Doctor Who: Castle of Fear

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.