The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Doctor Who

‘You don’t understand! That sweet furry little creature is a sadistic maniac!’

The Doctor is concerned about what’s happening with a television station whose new policies to attract viewers are deeply concern him. Can the Doctor stop an old enemy, or will the battle for the Ratings War be too much for even the Doctor to end?

Presented free with Doctor Who Magazine 313, The Ratings War is very much an oddity, but it provides a solid slice of entertainment and an extremely satisfying one too which judging by last years Last Of The Titans is a difficult balance to get right.

While at first it might sound like most of The Ratings War is spent with the Doctor and Beep the Meep deep in conversation with each as they talk about old times and Beep’s current plan for conquest, there is more to it that just that.

Given the quality of his performances in the regular Doctor Who releases, it’s no surprise to find that once again Colin Baker is on top form here. Even in just half an hours worth of story he manages to be effective and convey the power of the Sixth Doctor.

Toby Longworth is very good as Beep the Meep, capturing the essence of the character well with his cute facade hiding his more psychopathic tendencies, and the way that he varies between the two sides brings the character to life with suitable menace. The combination of Longworth’s performance and the special effects used to alter his voice ensure that Beep the Meep’s audio appearance is very memorable.

Alistair Lock gives a very enthusiastic performance as the host of the gameshow which is totally believable and very appropriate for the type of show that he’s hosting. Robert Jezek and Jane Goodard complete the cast of this short drama in brief, but memorable appearances.

Steve Lyons’s script ensures that the story moves along at quite a slow pace, but with plenty of humour present and the good performances it always keeps things interesting. The script is a little self-aware at times, particularly during the closing moments, but given how much fun the whole story is to listen to this isn’t really much of a problem. Recommended.
And ‘Beep’s Song’ is totally infectious ...

‘Meep! Meep!’