"The Catalyst"
by Nigel Fairs

The wonderful second series of The Companion Chronicles draws to a close with The Catalyst, a story by Nigel Fairs featuring the Fourth Doctor, which is narrated by ex-companion actress Louise Jameson.

Leela of the Sevateem is alone. Her adopted home of Gallifrey is gone, and she is imprisoned by an unknown captor, towards the end of her prolonged life. She has a story to tell: an adventure with the Doctor, in which the pair visit one of his former companions, and she encounters an alien they had imprisoned. But when the prisoner is accidentally freed, what will be the consequences?

As is so often the case with the Companion Chronicles series, The Catalyst is very much a product of the Fourth Doctor and Leela's era on television, slotting in neatly in terms of mood (and even adding a little to the continuity of the series in a number of ways). The storyline is good, building up slowly at first but soon gathering some satisfying speed, and rattling along in an engrossing and unpredictable manner from there. Fairs is clearly a fan of Leela's character, and his depiction of her shows how much he understands her character; we see her here at her most intelligent and well-defined, a far cry from the more generic role she took on in some episodes.

But it's the work of the narrator that makes The Catalyst so stunning. Without meaning any disrespect to the previous narrators in this series - who have all been good and enjoyable - none of them quite match Louise Jameson. More than anyone else so far, she really sells this story, infusing every syllable with emotion and realism. The character of Leela was arguably one of the most unique and daring ideas ever introduced into Doctor Who, and that individuality carries over into Jameson's performance, which is quite unlike anything The Companion Chronicles have produced so far. And it is unquestionably a "performance" rather than just a reading, with unexpected effort and variation put into the story's cast of supporting characters. As Jameson admits on the CD's extras, she struggles with mimicking Tom Baker's voice and speech patterns, but nonetheless she creates and maintains a consistent voice and mood for the Doctor throughout.

Her problems with the Doctor's voice don't become too great an issue, though, because he is absent for much of the story. In the present day sections of the story, Leela speculates that the Doctor saw her as an equal, and that's something which Fairs reflects in the flashback plot. Leela takes on the Doctor's role, with the young Jessica playing companion, and the interactions between the two as they explore together are very reminiscent of the traditional Doctor/companion dynamic. This approach pushes Leela to the fore, making The Catalyst a nice little celebration of her character.

The only bonus feature included on the disc this time is an enchanting but brief interview with Louise Jameson, which is wholly enjoyable but would benefit from being a little longer.

All in all, The Catalyst is a brilliant end to a strong season. It remains to be seen whether the high quality of these stories will be maintained when the third run begins, and The Companion Chronicles becomes a monthly series rather than a special event, but on the basis of this tale alone, it's easy to see why that decision was made: The Catalyst is a ridiculously good romp, and Louise Jameson needs to do more of these. Lots more.