From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated   
   From Address: jphalt@aol.com   
   Subject: Re: jphalt's Doctor Who reviews   
      
   SHORT TRIPS: THE WONDROUS BOX   
      
   1 episode. Approx. 18 minutes. Written by: Juliet Boyd. Directed by:   
   Nicholas Briggs, Ken Bentley. Produced by: Nicholas Briggs, Jason   
   Haigh-Ellery. Performed by: Louise Jameson.   
      
      
   THE PLOT   
      
   The TARDIS materializes in the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1885. For the   
   Doctor, this is a wonderful stroke of luck - a chance to kick back and   
   enjoy the show while taking in living history at the same time. Sarah   
   Jane is less enthusiastic, but largely goes along to keep from   
   disrupting the Doctor's good mood.   
      
   Unfortunately, their arrival was observed. Benjamin, a low-level   
   circus worker, saw the TARDIS materialize. Entranced by the thought of   
   selling such a marvel to P. T. Barnum, he and a circus clown hatch a   
   plan to gain access to the blue box. The results will go down in   
   history...   
      
      
   CHARACTERS   
      
   The Doctor: The Fourth Doctor's more childlike qualities are on   
   display here, as he reacts with joy at the prospect of enjoying some   
   down time at P. T. Barnum's famous circus. He reacts to Jumbo the   
   elephant with genuine awe, laughs hysterically at the antics of the   
   clowns... and studiously ignores Sarah Jane's concerns until he   
   reaches into his pocket and physically recognizes that his TARDIS key   
   is missing.   
      
   Sarah Jane Smith: Is very much in her role as the Doctor's anchor. As   
   we've seen in the television stories, Sarah Jane has far more empathy   
   than the Fourth Doctor does. She finds it cruel to put "freaks" on   
   display in the circus, something the Doctor dismisses as simply being   
   in keeping with the time and place. She is also more pragmatic. The   
   Doctor is carried away by being at the circus, but Sarah Jane doesn't   
   surrender her instincts. She recognizes something is "off" about the   
   clown who comes up to tickle the Doctor. When she hears the TARDIS   
   move, she won't let the Doctor ignore it, pestering him until he   
   checks for his key.   
      
      
   THOUGHTS   
      
   While Chain Reaction was more of a fun sketch, The Wondrous Box is an   
   attempt to tell a proper (if minor) 20 minute Doctor Who story. It's   
   not a bad one, either. Writer Juliet Boyd does a good job of capturing   
   the characters of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane. It's easy to   
   visualize both, because both characters feel very much in keeping with   
   their television personas. OK, Sarah Jane's a bit grumpier here than   
   she usually was on television... but maybe she isn't too fond of   
   circuses.   
      
   It's an entertaining diversion, ideal for helping either a walk or a   
   drive to go by just a little bit faster. The script even manages to   
   sketch some added dimension to its two guest characters: Benjamin and   
   the clown. There's a brief scene from the clown's viewpoint, in which   
   he resigns himself to Benjamin's bossiness and takes advantage of a   
   few minutes' respite to take a nap. It's a tiny moment, entirely   
   unnecessary to the story - but it hints at a partnership between these   
   two that has extended back well before this story, and will extend   
   well beyond it, making these two supporting players feel much more   
   real in the process.   
      
   As with most "Short Trips," however, it does come across as a bit   
   insubstantial. The direction of the story is very obvious very fast,   
   leaving it an exercise in preditability. The period detail is   
   adequate, but it lacks texture. There's little sense of the life of   
   the circus or of the community in which it's performing. That bit of   
   extra life given to Benjamin and the clown? No real trace of that is   
   given to the setting, leaving it existing solely to fuel the story.   
      
   It's an above-average "Short Trip," don't mistake me on that. But only   
   just above-average, and largely on the strength of the   
   characterizations. It's a limitation of the format, I think. Barring   
   the odd, outstanding piece, the extremely limited format is better   
   suited to showing a single scene or reaction than it is to actually   
   trying to tell a full story.   
      
      
   Rating: 6/10.   
      
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