Doctor Who: The Catalyst

The Companion Chronicles #2.4

by Nigel Fairs, Louise Jameson (Narrator)

The pride of the Z'nai matches that of Leela of the Sevateem. Why would the Doctor imprison one in such an unlikely place, and what terrors will be brought about by letting it loose?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

Audio CD

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Nigel Fairs is a voice actor, director and writer for Big Finish Productions. Although a contributor to the main Doctor Who and Bernice Summerfield lines, he is perhaps most associated with The Companion Chronicles. He was also involved with several BBV Productions audio stories.

In the 1980's he was heavily involved in the fan-produced stories made by Audio Visuals, where he starred as the Doctor's companion Truman Crouch and also wrote several episodes. He was later involved in writing and producing a series of audio plays collectively entitled Pisces, which were promoted as being like "Doctor Who with teeth."

Reviews

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Catalyst is a story in Big Finish's Companion Chronicles series, and an early one. This features Leela of the Sevateam as she tells the story of one of her journeys with the Doctor. The wrap-around story has Leela, captured, held prisoner, and being tortured by a member of the Z'Nai, a fierce, prejudicial, and evil warrior race. The main story has the Fourth Doctor and Leela encountering the Z'Nai in Edwardian England. It works much better than the framing story.

The Doctor brings Leela to a country manor house in Edwardian England to "teach her some table manners". After an awkward dinner, Leela and the spoiled young daughter, Jessica, explore the servants' hall and the cellars. They discover a hidden "trophy room" belonging to Jessica's father and the Doctor. It turns out that her father had traveled with the First Doctor for a time. But it isn't just "certificates and cups" as Leela refers to a trophy room that the two women find. An alien is imprisoned in the room, held in a stasis and decontamination field.
Jessica finds and presses a button that wakes up the soldier, though he is still trapped and unable to move. The soldier claims he is the last of his people, that they were destroyed by the Doctor. Leela doesn't trust the soldier and leaves to find him to find out more about the situation. Jessica refuses to leave the room with Leela, telling her she wants to learn from the soldier. It will be a fatal decision.
When Leela and the Doctor return - the soldier has been released, and Jessica is dead. Tracking the soldier - they find both of the Douglas family's servant girls are dead, as well as the butler and Mrs. Douglas. Leela and the Doctor find the warrior, who goes on and on about the Doctor "causing" the disease that wiped out his people. But the Z'Nai that the warrior leads (he is the Emperor, not a simple soldier) are Xenophobic, prejudicial, and arrogant - they had been wiping out everyone who was not Z'Nai when the Doctor and Mr. Douglas encountered them. And even on their own planet, the Z'Nai had opened purification camps, where those who did not agree with the Emperor's hatred of everything and everyone different from himself were killed or converted into soldiers - clones of the emperor, clones that looked, sounded, and thought exactly like the Emperor. Almost immediately after finding the Z'nai emperor Humbrackle, he collapses, a victim of the disease that killed the clone Z'Nai. The Doctor and Leela take him into the TARDIS for medical treatment then return him to his stasis field in the house.
When the Doctor and Leela return to the Edwardian House, a Z'Nai warship arrives. It's arrival causes the windows and door frame of the house to blow out. The Doctor is knocked unconscious by a flying piece of wood. The warriors attack and kill Mr. Douglas, the only one left alive by Humbrackle. One of the soldiers attacks Leela after she tells him she doesn't know the date because she is a time traveler. Leela fights back and the soldier immediately becomes very sick from her touch. The other soldiers shoot down the infected warrior. There's a massive fight between Leela and the soldiers - but when she touches them, they die. The Doctor wakes up and trying to mitigate the fight, but he is attacked as well. Leela spits at the soldier attacking the Doctor - and the soldier dies. At the end of the fight, all the soldiers are dead from the now airborne virus. The Doctor tells Leela she's become a carrier, a catalyst. The Doctor burns down the house and all the evidence of the invasion and the Doctor and Leela leave in the TARDIS.
In the wrapping story, an ancient Leela is still held prisoner by a Z'Nai warrior. It speaks as if generations of Z'Nai have existed, as clones, destroying everyone that is not Z'nai in their path, all the so-called "lesser" species. Leela remarks that the Z'Nai used to leave a panel open in their armor, exposing their skin. The warrior remarks they no longer follow such absurd customs, but he likes to remove his helmet and look someone in the eye before killing them.
Overall, The Catalyst is a good story, but it's about average for the Companion Chronicles . Basically, it's War of the Worlds fierce, genocidal, alien race is knocked out by the common cold (or some sort of virus). I also found it strange the Doctor would use "carrier" and "catalyst" as synonyms. A carrier is someone who carries a disease or genetic defect but isn't affected by it, such as a carrier for color blindness or hemophilia or typhoid. A catalyst is a chemical substance that causes a chemical reaction - but isn't affected by the reaction. Not really the same. And for the Doctor to explain what a carrier is to Leela by saying it's like a catalyst probably made the idea as clear as mud to her. And yet again - Leela dies at the end of the story, but of extreme old age after being imprisoned. The central story worked, but I felt the wrap-around story did not and wasn't even necessary. The listener gets all the information they need from the dialogue in the central story, so the wrap-around wasn't needed. But this is an early story in the range. I still recommend it, especially if Leela is one of your favorite companions because Louise Jameson is terrific performing this.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Companion Chronicles is a range full of underrated classics, it's a range that doesn't ever get talked about and it's a shame really because some of Big Finish's finest work is in this range. Stories like Frostfire, The Peri and The Piscon Paradox, and The Scorchies are some of the greatest Doctor Who tales ever told, so by writing these reviews I hope to inspire people to try out this range.

