Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Peter Davison, Georgia Tennant, Colin Baker, Abi Harris, Sylvester McCoy, Stephen Noonan, John Telfer, Tim Treloar, Michael Troughton.
We denigrate the artist during their lifetime, and only appreciate them when they have passed. The poorer the artist, the more their work is valued after they have departed this world, it is an exchange we barter for where we can, with hand on heart, say we have supported a starving artist, but it is delivered at the expense of a fat profit and unimportant conscience.
The artist that’s revered in death, becomes a collectable, the parent of merchandise, the golden goose that has not so much laid golden eggs, but a cash cow that keeps going up in value. If only there was a way for the painter that brought enlightenment from the capturing of a vision to be compensated for the millions that the private collector spends hoarding the treasures, and in which the agents of chaos shill the worth of in retrospect.
The Artist At The End Of Time is the second part of the hugely popular special edition story arc Doctor Who: Once And Future, and in James Goss’ powerful take on the exploitation of the dead artists who see no renumeration for their earthly slog, the Doctor, in this instance played by the erstwhile Peter Davison, and joined with great humour and skill by Georgia Tennant as she reprises her role as Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter, chases down a name to whom the listener will be immensely satisfied to hear being part of this 60th anniversary special.
The Final Gallery, a place where all the art ever known is placed in the wake of the Universe’s planetary systems demise, and one enormously special artist’s work is the subject of mass want, where it is prized for its take on a slice of time before the planet’s death. The tranquillity that is sought before the chaos of decay and entropy. The Curator, that future self-unknown to many of the incarnations of The Doctor is the artist immortalised, but to whom has seen enough destruction to know that the paintings are worth more than the value sold and sought in The Final Gallery, they are Time themselves framed for the posterity of age and reason, of highlighting life before the eventuality.
It is heartening to hear such a tale of morality being associated to the artist, a glorious sense of recompense to the bringers of light in a world ever consumed with what it can take, what an item is worth in monetary terms and not for the immediate pleasure or scope of learning it can offer. James Goss delves deep and delivers a story, a tale of principle which is convincing, and true to the ethos of both The Doctor and to those who have taken his stance to their hearts.
A tale of the enigmatic, The Artist At The End Of Time is a picture of goodness revealed.
Ian D. Hall