written and directed by Dan Freeman released February 2011 starring Jenny Agutter as Professor Cantha Lauren Crace as Kitty Paul McGann as Durian |
The Pointed Hand is the free prologue to The Minister of Chance, a quick nine-minute story that’s largely one long scene featuring a few characters, though a few others put in brief appearances. A rocket from the nation of Seswan lands on Tanto, bringing Ambassador Durian, played by Paul McGann. Most of the prologue is the negotiation between Durian and the King of Tanto, where Durian attempts to gain permission to place military base on Tanto. McGann is as good as he always is, and plays nicely against what I expected of him after 11 years of listening to him in Doctor Who.
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written and directed by Dan Freeman released March 2011 starring Julian Wadham as the Minister Jenny Agutter as Professor Cantha Lauren Crace as Kitty Sylvester McCoy as the Witch Prime Paul McGann as Durian Paul Darrow as Lord Rathen |
What particularly struck me was how like Death Comes to Time the setup for The Minister of Chance is. We’ve gone one nation occupying another, with head of state of the occupying nation itself feeling threatened by the actions of the member of their government doing the occupying. A Time Lord has come to the occupied nation, but not to help per se, but because something is “wrong” with the universe, and so he can’t spend much time helping out. But this is early days — The Broken World is only 35 minutes long — and there enough intriguing parts to the setup that I don’t think it’ll be a problem. The occupying nation of Seswan is democratic, and trumpets this fact loudly, but they are also anti-science, and ruled by a “Witch Prime”. The occupied nation of Tanto, on the other hand, is ruled by a king who ascended to the throne by killing his predecessor, but has an accomplished university. Also interesting are the hints about how the Minister travels between worlds.
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written and directed by Dan Freeman released May 2011 starring Julian Wadham as the Minister Jenny Agutter as Professor Cantha Gethin Anthony as Sutu Lauren Crace as Kitty Sylvester McCoy as the Witch Prime Paul McGann as Durian Paul Darrow as Lord Rathen Peter Guinness as the Horseman |
But though it’s distracting, it’s not overwhelming. The exploration of how pacifism can be a form of strength actually goes further here than in Death Comes to Time, and I quite liked the scenes where Cantha talks to her well-meaning guard. And given Julian Wadham’s much gruffer incarnation of the Minister of Chance, the loneliness angle will probably play out differently as well.
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