Doctor Who Review - "Spaceport Fear"
rating: 5
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Back the 1980s, Doctor Who was in a weird place. Widely regarded as past its prime, the show was losing ratings, had a perceived increase in violent content and was rapidly cruising toward cancelation. This cancelation was not helped by an episode during the Seventh Doctors era called Paradise Towers. In this episode, the Doctor and Mel arrived at an apartment block that had been longsince cut off from the rest of the world. A sort of society had evolved where gangs of girls roamed the building trying to fight back against the powers that be. It was a fascinating concept that was very poorly executed. In Spaceport Fear, the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) find themselves at a mysterious space station thats been cut off from the rest of the universe. A sort of society has evolved, where one group called Business fights another group called Economy. Theyre all being manipulated by a mysterious elder figure (Ronald Pickup) who is, allegedly, trying to protect them from a creature called the Wailer. There is, as you can see, a bit of overlap between this story and Paradise Towers, especially as both feature a great deal of slang terminology based on where they are set. There is one important difference. Paradise Towers was virtually unwatchable. Spaceport Fear is very good. Its strange, in a way. The story really does feel like something lifted right out of a really dodgy era in 1980s Who. Yet it works quite well. Baker and Langford have a wonderful chemistry that shines, as always, and I loved the way that Mels computer skills were actually put to use for a change. I also liked the way that certain slang terminology, where different meanings were given to common terms, worked out. Ill never think of arrivals and departures the same way again. Now it must be said that this is fundamentally a base under siege story, and is therefore somewhat limited by that format. However within that format it works very well and while there were a few times where I was rolling my eyes, and while I wasnt very clear on exactly why Business and Economy were fighting, aside from one figure telling them they should, I still found this to be a very creative, entertaining story. Im also happy to report that I didnt guess what was going on until the very end. I do have to also say that I find it a bit amusing that the Doctor is still wearing his blue outfit on the cover. I guess the events of "The Wrong Doctors" didn't have much of a lasting impact! Again, I must say that we have here another wonderful story from Big Finish, and a great one to use to introduce people to the audio stories. Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford really do quite well and as near as I can tell, this isnt a part of any arc. Its really just a great example of mid-1980s Doctor Who done right, and that alone makes it worthwhile. NEXT TIME: The Doctor and Mel fight against a vicioussomething. Im not sure what, because I havent listened to it yet! But no doubt it will be interesting.