Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford, Ronald Pickup, Isabel Fay, Gwilym Lee, Beth Chalmers, Adrian MacKinder, John Banks, Barnaby Edwards.
The close confinement and stark corridors are the magical ingredients that gleam through some of the best Doctor Who stories in its 50 years thrilling and scaring viewers and listeners alike. Add in a monster that’s unseen for the best part of the tale, mix in the unfamiliar sound of the alien chasing down the human population and a charismatic leader hell bent on trying to keep two sets people apart with him controlling them and you have the makings of a tantalising story by William Gallager called Spaceport Fear.
The second of the new three part series starring Colin Baker as the sixth Doctor employs all the facets that make up a great and creepy tale and whereas The Wrong Doctors by Matt Fitton was sublime in the way that it captured the Doctor and Melanie Bush out of context and in a world of mischief and old behaviour, William Gallager’s script resorts to the best of nods to the psychological thrillers that have made Doctor Who a source of endless fascination for millions.
There is something almost primeval in the way that the two encampments on the long forgotten spaceport have been separated. The use of division acting as an estrangement between one part of humanity and their wealthier counterparts is very well scripted and alludes to the class system that is forever on the back of unheard conversations in the country. Whilst economy learns to travel light, only take the water which is needed and the light of a candle when absolutely required, business is able to enjoy more of the benefits fitting their position on the spaceport. It is a perfect analogy for the times the world finds itself in and whether by design or by fortuitous fortune, this audio drama delves into a very real and terrifying situation that is hitting many. Just because it is set far into humanity’s future doesn’t mean that it’s not relevant now.
The difference between light and dark, the obscured and the open is all at work within the play and the performances, especially those of Colin Baker, the fabulous Ronald Pickup as the mysterious Elder Bones and the enchanting Isabel Fay as Naysmith all reflect the danger and sensory pricking fear that lies within the spaceport. There is also a subtle sense of humour that carries itself through the story as well, something that the writers find easy to do it seems for Colin Baker’s and Paul McGann’s Doctors, the warmth that was missing from the television period of Colin Baker’s incarnation has flowered and bloomed all the way through the last decade and a half and even though the stories can be out of synch they have proved to be the reason that Colin Baker’s Doctor endures.
Spaceport Fear is a well written and well observed episode by William Gallager, one deserving of the heritage that has been leading up to the bug anniversary this November.
Ian D. Hall