Planet 14 - Doctor Who

Despite his reputation in fandom, I found Paul Cornell's previous Big Finish, THE SHADOW OF THE SCOURGE, somewhat lacking. As someone instrumental in defining the post-1989 character of the Seventh Doctor, I also have to confess being a little apprehensive how he would handle the Eighth Doctor.

Fortunately, there are no problems on that score, as the excellent relationship between the Doctor and Charley is well captured. Cornell's sleevenotes tell us that he's a big fan of Paul McGann's introductory voice-over on the TVM, and the Doctor appears to be narrating SEASONS OF FEAR, but it turns out that he's justifying his actions to the mysterious Auditor (RISING DAMP's Don Warrington).

India Fisher is also as excellent as ever as Charley. She doesn't get quite such an important role as in THE CHIMES OF MIDNIGHT, but she's still great, especially her surprise reappearance at the end of the story.

An constant theme in the Eighth Doctor audios has been time, and the consequences of the Doctor saving Charley from the R-101. That's picked up here, as the TARDIS finally brings her to Singapore, allowing her to keep her appointment with her friend Alex Grayle. Alex isn't the only Grayle in Singapore, as the Doctor runs into Sebastian Grayle, who claims to have killed him in his past and the Doctor's future.

The sleeve notes also say that SEASONS OF FEAR is an attempt to resurrect the kind of multipart stories that we had with THE KEYS OF MARINUS or THE CHASE. I'm not particularly convinced that we really needed this format brought back, but the settings here - particularly the 1055AD one - do work well. Of course, this may just be because the audio medium means that we don't have to put up with shoddy sets as the budget gets stretched too far.

As usual there's a small cast. Grayle isn't the all-powerful adversary that he perhaps could have been, but there are still some good guest performances - most notably from Lennox Greaves and Sue Wallace as Edward and Edith in the 1055 segment.

There's also the return of an old enemy from the television series. Listening to the story again, there are several hints along the way, but Big Finish have managed to do a good job keeping the identity of Grayle's masters (as the sleeve bills them) secret. Their voice was the best thing about them on television, so on audio, they come across quite well.

SEASONS OF FEAR is supposedly Paul Cornell's DOCTOR WHO swansong and, although its not the best thing he's done, it's certainly not the worst. Apart from a couple of nitpicks - Grayle's character and some plot holes (which may in any case be picked up later in "season 28") - this is an enjoyable outing for the Eighth Doctor and Charley. BACK TO THE TOP

SEASONS OF FEAR

Written by PAUL CORNELL
and CAROLINE SYMCOX

Directed by GARY RUSSELL

Starring PAUL McGANN
and INDIA FISHER

BIG FINISH

£13.99 CD

RATING: 6/10

NEXT RELEASE:
EMBRACE THE DARKNESS

PREVIOUS RELEASE:
THE CHIMES OF MIDNIGHT