Doctor Who review: The Syndicate is revealed in The Perfect Prisoners – Part 1
By James Aggas
The Fourth Doctor finds out a lot more about the Syndicate in the first part of the finale, Doctor Who: The Perfect Prisoners. But are there greater dangers closer to home?
The opening of Doctor Who: The Perfect Prisoners – Part 1 lets you know exactly what kind of story to expect. The Fourth Doctor and Ann are hot on the trail of the Syndicate and stopping another of their insane schemes. In fact, we pretty much catch them in the middle of another adventure. For us – and for them – everything seems to be business as usual.
Only not quite. Because there’s something else going on. Something more than just the danger of the Syndicate itself. Something that the audience has been aware of since Time’s Assassin, but the Doctor has no clue about.
It’s actually refreshing for the audience to be aware of a major danger that the Doctor currently has no idea about, especially as it helps to build up the suspense of the story. It’s a bold idea, but it works, and really helps to make this series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures stand out so much more than the others.
The Perfect Prisoners not only begins to resolve the arc of the series, but also deepens its connections to a much-loved classic…
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Connections to an older Master Plan…
The main bulk of the story – or rather, this half of the story – really focuses on the Syndicate like never before. We find out who they are, and what their connection to the Doctor is. We also find out exactly what their grand scheme really is. But is there something else going on…?
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As proven by The Mind Runners/The Demon Rises last year, John Dorney is really fantastic at writing an excellent conspiracy thriller, and that’s exactly what The Perfect Prisoners is. This is only the first half of the story, so we’re really only getting a great deal of buildup. But we’re also getting plenty of answers, too, which is definitely satisfying.
This story also deepens its connections to an earlier classic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. We’ve had sequels or connections to other classic serials this season, such as the popular beasts from Carnival of Monsters appearing in Planet of the Drashigs.
But the original Master Plan story is one that’s been leaving a lot of impact, especially in The False Guardian and Time’s Assassin. The Perfect Prisoners – Part 1 builds on this even more. Especially when we get to a major cliffhanger. It’s an ending that’s well built-up, and promises to radically change things in the second half of the story…
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Have you listened to the first half of The Perfect Prisoners? Do you think it’s a strong conspiracy story? Did you enjoy the connections it has with The Daleks’ Master Plan? Let us know in the comments below.