The Doctor and Charley race through time to defeat an immortal enemy. Humanity hangs in the balance and old enemies hide in the shadows.
The Doctor and Charley race through time to defeat an immortal enemy. Humanity hangs in the balance and old enemies hide in the shadows.
SEASONS OF FEAR
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was the second Paul McGann season that swayed Russell T. Davies in the direction of combination television/Doctor Who audio authors for the new series. Not only does it feature a coherent, well-constructed plot arc, it also has the strongest three opening stories of any Doctor Who season since the Pertwee era. With Mark Gatiss and Robert Shearman behind the first two, Paul Cornell wrote the third, Seasons of Fear, along with Caroline Symcox, and the story marks the third superb McGann release in a row.
Cornell’s stated aim with Seasons of Fear was to revisit the old Doctor Who tradition of the “quest” narrative, a story featuring frequent TARDIS trips to various locales in the vein of The Keys of Marinus or The Chase. Of course, neither of those stories has been particularly well-received, but their structures were not to blame — and Seasons of Fear demonstrates this, as it’s a very strong tale which takes advantage of its multiple time zones. Rather than focusing entirely on the Doctor and Charley, time is spent in each region attempting to flesh out that region’s characters, leading to a series of smaller adventures which feature better characterization than will normally be found in a Doctor Who story.
Of course, this is also the story which featured the secret return of the Nimon, and it’s a testament to the authors’ abilities that the oft-ridiculed monsters are here restored and given an intimidating nature. The Dalek red herring is a nice bit of linking material to the upcoming Richards play, while the Nimon voices are excellent recreations of the TV versions and sound authentic. Admittedly, the lack of visuals help greatly, as the original Nimon costumes looked rather silly, but without a pure farce surrounding them, the concept of the Nimon suddenly becomes threatening rather than ludicrous.
Paul Cornell always writes a strong Doctor, and this play is no exception, as the eighth Doctor as written by Cornell and Symcox is a very deep, passionate character crossed with a great sense of humor. From McGann’s astonished reaction to Charley’s question about orgies, to his impassioned promise of pain to Grayle should Charley come to any harm, this Doctor is one that clearly cares a great deal about his companion — but at the same time he’s unafraid to mock the enemy in the face of overwhelming odds. Unfortunately, some of the typical Cornell self-referentialism works its way into the script — a character asking if mockery is acceptable since the Doctor does it is one thing, but then there’s the “I’m the Doctor, I don’t do that sort of thing” nonsense that irritates me — but there’s very little of it, especially when compared to The Scream of the Shalka or The Shadow of the Scourge.
After spending the first season despising India Fisher and Charley Pollard, I must admit that the first three offerings of the second season have changed my mind. This is now a character with actual depth, one with reactions perfectly in keeping with her humanity. Her proposed solutions for the problem of Grayle are both amusing and thought-provoking, as the difference between Charley and the Doctor is further underscored. Fisher’s acting is in keeping with this portrayal, and she only ventures into the extravagant ranges when her character is portraying another — this is a very strong performance helped along by a commendable script.
Lennox Greaves and Sue Wallace return to the fold for the second consecutive play, and their turns as Edward the Confessor and his wife Edith are markedly different from their performances in The Chimes of Midnight, yet still a joy to hear. The star of the show is of course Stephen Perring, who gives a powerful performance as Grayle, shifting from uncertainty to confidence to insanity from setting to setting. And of course there’s Don Warrington, who will reappear a few months later in the same role, but he’s nicely enigmatic at this stage.
Production is excellent as always, with Gareth Jenkins being taxed by having to create sound design for three separate time periods along with Nimon and a Dalek for good measure — but you couldn’t tell this was a challenge, if indeed it even was. Jane Elphinstone provides her second score for the series after her cooperative effort on Project: Twilight, and this score is just as atmospheric and moody as her first, the “heartbeat” motif creating a building suspense in the play. Gary Russell returns to the director’s chair and, as usual, does a masterful job — sometimes I find myself wishing he’d do something wrong just so I could stop looking for synonyms for “excellent!”
Seasons of Fear marks the third exceptional release in a row for BF and finally makes up for the problems of the first McGann season. Any doubts about the range’s ability to produce truly new Doctor Who stories should be erased by this point — whether or not they would follow through on this ability remains to be seen, of course, but if this is the sort of thing Cornell is capable of producing, my anticipation for the new series is growing by leaps and bounds. Excellent stuff.
Very highly recommended.
9/10