Memories of a Tyrant

 


Memories of a Tyrant by Roland Moore

I really respect Memories of a Tyrant, because without being about sex or drugs or anything like that, it's immediately Doctor Who at it's most adult, it's most philosophical. Memories of a Tyrant has no alien monster or sci-fi invasion to deal with, it's more concerned with it's own ideas, and as such reminds me immediately of a lot of classics in that regard. It's nature about taking a sci-fi issue and presenting it with multi-faceted themes and an open-ended narrative that almost feels like a thought experiment, well, it reminds me of many of the other classics of the Main Range like Jubilee or The Fourth Wall. When Doctor Who does the exclusively thought provoking ideas route, it can sometimes come across as dull, or that not much is happening without an alien force: even the Cyborg Alien creature that we see on the cover is still merely just another character in a murder mystery, and is treated as an ordinary person. I really appreciate that aspect, especially when ideas are what interest me in Doctor Who more than anything else. The idea of a person who can't remember whether or not they're a mass murderer is a brilliant idea for a story in of itself. A very solid release, with great character use for Peri in particular. Colin Baker also has another very unique performance. There's not much else to say. Once in a while, you just get stories like this - very solid, and I respect it a lot more than some stories I've given a higher rating to. 8.5/10 

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