Doctor Who: Colony of Fear Review

With the old formats wrapping up at Big Finish and with a move towards boxsets and digital-only downloads, Colony of Fear is a final Sixth Doctor story for this range, before he and his companions move into boxsets. And it’s nice that it’s the Sixth Doctor and Constance Clarke. No doubt if Maggie Stables was still alive, this would have been an Evelyn story, but Constance quickly became a favourite companion of mine, so it’s nice that she is back, played once again by Miranda Raison.

When the Doctor and Constance arrive on a jungle planet, they find a colony, well you guessed it, in fear. But what has happened, why are there giant bugs flying around turning people into them and how do actions in the Doctor’s past shape this arrival on this planet? Author Roland Moore doesn’t hang around in delivering the goods. Right off the bat, we get the knowledge that the Doctor has already been to this world and that someone is waiting to meet him, though the reveal as to why is kept under wraps until the final acts of the story, it’s a great mystery for the Doctor and Constance to unwrap.

All these different plot threads and mysteries could have gotten a little muddled, by Moore clearly enjoyed writing this story and playing around with the Doctor Who mythos, in particular, what I’m assuming is the Series 6B theory, that the Second Doctor didn’t regenerate at the end of The War Games, but to say any more about that would spoil one of the great reveals of this story.

Colony of Fear also makes a great story for Constance, where she discovers that sometimes the Doctor can be jaded and isn’t the idea of being perfect he likes to give off. I think Constance knows that her adventures often have moral grey areas which are really great to explore, but she also learns more about the Doctor, his ability to regenerate and just how alien he really is. Thankfully, she takes it all in her stride and doesn’t make a big deal about it, unlike some modern companions, she knows he’s an alien, but he’s her friend and its nice to hear her forgive him for his past deeds by staying with him.

Miranda Raison is excellent here, proving why Constance is such a great character. Coming from a WW2 setting, Constance doesn’t shy away from some of the eviler deeds committed by characters. This often allows for some exploration of morals and what is right and wrong. That was explored brilliantly in the recent release Scorched Earth which saw her at odds with fellow companion  Flip.

Flip isn’t around this time and Constance is still as strong. I really like how she quietly takes in the beauty of the alien worlds she finds herself in, it’s a refreshing take on a companion, who quietly takes things in her stride and doesn’t make a scene about everything. I many ways, I can see myself in the character, someone who quietly enjoys things and doesn’t make a fuss. I hope Constance’s adventures continue for a long time to come.

Colin Baker is fantastic as the Sixth Doctor too. He’s always been great but you can always tell when he likes a story and when he loves a story. He relishes the script and getting to explore the relationship with a companion he doesn’t remember. Its also fun to explore the Doctor being on the back foot from the get-go and Baker really sells the Doctor’s confusion as to what is going on, even when things slowly become clearer. It’s nice that the audience and everyone else works things out before the Doctor.

Baker has quickly become one of my favourite Doctors thanks to his Big Finish output. I don’t think there has ever been a Sixth Doctor audio story where I’ve thought he wasn’t giving his performance his everything and that continues here. I hope that the move to the boxset format will prove to be the right choice for Big Finish when it comes to the Sixth Doctor.

There is little else that I can say about this story without spoiling it and the main mystery is one that deserves to be experienced not told second hand. But the script from Roland Moore feels entirely fresh and new, something that can’t be easy with a production company that has been around for the twenty-years! And the friendship between the Sixth Doctor and Constance continues to prove strong and the heart of these current outings. I can’t wait to hear more!