom Baker's exchange of witty banter for this story's first three minutes works very well and stands as a "what might have been", had not the changing nature of the production removed Baker from the cast and added two extra companions to the TARDIS within a matter of weeks.

The plot's fairly simple, though it's spiced up, as with all Season 18 stories, by Bidmead's keen ear for techno-babble. "The Keeper of Traken" is really a morality play at heart, dressed up with the science of "bio-electronics". When Kassia (Sheila Ruskin, the story's weakest link) tries to save her husband by turning to an inanimate extraterrestrial Evil, the Melkur (Geoffrey Beevers provides the voice for an unnamed stuntman in an uncomfortable looking costume), Traken's paradise falls apart. Not merely in an array of pyrotechnics, however, or in a display of histrionic acting, although those are both on display. Rather, it's the minor flaws in each individual which Melkur exploits to bring paradise to its knees. Pulling the strings is the most flawed individual of them all -- for Melkur cloaks an even greater threat, the dying Master, last seen thwarted in "The Deadly Assassin".

Pay special note to Anthony Ainley's first Doctor Who appearance -- though he doesn't become the Master until the story's final minute, it's all here! The over-acting! The snarled words! The incomprehensible stressing of odd syllables! As the Master within the Melkur wields ever great power over first Kassia and then over the entire planet, characters fall prey to their own vices -- greed for money, greed for power, and in one notable case, one character done in by his own compulsive honesty. The story ends on one of Doctor Who's rare tragic notes -- but fortunately, to quote Melkur, this is only the beginning, and for the Return of the Master story arc, the best is yet to come.

The DVD release of "Traken" features one of the more entertaining commentary tracks, devoid of the repetitive on-set anecdotes that plague a lot of the releases of Troughton and Pertwee-era episodes. Episode writer Johnny Byrne spends a lot of time describing the thought processes that went into his development of the world of Traken, and both Waterhouse and Sarah Sutton are clearly fascinated by his ideas of the millennial society -- both separately express regret that they didn't speak to him during production and thus missed out on a lot of his intended themes. Waterhouse does spend far too much time repeating lines of dialogue and reading the closing credits in a baroque voice, however.

The nicest discovery on the commentary is Anthony Ainley, who recorded this track (and one brief video clip as an Easter egg) shortly before his death in 2004. He doesn't speak much, but his interest in the script, the sets, and the anagrams all lend great value to the track. It's a shame he never recorded another.

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"If I knew everything that was going to happen, where would the fun be?"

The "Keeper of Traken" is doomed. Well, yes, he's nearing the end of his millennial lifespan here, but I mean this storyline is doomed, doomed to be eclipsed by the pivotal storyline following on its heels, doomed to be merely the beginning of the end for Tom Baker's tenure as the Doctor, doomed ever to be the prologue. Which is to some degree intentional, since it's clearly written in such a way as to loosely link up with "Logopolis"--and the Traken Keeper's impending demise subtly foreshadows the Fourth Doctor's. Or sets the tone for it anyway. And yet this is an exceptionally fine story in its own right and on its own terms, a classic tale of cosmic cycles, succession crises, and deceitful tempters in the midst of harmonious gardens (no, not Paradise Towers).

Indeed, this story is really mythological in scope and tone, doubly so in fact, with subtle and sophisticated but discernible echoes both of the old Arthurian legends of a faltering and rising king whose biorhythms are keyed into those of nature and society and of the serpent in the Garden of Eden from Genesis. All of this gives "The Keeper of Traken" an eerily unusual level of depth and mystique, and yet these archaic themes are alchemically transformed into science fiction motifs very much at home in the "Doctor Who" fictional universe in ways that are not only plausible but compelling. This kind of alchemy is (and has been) easily botched, too, so this is quite an achievement. The story is anchored squarely in reality though by a number of means, including a finely crafted script with many little comments and scenes adding up to give a real sense of a complex functioning Traken society, incredibly good acting by the supporting cast (including Anthony Ainley, who makes Tremas totally believable as a person), and some of the most gorgeously imaginative sets and costumes you'll ever see on "Doctor Who" (and that's saying a lot).

There's a lot more to commend in this story, too. Tom Baker is still giving the role of the Doctor his all even though at this point he could take it easy (what are they going to do, fire him?), the Doctor's mentoring relationship with Adric is still endearing at this early stage, Nyssa is gradually introduced rather nicely as the story progresses, and the return of an old arch-foe is weaved rather neatly into the story and hinted at elusively until the end. Plus there's an unintentionally funny incident (funny in a grade school way) obviating any need for a bloopers reel as a DVD extra.

