The Marian Conspiracy is a fantastic story. I wanted to get that out of the way first. It’s a true historical story, albeit one with a time nexus thingummy added for no real reason. I may be being dim but I can’t see why the nexus point arises in the first place and how it is repaired again. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.

I wanted to talk about the cliff-hangers. Now Jac Rayner must be pretty keen on the old Doctor Who. For a start she is female and still enjoys the show, for another she is a gorgeous female who still enjoys the show. And puts her name on books and CDs rather than skulking in the shadows and putting the cover of Heat magazine over DWM when she wants to read it on the bus. Or whatever glam mode of transport a sexpot like Jac takes of a morning.

The first cliff-hanger is described thusly by Simon Catlow’s Tertiary Console Room site. "When Evelyn mistakes the toast as being for Queen Elizabeth, she soon finds out that Mary is Queen and Elizabeth is considered a usurper. Her supporters are traitors and death is their reward!" End music. Pause. Start music. Reprise and… suddenly the people who were telling Evelyn they would execute her as a traitor announce that they’re actually supporters of Elizabeth and that they want her to become queen. Evelyn is not going to be executed after all. Which is a good thing as we like her but a poor dramatic resolution to a great end of episode. One of the consequences of travelling in time with the Doctor is that you rarely end up where you’re going. The idea that one casual remark which would’ve been fine if you’d been where you should’ve been but which could mean death if the Doctor slightly out with his co-ordinates is a strong one.

The third cliff-hanger is equally insulting. Once more we visit the Tertiary Console Room for their description. "When Evelyn surmises that the Doctor is the father of her ancestor, the Doctor reminds her that if she is correct, she won't be going anywhere herself as her ancestor's father was executed by Queen Mary..." This revolves around the name Smith (which the Doctor, as usual, has adopted) which the beginning of Part Four assures us is the most common name in London and so the established history book which, a moment earlier had condemned the Doctor to death, could now be talking about almost anyone in the capital.

Of course we are used to bad cliff hanger payoffs. That goes with the turf. From the re-shot scene which removes the previous week’s danger (a la Flash Gordon) to the firing squad which suddenly stops what it is doing because the Doctor shouts "wait" and they obey. But the Marian Conspiracy’s two cited examples are somehow worse. The danger created is rendered completely false because it is neutralised immediately the next episode begins. There is no period of discovery where what was thought to be true was discovered to be false.

But that is really the only flaw in the story. In tackling Queen Mary rather than the more traditional Henry VIII or Elizabeth I, Jac sets herself a interesting problem. All that is known about this six-year monarch is that she had a lot of non-Catholics burned as heretics. There is a fine line to be trod when dealing with people who committed such crimes. Be too soft on them and you implicitly agree with their beliefs, be too hard on them and you lazily perpetuate the existing image. Rayner presents Mary as a basically good woman who only wants to help her people. Her methods were wrong but she is shown to have a good heart. We will never know if this is a true reflection on her or not but it’s nice to know that Doctor Who’s educational origins are alive and well forty years later.
 

CD Facts

Part 1 - Tracks 1-6

Part 2 - Tracks 7-11

Part 3 - Tracks 1-5

Part 4 - Tracks 6-12