Phantasmagoria

I’m a rational chap and talk of ghosts and such…

The Fifth Doctor

Synopsis

The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Turlough to the London of 1702 where a mysterious highwayman roams the streets, a local occultist has made contact with the dead and gentlemen of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep blood…

The time-travellers become enmeshed in the hideous plan of Sir Nikolas Valentine, a gambler at the mysterious Diabola Club who always seems to have a winning hand…

Review

After the spectacle of The Sirens of Time, Phantasmagoria kicks off the Big Finish Main Range with a story featuring the Fifth Doctor and Turlough and starts to set the precedent for what the Main Range stories will look like.

Mark Gatiss is a sensible choice to start this range off. At the time of this being released, Gatiss had written three novels for the show during the wilderness years, before he would go on to write nine stories for the revived series on television. Gatiss is a rather conservative writer, appealing to the show’s history rather than doing something revolutionary, and that is certainly true of Phantasmagoria. I’d argue that that is no bad thing, but it makes this story feel a bit odd when compared to some of the other early Big Finish releases. They are inconsistent, as they find their feet and those who have read my reviews of some more of the Main Range will know that I’m not entirely onboard with every one of those decisions and the more adult tone of them. Phantasmagoria is a romp, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the fact that the first three parts are 20 minutes each means that the fourth part has a lot to do. It almost feels as though the plot threads all have to tie together neatly because despite there are some good ideas here, but it feels as though they have to as there’s no time to have a fulfilling subplot around the Highwayman. It all ultimately feels little bit

The guest cast are very good here. I was particularly taken aback by the performance of David Ryall as Nikolas Valentine, the story’s villain. Perhaps that’s because I’m used to seeing Ryall as a cozy old man, like the grandfather in Outnumbered, but I found his turn as the exiled alien warlord really powerful. I also liked the performances of Gatiss and David Walliams as Jeake and Flowers together, which has hallmarks of some of the double acts of Robert Holmes.

Hello, I’ve come to read the meter.

The Fifth Doctor

I feel like the Fifth Doctor is a very safe choice to kick off the Doctor Who Main Range. He is the last of the 1980s Doctors not to have an interrupted run. Davison, therefore, perhaps may feel as though there is little reason for him to want to come and revist the part, but the Fifth Doctor here feels much more authoritative than he does for the majority of his run on television. Part of that may be because in Phantasmagoria, his Doctor is just with Turlough and not with a myriad of companions, like he was for the majority of the run. Whilst Big Finish certainly allows Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy to fill the gaps in their respective eras, it allows for Peter Davison to really grasp the role of the Doctor by the handles. The fact that Davison’s voice has aged doesn’t really impact too much and in fact adds some gravitas to the youngest Classic series Doctor.

Having the Fifth Doctor paired up with Turlough for this first main range adventure is an interesting choice, as it places the story at a time when the Fifth Doctor seemed assured in the role, and a gap that I’m surprised that Big Finish have not done more with. This is especially surprising given that Turlough essentially has no development during the majority of his run, with the exception of his first three stories and the last one. It just feels like a wasted opportunity to explore the relationship between the Doctor and a companion who started off wanting to kill him. There are obvious trust issues between the two in play in Phantasmagoria, but Turlough and the Doctor don’t actually spend that much time together during the course of the story. There is a nice sign that not much has changed with Turlough, though, as he runs away scared from the spirits at the end of Part One.

Verdict: Phantasmagoria is a solid, if unspectacular way to start the Main Range. 6/10

Cast: Peter Davison (The Doctor), Mark Strickson (Turlough), Nicholas Briggs (Henry Gaunt), David Walliams (Quincy Flowers/Ned Cotton), Jonathan Rigby (Edmund Carteret), Mark Gatiss (Jasper Jeake), Jez Fielder (Poltrot/Major Billy Lovemore/Librarian), David Ryall (Sir Nikolas Valentine), Steven Wickham (Dr Samuel Holywell) and Julia Dalkin (Hannah Fry).

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Director: Nicholas Briggs

Composer: Alistair Lock

Main Range Release Number: 2

Original Release Date: 4th October 1999

Behind the Scenes

• Working titles for this story including The Architect of Pain, Chamber of Blood and Restoration.
• This is the first Big Finish Doctor Who release to only feature one Doctor, the Fifth, and makes Mark Strickson the first television companion to reprise his role for Big Finish.
• The idea for the story came from a sketch that Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson wrote for The League of Gentlemen about a salooner playing cards with someone who may be the devil.

Cast Notes

• David Walliams would go on to play Gibbis in The God Complex.
• Jonathan Rigby would go on to appear in Invaders from Mars and Neverland.
• Mark Gatiss has made numerous contributions to Doctor Who, including writing and appearing as an actor.
• Jez Fielder has appeared in a number of Big Finish stories, including The Marian Conspiracy, The Raincloud and Enemy of the Daleks.
• Steven Wickham would go on to appear in The Fires of Vulcan, The Dark Flame and Red.

Best Quote

Can you not tell me of the future, Doctor, I am all agog!

Not allowed, I’m afraid. I’m bending the rules as it is.

Dr Samuel Holyhead and the Fifth Doctor

Previous Fifth Doctor review: The Caves of Androzani

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