The TARDIS has been drawn to Blackpool in the year 1985, where the Doctor intends to investigate a dangerous space/time vortex, while enjoying some local attractions along the way. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge. The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit…
THE LOST STORIES: THE NIGHTMARE FAIR
After the twenty-second season of Doctor Who concluded in 1985, production began as usual for the upcoming twenty-third season, with writers commissioned to contribute scripts, production staffs assigned, and so forth. Before any cameras could roll, however, the BBC placed the series on hiatus, immediately suspending production and leaving those stories in limbo. When the program returned to the air eighteen months later, it would do so with “The Trial of a Time Lord,” a fourteen-part epic story created in part as metaphor for the show’s own struggle for survival. The original season 23 stories were thus lost, save for a few Target novelizations of the existing scripts. Over twenty years later, Big Finish announced its “The Lost Stories” line of releases – and the very first stories announced were from that “missing” season 23.
The first such script, “The Nightmare Fair,” comes from the late Graham Williams, adapted for audio and directed by John Ainsworth. It was intended to open season 23, following on from the aborted “I’ll take you to Blackpool!” line that closed “Revelation of the Daleks” at the conclusion of season 22. While I’m happy they cut that line off, as it’s a fantastically stupid way to end an episode, never mind a whole season, it’s fascinating to see what was originally intended to happen. Listening as the sixth Doctor and Peri roam an amusement park, riding the rides, is surprisingly wonderful – I’m surprised Doctor Who never returned to this setting, because the Doctor letting his hair down on a roller coaster is an idea that just works. The machinations running behind the scenes by the villain give the amusement park setting an ominous tone, too, implying a significant confrontation between the Doctor and his old enemy.
Speaking of that old enemy, the Celestial Toymaker is back to menace the Doctor, in what would have been about 20 years since his previous appearance. While Michael Gough would have reprised his role in the planned television story, his age and retirement precluded an appearance in the Big Finish audio, necessitating his replacement by David Bailie. I appreciate that director John Ainsworth allowed Bailie to go his own way with the performance: while Gough was sly and sinister, Bailie is more playful and unhinged, and it works magnificently on audio, giving the character a larger-than-life feeling that befits the setting. Recapturing the performance of an earlier actor that now exists only on audio and 25 minutes of film would have been an unnecessary misstep.
Colin Baker and Bailie have a fine chemistry, too, one that makes the characters’ mutual (dis)respect clear. However, the major problem with “The Nightmare Fair” is that, after the Doctor and the Toymaker finally meet, nothing much happens for the duration of the play. The Doctor plays some dangerous video games at the Toymaker’s behest, but there’s very little sense of actual threat, despite some amusing one-liners for Baker. Peri roams around for most of the story with Kevin (Matthew Noble), and while she does manage to figure out what’s going on, she has absolutely no bearing on or relevance to the story.
I found myself wondering why I was enjoying the play, given that there’s really very little to capture the interest, and I realized that much of my enjoyment derived from the production itself. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are clearly relishing the opportunity to recapture their TV personas, and their chemistry with each other and the cast is delightful. Jamie Robertson’s sound design effectively captures the feel of a 1980s Doctor Who story – although the music is a bit too subtle for the era. And John Ainsworth captures the easy humor of Williams’ script while, as director, allowing the production to breathe with the feeling of two vacationing time travelers. “The Nightmare Fair” isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a fine way to experience a Doctor Who story that was lost before it could even be made. I look forward to more of this range with some enthusiasm.
Recommended.
7/10