Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair

The Lost Stories #1.1

by Graham Williams, Colin Baker (Narrator), Nicola Bryant (Narrator)

The Lost Stories: Adventures that were originally written for the Doctor Who television series but never made. Now available to hear for the first time...

The TARDIS has been drawn to Blackpool in the year 1985, where the Doctor intends to investigate a dangerous space/time vortex… while enjoying some local attractions along the way. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge.

The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel, Fantasy, Fiction, Media Tie In

Audio CD

First published November 1, 2009

Reviews

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I detest caging even the wildest beast Toymaker but for you, there is no other answer."

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty good. Entertaining, with Peri and the (Sixth) Doctor being not quite as annoying as they could often get to being in the TV show. And it’s fun having the Celestial Toymaker back again. Fun stuff.

[Geekritique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this and many more reviews on Geekritique!

Season 23 of Doctor Who is something of an anomaly. The previous season, which aired in 1985, saw the BBC changing the formats of the standard story (from 4×25 minute eps to 2×45 minute eps) in the hopes that the ratings would pick up. Alas, they did not, and the BBC announced the cancellation of the long-running SciFi program. Of course, when this was announced, a collection of scripts for season 23 had already been written. Due to fan upheaval, the BBC chose not to cancel the show, but merely to put it on a 18-month hiatus. The actual season 23, The Trial of a Time Lord, perhaps created in symbolic response to where Doctor Who currently sat, replaced the submitted scripts. And thus the original season 23 was aborted.

Until Big Finish decided to pick them up.

The Nightmare Fair, originally penned by Graham Williams, was the first of said scripts. And it’s been quite nicely translated into the audio drama medium. The Doctor and Peri travel to Blackpool in 1985, where they search for a dangerous time/space vortex. Naturally, they stop to have some fun at the local fair. Soon, however, they realize they’re caught up in an elaborate nightmarish game, and the Celestial Toymaker is pulling the strings.

It’s always lovely to hear Colin Baker reclaim his Doctor. Of all the classic Doctors, I feel he always translates best on audio. Perhaps it’s Colin’s attempt at breathing new life into his (sadly) much derided Sixth Doctor. But he’s great. Youthful. Charismatic, as all who work in audio dramas must be. With Nicola Bryant, it’s another story. I always felt her character, Peri’s, best attributes were more… visible than audible. And in this audio play I find her voice just a tad too grating. Especially when she’s screaming on a roller coaster. Why they chose a British actress to play an American companion I’ll never know.

David Bailie as the Toymaker is brilliant casting. In his interviews after the drama, you hear him speaking quite casually, and his voice is still undeniably villainous. I loved it. But throughout the play he does a beautiful job portraying the character (last seen in a First Doctor story). We learn much of the Toymaker’s evil tendencies, and what kind of a creature he is, which is all very cool. I can’t get over the fact that his plan for the Doctor was to play him in an arcade game though. He’s been waiting on earth for, assumedly, thousands of years, just to play a game with the Doctor. And when he gets the chance his ultimate game is not dissimilar to Alien Invaders or Galaga.

It was a very disappointing revolution, to an enjoyable audible romp. Sadly it missed the mark. Perhaps it would’ve been better on the television. Or maybe it was a script best left unproduced.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a 2 and a half star entry than three stars.

Part of the "lost" season 23, "The Nightmare Fair" is a story that might have worked a lot better on television. I've read the novelizations of the story years ago, but it faded in my memory. So hearing this was almost like a new story though with a big of nagging feeling that I'd heard bits of it before.

Picking up right after "Revelation of the Daleks," "Fair" finds the Doctor and Peri heading to Blackpool for some recreation. But since this is the Doctor, things don't go entirely as planned and the Doctor meets an old foe who's been waiting for him with a new trap.

