View source for Medieval knights, fungal AIs, and a universe in a can...

{{article
| publication = SFX 
| file = 2010-01 SFX p129.jpg
| px = 350
| height = 
| width = 
| date = 2010-01-10
| display date = issue 190 (Jan. 2010)
| author = Saxon Bullock, Ian Berriman
| pages = 129
| language = English 
| type = 
| description = 
| categories = Sound recordings
| moreTitles = 
| morePublications = 
| moreDates = 
| text = 
CASTLE OF FEAR

Big Finish MS mins (two discs) £12.99 (download)/£14.99 (CD) OUT NOW! {{stars|4|4}}


THE PYRALIS EFFECT

Big Finish 70 mins (one disc) £7.99 (downioad)/E8.99 (CD) OUT NOW! {{stars|4|4}}


RINGPULL-WORLD

Big Finish 60 mins (one disc) E7.99 (download)/E8.99 (CD) OUT NOW! {{stars|3|3}}1/2


HORNETS' NEST THE CIRCUS OF DOOM

BBC Audio 72 mins E9.78 OUT NOW! {{stars|2|2}}1/2


Mention Stockbridge to a Who fan and you'll either get a blank look or a smile of nostalgic pleasure. This quiet English village may never have appeared on-screen, but it's built up a significant Doctor-related history thanks to frequent comic strip appearances (most notably in '80s classic "The Tides Of Time"). Now it's the focus of Big Finish's latest trilogy.

The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa's Stockbridge-based adventures kick off with Castle Of Fear. In 12th century England, they find Stockbridge Castle occupied by some suspiciously technology-savvy "demons". Soon we're in the middle of a Pythonesque romp featuring action, escapes and some truly outrageous accents. The humour occasionally verges on overload (John Sessions gleefully hams it up as a wicked knight), but on the whole this lively adventure captures the spirit of the best Who comics. Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton are on fine form, and the plot rattles along at a rapid pace. An enjoyably rambunctious listen.

Elsewhere, the Companion Chronidesseries goes in two different directions. First up, a surprisingly hard SF-style adventure for Lalla Ward's Time lady assistant In The Pyralis Effect, the TARDIS lands on a starship, where the Fourth Doctor and Romana are almost immediately placed in harm's way thanks to a rogue Al. But the ship's mission could be even more dangerous. Soon something powerful's being unleashed on an unsuspecting universe... Playing like a harder-edged version of Tom Baker's more SF-oriented final season, this well-paced tale features a strong performance from Ward, and has an evocative musical score.

Things get a lot stranger in Ringpullworld, a typically idiosyncratic tale from Paul Map that focuses on shifty Fifth Doctor companion Turlough (Mark Strickson). When the TARDIS crew are stranded inside a pocket universe stuck within a small can-shaped container, Turlough's decision to act against the Doctors wishes has potentially deadly consequences...

Strickson isn't one of the strongest narrators the range has seen, but he does a pretty fine job of recreating the character, and the plot showcases an entertaining level of surreal imagination. Going in some seriously bizarre directions, it's an occasionally flawed but highly entertaining story, and one of the more wildly experimental releases in the range.

With each passing instalment of Hornets' Nest, a feeling of missed opportunities grows. The Circus Of Doom (part three of five) once more pits Tom Baker's Doctor against alien hornets. This time they've taken over a circus troupe in 1832, beguiling the inhabitants of an English village. Once again, there's a pungent sense of the carnivalesque. Lexophiles will be delighted by Paul Magrs's verbose script, which smuggles "febrile" and "stymied" into the same sentence, and has Baker booming phrases like "dilapidated pachyderm". But the half-dramatised, half-narrated format tends to create swathes of "here's my story" exposition, and there's still no sign of the buzzing beasties having a joined-up plan. It's all rather shrug-worthy. Here's hoping for a sting in the tail. 


As well as John Sessions, Castle Of Fear also features Joe Thomas, best known as Simon Cooper in Channel Four's The Inbetweeners

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