'The Keeper of Traken'


Story 114
Transmitted 31 January - 21 February, 1981

Finally back in N-Space, the Doctor and Adric are called to the planet Traken where an advanced civilization thrives. A planet that cannot sustain any evil at all, Traken is a veritable paradise, until a creature lands only to be catered to and looked after in a feat of kindness. This proves to be a monumental undoing and brings the Doctor face to face with an enemy he had thought long dead.

The final year of Tom Baker's reign is a strange experience. The longest reigning actor in the role of the Doctor (to date), Tom Baker had crafted the character into an extension of himself. When interviewed years later when he returned to the part in a series of audios he laughingly stated that he'd never stopped being the Doctor because the Doctor was him. A rambunctious and wild actor in his first few years on Doctor Who, Tom Baker is humbled in his last few stories, a faded memory of the man he once was. I am unclear if this shift in portrayal was deliberate, but if it was by accident it is truly a moment of serendipity as it encapsulates the end of an era in perfect form. The Fourth Doctor in his final year is a faded, almost senile being, wandering about in a haze as the universe unravels around him.

It's brilliant.

Aside from the character of the Doctor changing, another unique aspect of series 18 is that it was script-edited by the brilliant Christopher H. Bidmead, a contributor to the New Scientist. The year's scripts were some of the most cerebral that the program had ever seen and very sharply written. Also, Barry Letts served as executive producer, shepherding newcomer John Nathan-Turner into the role that he would hold for the next 9 years onward. Letts had heralded the most tumultuous era of Doctor Who as it moved from the stars to Earth and from black and white to color in 1970. A masterful writer, actor, director and producer, his contribution had an indelible impact on the year's adventures.

Despite all of these impressive ingredients including the new opening sequence and signature tune, rating continued to fall from the previous year. Doctor Who was in need of a drastic change, but in the meantime it enjoyed some of the smartest and most lavishly produced episodes that it would screen for a decade on (the Davison, C. Baker and McCoy years had very uneven production values). The Keeper of Traken is a stop-gap between the E-Space Trilogy and the finale Logopolis so it often gets overlooked by fans (including yours truly). But as it was requested for review here we go.

The Keeper of Traken is well known for two things; introducing Nyssa and the return of the Master. It's almost like a set piece before the next movement. In the story, the Doctor is called upon by an ancient cosmic being known as the Keeper who seems to flit about on a fancy high-backed chair (much like the White Guardian). Traken is not only the home to a perfect civilization but also to 'The Source,' a massive source of energy the likes of which is nearly mythical. From time to time a poor misguided evil being would land of Traken but so powerful was the force of goodness on the planet that they would calcify and rot. The Keeper recounts much of this for the Doctor and Adric and tells them of the arrival of one particular evil creature, the Melkur, who was tended to in the garden by the fair Kassia. It all seems innocent e nough, but the Keeper is sure that destruction waits in this simple act of kindness. Showing the time travelers images of Kassia's wedding to Tremas, he insists that there is danger there but as he is nearing the end of his life he is powerless to intercede. He needs the Doctor's help.

Of course the Doctor and Adric step right into the mess that the Keeper predicted and are denounced as evil visitors who must be contained. Awkward. Using the intelligence of both Tremas and his daughter Nyssa, the Doctor and Adric attempt to unravel the mystery of the Keeper's warning as Melkur extends his influence through Kassia and moves to take complete control of the Source. Having wormed his way into her psyche through her well-meaning compassion, the Melkur's evil roots take hold only to blossom into full fledged deviltry.

Script writer Johnny Byrne was called in rather late in the game for a script. An established sci-fi writer from Gerry Anderson's Space: 1999, Byrne was familiar with the genre and had a mind for clever scripts (despite what you'd think from his later offerings Arc of Infinity and Warriors of the Deep). For Keeper of Traken, Byrne was mostly concerned with the planet itself and its culture. The Master didn't feature in his original script at all and the real conflict came instead from Kassia herself and her band of followers. At a late stage, JN-T stated that he wanted to bring the Master back and the villain was shoe-horned in by Christopher H. Bidmead while Byrne was on holiday. All things considered, I hardly notice the tampering and the script hardly feels as schizophrenic as you'd think given the circumstances.

Vintage off-air trailer
watch?v=RXDScGbM4UM

The Keeper of Traken is superbly designed. The costumes and sets are very stylish and evocative of the civilization that Johnny Byrne envisioned. A great looking program it is also an interesting mystery, if one that is maintained by social awkwardness more than anything else. It really is so British that the Doctor and Adric don't act sooner against the Melkur and that Tremas refuses to help the Doctor because of an oath that he took to his society. Never mind that all of creation hangs in the balance and that his wife has become an evil murderess with laser eyes, it's just not done! This may be why Keeper of Traken failed to really grab America viewers as we aren't ruled by social graces in the same way.

Much like many other Doctor Who adventures, large swathes of time are eaten up by getting captured and escaping again only to get recaptured. From within the stone statue that is the Melkur, a scarred and evil being watches the Doctor stumble about trying to vainly piece together the situation to no avail. When it is finally revealed that the Master is within the Melkur (which is really his TARDIS), things finally get interesting.

The Master hadn't been seen on TV in a dog's age and his appearance in Deadly Assassin was hardly memorable as he was no longer the suave Roger Delgado but a skeletal monster in a cloak. Keeper of Traken returns the dread and power of the Master under the skillful delivery of Geoffrey Beevers, an actor mainly known for voice work. As most of the Master's time in Keeper of Traken is off-screen line deliver, Beevers was the best man for the gig. The Master's anger seemed to be transformed to desperate rage in Deadly Assassin, but here it is honed to mad willful destruction on a cosmic scale. This is where the Master of the 80's was born and what a violent birth it is.

In addition to the amazing Anthony Ainley, Sheila Ruskin is just superb as Kassia. An actress so lovely that on the DVD commentary Ainley, Byrne and Matthre Waterhouse (Adric) can't help but go on about it at every turn. She plays the part of innocent beauty and devilish damsel so well that one can see why the Master wasn't even needed in the script. Actually, in retrospect I think that the Master's inclusion takes more away from Keeper of Traken than it brings. Weird.

The daughter of Tremas, Nyssa was the first companion that the BBC had to actually pay for. It's odd, but Johnny Byrne owned the character of Nyssa and was paid a fee every time she was used in the program. This, along with actress Sarah Sutton's lack of interest in the series, led to Nyssa's departure. As Nyssa is such a cypher on screen, I find this all terribly strange. An experienced child actress and trained dancer, Sutton is a delight to look at but her emotive prowess is seriously lacking. Paired with Matthew Waterhouse, her scenes nearly dissolve into the ether. Nevertheless, her introduction signposted a return to a more traditional traveling companion from the 60's era who was cute as a button and meekly waited to be rescued. Her brilliant scientific mind rarely suited her, unfortunately as the writers likely had n o idea what to do with it (aside from her great moment in The Visitation when she destroy's the Teraleptil robot).


Soon to be a mainstay of Doctor Who in the 1980's, Anthony Ainley as Tremas is great. His vocal range and physical presence make him instantly recognizable and even agreeable to the viewer as the clever and well-meaning scientist. This makes his inevitable transformation into the Master all the more tragic. It's a chilling scene as the Master reaches out and takes Tremas' form, melting into a youthful yet sinister version of the Traken scientist.

In the final analysis, the Keeper of Traken is hardly a classic. Directed skillfully but with such a slow pace featuring a cast mainly dressed in soft velour, it is easy to fall asleep to. Despite all that, it is a well executed science fiction adventure with a compelling cast, inspired setting and some interesting twists and turns. It may not be your favorite, but Keeper of Traken deserves another look.

Recommended:

Doctor Who: New Beginnings (The Keeper of Traken / Logopolis / Castrovalva)

Doctor Who: The E-Space Trilogy - Full Circle/State of Decay/Warriors' Gate