Written by Graham Williams, the story tries a bit hard to be funny and that may be its weakest point. Also, a lot of the second episode is various people locked in a room and debating things. There's a reason that the production team decided to start over when season 23 was finally given the green light and I can't help but feel that a lot of it was the limitations that "Fair" has. It's an interesting return of an old foe (though one that would have thrown most viewers for a loop since it was a call back of 20 plus years), but it feels padded even at two 45-minute episodes.

[Viola · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
There are some fun moments and the Blackpool amusement park is a great setting. The second part felt too long and not as interesting. Although this was intended as a tv story so the board game bits probably would've been better if we could see them. Also there isn’t much for Peri and the side characters to do after the Doctor goes to play against the Toymaker, We could've used the funfair elements in more in their storyline in part 2. The section when Peri and Kevin were wondering in one the rides was cool, so something like that.

Nobody was weird or creepy towards Peri and her banter with The Doctor was good and equal sided. Considering this episode was written for how they were in the 80s on the show, it's one of the better examples and how they should've portrayed the relationship to being with. It still feels like that era though, minus the crap sexist treatment of Peri by the writers and 6 being overly terrible to her.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't often listen to audiobooks but having recently finished reading the novel, it was a delight to hear the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) again! This was the next best version of this missing Doctor Who episode that was never made/televised. It nicely captured the Sixth Doctor era of Doctor Who.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently I didn't do my review.

I remember enjoying this, but it's been so many months that I can't remember anything else.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adaptation of a story that was scrapped once Doctor Who was put on hold in the mid eighties. David Baillie does a nice job of the Celestial Toymaker but sadly is no replacement for Michael Hough. Its very much if its era but Big Finish have done a great job of recreating the feel of the show at that time.

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1984/1985, Doctor Who was put on hiatus for eighteen months. The initially planned Season 23 was scrapped and when Doctor Who returned in 1986, viewers were treated to The Trial of a Time Lord, whether they liked it or not. Over the years, the lost Season 23 was regarded with mystery and regret. So, in 2009, Big Finish began producing The Lost Stories range which focused on various unmade stories.

The first of these was The Nightmare Fair. Written by former producer Graham Williams (he produced Season 15-17), this was supposed to continue on from the released Season 22 and see the Sixth Doctor and Peri face off against the Celestial Toymaker (see the missing Hartnell story of the same name) in Blackpool and make use of Blackpool's amusement parks as setting and feature the use of the new entertainment of video games.

It's a decent story and works well enough on audio (having been novelised in 1989). The second half is the better one I think. If this had made it to TV, I don't think the video game segments would've held up well with the usual BBC budget that Doctor Who had at the time. That said, it's a solid story and is a much better story for the Toymaker than his first appearence in the 1960s. I will say that the Toymaker loses his racist aspects on audio and is much more credible villain. (I mean, the idea of a ancient evil that is obsessed with playing games and hates to lose is interesting, but the Chinese caricature and simple childish games that we got in The Celestial Toymaker weren't the best utilization of the base idea.)

So, while not the strongest or most outstanding story Big Finish has produced, it's a solid production with a good story behind it. A good start to the range, and an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours.

[Thomas Sherlock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst thing a story can be is boring.

With the Lost Stories adaptations of abandoned scripts, a regular issue is that the adaptations inherit the problems in the era. In this case, the dire pacing that afflicts much of Season 22. This story takes an age to get going and then by the time we finally get to genuinely interesting scenes between the Doctor and the Toymaker, yet more padding ensues and some side characters enter who aren’t interesting enough to sell the time wasted here. There’s good ideas here, but it takes far far too long to get there.

[morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been ages since I read Graham Williams' book, but I do recall a character named Kevin Stoney and thinking that must be an in-joke or homage to the actor. The audio production is entertaining. David Bailie gives a solid Toymaker performance. The resolution with revealing some of the Toymaker's back story is satisfying overall. Some of the video game tournament stuff I don't think works very well though.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s probably a good thing this wasn’t made for TV. If they had actually broadcast the Sixth Doctor frantically playing some awful ‘80s TV version of a video game, the show might not have survived long enough to get a Seventh Doctor.

