Review: Seasons of Fear

Finally, the Eighth Doctor has delivered his companion Charley Pollard to Singapore in 1930. But the fact that he's disrupted the web of time by saving her life is the least of his problems when he's confronted by a malevolent man by the name of Sebastian Grayle. The Doctor's never met or heard of him before, but Grayle claims to have encountered the Doctor frequently throughout his unnaturally-long life, and has come to gloat - because, many years in Grayle's past, he killed the Doctor.

And so a search begins - the Doctor and Charley must frantically travel through time and space to find out how Grayle became a powerful immortal, discover who his true masters are, and prevent the Doctor's death.

Paul McGann and India Fisher turn out predictably fantastic performances, with McGann in particular excelling in his narration of the story - a device last seen in the TV Movie - which works effectively, let down only by the irritating sound design (his narration is backed by some dischordant chimes). The relationship between the two characters continues to shine here, with Charley a little more playful and teasing than she has been before, which adds a bit more dimension to her character.

It's Stephen Perring as Grayle, though, who steals the show in terms of acting. He rises to the challenge of playing the same character at different points in his life, and Grayle's development from a mere mortal into a dark and bitter menace is made believable by Perring's multi-faceted performance.

The revelation of Grayle's true masters in the latter half of the adventure is a surprising but exciting one, and the hints dropped through earlier scenes mean the story becomes more satisfying and clever upon repeated listenings. It's only slightly disappointing that, after having been consistently lauded by Grayle as being powerful and dangerous, they're eventually defeated with relative ease.

In the sleeve notes for this CD, co-author Paul Cornell cites the early days of the Classic Series as an inspriation for this adventure's 'quest' format, describing it as "a very traditional Doctor Who story". It's strange, then, that this feels like one of the most original and unusual tales we've ever seen - simultaneously epic in scope, and beautifully personal in characterisation and emotion.

Seasons of Fear is an engrossing and tautly-plotted romp, another pleasingly-strong story for this series of Eighth Doctor audios. It includes numerous references to the ongoing arc - with an ominously tantalising coda hinting at a future storyline - whilst striking a good enough balance to work as a thrilling standalone tale too. A fantastic play.