Doctor Who - The Keeper Of Traken
The most low-key story in a trilogy of adventures that had major ramifications for the series, The Keeper Of Traken saw the reintroduction of the Master - making only his second appearance since the death of Roger Delgado, the first actor to play the role - as a surprise twist at the end of part four. Traken is also notable for being the singular outing for Tom Baker’s Doctor and Matthew Waterhouse’s Adric as the TARDIS crew. (Though Logopolis also starts out with this pairing, by the end of that story’s second episode more companions have been introduced to the mix.)
In a commentary recorded a few years ago, writer Johnny Byrne, actors Matthew Waterhouse and Sarah “Nyssa” Sutton, and the late Anthony Ainley, who played two pivotal roles in Traken, talk about the making of the story. Byrne talks candidly about the few Doctor Who serials he wrote, including at least one story that was never made that would have revisited Traken, and talks even more candidly about why he didn’t write more. When the subject of Byrne’s most famous gig, that of story editor for Space: 1999, is brought up, he’s even more frank about the failings that both shows shared.
Undoubtedly the most fascinating aspect of Traken’s commentary, however, is the participation of Anthony Ainley himself. It’s gotten to be a bit of a cliché to say that the actor behind any given villain is nothing like his character, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Ainley comes across as an old-school British showbiz gentleman, effusive in his praise and gentle in his criticism. It’s fairly well known that Ainley wasn’t always in sync with John Nathan-Turner’s ambitions as the show’s producer, and sometimes rubbed his co-stars the wrong way, but even when sensitive topics are brought up, he’s clearly trying to focus on the positive, even when he’s pointing out something like the biggest Gallifreyan booger you’ll ever see, hanging in plain sight from the nose of one Mr. Tom Baker. Had he lived, he could have been a treasure trove of further information on the Doctor Who stories in which he guest-starred for future DVD commentaries.
On the flipside, as much as I liked Adric and how Matthew Waterhouse portrayed him, there were just a few times during the commentary that I was wishing he’d hush up and let the others get a word in edgewise. I suppose I should be more charitable - there are only a handful of stories yet to be released to DVD which could require his services in the commentary capacity - and I suppose I was getting a bit annoyed because this was the only time we’d get to hear an Ainley commentary on DVD, and the man was being cut off in mid-sentence.
Feature-wise, Traken is backed up by two relatively brief featurettes. Being Nice To Each Other chronicles the concept and making of the story, with several participants interviewed, though the focus winds up being on Sarah Sutton - this being her debut in the series - and Johnny Byrne. (Anthony Ainley had passed away by the time the featurette interviews were shot.) Another featurette discusses the behind-the-scenes story of the Master’s return, and focuses heavily on Geoffrey Beevers, who played the part through much of Traken until Ainley’s character, Tremas, was “possessed” by the Master. Amusingly or unnervingly, depending on how you feel about it, Beevers seems all too adept at slipping back into character. (He’s also played the Master in a few Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories, so he’s had practice in recent years.)
Served up with a side dish of the usual extras that make every classic Doctor Who DVD a lavish package - isolated musical score, production note subtitles, the Doctor Who Annual from that year in PDF format, and so on - Traken may seem low-key in hindsight, but gives fans a lot of insight into the story and the people who brought it to life. And that, at least to me, is what the DVD experience is all about.
The Keeper Of Traken is available as part of the Doctor Who: New Beginnings box set, or as an individual release (in North America only).