Doctor Who: Colony of Fear

Big Finish: Monthly Range #273

by Roland Moore, Colin Baker (Narrator)

Sometimes the TARDIS takes the Doctor to where he needs to go...
Answering a distress call from the out-world of Triketha, the Doctor and Constance Clarke discover human colonists battling against an onslaught of giant, malevolent insects. The insects’ sting induces a coma, and it is only a matter of time before all the colonists succumb.
The Doctor is curious as to the origins of the insects, which appeared from nowhere, and offers his assistance to the colony’s governor. But is this the Doctor’s first visit to Triketha, or has he been here before? The Doctor must confront a past that he has no memory of and take responsibility for the consequences of his actions.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction

Audio CD

First published January 19, 2021

Reviews

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, good solid Sixie adventure, with an interesting added twist.
I like the setting and the idea of the insect race, although I wish we finally would meet an insect race that does not need wiping out and with which we could make friends.
Anyways, while this is not the best or even gripping Sixie adventure , it also is far from the worst.
Constance is great in this and used to the best of her abilities.
While Sixie does not go out with a bang, he certainly leaves the monthly range on a high note.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Colony of Fear" starts well enough. Part 1 is like the hard-science Doctor Who that some of us have been wanting. A space colony is barely making it, and it is being attacked by giant wasps. There is a clear problem amenable to a clear technical solution. Unfortunately, the story goes a bit sideways by burdensome secondary plot lines that intrude to become the main ones. Thus, but the end of Part Two, the story has become standard stuff: Bugs with the power to transform people into bugs are virtually unstoppable in their assault on the humans, who have little power against them. But wait, there's more. Added to this is a bizarre idea of The Doctor meeting a companion that he cannot remember ever having travelled with. While this idea had already been used in "Terror Firma," this time his memory loss seems to have something to do with the Time Lords. The mystery never gets uncovered. Perhaps, it is a clever ploy for the author to get a commission for a sequel.

[Steven Poore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly standard base-under-siege tale enlivened by a) Miranda Raison, b) a character obsessed by the fact that the Doctor "kidnapped" his son several years ago, and c) some fairly sharp observations about the nature of travelling in the Tardis and how much the Doctor remembers his companions.

Constance Clarke is still a treasure of a character, and it's her sharp observations after the belated return of the prodigal son that form the heart of the story. All else is as much Aliens as anything else, but done in an effective style that certainly doesn't parody that material.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of stories that feature someone who's travelled with the doctor that we've not heard of before and doesn't fit in with the time line of the adventures shown on TV. So whilst it is well written, performed and good music/sound design I have to deduct a star for featuring a person who claims to have travelled with the second Doctor. Its an interesting conceit but not one I personally buy into.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final Sixth Doctor release of Big Finish's main monthly range, before he was moved to his own series (and antepenultimate release in the series overall). As such, it's standalone, fitting early on in Constance's travels in the TARDIS, before she was joined by Flip.

As you might guess from the title, it's a base-under-siege, with the giant hornets on the cover being the creatures responsible. In this respect, it's a standard format for the series, with human colonists being menaced by an alien threat. The threat does eventually turn out to have some unusual properties, but even there, it's nothing we haven't seen before with different aliens. Aside from the fact that this is well done, however, there's an additional twist in the form of a subplot concerning a previous visit to the planet by the Doctor that he has no memory of.

This latter mystery doesn't really become important until the second half and even then, the full details of exactly what happened are left vague (although one can infer quite a lot). It makes good use of time travel, as well as highlighting some of the Doctor's flaws, and it's what lifts this story above the routine. Constance is also used well, getting plenty to do and once again making an excellent companion for this particular Doctor.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now before I delve into my review I have to confess I had a bit of an audio slump at the start of the year so most of these I listened to a little bit too late and this is one of those in particular.

Colony of Fear looked like a really generic story when it was revealed online and that it was to be one of the very last monthly range audios to ever be released. However surprisingly whilst this story definitely has the tropes of a typical who story whilst burrowing elements from The Ark in Space and other similar stories, this is a really good representation of it and has some really nice atmosphere and character drama to go along with it.

Colin and Miranda are on fire as usual and the cast whilst they're fairly solid I do feel whilst Solara was a nice character some of her lines were a little bit strange, to say the least. But I really enjoyed the characters of Edwin and Tarlos and how they connect to a very controversial piece of the expanded Doctor Who canon, which I won't spoil in case whoever's reading this hasn't yet listened to it.

Overall: A very solid story with a really good atmosphere and some creepy moments that I particularly enjoyed. 8/10

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good Sixth Doctor episode. I've missed having Flip as part of the TARDIS Team, so this one's set earlier in the timeline (probably right after Order of the Daleks ) when he's just traveling with Constance Clark.

The plot about the alien bugs feels like standard "base under siege" plotting; the more interesting part is the mystery of the Doctor's earlier arrival on the same planet, which he can't remember. That aspect of the plot feels like it should have been more of the focus. According to the interviews at the end of the episode, the story went through many variations, but the earlier appearance of the Doctor was always part of it, yet perhaps there just wasn't enough there to sustain a whole episode.

Anyway, one of the better ones nevertheless.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good 6th Doctor story - interesting monster foe and a forgotten blast from the Doctor's past, which raises a few questions itself.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The doctor and constance land on a planet infested by wasps that are taking over a colony.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this idea of a past companion who traveled with the Second Doctor and yet is not remembered by The Doctor.