In Cornwall the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn team up with the Doctor’s old friend, the Brigadier, to solve an ancient mystery.
In Cornwall the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn team up with the Doctor’s old friend, the Brigadier, to solve an ancient mystery.
THE SPECTRE OF LANYON MOOR
After an ultratraditional outing in Red Dawn, Big Finish’s immediate followup, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, did very little to push any boundaries or explore any new frontiers. Conceived as it was as an offer to Tom Baker, it is unsurprising that Nicholas Pegg’s script comes across as a total homage to the Hinchcliffe era of Doctor Who — and it works very well.
Plot-wise, the script is fairly straightforward, featuring an alien “haunting” a dark, frightening area of land with crashed spaceship technology harnessed by a local mad baron. (Reading that again, there really is no other context in which that is “straightforward,” but there you are.) The opening scene, intended to set the stage with Sancreda, doesn’t work very well — I’m of the opinion that the play would have functioned better with no hints as to the nature of the disturbances — but certainly, as the play progresses, the tension builds in true season 14 style to a climax of epic proportion. Much has been made, meanwhile, of the twist ending — I didn’t find it particularly surprising, but at this stage in BF it’s suitably entertaining.
The scale of the play also fascinates. While mostly confined to two or three primary locations, the script is not afraid to remove the characters from the confines of the “studio” where necessary. The scene with Evelyn and Nikki out on the moor itself was terrifying, and especially suited to audio; while I am confident that a 1970s production team could have realized a frightening exterior location, I’m not so sure that the attack by the spectre would have been particularly convincing. The expedition by the Doctor and the Brigadier to negotiate UNIT assistance is nice to hear as well: the scale of UNIT operations is too often neglected and here it is acknowledged. Finally, I was wonderfully entertained by the excursion to a Greek museum in episode 3: in true Tom Baker-era style, a foreign location is captured by a “studio-bound” environment which is constructed to be as eerie as those locations which have preceded it.
The Spectre of Lanyon Moor marks Colin Baker’s most confident audio portrayal of the Doctor of his appearances to this point. While certainly continuing his softer performance, his familiar arrogance rises to the surface in an argument with Professor Morgan; his reticience in the face of Evelyn’s criticism demonstrates well the maturation of the character. He isn’t very active, though; indeed, at the conclusion of the play, the Doctor has failed to save the day, which is rather unusual and hardly commented upon.
Of course, more comment would be passed hadn’t the Brigadier saved the day instead. It is a true pleasure to hear Nicholas Courtney return to his classic role, and even more so to hear him interacting with Colin Baker in an environment not named Dimensions in Time. His first meeting with the sixth Doctor is wonderful, as he identifies the Doctor primarily by his behavior and dress sense, and he continues to engage in warm interactions with Baker throughout the play. It is unsurprising that Courtney recaptures the role as well as he does, given the number of times he has played the Brigadier over the years, but it’s still nice to hear the old fire rise in his voice as he barks orders to a different generation of UNIT troops. His role in the ending, though reminiscent of Battlefield, is suitable for the character — but again, it’s a good thing he was around!
Evelyn Smythe is given a great deal to do over the course of this play, her first as a true companion. It’s interesting that she refers to the countless adventures she and the Doctor have experienced and yet claims to have never seen a spaceship, but, niggles aside, the character acquits herself very well, supported by a very strong performance by Maggie Stables. Her sarcastic exchanges with Sir Archibald are funny yet believable, and her reaction to the terrifying events on the moor is equally understandable. Pegg doesn’t allow her life experience to gloss over her humanity, allowing for a stronger characterization — the future is very strong for this woman.
James Bolam nicely underplays his role as the mad villain, keeping the play from degenerating into the ludicrous territory sometimes encountered by its predecessor. Toby Longworth’s Morgan is satisfactory, but he steals the show as Sancreda, voicing the character exactly as one would expect an alien troll to sound. Susan Jameson is perhaps too matter-of-fact as Mrs. Moynihan, especially after her true nature is revealed, but she holds the attention of the listener as capably as the rest of the cast.
The production of The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is another triumph for Alistair Lock, who expertly recaptures the Hinchcliffe era with a subtle display of sound design. The atmosphere of the script is paramount, hence the score is both subdued and creepy. Pegg’s direction, meanwhile, is quite skilled, indicating the value of directing one’s own script: a true understanding of the material involved.
Much as with Red Dawn, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is almost completely devoid of theme and barely has an original thought in its head. But while Red Dawn sounded as though it had been written and recorded over a weekend, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor sounds as though a great deal of care and consideration has gone into it and, as such, is much more memorable than its predecessor. While not an intelligent or thought-provoking slice of Doctor Who, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is an entertaining homage to the Hinchcliffe era, accomplishing exactly what it sets out to do.
7/10