Tony Jones is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
With Terror of the Sontarans, Big Finish brings to an end a trilogy of main range stories for the Seventh Doctor and Mel Bush. The story is the joint creation of both John Dorney and Dan Starkey; Dan being the actor behind comic TV Sontaran Strax and a Big Finish regular.
The story is set on a mining facility, now being used as a Sontaran research base. The Doctor and Mel arrive in response to a distress beacon and find the base all but deserted. As they explore they free a bunch of highly eccentric characters from the bowels of the base and also realise there is something even Sontarans are scared of. As exploring Sontaran Field-Major Kayste points out, nothing should make a Sontaran afraid.
Amidst the action, this is the core of what makes this story; the writers have found an intriguing angle on the Sontarans and the exploration is powerful. What makes this even better is the fabulous characters they also find, including Jon Edgley Bond as the hero Anvil Jackson. As a point of trivia, Jon Egley Bond is founder of the Fitzrovia Radio Hour, and Dan Starkey is an occasional member of the company. Anvil is a larger than life, boy’s own character and in many ways takes the central Strax Sontaran role despite begin a human. He is bullish, comic and without any self-awareness. The others are no less interesting, including the very well realised Ketch (Daniel o’Meara) who has a particularly useful special power.
The rich and varied cast take on multiple roles; not only Dan Starkey, but also the versatile John Banks – between them they take five parts. The story gives the Doctor and Mel enough to do without them dominating the telling. What is pleasing here is how both Bonnie Langford and Sylvester McCoy are very relaxed throughout, and Ken Bentley’s direction needs commending (as ever!)
There is, of course, a deeper mystery afoot, and the whole piece is well realised and satisfying. We are promised more Seventh Doctor and Mel next summer; if they are anywhere near as good as this, I for one can’t wait.
Order Terror of the Sontarans today on CD or MP3 from Big Finish!
The post Reviewed: Terror of the Sontarans appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.