[FaclessOneLN · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lost Stories range has always been special to me. As my entry point into Big Finish, it’s a series that I’ve found myself constantly coming back to. So, with a little time between new releases, I thought there’s no time like the present to revisit and review the whole range, and where better to start than with the story that started it all: The Nightmare Fair.

An infamous story, The Nightmare Fair, was originally meant to open the Classic series’ 23rd season before it was put on hiatus and changed. Written by Graham Williams and adapted to audio by John Ainsworth, the story follows The Doctor and Peri as their holiday to Blackpool is interrupted by an old foe, The Toymaker.

Having listened to The Nightmare Fair on several previous occasions, the story has always left me with a bad impression. Although it has been a long time since I last revisited this adventure, memories still persist about this Blackpool runaround’s protracted imprisonment scenes. However, coming into this revisitation with a clear mind, I was surprised at how strong this serial was – or at least it was for the first part.

The story starts strong with its faithful depiction of The Doctor and Peri’s dynamic from the TV show. The Doctor is at his most enigmatic here and spends a good portion of the opening moments gushing about the exquisite beauties that can only be found in an 80s theme park. Peri, meanwhile, is less than enthused by The Doctor’s poetic ramblings, knowing full well that she’s about to be dragged off on another one of his diversions. As they settle in and explore all that Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach has to offer, their scenes together provide a host of nice little character titbits, especially about The Doctor. His time at the park is filled with new experiences, and it’s surprising, given all his years of life, that he’s never discovered the highs and lows of riding a rollercoaster or eating candy floss.

Away from the wonders of rollercoasters and candy floss, the story’s mystery also sets off on the right foot. David Bailie’s version of The Toymaker makes a menacing first impression. Hidden deep within the comfort of the park, he oversees his master plan at work, gloating as he knows he’s managed to trap an unwitting Doctor.

While the story’s character dynamics and villain are written to great effect during the first part, it was during the adventure’s second half that all the bad memories I’d come to experience from this story the first time around all came flooding back. During the final 45 minutes, the story’s writing takes an unfortunate nosedive, and there are two main reasons for this. The first reason is the story’s pace. Much of the story’s second half revolves around aimless corridor wandering or protracted prison scenes, slowing the story down to little more than a meander. The second comes down to the more visual aspects meant to be on display. A major part of The Toymaker’s plan centres on a killer video game, which The Doctor ends up playing. While it’s an evolution of The Toymaker’s simple children’s games played during his first appearance, much of this is lost due to the inherent visual aspect that comes with video game media. Aside from a few grunts of wit from The Doctor, the audio format struggles to recreate the true extent of the battle that’s meant to be on display.



Though there are some great moments of doctor-companion dynamics in this story, The Nightmare Fair could never escape the problems highlighted in its second half. Aimless corridor walking, meandering prison scenes, and a visual format lost in translation all stack up against this infamous Lost Story.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Nightmare Fair" is a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, it makes much better use of the Celestial Toymaker than his first serial did. But on the flip side, the plot just doesn't work at all on audio. It's easy to see how this story might've been quite excellent on TV - although its slow pacing combined with the budgetary restraints of the 1980s probably would've hindered it quite a bit. But as an audio drama, it's just kind of strange. The first half is very slow, with the Sixth Doctor and Perri spending a lot of time exploring the theme park. And the story waits way too long to reunite the Doctor and the Toymaker. But once that reunion happens, things pick up quite a bit. It's just a shame that an audio drama with a video game as its central threat just doesn't work all that well.

