High atop Mount McKerry sits the observatory. For years now it’s been watching the skies. Now something’s watching back. Something dark and huge that blots out the stars. Something with giant wings. Something that kills.
When the TARDIS is struck mid-flight, the Doctor and Leela crash-land on the mountain to find they are not the only aliens to be visiting. Beings of nothing infest the complex, staff members are dead or mad. As the survivors argue amongst themselves and attempt to take advantage of the situation, a creature vast and terrible is coming ever closer.
A creature called… Stormcrow.
I’m on a roll lately:
NIGHT OF THE STORMCROW
With the second series of Fourth Doctor Adventures scheduled to begin in the new year, Big Finish opted to present a Tom Baker story for the first time as a subscriber bonus in December 2012. This story, Marc Platt’s “Night of the Stormcrow,” eschews the arch traditionalism of the first series of Tom Baker plays and embraces a claustrophobic atmosphere that makes it one of the best Baker stories so far while continuing the tradition of strong subscriber releases.
Given that the Tom Baker era embraced horror more than any other in the history of Doctor Who, it was surprising that the first series from Big Finish didn’t include any horror-themed stories. Not so in this case – “Night of the Stormcrow” is overtly horrific, going right for the “Horror of Fang Rock” idea of a small group of people trapped in a smaller space under attack from an unknown threat. And Platt takes this a step further: not only is the threat unknown, we learn that it’s unknowable. The relationship between the Stormcrow and the No Things is left deliberately vague but it appears to be symbiotic – the No Things consume your time, the Stormcrow consumes your physical form. Of course, Platt uses the characters’ lack of knowledge to increase the tension – it’s an easy Doctor Who trope, but when the Doctor doesn’t even know what’s happening, things get scarier.
The characters really help make this story work. Both Chase Masterson and Ann Bell play characters with ulterior motives: Peggy is a university executive in search of profit while Professor Cazalet is focused on the glory she will earn when she identifies the Stormcrow. Trevor (Jonathan Forbes) and Erica (Mandi Symonds) are mostly there to drive the plot, but the two lead supporting characters add a surprising amount of depth. With only the Doctor and Leela there to figure out what’s going on and actually solve the problem, it’s almost believable when the Doctor loses faith and resolves to abandon the others to their fates – petulance like that was never beneath Tom Baker’s Doctor during his tenure.
And what fantastic performances from the regulars! Platt writes the fourth Doctor arrow-straight – or as close as can be with the character – and the resulting serious, intense performance from Baker is a delight. His trademark flippancy was always present, yes, but it didn’t shift into high gear until the Williams era; here, we see the Hinchcliffe Doctor at the height of his powers, intense and heroic with the occasional witty remark or bright grin to defuse the worst of the tension. It’s also obvious that Platt respects Leela: she may not understand everything that’s happening, but she’s never portrayed as ignorant, nor does he dwell on her “savage” speech patterns as some sort of defining character trait. That Louise Jameson’s performance is first-rate is almost unnecessary to say at this point – it’s as much of a privilege having her in these stories as it is Baker himself.
The production is likewise wonderful. Nicholas Briggs steps in as director, wringing every drop of suspense and atmosphere from the script. Jamie Robertson’s sound design is effective: sometimes it’s not clear what the sound is portraying, but then the characters aren’t sure what they’re dealing with, making the design quite effective. Overall, “Night of the Stormcrow” is a strong success. No, there’s nothing new here, and no, it’s hardly the most meaningful script, but it takes itself seriously and presents a claustrophobic, horrific story that never wallows in nostalgia. If more of the Fourth Doctor Adventures were like this, there’d be no reason to complain.
Highly recommended.
8/10