The TARDIS arrives in alien woodlands, where a small group of humans hold tight against the the menace of the Takers – strange creatures who come by night to spirit away members of their settlement.
But if there’s one thing that the inhabitants of Purity Bay fear more than the Takers, it’s the dirt and disease spread by strangers. Strangers like the Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa…
The fanatical Sister Mertil and her hygiene-obsessed acolytes are victims of a terrible corruption – but not in the way they think. Only the whispering forest knows the truth.
THE WHISPERING FOREST
This trilogy of Peter Davison stories from Big Finish, featuring Stephen Cole’s “The Whispering Forest” as the middle entry, clearly has “nostalgia” as its throughline. The big selling point, of course, is the return of Janet Fielding to the role of Tegan, but between this and “Cobwebs” – and the cliffhanger at the end – it’s like we’re back in 1983!
This is Stephen Cole’s first complete offering to the Big Finish main range going all the way back to release #51, “The Wormery.” Going back to his days as range editor for BBC Books, Cole has always been a solid, reliable writer. He’s produced some sublime material both as a co-writer and under pseudonyms, but if the cover says “Stephen Cole,” you’re probably looking at a well-written, traditional Doctor Who story. “The Whispering Forest” is no different, especially given that this is Cole’s favorite era of the program: it features the essential grimness of the era combined with concepts such as language drift, descendants continuing the traditions of their ancestors without proper understanding, and of course the Doctor and companions treated as untrustworthy outsiders from the first minute.
To Cole’s credit, he skillfully weaves these elements into an entertaining whole. I enjoyed the (admittedly simple) concept of the descendants of a hospital ship misinterpreting the surgical scrub as an instruction for daily life. I liked the name of the colony doubling as a statement of purpose. I was entertained by the young leader trying to bring her people out of the darkness while the old, fearful zealots tried to keep them there. Granted, this isn’t the sort of story I’d ever give a top score to, but the strength of the performances coupled with the confidence of the writing makes for a rewarding listen.
This isn’t to say that “The Whispering Forest” isn’t without scripting flaws. The Shades, who provide the titular whispering, probably should have been left out of the story entirely: they’re poorly explained, they don’t do anything until the last five minutes, and when they do pop up they behave in totally unexpected fashion that just so happens to resolve the plot. Cole also does a solid job breaking up a four-person TARDIS team, but ultimately the Doctor and Tegan get the interesting story at the settlement while Nyssa and Turlough stumble around the forest for three episodes. And some of the cliché is a bit too much – Mertil (Sue Wallace) is a fanatic, yes, but a fanatical character going to her death proclaiming her faith until the last breath just seemed tired in this situation.
Peter Davison is again on top form here – not sure what order these plays were recorded in, but he definitely seems a bit more energetic than usual, which I’m sure is due in part to the reunion. It’s fun having Janet Fielding back, too: Tegan can cut through nonsense much more efficiently than Nyssa and tends to get more accomplished as a result. I also appreciated Cole pairing off Nyssa and Turlough, despite their relative lack of involvement in the early episodes. Turlough seems much less reticent with Nyssa than with the Doctor or Tegan – ultimately, he has the most in common with her – and here he puts his deviousness to productive use. The supporting cast is great, too: Hayley Atwell, now late of Captain America, is excellent as Sister Seksa, every bit as heroic as Wallace and Paul Shelley are evil as Mertil and Jestan. Lennox Greaves almost seems underused, but Anulf’s absence is a significant plot point.
The production is on fine form as always. Richard Fox and Lauren Yason provide excellent sound design and a fine score, and Barnaby Edwards adds his usual directorial flourishes. Of particular note is the sound of the Doctor’s torture blending into the end credits at the end of episode 1 – up there with Leisure Hive 1 for me. In the end, though, “The Whispering Forest” is what it is: a very traditional ‘80s Doctor Who script with an excellent production. There’s not much here to take home – heck, even the boring title was apparently changed from the much better “Purity,” if I’m hearing the extra features right – but I can’t be too harsh on a nostalgic story just for being nostalgic. It’s a step up – but now that this is out of the way, let’s get a little more ambitious for the Mara story, huh?
Solid.
7/10