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Big Finish: Monthly Range #127
Doctor Who: Castle of Fear
1199: Returning from the Crusade, Hubert, the new Earl of Mummerset, comes to take possession of Stockbridge Castle, his ancestral home. The only trouble is, in his absence, demons took possession of his Castle...
1899: The Stockbridge mummers' play takes a wholly unexpected turn, when the Dragon slays St George.
These events are not unconnected, the Doctor and Nyssa discover. There's an alien presence squatting in Stockbridge Castle, and it's their job to expose it. If Turkish Knights, killer boars and a gang of rogue paladins don't stop them first...
1899: The Stockbridge mummers' play takes a wholly unexpected turn, when the Dragon slays St George.
These events are not unconnected, the Doctor and Nyssa discover. There's an alien presence squatting in Stockbridge Castle, and it's their job to expose it. If Turkish Knights, killer boars and a gang of rogue paladins don't stop them first...
Audio CD
First published October 1, 2009
About the author
Alan Barnes
101 books16 followersAlan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television. Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. Among other strips, Barnes originally commissioned The Simping Detective. He also wrote a handful of Judge Dredd stories involving alternate universes or featuring a young Dredd.
He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.
He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.
He worked for five years at Doctor Who Magazine and progressed from writing strips to becoming joint editor in 1998 and sole editor from 2000 until 2002. He subsequently contributed the ongoing Fact of Fiction series of articles to the magazine. Barnes has also written or co-written a number of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions.
He has written a number of books on cult films (including James Bond, Quentin Tarantino and Sherlock Holmes) and his book The Hammer Story, co-written with Marcus Hearn, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 19, 2023
Another adventure in Stockbridge! And this one is as much of a punny farce as Monty Python. Yes, Peter Davison does the Doctor doing Monty Python. Make of it what you will.
Update: I’ve since learned that this release includes a short that is another chapter of a serial featuring Polly, the Brigadier and Thomas Brewster that ran month-by-month for about a year, threading through the Doctor Who Monthly range.
Update: I’ve since learned that this release includes a short that is another chapter of a serial featuring Polly, the Brigadier and Thomas Brewster that ran month-by-month for about a year, threading through the Doctor Who Monthly range.
December 27, 2024
A time loop adventure with some lighthearted dialogue. I really liked the Boxing Day play aspect.
April 15, 2014
I really liked this one. I'm not sure why it's gotten such bad reviews. Davison has some really great historical episodes. Nyssa was really great in this one, so alien and so competent and clever at the same time. I loved the twist of the story and the history and how the two got intermingled.
April 9, 2023
Didn't expect this one to end on a cliffhanger. But being part of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa in Stockbridge trilogy this starts off in 1199 Stockbridge (and a play in 1899 Stockbridge depicting events from the end of the adventure in 1199).
Described as a bit of a Monty Python esc story, I find it bland in quite a few places. This one seemed bloated in some areas and then sped through exciting parts that could have had more time. I wish they did more with the Rutans as this is one of their few outings in Doctor Who despite being the main rival to the Sontarans who get a lot more love.
The strongest parts of this are the middle parts (parts 2/3), having goofier moments but also all the exciting moments and part 2 reveal that it was the Rutan host all along.
Another issue I have is trying to find a way for this story to be tied to the Time Monster (the original Sontaran story that sets up the Rutans) as it felt like a name-dropping reference instead of an important thing to spend a couple of scenes of the Doctor and Rutan bickering about.
Overall, weak pacing and a mishandled villain makes for a pretty nothing story.
Described as a bit of a Monty Python esc story, I find it bland in quite a few places. This one seemed bloated in some areas and then sped through exciting parts that could have had more time. I wish they did more with the Rutans as this is one of their few outings in Doctor Who despite being the main rival to the Sontarans who get a lot more love.
The strongest parts of this are the middle parts (parts 2/3), having goofier moments but also all the exciting moments and part 2 reveal that it was the Rutan host all along.
Another issue I have is trying to find a way for this story to be tied to the Time Monster (the original Sontaran story that sets up the Rutans) as it felt like a name-dropping reference instead of an important thing to spend a couple of scenes of the Doctor and Rutan bickering about.
Overall, weak pacing and a mishandled villain makes for a pretty nothing story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2023
Another revisitation.
'Castle of Fear' is the first of a three-part trilogy of stories set in the fictional village of Stockbridge, a sort of generic English village that had featured heavily as a recurring setting in the DWM strips during the Fifth Doctor's era.
The opening scenes give a pretty good indication of the tone that Barnes is aiming for - a lighthearted romp. This silliness is bound to be divisive - some will love the goofiness, silly voices, and self-aware gags while others may find it tiresome. I fall somewhere between the two. When it works, such as the mummer's play that opens the piece, I think it can be entertaining but the downside is that the piece doesn't have any deeper layers to it making for a shallow experience.
Approachability: While knowledge of Stockbridge might enrich this story, it is unnecessary. Listeners should expect that as the opening act of a trilogy, this does not complete the storyline and you will probably want to listen to the two subsequent stories.
'Castle of Fear' is the first of a three-part trilogy of stories set in the fictional village of Stockbridge, a sort of generic English village that had featured heavily as a recurring setting in the DWM strips during the Fifth Doctor's era.
The opening scenes give a pretty good indication of the tone that Barnes is aiming for - a lighthearted romp. This silliness is bound to be divisive - some will love the goofiness, silly voices, and self-aware gags while others may find it tiresome. I fall somewhere between the two. When it works, such as the mummer's play that opens the piece, I think it can be entertaining but the downside is that the piece doesn't have any deeper layers to it making for a shallow experience.
Approachability: While knowledge of Stockbridge might enrich this story, it is unnecessary. Listeners should expect that as the opening act of a trilogy, this does not complete the storyline and you will probably want to listen to the two subsequent stories.