The Doctor takes Leela to see an old friend of his in an Edwardian home, however, it seems he and his old friend are hiding something down in the cellar. Within, there's a secret room and the last remaining lifeform of the Z'Nai species stands imprisoned, with the help of Leela and a young woman, he might finally find his way out. But does he speak the truth, is The Doctor really a monster?

The Catalyst is a terrific script by Nigel Fairs which really makes for a great character piece for Leela as we see her slowly becoming a stronger and more noble individual through The Doctor's teachings. I love how this story makes not only Leela but the listener doubt whether or not, The Doctor truly is in the right in this situation and really makes him come across as quite dark and mysterious.

It's actually a very dark story in some ways because it definitely feels very much inspired by horrific events such as the holocaust with themes very similar to nazi purification, eugenics, mindless slaughter, camps, etc. A story with so many themes told in such a contained setting and it's very well done. It's dark, violent, intense, and at times very creepy, the villain of this piece is spine-chillingly evil, and The Doctor's sense of hopelessness as well throughout this tale really puts you at the edge of your seat.

Overall: Nigel Fairs has written a delightfully bleak script and Louise Jameson brings this story to life spectacularly. But of course, I can't go without crediting Timothy Watson who was quite frankly terrifying in this story at a number of points! 10/10

[John Parungao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leela's character development is at the center of this tale as are her differences with the Doctor. Teaching Leela is often at the center of many stories featuring Leela and the Fourth Doctor. Despite her lack of social graces at her core Leela is an honorable and noble person. She is learning from the Doctor and that is reflected in her interaction with other characters. She understands warriors, but doesn't understand the rules of society and is annoyed with the closed minded women she sometimes meets. All of this is reflected in this tale of Leela's time with the Doctor.

[Antonio Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the framing structure was a good aspect of this story. Like most of the Companion Chronicles, it is mostly an audiobook, with the exception of the the framing sections. The idea of the Z'nai has definite inspiration from the concept of a good empire/nation becoming warped by those who do not understand their own culture.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. It's alight as this one does have two stories the framing one and the actual one, The Framing Story is barely displayed and the actual story is alright it's just to me there is way too much exposition.

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leela really is one of the best companions.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always great to hear Louise Jameson recreate Leela. But, she should not try to do Tom bakers voice.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd consider this a hidden gem personally. Leela really gets to shine here and 4 and the unique perspective brought to 4 is eerie in a Hinchcliffe sort of way.

[Twainy · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this is the second of the four Companion Chronicles that I listened to. Big Finish is top shelf!

I loved Leela’s narration!

Victorian England? Leela and a young girl come across a monster locked in the basement of her stately home. Locked up by the Doctor. But who’s the monster & why? What will happen if the prisoner who’s been awakened is released?

Great fun!

[John Keegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set primarily in the time between Seasons 14 and 15, this Leela-centric audiodrama tackles aspects of the Fourth Doctor era that fit very well into her character's semi-intended purpose: giving the Doctor someone to instruct, thus exploring his values and character in the process. The Doctor sees some value in widening and refining Leela's perspective, and it's illuminating to see what he chooses to focus on.

The story is told from Leela's perspective. The Doctor takes her to meet one of his previous Companions, a new character not seen in the series itself, and she ends up being involved in a conflict with a race called the Z'nai. Once peaceful, the Z'nai came under the influence of a bloodthirsty emperor, and chose to purge the universe of inferior species. The Doctor takes issue with this, of course, but matters become complicated when the existence of a deadly pathogen offers a permanent solution to the Z'nai problem: xenocide.

What seems like a fairly straightforward tale quickly delves into some of those delicious contradictions of the Doctor. Having rejecting the notion of leaving the rest of the universe to their own devices, he interferes with the course of events regularly, all in keeping with his particular moral code. Despite his overall desire to preserve life and avoid killing, there's no denying that many of his actions lead, directly or indirectly, to massive loss of life. The Doctor's motives and actions come into question as the fate of the Z'nai is revealed.

Unfortunately, while the bulk of the story is centered on peeling back the mystery of the Z'nai, the audiodrama is saddled with a framing device that is completely and utterly confounding. Even knowing that the framing story is set in Leela's final days does nothing to help give those moments context. Granted, this is the first part in what eventually became a "Leela trilogy", but the writers and producers didn't know that at the time, so this creative choice is suspect.

Louise Jameson does a great job telling the story. One could quibble over the fact that she clearly sounds older, but that's the one thing that the framing device serves to rationalize. (It's needless, though; the story would have worked fine without it.) According to some other reviews I've read, Jameson's impression of Tom Baker's Doctor gets roundly criticized; however, I personally found it very easy to hear his voice in my head, based on her reading of his dialogue. And Timothy Watson is excellent as the Z'nai. (The use of a single actor is explained well within the story itself.)

Despite the confusing framing device, I would still recommend this story for anyone who would like to get another dose of the Doctor/Leela era. It is a story with a surprising amount of depth, and very much at home with the recent exploration of the Doctor's moral compass.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this Companion Chronicle, we have a 4th Doctor story told from the perspective of Leela. And that turns out to work rather well. Partly that's because her view of things is inevitably somewhat different from just about anyone else's, something that's played up in the earlier segments in which she's trying to get to grips with the concept of an Edwardian household... well before she finds out what it is that's so spooky down in the cellar.

A nice touch, though, and similar to the one used with Vicki in Frostfire is the device used for the interludes between the narration of the main story. Here we see future-Leela, now an old woman close to breathing her last (courtesy, although this isn't explained, of events in the Gallifrey audio plays), still spitting defiance in the face of death.

The resolution to the story proper is, perhaps, a little pat, but there is memorable stuff along the way, and reflections on the morality of the decisions that led to the set-up we see in the story. One of the better Companion Chronicles.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to Leela's companion chronicles in completely the wrong order. This one was first and I heard it last but I still really enjoyed them. I really liked this one. I loved the interactions between Leela and the rich Edwardian girl who had no thoughts of her own. It was lovely. While only a two hander Louise did a great job with the other voices and it felt like a full audio. (Though Tom does need a bit more practice) The story was an interesting mystery. The race from the future combined with the historical setting worked well. I thought Nigel did a great job of capturing Leela, she was both fierce and intelligent and was so much more than a "sidekick" in this. Now I have the whole set I really need to go back and listen to these in the right order.

[Nicholas Whyte]

I had been looking forward to The Catalyst a lot, given my recently renewed enthusiasm for Leela. Well, it's a great story for Louise Jameson, who gets to play lots of different roles (she's pretty terrible at doing Tom Baker, but I don't mind) but I didn't like the plot; I generally hate the ones that depend on previously untold adventures, and here we have the Doctor and Leela visiting Lord Joshua Douglas, apparently a former companion of an earlier Doctor. And it never really became clear what was going on; horrible deaths happening all over the place but we never quite got to the bottom of exactly why.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good! I didn’t want any spoilers so I had no idea what I was getting into when it started but the way she narrates it from a personal perspective was amazing. Switching back and forth was smooth between active story and narrative. The story itself was moving I loved all of it. The way they made her doubt the doctor even if it was just for a minute was good too! This was my favorite audio book so far.
Gotta love Leela.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

t was great to hear a Leela story. She is such an adventuress that it is great to hear an adventure of hers. She is being tortured by an adversary of the Doctor's who has been hidden away in the Doctor's "Trophy Room". Does she get out. Listen for yourself.

[Cthonus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Leela does moral philosophy"

Forget the glib Noble Savage in Edwardian England setting, this is an excellent vehicle for Louise Jamieson to reprise her role and do some well-needed character progression.

Yet another well-polished release from Big Finish

[Anne Barwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot with more questions at the end than answers. The impression of Tom Baker was a little offputting.

[Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise Jameson as Leela. Ancient race, murder, vengeance and retribution.