But wouldn't you know, after praising this story to high heaven on its own merits alone, I'm going to go and mention that it's also included in a DVD set along with those next two storylines ever overshadowing it, and actually recommend this set in terms of good old convenience and simple economics. Yes, unless you have a specific interest exclusively in "The Keeper of Traken" (your cousin was the cameraman, say), the fervent "Doctor Who" fans amongst you might as well go with Doctor Who - New Beginnings (The Keeper of Traken / Logopolis / Castrovalva). But please do make sure to savor this fine storyline on its own before rushing to the next DVDs in the set. It's well worth it.

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Good Chemistry - Too Bad Baker Winding Down

I just re-watched this story for the first time in many years. I was struck by a few things, most of them positive.

First, this is the first time we have seen the Doctor without Romana in three Seasons. I loved the Romana character, but it is refreshing to see Baker without her or K-9. Second, the chemistry between Baker and Matthew Waterhouse is very good. Had Baker done one more Season you could see this relationship developing nicely. I always felt we missed out on one final stage for the Baker Doctor. There is renewed energy in the Keeper of Traken and it would have been nice to see that continue. Although Baker was tiring of the role at this point, it was really Nathan-Turner wanting him to leave that ultimately pushed Tom Baker out.

Waterhouse and Davison clearly did not have the same chemistry and the Davison Doctor dismissed Adric right from the beginning. Also, Nathan-Turner unfortunately overloaded the TARDIS with far too many companions when Davison started and the Adric character was the one that lost out. Sorry Tegan fans, but they should have killed her off with her Auntie in Logopolis.

The only disapointment watching this again after so many years is the return of the Master. I was glad to see the Master back, but the build up is so long, and Baker's scene with him at the end of the 4th episode so short, that in the end it is a little ani-climactic. I know it is just setting the stage for the next episodes, but they could have made the Master's appearance a little more dramatic.

Overall an excellent and refreshing Baker episode. This is truly one of the last of the Great Doctor Who adventures as the series under John Nathan-Turner begins a downward spiral after this, until finally you get to the Sylvester McCoy adventures which look like cheesy home videos. Enjoy this from the end of Doctor Who's Golden Age.

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Underrated fourth doctor story

The Keeper of Traken is a great story, and it comes together well as a finished product. In fact it's one of the better of the fourth Doctor's later adventures. Tom Baker is in fine form, rapidly delivering his ever-witty witticisms with great speed and eccentricity, and, as critic Ed Martin noted in a review on Outpost Gallifrey, though Baker looked noticeably older in his final season (which I actually liked, by the way) he is here more charismatic than he's been in quite some time. The dialogue all-around is great--far more intelligent than the dialogue of most other television shows, and this coming from a show that was intended to be for children! (Watching it now it amazes me that I watched this stuff as a small child, considering what kids nowadays watch.) Adric's exchanges with the Doctor are particularly good, and demonstrate where the producers were probably trying to go with the character, with Adric playing the eager student to the Doctor's teacher role. Again though, it is Tom Baker who positively shines here. His lines are excellent, and Baker shows us a resplendent glimpse of the vim and vigor that he commonly displayed before John Nathan-Turner made it a point to subdue and suffocate him.

The plot of Keeper of Traken is very good sci fi, filled with many clever and original ideas. The image of the woman consulting the ominous statue in the grove has always been a slightly creepy one to me. The music is fantastic, we get to meet Nyssa for the first time, and the Master makes his return in what is the setup for the fourth Doctor's demise.

Johnny Byrne served up one clever little script for this one. He then left for Greece and the ever-meddling John Nathan-Turner insisted on inserting the Master into the mix. This didn't hurt the story much, though naming the lead councilman `Tremas,' an anagram for `Master,' doesn't really make sense given that in the story Tremas actually is not the Master. The Master is the decrepit little burned up man inside the TARDIS. Of special note here is Anthony Ainley's acting. I had always thought he was a TERRIBLE actor, but here he is turning in an amazing performance! It turns out (and I should have known) that he was later made to ham it up as the Master by the master meddler, John Nathan-Turner (the man who ruined Who).

For a laugh, watch for the infamous scene in the third episode right before Nyssa frees the Doctor from the jail cell. Tom Baker has something huge hanging out of his nose through the whole scene--how it was missed and ever made it to the final cut is beyond me!

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Traken is a planet ruled by the all-powerful Keeper who reigns for a thousand years and ensures that his subjects live a life of tranquillity and harmony. Now the Keeper is dying. Summoned by the ailing Keeper the Doctor and Adric discover that all uis not well on Traken. An evil presence threatens the future of the planet - an evil that knows all about the Doctor. (Episodes 1-4 98 mins)Running Time: 98 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 794051401021 Manufacturer No: E4010

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