The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor is another 'event' audio, and this time the event taking place within this one is the meeting of the Sixth Doctor and the Brigadier, and also features the return of Evelyn Smythe - the Sixth Doctor's new companion who made her debut in The Marian Conspiracy.

The Doctor and Evelyn arrive in Cornwall, and soon find that there is more going on than meets the eye. The area that they have arrived in is littered with relics of archaeological significance and this has attracted a survey to the area. Plus they have an interesting associate working with them in the form of the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The survey team have been detecting strange electrical signals on Lanyon Moor, and local beliefs indicate that these may be connected to the legendary spectre of Lanyon Moor...

The story starts off with a City of Death style introduction featuring a mysterious alien race who apparently ends up stranded on Earth before moving to the main action in Cornwall. Although this worked well in that story, it's not quite as effective here as it takes away a little of the mystery of what exactly is happening. Nicholas Pegg's script is very traditional in its plotting and style, but it works. Despite having the early insight into what the story is going to be about, Pegg manages to create a genuine sense of mystery as to what is actually happening. It's also quite a different style of story to what the Sixth Doctor usually has and so this is another factor in its favour.

Colin Baker's performance as the Doctor is once again superb. His character in these productions is much more relaxed and pleasant than he was on television. He continues to develop the character along the lines that he would have liked to have seen the character on television and the improvement is significantly noticeable. His interaction with the Brigadier is quite excellent and makes you wonder what it would have been like to have had a story with the two of them on television. The changes in the character of the Sixth Doctor work precisely because it enhances the character.

Nicholas Courtney's performance is excellent. His voice may sound slightly older than he was on television but this doesn't detract from his performance at all and under lines the fact that this is the retired Brigadier who was seen in the early stages of Battlefield. He's come out of retirement to do a little undercover surveillance for UNIT on Lanyon Moor, and his presence is one of the audios strong points. His reaction to meeting this Doctor for the first time is priceless.

Maggie Stables is not quite as bright as she was in The Marian Conspiracy, but she still proves that her Evelyn Smythe is a worthy addition to Doctor Who and she continues to excel in her scenes with the Doctor. The repartee between the two is one of the many highlights of this audio, but as they spend large parts of this audio apart it is not as evident as it was in her first appearance. Having an older companion for the Doctor is proving to be a masterstroke as she is more cautious than the younger companions and whereas the Sixth Doctor often seemed like a bully in his relationship with Peri, here he is unable to bully Evelyn and at times it often seems like she has the upper hand in their relationship.

The supporting cast is good, with this audios other special guest star James Bolam being the highlight. His villainous turn as Sir Archibald is quite memorable. He underplays the role quite well and this makes it more convincing when the nature of what he's doing is revealed. It's only through the script that you begin to build suspicions about him as his early speeches don't imply that there is anything to suspect about him, but when the suspicions begin to be realised it is quite chilling that this apparently likeable character should be up to the things that he is. Susan Jameson puts in a good performance also.

The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor continues the excellent run of Sixth Doctor stories. It's somewhat traditional in its plot but this is no bad thing and it moves along at an excellent pace before coming to a satisfying conclusion. It has good performances from the cast and as the first meeting of Nicholas Courtney and Colin Baker portraying their Who roles it is certainly worthy of more than one listen. The Doctor Who books have improved on the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor for years now giving him a much more consistent version of the character as was on television, and now thanks to the Big Finish audios we can finally hear Colin Baker playing the role the way it should have been and his excellent portrayal is the highlight of the adventure.