March 18, 2025
It was okay, though I'm not really big on the historical style stories. i also REALLY dislike cliffhangers.
June 26, 2017
The first of a trilogy of stories set in the archetypal English village of Stockbridge, which had featured in the DWM comics since the 1980s, as well as occasionally turning up in prose and even previous audios. This is one is primarily set in the late 12th century, when something scary has taken over the local castle (who even knew Stockbridge had a castle, eh?)
The setting portrayed here is not, however, that of the historical 12th century, or even terribly much like it, but rather the medieval England of Monty Python. For me, this didn't really work, making it hard to suspend disbelief when it came to the more serious parts of the story. I didn't have this problem with other comedy-themed stories, most notably The Kingmaker, and I think it may be the mix that doesn't quite work here, or perhaps Barnes isn't as good at riffing off Python as Nev Fountain was with Shakespeare. The tropes are there, but not the madcap spontaneity.
Plus - actually stating that Stockbridge lies in the county of 'Mummerset'? Oh, come on...
Having said all of which, it's not a bad story, and the plot eventually turns out to have links to a televised story from the 1970s. It just doesn't hang together as well as it should, and good performances by Davison and Sutton, with Nyssa given quite an active role in proceedings, just can't raise it above the merely average.
It's worth noting that the story ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, and that it truly is the first part of a trilogy, rather than three stories that happen to be in sequence. The CD also wraps up the Brigadier's segment of The Three Companions, with some hints about what's to come in the final segment.
The setting portrayed here is not, however, that of the historical 12th century, or even terribly much like it, but rather the medieval England of Monty Python. For me, this didn't really work, making it hard to suspend disbelief when it came to the more serious parts of the story. I didn't have this problem with other comedy-themed stories, most notably The Kingmaker, and I think it may be the mix that doesn't quite work here, or perhaps Barnes isn't as good at riffing off Python as Nev Fountain was with Shakespeare. The tropes are there, but not the madcap spontaneity.
Plus - actually stating that Stockbridge lies in the county of 'Mummerset'? Oh, come on...
Having said all of which, it's not a bad story, and the plot eventually turns out to have links to a televised story from the 1970s. It just doesn't hang together as well as it should, and good performances by Davison and Sutton, with Nyssa given quite an active role in proceedings, just can't raise it above the merely average.
It's worth noting that the story ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, and that it truly is the first part of a trilogy, rather than three stories that happen to be in sequence. The CD also wraps up the Brigadier's segment of The Three Companions, with some hints about what's to come in the final segment.
October 28, 2009
I wanted to like this more than I did. It's got a clever setup: While in Stockbridge in 1899, the Doctor and Nyssa see a bit of local Christmas mummery that clearly refers to an event in the 12th century involving the Doctor and some aliens. So the Doctor and Nyssa pop back to 1199 to find out what's what.
And seem to find themselves in the England of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Now, I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I love Doctor Who. I'm still not sure why I didn't love it when the two were combined, but I didn't.
Mostly, I think it's just that the humor didn't entirely work for me. I thought things picked up quite a bit in the second half of the play, when the plot really kicked in, and the jokes didn't have to carry as much weight.
There are a lot of nice things in this play. Susan Brown gives a great performance as Maude the withered. Nyssa gets some great stuff to do. There's a surprise returning alien that really was a surprised - I wasn't spoiled by the title, the cover, or any of the advance publicity. The music is fantastic, and the whole thing ends on one heck of a cliffhanger. Even though this play didn't really hit my funny bone, it still has me looking forward to the next installment.
And seem to find themselves in the England of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Now, I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I love Doctor Who. I'm still not sure why I didn't love it when the two were combined, but I didn't.
Mostly, I think it's just that the humor didn't entirely work for me. I thought things picked up quite a bit in the second half of the play, when the plot really kicked in, and the jokes didn't have to carry as much weight.
There are a lot of nice things in this play. Susan Brown gives a great performance as Maude the withered. Nyssa gets some great stuff to do. There's a surprise returning alien that really was a surprised - I wasn't spoiled by the title, the cover, or any of the advance publicity. The music is fantastic, and the whole thing ends on one heck of a cliffhanger. Even though this play didn't really hit my funny bone, it still has me looking forward to the next installment.
December 9, 2014
2.5-2.75 stars. I was really looking forward to hearing this, and as usual The 5th Doctor and Nyssa gave great performances. However the story itself, or perhaps the way it was followed left me nonplussed. I thought the castle owner sounded more like an extremely daft "lad about town" from the 20 or 30's than someone of that era. I think between Wendy and
Aidan's reviews my opinion is well represented.
Aidan's reviews my opinion is well represented.
Read
December 23, 2009"I quite liked The Castle of Fear. Partly, it made me nostalgic for The Kingmaker, which is one of my favourite Big Finish audios; it's not as good, but then few Who stories are. I hate John Sessions, and luckily all the bits I thought weren't funny enough were the bits with him in, so I was happy enough to enjoy the rest. A clever plot, just about as funny as it could bear (Sessions apart), and good stuff from Davison and Sutton. John Sessions fans (the mad, deluded fools) will like this one."
January 21, 2016
The Doctor takes Nyssa to Stockbridge for Christmas 1899. They watch a play that has the doctor as a character and also has the tardis. They go back to 1499 and find that an evil Rotan has taken over Stockbridge castle. Can they straighten out history?
December 1, 2015
I enjoyed this. Wish Goodreads would come up with a method for half-stars, as this felt more like a three and a half-star listen to me.
November 15, 2015
Cool idea, but honestly, this was the silliest thing.
August 30, 2014
1199. Stockbridge Castle has been possessed by a demon.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews