So I finally listened to this today. Time, life, other things I wanted to do, trying to finish a different audiobook first, all got in the way. This is one of my favorite Doctor Who stories full stop. Yes it’s a traditional story that sees the Doctor battling psychic alien pixies in Cornwall. That could be, on paper at least, a rather generic story. However it is heavily elevated by having the Sixth Doctor, Evelyn and the Brigadier, as well as an excellent guest cast. According to The Inside Story (thanks to Doc Oho Reviews for the reference), this story, along with The Holy Terror and The Stones of Venice, were originally offered to Tom Baker to entice him into Big Finish. He of course turned them down (probably for the better), and thus this has, to me at least, the feel of a Hinchcliffe era story: sleepy English village, mysterious malevolent alien force, archaeologists, mad aristocrat with ideas of world domination, even the Brig feels like a Hinchcliffe era addition (as with Terror of the Zygons). And all thrown together, with an excellent TARDIS Team and superb guest cast, it’s brilliant. A near perfect piece of Doctor Who.
Colin shows us a softer side of his Doctor here. He never would’ve apologized to anyone in the TV run. But he also doesn’t lose that loud, arrogant bluster that his incarnation is known for. Evelyn really is brilliant. It’s a shame that Maggie Stables passed away, if we could have more and more Evelyn stories, I’d be very happy. (Her presence was greatly missed in The Last Adventure and The Quin Dilemma.) If Evelyn was good in her first story, she continues that trend and rises even higher here. Practically ordering the Doctor to apologize one moment, then breaking and entering the next. There’s both a vulnerability and a hard steel to her, as well as a rather large mischievous streak. And then there’s Nick Courtney as the Brigadier. Listening to this very soon after one of the more recent Big Finish 3DAs makes what Jon Culshaw does in capturing the character even more impressive.
Episode 1 sets up the story and characters well. Episode 2 is slower and slots things into place. Episode 3 is the one that builds to the finale, following and joining the threads set down in the first half. Episode 4 brings everything to an explosive conclusion with the Brigadier saving the day in the end. It is a somewhat violent story, but no more so than any other Colin era or Hinchcliffe era stories. Maybe it seems that way because it’s all in the mind and it’s not diluted by a low budget. This is the kind of Doctor Who story that Mary Whitehouse would probably rally against. I can totally see it being a Tom story. As for the story of the alien threat, when all is said and done, it’s actually kind of sad. Accidentally killing his brother and then waiting 18,000 years to exact revenge on said brother for abandoning him. It’s all kind of sad, and thus really good writing. I could probably wax lyrical on this story for a few more paragraphs if I put my mind to it. But, I’ll just wrap this up here. In the end, this is a great story. A great Sixth Doctor and Evelyn story, and just a great Doctor Who story in general. This really is peak Doctor Who and a great way to show people how good Big Finish can be.
), Evelyn is delightful and actually uses her academic background and the story is built on folklore and superstitions.
sorry!