Review: The Fearmonger

My feelings about The Fearmonger, the fifth Doctor Who audio play to be released by Big Finish, and the first to feature the Seventh Doctor and Ace, have changed a lot since I first listened to it. My first impressions were hugely positive; my opinion dropped on repeated listens, perhaps because I'd listened to a wider range of BF audios and had a wider range of stories to compare it to; and now, revisiting it for the first time in several months, I fell in love all over again.

The plot sees our heroes in a dystopic England of the near future, and we join them in the middle of their adventure, battling the eponymous Fearmonger, a shadowy parasitic entity that latches onto human hosts, and can amplify and draw energy from fear. Around them, cracks are beginning to show in the condition of the country, with the extreme right New Britannia movement banning immigration, and assassination attempts aimed at their leader, Sherilyn Harper, by a man who believes she's more than what she seems.

This is a particularly dark play, in the vein of Sylvester McCoy's later TV serials. The Doctor is explicitly shown to be mainpulative and controlling, and McCoy eagerly devours this side of the character, really putting in a fantastic performance. Sophie Aldred keeps Ace as recognisably young and excitable as she was on screen, but gives the part a bit more maturity and wisdom, which works surprisingly well. And her idea of swearing still incorporates words like "toeface", which is especially heartening to note.

The supporting artists are a mixed bunch - Jacqueline Pearce puts in the best performance of the play as Harper, and Hugh Walters supports her competently as Roderick, but Vince Henderson's portrayal of Mick Thompson is almost as grating as the DJ in Revelation of the Daleks. I'm sure his role as the radio talk-show host was meant to be cheesy and annoying - the repeated use of a realistically-irritating jingle would certainly suggest so - but at times he genuinely does take the quality of the play down. However, his exposition scenes in the final episode do work rather well, with his description of the Doctor's actions completely devoid of the unnaturalness and artificiality you might expect.

Jonathan Blum's script is great, neatly directing the audience to revile Harper throughout, before unexpectedly drawing out some sympathy for her towards the end. The twists and turns, particularly the cliffhangers between episodes, are pure brilliance. This story seems more geared towards audio than others, with the use of the radio show and the ability to identify the Fearmonger through sound alone successful examples of this, and the sound work throughout is superb.

Even years after its release, The Fearmonger is one of the most distinct productions in terms of atmosphere and subject matter that Big Finish have produced. It requires attention and effort on the part of the listener, because if you're not fully engaged with it, it doesn't work, and I think that's why my opinions about the play have fluctuated over time. But if you do connect with the story, then it works, and it's jaw-droppingly brilliant.