While we do get to learn a lot more about the Celestial Toymaker's backstory, "The Nightmare Fair" doesn't really do anything with the character. He's a lot less conniving and devious this time around. In fact, we don't really get to witness any of the elements that made the character enjoyable here. Removed from his Toyroom, he feels less unique. Here, he's largely reduced to a pretty standard evil mastermind. And his ultimate plan, to murder a bunch of people with a video game (or something along those lines), never really comes together. That said, I enjoyed revisiting the Celestial Toymaker here, and I remain convinced there's a lot of potential in this character - as evidenced here by his origins inching him closer toward the realm of Unknowable Horror. I just wish the story had leaned further into that sense of unknowable horror instead of retreading familiar Evil Genius territory.

All that being said, "The Nightmare Fair" is enjoyable enough. If nothing else, it's a fun "what if" scenario, exploring a previously unfilmed "Doctor Who" story. On its own, it's not particularly memorable, nor does it live up to the promise of its premise. But it's a fairly fun ride, all things considered.

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of the unproduced episodes from the 1985-6 season of Doctor Who would have had the return of the Celestial Toymaker, probably with Michael Gough reprising his role. This story would have brought the matter up to date with the Toymaker now working on video games, the newest vogue in entertainment of the mid 1980s. When Big Finish decided to produce audio versions of the missing episodes, Michael Gough had already passed away. In his stead, David Baille does a marvelous job of recreating the mixture of menace and bored ennui that Gough brought to create a memorable villain. In this story, the Toymaker has taken up residence in the funfair at Blackpool. He is now working on producing the ultimate video game, a game that would ensnare millions of users.

Big Finish has worked very hard to recreate the 1985 Doctor Who feel. This includes having a much tetchier Doctor 6 than in the regular Big Finish dramas. Also, the background music is set to sound like 1980s analogue synthesizers. I think that the arrangement of music is a little too simple, more 1978 than 1985 if synthesizers were used.

The story itself is entertaining, if a bit disjointed. Scenes switch back and forth, often with returning to a scene skipped ahead a bit in time so that it is difficult to gather what happened there between scenes. Characters appear that seemingly have importance, but turn out to be irrelevant, such as the police detective in the early section of part 1 and Kevin's missing friend at the end of part 2. Other characters appear only because they are needed, and then get simply forgotten once their use is done. Typical of Graham Williams' approach to Doctor Who, menace gets undercut with light satire, so nothing feels quite as urgent as it ought to. In the end, kudos go to Big Finish for a faithful rendition of the story.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite enthusiastic about the Doctor and Peri in Blackpool initially and would have liked more of the setting but oh no, we were soon with The Celestial Toymaker who is always irritating. The pairing with a Colin Baker Doctor, with all his bombast, does work quite well though but overall the plot feels very slight. There are thought provoking moments but that's it.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an audio production of a script for the television show that was not produced because the series was canceled. The Toy Maker was not one of my favorites and his revival was not quite successful. The acting is fine--it is the script itself that falls short. There is an interview about adapting the script which is interesting but oddly placed in the middle of the two halves of the story.

[Craig Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder how much this differs from the original script. It works very well on audio but would have been quite dull television. It seems to be missing a few scenes. Things that are mentioned as happening between dialogue. Something I thought would be unnecessary for an audio play,

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully done adaptation of a lost script! I love having the 6th Doctor and Peri back in action.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this! Made me want to listen to all the rest of the lost stories with the Sixth Doctor. Blackpool, a vintage villain, good writing, yes.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Six and Peri is one of my favorite Doctor/Companion duos, I enjoyed getting to listen to one of their stories. It was also fun to get to know more about the Celestial Toymaker.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read more about the Celestial Toymaker but didn’t care much about the audio presentation. Got lost several times.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fairly entertaining short novella. I like the 6th Doctor more in the post-show readings as he tends to be less caustic. Peri as always is a delight.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side: David Bailie gives a really stellar performance as the Celestial Toymaker. Really, if they ever bring that character back on TV, I hope they get Bailie to do it. The rest of the cast does a good job as well, with Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant shifting their characterizations back towards where they were in the mid-80s without becoming too grating. And the idea of bringing the Toymaker into the realm of video arcades and fun-fairs is just one that's so obvious that it should have been done decades ago.

