Reviews > Doctor Who: The Legacy > Ruins of Self II - Chapter Six
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Chapter Six Review by Sally Wiget

The sixth chapter of "Ruins of Self Part the Second" opens slowly and oddly. First, I can't really understand why the surgeon Xylat is acting so cruelly toward Nick. Is he one of Wellarzlee's (a name, by the way, which sounds somehow more like a wizard from Harry Potter than an angry Martain warrior from Doctor Who) troops out for the good ol' glory days? If so, couldn't that have been explained better? Is he just ticked because he doesn't understand how Nick can still be alive? Strange way for him to react, if that's the case. His attitude seems out of place, just an excuse to get Nick looking for revenge on someone by the end of the chapter.

That said, this chapter was just chock-full of torture and violence, and for once I seemed to be noticing the change from one writer to the other rather than the usual smooth transitioning. Again I ran across the problem of repetition--I was getting dizzy from all the "Chosen Ones" I had on one printed page.

Now that I'm done harping on the negative stuff, let's get to the good stuff. The chapter really picked up for me when the Doctor and co. reached the communications room--I got a real sense of tension, and the description of King Garet looking over Chancellor Howerts's shoulder was a wonderfully added detail. This scene also has a couple nice, understated moments of--irony? Dry wit? One of which is the eminently reasonable remark that the Martian warrior didn't "expect any Pels to be walking through walls," the other being "Commander Sschaarp wanted the Pel king alive, so the Martians were uncertain as to whether they should hurt him or not."

Wellarzlee makes quite a handy little maniac out for glory and domination (where would Doctor Who be without those maniacs?), and the small detail of Nick rocking back and forth in his grief when he thinks Alf is dead is what truly made me sympathise with him.

By this point, I'm looking for answers to the "Doctor's" sudden reappearance on the scene (not to mention his new appearance), and keeping track of all the Martian names is like remembering who was who when reading History 101. This chapter certainly isn't bad, but I think I liked the previous two better, if only for the themes they contained. And I have one more question--did I accidentally skip something? 'Cause I don't remember that black cat...

Chapter Six Review by Paul Clement

Are we near the end yet?

That has to be the question I've asked myself most of all as I read the story. Not I hasten to add because I'm not enjoying the story, but more from the perspective that the story doesn't appear to be anywhere near to ending. With only one chapter left, most stories seem to have signs that we're reaching a climax, but this one seems to be meandering along quite happily with hardly a hint of a resolution in sight. Still, with the quality of the authors in question, I'm sure the final chapter will pan out with a great style and the usual Frankham twists and surprises that leave us kicking ourselves and thinking how obvious it all was in retrospect.

There is a tradition in Dr Who to rush back to the previous episode's cliffhanger and resolve it as soon as possible. In the TV series this technique was easily overlooked and to a degree acceptable, but in the much greater scope of the written word, I have to question why we are brought back to Nick so quickly. The realisation that Nick remains alive, although a surprise, could have been handled with so much more impact if it had been left till later in the chapter. In fact, due to his quick return, the revelation that there is something different to his make-up that allowed him to survive the sonic blast is almost overshadowed, and despite the following scenes giving good emphasis to Alf's grief, it loses some of it's poignancy because we are already aware Nick is alive. And of course, it seems an appropriate parallel between the Nick situation and the situation of the Doctor, it will be interesting to note how Nick reacts to his own puzzling questions after his treatment of the Doctor after the revelations in Part 1.

The scenes on Peladon seem pure Dr Who in every aspect of the words, with the new Doctor bedding down well into the role laid out for him. There are moments in these scenes that are so reminiscent of the series of old, with the mannerisms and attitude of the Doctor being justifiably explored. We need to remember this is the first story of a new Doctor and the building of the new Doctor's character is an important part of that. We already get a glimpse of an arrogance to this new Doctor's character and the way in which he treats Howerts is a good example of this.

The stories villain, Wellarzlee, seems to be cut from an almost typical Dr Who villain bolt of cloth, and though familiar in many ways, it would have been preferable to have had a more unique a villain. In many ways however, this has been the story of the season with the authors seeming to have chosen enemies that fans of the show could easily relate to. I'm finding it so easy to imagine Wellarzlee, hands clenched into a fist spouting a typical villainous line such as "The galaxy shall one day fall to our might." Still familiarity has its advantages, and I don't think the story would work as well in a completely new environment.

All told, Ruins is a well written story so far, but still I wait for signs that link it with Part1 and of course that we are reaching the grand finale I'm so much expecting. Roll on the final chapter, I'm sure my arguments will be seen as a little to previous at that stage.