Mary’s Story

It was while we were there one dreary night in June that I first met the traveller known as the Doctor.

Mary Shelley

Synopsis

Switzerland, 1816: at the Villa Diodati, Lord Byron’s house guests tell each other tales to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart. With a monster on the loose outside, young Mary Shelley isn’t short of inspiration…

Review

Of the four stories in The Company of Friends, Mary’s Story is the anomaly. Whilst the other three stories feature companions who have already had adventures with the Doctor, this one marks the start of the adventure for a new companion in the shape of Mary Shelley.

This story is gothically dark, with the Doctor dying and being brought back to life by Shelley’s husband and friends. It also combines having a science fiction, time-travelling resolution. The elder Doctor arrives scarred and near death, and following his death, gets shocked by Percy Shelley. A lot happens in the space of this 30-minute story! Of course, we’ve relatively recently seen the Thirteenth Doctor meet Mary Shelley et al. at the Villa Diodati in one of my favourite episodes of the Whittaker era. I suppose we can acknowledge both stories and perhaps the Eighth Doctor’s travels with Mary are erased as a result of the Time War.

Julie Cox plays Mary Shelley really well and, given only half an hour to shine, does so really well. Mary Shelley has all the hallmarks of a good companion – she wants to get away from her cheating husband and her half-sister who know that she knows about their infidelity but continue anyway. Mary is compassionate and sees beyond the mutated older Eighth Doctor. The parallels to Frankenstein are obvious but they work well within the context of the story. I’m intrigued to go into this trilogy of stories with Mary travelling with the Eighth Doctor.

Paul McGann pulls double duty as an older and younger Doctor to good effect in this story. It’s easy to imagine that the older Doctor has come from shortly before The Night of the Doctor, whilst the younger one is much more Tigger-ish. McGann distinguishes them really well, which is no mean feat. The older Doctor is much more grumpy and world-weary, and frustrated by his younger  self.

Verdict: Mary’s Story sets up intriguing adventures for the Doctor and his new companion. 8/10

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Julie Cox (Mary Shelley), Anthony Glennon (Percy Shelley), Robert Forknall (Lord Byron), Ian Hallard (John Polidori) & Katrina Cooke (Claire Clairmont).

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Director: Nicholas Briggs

Music and Sound: Thea Cochrane

Main Range Release Number: 123d

Release Date: 28 July 2009

Behind the Scenes

• This story pays off on a nearly decade-long gag of the Eighth Doctor knowing Mary Shelley.
• The story acknowledges comics, prose and audio continuities, and is the first story to try and tie those continuities together.
• Since this story’s release, the television show has depicted a separate version of events with the Thirteenth Doctor in The Haunting of Villa Diodati.

Cast Notes

• Anthony Glennon also appeared in Paper Cuts.
• Ian Hallard has appeared in Robot of Sherwood. He has also appeared in An Earthly Child, Primeval and Neverland.

Best Quote

You have to remember it’s very important. Frankenstein is the name of the monster and not the name of the Doctor.

The Eighth Doctor