Search - Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken (Story 115) on DVD

Tom Baker's second to last story, is brilliant

Don McCullen | Colorado Springs, CO USA | 05/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Retuning to N-Space. The Doctor and his new companion Adric soon discover that the TARDIS is on preset coordinates to a peaceful world know as Traken. Those coordinates were layed in by the Keeper who governs Traken. He's calls for the Doctor's help. The Keeper is soon to die, and he fears that an evil preance will take over Traken. The Doctor agrees, but as soon as they land on Traken they are instantly accused of being the evil preance that is lurking on the planet. Tremas played by Anthony Ainley(Who would very soon step into the role of the Doctor's arch-enemy "The Master") comes to their help and place the Doctor and Adric under his protection, but his new wife Kassia who has been the caretaker of the Melkur statue(and the real evil on Traken) since she was a child now has fallen under its power. Kassia turns against Tremas order to stop the prevent the Doctor from subverting Melkur's plans to enslave Traken useing Kassia to gain power of the Keepership. Fortuately Tremas's daughter Nyssa come to the help to our heros. But it's too late Kassia gains access To the Source. The energy that sustains Traken. Melkur use his link with Kassia to murder her, and make himself the Keeper. Working sepertaly our heros must find a way to defeat this evil keeper, but the Doctor has some nasty supections about Melkur. Supections that he has met him many times before.Keeper Of Traken is the beginning of a series of great stories in which the Doctor will face great dangers. Keeper Of Traken is a great send off this trilogy. The Surprise ending is the best, and I mean the "very" end."

Beginning of the end of the Tom Baker era.

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 01/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Another trilogy comes hot on the heels of the E-Space trilogy, which saw the debut of Adric and the departure of Romana and K9. The next transition paves the way for new companions and in Castrovalva, a new Doctor.The Keeper Of Traken, the Fourth Doctor's penultimate story, is the first story of this second transition and involves the Doctor and Adric, now back in normal space, invited to Traken at the behest of the Keeper, the powerful inwho serves as the organizing principle of the Traken Union. What is the Traken Union? It's "a whole empire held together by people being terribly nice to each other," where "evil just shrivels up and dies." Pity something like that doesn't exist on Earth. The Keeper, now nearing the end of his reign, feels some kind of evil coming to Traken, and it somehow involves three good people--Consul Tremas, his new wife Kassia, also a Consul, and his daughter from his previous marriage, Nyssa.There's also the Melkur, what Trakenites call evil beings who are trapped upon landing on Traken, calcify, and pass harmlessly through the soil. This Melkur, a white statue with an angular face, seems to be taking its time dying.On Traken, the Doctor and Adric, with aid from Tremas and Nyssa, get caught up investigating a mysterious force whose profile pattern is somehow familiar. By episode 2, it's clear that there's more to the Melkur. In fact, it may be more than just a statue. To quote the text on the video sleeve, "the Doctor smells a rat of the oldest kind."One thing that gives me pause is the character of Proctor Neman. Clearly, Traken's powers to refute evil do not extend to people who take bribes, as Neman does. Another point of interest is the chaos and omens that Trakenites attribute with the Keeper's imminent demise. Things waver between "benevolent wisdom versus irrational fears and intuition."Sarah Sutton shines in her debut as Nyssa, who's established as scientifically adept, a good partner to Adric. Anthony Ainley (Tremas) also debuts in the first in a series of recurring roles in the series. Denis Carey (the Keeper) played Professor Chronotis in the Who story Shada and later the old man in the Who story Timelash. John Woodnutt, who plays Consul Seron, complete in a hairdo that makes him look like an elderly William Shakespeare, also had previous Who appearances: Spearhead From Space (Hibbert) and Frontier In Space (the Draconian Emperor).Tom Baker's his light-hearted self. In the beginning, when Adric points out that "a lot of time, you don't really make a lot of sense." the Doctor says, "Ahh! Oh, you've noticed that, have you?"The concept of a planet of harmony is interesting, but unfortunately, we see it in a time of transition. Strong characterizations by the supporting players give life to this story. Oh, and there's a twist ending in the final minute of this story carried through to the next story."

Something wicked this way comes....

Rottenberg's rotten book review | nyc | 08/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What's the saga of Dr. who without a true arch-rival. Only the enigmatic renegade, The Master, kept the Doctor on his toes, and it's hard to imagine life that went no further than some wind-up toy soldiers with a bad allergy to gold (Cybermen) and would be conquerors of the universe who can't even climb up a flight of steps (the daleks). Supposedly doomed by the expense of his lost regenerations, and the death of actor Roger Delagado, the master returns, ravaged and dessicated but not without an idea. He lures the doctor to the idylic world of Traken, home of a powerful being known as the Keeper of Traken, where a solemn ritual will pass the mantle of keeper to a new generation. With its elegant foreshadow of the end of the Tom Baker years - the era that introduced Who to America, "Keeper of Traken" presents death as an evil emerging from a pastoral garden free of entropy. Scenes in which the master appears, eliminates the keeper's would-be successor and ultimately assumes the body of another Traken disturbingly hint at the Master's evil, especially for a show originally intended for children. Even before the Master reclaims a new mortal form, his voice alone is enough to give anybody shivers. Lackluster effects never dissauded Who fans, and the cool determined voice of Whovian evil is better than all the CGI of a season of Star Trek Nex Gen. A must-have."

A fine beginning to a 'trilogy'

Sarah Hadley | Murfreesboro, Tennessee USA | 12/28/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Season 18 continues on a definite high. Although the story is fairly traditional, certain points make it a much more interesting set of episodes than others of its kind. For one, the planet of Traken and its inhabitants are given some culture...not extending beyond the most elite of elite, but it's _something_ anyway. The idea of the Source, with the Keeper and Consuls, is actually a science fiction sort of concept, rarely seen in "Doctor Who" (although this season, more than any other, would feature such ideas). The ending, too, is very nice, and for viewers of the time must have been quite a shock.The acting is also quite good. Tom Baker is definitely on-form, although slightly more light-hearted than in the last few stories, and Matthew Waterhouse's companion of Adric hasn't yet become annoying (he will soon enough, early in the next season). Anthony Ainley and Sarah Sutton both do very commendable jobs in their 'guest roles' of Tremas and Nyssa, and without a doubt Geoffrey Beevers steals the show as the villain of the piece. This story leads into the next two stories, "Logopolis" - the last story of season 18, and Tom Baker's final performance as the Doctor - and "Castrovalva" - season 19's opener, which saw the introduction of Peter Davison's Doctor. These were originally conceived as a sort of linked trilogy, and without giving away how they are connected for those few who don't know, it really does work. Try all three of them today!"