9. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor

Out of the first three Doctors to join Big Finish, Colin had, up to this point, the best stories. And The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor continues that run with a good, old-fashioned Doctor Who adventure that, while still maintaining a flavour of those classic Saturday tea-time serials like The Daemons and Terror Of The Zygons, manages to keep itself interesting and fresh.

The plot is textbook Who. An alien has lain dormant beneath a bit of Cornwall, and things are starting to go awry, just as the Doctor turns up. If you asked anyone to craft a Doctor Who story, chances are that they may come up with something a little like this. Into that, however, writer Nicholas Pegg has weaved some fantastic characters, each of whom is full-fleshed out and motivated. Sure, it isn't anything we haven't seen before, but they, at least, hold the interest, and are quirky enough to be interesting. And putting the Brigadier into this story is a masterstroke: it's lovely to hear Nick Courtney alongside the Sixth Doctor in a full-length tale. The cast in this are to die for: Baker, Stables, the aforementioned Courtney, Jameson, Longworth, Bolam, Edwards, they're all fantastic. It brings to this story a real touch of class and glamour that such a script deserves.

Topped off with some fantastic sound design and some cinematic music that I wouldn't expect of a tale like this, The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor is a terrific Doctor Who story that is simply focused on telling a good Doctor Who story, and nothing more. And the end product is delightful, and very much a personal favourite. A very strong release.

A delightfully old-fashioned story. Much of the appeal comes from the joy of having Colin Baker and Nicholas Courtney together, and I can't overstate how nice that is, but there's much more to the story than that. Episode One is remarkable for how much exposition it manages to cram in without ever feeling the least bit weighed down. The story succeeds despite being quite conventional (a folk-superstition is once again explained by aliens), largely because it's very well plotted. I'm not inclined to mention any flaws, but if you held a gun to my head, I could say that Sir Archibald Flint doesn't quite work as the story's secondary villain, but fortunately he doesn't really get in the way either. All in all, it's a wonderfully traditional tea-time adventure story.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating the importance of nostalgia in this series. For me this has been the production that gave me the biggest nostalgia pangs. However, it did not evoke 6th doctor memories. This one belongs firmly in the early seventies. It has elements of both the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras.

Writer and Director Nicholas Pegg creates a story which could easily of fitted into the Pertwee v The Master adventures. There are some obvious analogies going on. Colin Baker’s Doctor is played like Pertwee’s 3rd. I don’t mean an impersonation, but rather, he gives his Doctor a kinder and more understanding veneer. He is also separated from his Tardis and forced to work scientific miracles with some copper wire and glue.

Maggie Stable’s Evelyn Smith is could easily been Sarah Jane Smith. She listen’s carefully to the Doctor and then does the exact opposite at every turn. Throw in a Machiavellian villain (Flint) using and Alien intelligence for their own needs, and obviously reflecting The Master in The Daemons. It is all very derivative, but it’s lots of fun.

The cast all give good accounts of themselves, although Baker due to the large cast has less to do than previous stories. He and Stables are a great combination and their relationship as characters develops nicely here. I loved the scene where she forces the Doctor to apologise to an archaeologist. Of course, much of the focus will be on the Brigadier. He is such an iconic figure in 70s Doctor Who and Courtney recapture his mix of skepticism and credulity perfectly.
The soundscape capture’s the eerie moors well. The incidental music is perhaps the best so far.
If you listen to it a few times, you will of course find plot holes, but the plot here is not the centrepiece. It is fairly slight, it is the character interaction and the Gothic horror evocation that hold the listener’s attention.
Colin Baker’s doctor has done much better that his predecessor (Davidson) in the Big Finish script lottery. His last adventure was good and he follows up with another smashing tale. If you don’t have this yet, go get it, it is one of the ludicrously cheap £2.99 downloads from Big Finish’s first 50 Doctor Who stories. If that doesn’t make you smile, then surely the return of the Brigadier will.

A superb atmospheric tale that manages to have a clever mix of gothic horror, science fiction, with just a dash of social commentary. Colin Baker never worked with Nicholas Courtney on television, so this is the only story featuring the Sixth Doctor and the Brigadier.

While this was only the second story featuring Maggie Stables as Evelyn, she and Colin Baker already had a very chemistry and a unique Doctor-Companion relationship. Hearing Evelyn, the Brigadier, and the Sixth Doctor all together in the early episodes is a delight. The story does a good job building mystery and suspense, although the ending felt a little "paint by numbers." Despite that, this is still a very solid production.