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Big Finish: Monthly Range #257
Doctor Who: Interstitial / Feast of Fear
Interstitial by Carl Rowens
When the TARDIS is drawn off-course by temporal disruption, the Doctor and his companions discover a research facility conducting dangerous experiments. But how do you fight the future when time itself is being used as a weapon?
Feast of Fear by Martyn Waites
At the height of the Irish famine, a carnival travels the country bringing cheer to all they encounter. But it also brings something else along with them… and it already has the Doctor.
When the TARDIS is drawn off-course by temporal disruption, the Doctor and his companions discover a research facility conducting dangerous experiments. But how do you fight the future when time itself is being used as a weapon?
Feast of Fear by Martyn Waites
At the height of the Irish famine, a carnival travels the country bringing cheer to all they encounter. But it also brings something else along with them… and it already has the Doctor.
Audio CD
First published October 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 11, 2021
A solid entry of stories for The Marc Trilogy with some great characters, eerie atmosphere and interesting ideas. I will say as much as I do like Marc's character I do feel Big Finish could do a lot more to develop upon his character. The best of the two stories was The Feast of Fear seeing Nyssa gone bad and generally some terrifying moments, whilst Interstitial was an interesting story where time itself and a madwoman is pretty much the enemy.
Interstitial: 8/10
Feast of Fear: 9/10
Interstitial: 8/10
Feast of Fear: 9/10
July 2, 2022
This consists of two one-hour stories that are connected only by occurring sequentially and including the new companion who joined at the end of the previous release, Tartarus.
Interstitial - A disastrous time experiment pulls the TARDIS off-course, taking the Doctor and companions to a space station that (from the description) closely resembles the Nerva Space Beacon from season 12. The first half consists largely of them wandering around and trying to figure out what's going on - the sort of leisurely start that works better in a 4-part story than a 2-parter like this. There are timey-wimey elements, but they're relatively minor with the second half of the story mainly dealing with a clash of objectives between the two guest stars.
Arguably, nothing very much happens and the personalities of the guest characters aren't very well drawn - one of them is basically just mad. New companion Marcus feels rather like Katarina from the TV show; too far out of his depth to contribute much and certainly giving us no new insight into his character. The story works well enough but it isn't very memorable, with a few good lines and a decent premise that doesn't, in the end, really go anywhere. 3 stars.
Feast of Fear - The second story is set in 19th century Ireland, probably during the Great Famine of 1845-49 although the year isn't explicitly stated. That's largely incidental, though, with the story instead being about mind control as a monster takes over a travelling circus. Unfortunately, this mainly results in Nyssa and the Doctor being taken out of the bulk of the plot, while the story is too short to do anything particularly interesting with Tegan in the meantime. She does mention the similarity of what's happening with her experiences of the Mara but mentions are all you get, and it isn't really explored. Marcus, on the other hand, is very much a spare wheel who doesn't get to do much beyond being confused as to where America might be.
Nor is the monster a particularly interesting or original one, very much the sort of thing we've often seen before. There's obviously an intent to draw parallels between the monster's situation and the Famine but the latter is too much in the background for that to be any more than superficial. There's some good acting and it's nice to see Ireland as a setting for a change (Northern Ireland, too, judging from the accents of the characters who are supposed to be local) but, as with the first half of this collection it's hard to get too thrilled by it all. 3 stars.
Interstitial - A disastrous time experiment pulls the TARDIS off-course, taking the Doctor and companions to a space station that (from the description) closely resembles the Nerva Space Beacon from season 12. The first half consists largely of them wandering around and trying to figure out what's going on - the sort of leisurely start that works better in a 4-part story than a 2-parter like this. There are timey-wimey elements, but they're relatively minor with the second half of the story mainly dealing with a clash of objectives between the two guest stars.
Arguably, nothing very much happens and the personalities of the guest characters aren't very well drawn - one of them is basically just mad. New companion Marcus feels rather like Katarina from the TV show; too far out of his depth to contribute much and certainly giving us no new insight into his character. The story works well enough but it isn't very memorable, with a few good lines and a decent premise that doesn't, in the end, really go anywhere. 3 stars.
Feast of Fear - The second story is set in 19th century Ireland, probably during the Great Famine of 1845-49 although the year isn't explicitly stated. That's largely incidental, though, with the story instead being about mind control as a monster takes over a travelling circus. Unfortunately, this mainly results in Nyssa and the Doctor being taken out of the bulk of the plot, while the story is too short to do anything particularly interesting with Tegan in the meantime. She does mention the similarity of what's happening with her experiences of the Mara but mentions are all you get, and it isn't really explored. Marcus, on the other hand, is very much a spare wheel who doesn't get to do much beyond being confused as to where America might be.
Nor is the monster a particularly interesting or original one, very much the sort of thing we've often seen before. There's obviously an intent to draw parallels between the monster's situation and the Famine but the latter is too much in the background for that to be any more than superficial. There's some good acting and it's nice to see Ireland as a setting for a change (Northern Ireland, too, judging from the accents of the characters who are supposed to be local) but, as with the first half of this collection it's hard to get too thrilled by it all. 3 stars.
August 22, 2020
Following on from the so-so
Tartarus
, which introduced new traveling companion Marc, Big Finish coughed up this pair of hairballs. Which were aggressively boring. (Hairballs are actually more interesting.)
Interstitial is a "little" story that we'd probably call a "bottle show" if it was on television. The Tardis pops up on a space station where an experiment is taking place, and time gets all wibbly wobbly, and the whole universe is in danger, and then they do some techno-whatsis to make it all right again. Nothing interesting or unique at all.
Feast of Fear features a traveling carnival troupe during the Irish famine, and it doesn't make any use of its setting at all. And traveling carnival troupes ceased being interesting even before the music video for The Safety Dance.
And then at the very end of Feast of Fear it becomes laughable as Big Finish wedges in yet another lesbian couple. I was half-joking when I said that Big Finish has this weird obsession with lesbians and manages to jam them into every release, but Big Finish continues to prove me right.
This lesbian-obsession is now so predictably common for Big Finish that it's beyond parody.
Interstitial is a "little" story that we'd probably call a "bottle show" if it was on television. The Tardis pops up on a space station where an experiment is taking place, and time gets all wibbly wobbly, and the whole universe is in danger, and then they do some techno-whatsis to make it all right again. Nothing interesting or unique at all.
Feast of Fear features a traveling carnival troupe during the Irish famine, and it doesn't make any use of its setting at all. And traveling carnival troupes ceased being interesting even before the music video for The Safety Dance.
And then at the very end of Feast of Fear it becomes laughable as Big Finish wedges in yet another lesbian couple. I was half-joking when I said that Big Finish has this weird obsession with lesbians and manages to jam them into every release, but Big Finish continues to prove me right.
This lesbian-obsession is now so predictably common for Big Finish that it's beyond parody.
June 7, 2021
This release features a pair of shorter stories following directly on the heels of Doctor Who: Tartarus.
First up is Interstitial. This was interesting and certainly fits with the other surreal and head-trippy, reality-questioning themes that filled so many of the episodes from this era of the classic series. Sadly though, it wasn’t a particularly compelling story.
Followed up by Feast of Fear. Another story that I felt could have been much better. Maybe it was that this, like the previous one, was only half as long as the 4-part stories. Maybe it just need more time to get fully developed. Interesting, but lacking something ... I don’t know ... something to make it special.
A nice set with two fun little stories, but neither really stood out as truly remarkable.
First up is Interstitial. This was interesting and certainly fits with the other surreal and head-trippy, reality-questioning themes that filled so many of the episodes from this era of the classic series. Sadly though, it wasn’t a particularly compelling story.
Followed up by Feast of Fear. Another story that I felt could have been much better. Maybe it was that this, like the previous one, was only half as long as the 4-part stories. Maybe it just need more time to get fully developed. Interesting, but lacking something ... I don’t know ... something to make it special.
A nice set with two fun little stories, but neither really stood out as truly remarkable.
October 20, 2019
Those were a nice couple of stories.
The new companion Marc continues to be likeable, it is great to have a male non-contemporary companion for a change.
However, all of the companions get some time to shine here and the cast had a lot of fun recording this as is obvious when you listen to the extras.
While these two stories are nothing too deep or original, they are non-the-less enjoyable and good solid work from Big Finish.
Also, we get to hear an evil Nyssa cracking the whip at the Doctor. That alone is awesome.
The new companion Marc continues to be likeable, it is great to have a male non-contemporary companion for a change.
However, all of the companions get some time to shine here and the cast had a lot of fun recording this as is obvious when you listen to the extras.
While these two stories are nothing too deep or original, they are non-the-less enjoyable and good solid work from Big Finish.
Also, we get to hear an evil Nyssa cracking the whip at the Doctor. That alone is awesome.
September 18, 2020
Continuing the Big Finish trend of hammering two 2-episode stories together for a Main Range release, Interstitial and Feast of Fear take the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, and new recruit Mark, to a dangerous time experiment on a space station and to a carnival in famine-era Ireland. Neither story is quite as satisfying as it could be - this format doesn't work too well with such a large central cast, I think. It tends to work far better with a single companion, two at the most.
April 18, 2023
Doctor Who: Interstitial / Feast of Fear - 3/5 stars
Interstitial - 3/5 stars
This one is fine, just a bit of a nothing story.
Feast of Fear - 3/5 stars
This one is fine, just a bit of a nothing story.
Interstitial - 3/5 stars
This one is fine, just a bit of a nothing story.
Feast of Fear - 3/5 stars
This one is fine, just a bit of a nothing story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2019
The doctor and gang get split apart by time then an evil em ok tion sucker.
February 18, 2021
Two stars for Interstitial, four for Feast of Fear, averaging out at three.
April 6, 2021
An underwhelming pair of stories. 2.5
December 13, 2024
Mixed on this one. I did like the end to "Feast of Fear."
July 1, 2022
The 257th release in the Doctor Who Monthly Range from Big Finish, this is second to feature new companion Marc, an ex-roman slave from the house of Cicero, along with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa. While I wasn't overly enamored with his introduction story Doctor Who: Tartarus, I enjoyed the character and his potential. However, these two stories were just kinda boring. The first, Interstitial, is about time experiments and plays with time as a weapon. Interesting ideas, with one scientist sent backwards on the evolutionary track to cro-magnon and the other sent forwards towards godhood. However, it just didn't grab me much. The second story, Feast of Fear, is about a circus in Ireland during the famine and an alien parasite that feeds on emotions, especially fear. It gives Sarah Sutton a chance to stretch her acting muscles, but again, I wasn't grabbed by the story. These weren't terrible stories and are very well-acted. They just didn't grab me and thus I just kinda found them boring.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews