Monthly Range 3: Whispers of Terror Review

Colin Baker returns as the Sixth Doctor alongside Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown and from the opening lines alone this story proved to be a step above the previous episodes in this series.

Old Who jingles aside the audio is crisper than ever and the banter is well and truly on point here.

Hearing Colin in the role for an Sixth Doctor episode was alone a delight due to him being by far the most underrated Classic Doctor with only 31 episodes to his name. Giving him another chance to play the character was definitely the correct choice as his more sarcastic, snarky and harsh attitude prove to be highlights here, with the character of Peri proving to be a perfect back and forth to this Doctor’s commentary.

Audio is something that is key in this episode so it’s clear that the makers of it put a lot of work into getting it just right. And they did. For an audio drama released in 1999 it sounds as modern as anything released today, not to mention the quality of the gimmick from this episode’s villain relying on a variety of sound effects. They manage to skirt around being a little too cheesy and I think that’s down to the story and it’s pacing acting as a great distraction.

Like before there’s a mystery unfolding throughout but with Whispers of Terror there’s an oddly classic Sherlock charm to it, with the Sixth Doctor fitting the role of witty detective perfectly.

We have another 1hr30mins on our hands which I’m still a little mixed on. It’s split into four parts to once again act like a Classic Who story. That does mean that parts two and three can feel a little filler-ish but the acting makes up for that. Still, I think it’s important to note these things as I’ve found that, much like the more modern stories, there seems to be a quota on how long the stories should be. This can an unfortunate effect on the pacing of a story that may suite a different length, even if that means being only ten minutes over.

There’s enough going on in-between the overall story to keep my attention and thankfully there’s not too much in terms of filler, but it does have a tendency to drag its plot even when things are out in the open.

All in all, this was a good time and a great addition to Colin Baker’s time as the Doctor.

8/10