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The Sixth Doctor finally meets the Brigadier in the most enjoyable Big Finish audio so far. The setting for the story is Cornwall, where the moor of the title is supposedly haunted by demonic three-feet high imps, which makes it sound like a cross between THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and QUATERMASS AND THE PIT. In fact, THE SPECTRE OF LANYON MOOR sounds like an awful lot of things. In addition to those, it has plenty of similarities to several previous Who stories, notably THE DAEMONS and CITY OF DEATH. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing, and the Big Finish audios have pretty much worked so far by being closer to the sort of WHO we saw on TV than the sort that BBC Books are churning out these days. Although Peter Davison is probably my favourite audio Doctor so far, Colin Baker is certainly doing an excellent job as well, and his more subdued Doctor is a far cry from the one he was lumbered with on TV. Maggie Stables continues to impress as companion Evelyn Smythe, and Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier also works well alongside the Sixth Doctor. Perhaps a line-up that wouldn't have worked too well on television, but certainly one which benefits from the audio format. On the guest star front (although Nicholas Courtney isn't really a regular), two performances really stood out for me - Toby Longworth's Professor Morgan, who has some nice put-downs and Sir Archibald Flint (James Bolam) who, according to Evelyn, is "crackers". And he is. Despite its traditional nature, THE SPECTRE OF LANYON MOOR is very enjoyable, and the story kept my interest up throughout, which makes a change. Evelyn is proving to be a highly likeable character, and a refreshing change from the usual companion, and Maggie Stables does a fine job bringing her to life. Her scenes with Flint are amongst the best in the series so far. For those who haven't been buying the Big Finish audios regularly (or even at all), THE SPECTRE OF LANYON MOOR is definitely worth checking out, even if you didn't like the Sixth Doctor on TV. For those who are regular buyers of the series, then it's pretty much a must-have. BACK TO THE TOP |
THE
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