The Fearmonger
Story 05
Written by Jonathan Blum
Released February 2000
"Are you looking for the butterfly?"-The Doctor
"What, the one that beats its wings to tip the balance so the hurricane forms? There isn't one, is there?"-Ace
"Not often. They just tell the butterflies that to keep them happy. No. Mostly they break the butterfly on the wheel of time. But over the decades and millions of butterflies... the weather still changes somehow. That's time; a million multi-colored pieces of time. "-The Doctor
I had foolishly refrained from listening to this story for a few reasons. From the audios that I had sampled to date, I found that Colin Baker had found the perfect home for his Doctor and Peter Davison finally received some much deserved quality material. However, McCoy's material came off as slightly less impressive by comparison.
In watching the Time and the Rani DVD, I was shocked to find that the casting of the Seventh Doctor was the first time that the BBC executives had gotten involved. Producer John Nathan Turner was asked to audition his prime choice of McCoy against other actors only to prove that his judgement was ideal. A children's entertainer on television, Sylvester McCoy also has a distinguished background on stage. His unusual speaking pattern and body language hints at a genuine eccentricity tempered by a pair of deep soulful eyes. McCoy's Seventh Doctor topped the charts back in the 90's, but I fear he gets passed by too much these days which is unfortunate. His Seventh Doctor added so much to the legacy of Doctor Who at a time when the program was thought to be dried up and bereft of new ideas.
McCoy may have played the fool in his first year but even in those early episodes a glimmer of the deeper character that he wanted to explore could be seen. The subsequent two years saw the Seventh Doctor develop into a kind of cosmic trickster with a propensity for justice and a yearning to belong, hence his constant education of Ace to level the playing field of their friendship. The Seventh Doctor's development continued in comic strip and novelized form past the 90's and transfered to the Big Finish Productions as well.
So much work had been done on this version of the Doctor that I found myself rather bored with him. I had also recognized that much of his personality traits had been picked out by the BBC Wales team and transplanted in to the Tenth Doctor, but not in a good way (in my opinion). The ideas themselves of the Seventh Doctor as more of an active force rather than a victim is a good one, but it could easily be misused by the wrong script (Silver Nemesis). However, Gary Russell's team had a unique opportunity to approach the Seventh Doctor and Ace from a new perspective, giving fans a mostly clean slate that picked up from where the televised version of the characters left off in Survival, screened in 1989.
In the audio line, actor Sylvester McCoy faces some of the same challenges he had as the Doctor on screen. A versatile personality, his portrayal often breaks up when he expresses outrage. His truly shining moments come when he is making small talk or delivering some of the colorfully poetic lines of dialog he received from time to time. It's all in what he is given. Luckily, Blum's script is full of pearls for the Seventh Doctor from the speech on butterflies to the antagonistic interplay with talk show host Mark Thompson.
Blake's 7 luminary Jacqueline Pearce, known for playing the purring ballroom gown clad dictator Servelan, makes a wonderful villainess in this. Her cultured tones add so much to the already polished production.
Sophie Aldred saunters easily back into the teenage character of Ace with perfection, showing equal parts wild youth and wise adult. The characterization is done so well and shows an extension of what was hinted at in the final moments of Survival.
The Fearmonger by Lee Sullivan
The Fearmonger is an exciting, lushly characterized and emotionally driven adventure worthy of the grandest wishes fans like myself had for the 1990 series that never came. The Doctor is still presented as something of a manipulative player of games, but it as the story develops it becomes clear that this only one point of view on his personality. Rather than expounding on the trickster/god character of the New Adventures novels, this version of the Doctor is in some cases putting on a brave face, in other cases flipping a coin and still others just putting on a show. He may appear to have all the answers, but if you listen closely he mostly hints at truths rather than stating them outright. In short, he is far from the super-powerful genius who had planned for every eventuality, he must work through his problems using his cunning, intelligence and bravery along with a charismatic flair for convincing others to join him.
The world that The Fearmonger is basically contemporary Earth with a few minor hi-tech advancements. Set in Britain during the rise of a new political power determined to take advantage of people's fears, it is all too close to the real world that we live in where the media whips up the populace into a frenzy in the name of entertainment. It's a garish and ugly basis for a story that put me off at first, but soon I was taken in by the warmth of the supporting cast, the simplicity of some of the settings and the maturity with which the material was handled. Steering the people into a violent furor is a formless creature inhabiting hosts and pushing the events toward a fever pitch. The Doctor and Ace are faced with a challenge in removing the extra-terrestrial entity while not getting involved in the actual politics. It's a fine line that the heroes and author walk with great skill.
Jonathan Blum is a very active person online and he is certainly not afraid to speak his mind about Doctor Who. Personally, I try my best to stay away from online forums as I find that they bring out the worst in people. I briefly crossed with Blum online and after confirming with others that he is just 'that way,' it convinced me to stay well clear. It's unfortunate because that interaction tainted my opinion of this story and caused me to stay clear of it as well until recently. Regardless of my opinions on the author, he has crafted a great story that proves he has a deep understanding of what makes Andrew Cartmel's Seventh Doctor work.
I have heard others describe The Fearmonger as one of the greatest Big Finish Productions if not the best McCoy adventure. I still have a large body of material to get through but I have to admit that this one has left a high watermark for me.
Doctor Who -The Fearmonger can be purchased at local retailers and online from Big Finish.
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