On the minus side: The story just feels a bit thin. For a story about the Celestial Toymaker, you'd expect a really climactic game-playing sequence, but most of episode 2 is taken up by our heroes sitting locked in a cell building a strange gizmo for purposes that are only revealed at the end. It might have worked better visually than on audio - John Ainsworth has done a great job adapting this to audio, but it's very hard to make the sequence where the Doctor has to play the Toymaker's video game suspenseful using just sound. Nor did the monsters unleashed by the Toymaker's game seem like a particularly compelling threat.

In general, I get the feeling that if this had been made as part of Season 23 as originally planned, it would now be remembered as a good, fun, but unspectacular piece of Doctor Who. It's certainly a good, fun, but unspectacular Doctor Who audio. It's worth a listen just for Bailie's performance and a glimpse at Season 23 as it could have been, but I do find myself hoping that some of the forthcoming Lost Stories have a bit more spark to them.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The following dialog is from the end of "The Final Test," the last episode of The Celestial Toymaker serial:

DODO: We'll never see him again, will we, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Oh, my dear, don't talk too soon. The mind is indestructible. So is the Toymaker.
STEVEN: What, you mean he can never be destroyed?
DODO: But you defeated him.
DOCTOR: Yes, just at this moment, but there will be other meetings in an other time.
DODO: Then your battle with him will never end.

And then we never saw him again. When I caught up with Doctor Who last year, I was disappointed that the Celestial Toymaker had never returned in another onscreen story. He was intended to return in season 23, but some of the scripts for that season were cancelled, and what people got instead was The Trial of the Time Lord (which, ironically, introduces The Valeyard, another villain whom I really want to see again, especially since he is said to have been created between The Doctor's twelfth and final incarnation).

The Nightmare Fair was eventually released as a novel, and this is adapted from that novel. I am not a huge fan of the Sixth Doctor, but Colin Baker returns to show that he can be a bit more light-hearted when it comes to having fun. He and the Toymaker meet again and react as old foes would. What follows is satisfying, albeit I still hope to see the Toymaker onscreen again someday.

[Jon Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Finish has mostly been aiming for ‘Doctor Who like they used to make it’ ever since their first audio; The Nightmare Fair feels the closest they ever got to that. Their Lost Stories range are based on scripts and ideas that never made it to screen for whatever reason and The Nightmare Fair is the original first script for the twenty-third season of the original show. It’s a superior story to the one we eventually got in its place, though the concerns (the delights of Blackpool and arcade machines) date it somewhat. The big problem is that a lot of conceits are obviously visual (such as one of the aliens, the arcade games) but that’s papered over to a degree by the brio of Baker and Bryant and David Bailie proving a game replacement for Michael Gough as the Toymaker. Standout performance though is Andrew Fettes who brings a memorably nasty edge to the Toymaker’s henchman Stefan. A good energetic start to the new range.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to transition from the old Doctor Who to the new generations!

The Doctor and Peri are spending a day at the carnival when they're captured by the Celestial Toymaker. Getting free requires they play his game, but losing means being freed in another way: their death.

Impeccable voice acting, wonderful sound effects and music, and a plot that would fir in well with the Ninth Doctor. Just what a Whovian needs!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor and Peri land in Blackpool for a holiday. Meanwhile, strange things are being seen at the pleasure beach. This is part of the lost stories, that were meant to be TV episodes in the 1980s. It's a really good story, with some great set pieces involving the fair ground rides. The Celestial Toymaker is on form, and is a very likable villain. A very good listen.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Doctor, not my favorite companion, far from a favorite story...as you might imagine, my reaction to this Lost Story is pretty much a resounding "Eh." Sadly, it lacks the surreal feel of the original Celestial Toymaker story.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the original appearance of the Toymaker and was looking forward to this Big Finish production of this never produced serial. I do realize that they were attempting to recreate the 80's Who feel. But, I think that the story was a bit weak.