Sometime early in their travels together Susan writes a letter to Barbara and Ian, explaining that if either of them ever finds this and Susan has left the TARDIS either by choice or by her death she is to read it. Susan starts to relate a tale of another visit she and the Doctor made to Earth before they arrived in 1963 London - this time arriving in 1930s Berlin before the outbreak of the second World War. The Doctor has knows that there is a gathering of great scientific minds in the city and wants to get in on it, but he and Susan attract unwanted attention and find themselves hunted by the SA.
This one is pretty straightforward adventure for the Doctor and Susan, one of their first adventures on Earth before finally settling down in 1960s London. 1930s Berlin is not really that far away but the world will definitely have changed by the time Susan attends Coal Hill School. Berlin is painted as a very glamourous place in the early 1930's, and Susan delights in the bright lights of the city, the fashion of the people and the energy of the era, although she knows well enough what is lurking behind the scenes.
The temptation when it comes to Germany and pre-WWII is always there for Hitler to make an appearance but thankfully it doesn't happen here; the focus is on Susan and how she copes without the Doctor, and the inclusion of a significant historical figure would take something away from her struggle to survive and be reunited with the Doctor. The menace of Hitler still, though, works its way into the story, for any gathering of scientific minds at his behest at this point in history cannot be for anything good; Albert Einstein was already out of Germany by this time and would not be returning - he was, after all, Jewish and it was not going to be a safe place for him. So there's another historical figure out of the narrative to allow Susan to be the star.
While the Big Finish Companion Chronicles are a great means to explore the pre-series adventures of the Doctor and Susan they do tend to stray into developing their characters a bit too much. When Susan is separated from the Doctor in An Unearthly Child she freaks out, but that level of hysteria doesn't materialize here in an episode set some time before. There are other connections to the series to come though, for Susan notes the Doctor fussing over a mysterious packing case he has brought along with them in the TARDIS and musing over where he should leave it. More retcon at work: this mysterious object will be explained in 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor says that he must show Susan something of the rest of the twentieth century, which is a lead up to their eventual arrival in that junkyard in Shoreditch. But there's still a way to go before that.
NEXT EPISODE: THE BEGINNING
The temptation when it comes to Germany and pre-WWII is always there for Hitler to make an appearance but thankfully it doesn't happen here; the focus is on Susan and how she copes without the Doctor, and the inclusion of a significant historical figure would take something away from her struggle to survive and be reunited with the Doctor. The menace of Hitler still, though, works its way into the story, for any gathering of scientific minds at his behest at this point in history cannot be for anything good; Albert Einstein was already out of Germany by this time and would not be returning - he was, after all, Jewish and it was not going to be a safe place for him. So there's another historical figure out of the narrative to allow Susan to be the star.
While the Big Finish Companion Chronicles are a great means to explore the pre-series adventures of the Doctor and Susan they do tend to stray into developing their characters a bit too much. When Susan is separated from the Doctor in An Unearthly Child she freaks out, but that level of hysteria doesn't materialize here in an episode set some time before. There are other connections to the series to come though, for Susan notes the Doctor fussing over a mysterious packing case he has brought along with them in the TARDIS and musing over where he should leave it. More retcon at work: this mysterious object will be explained in 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks.
The Doctor says that he must show Susan something of the rest of the twentieth century, which is a lead up to their eventual arrival in that junkyard in Shoreditch. But there's still a way to go before that.
NEXT EPISODE: THE BEGINNING
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