Doctor Who: Shadow of Death

The second story in the series is read by Frazer Hines, who played long-running companion Jamie McCrimmon.

The story uses the base-under-siege format so popular during the Second Doctor's run, but manages to do while ringing a few changes. For one thing, the base in question is located on a hostile planet orbiting a pulsar, a concept that would have been cutting-edge science at the time Two's run was actually being broadcast. While some of the other elements of the story are less so, this does give something of a “hard SF” feel to the story, as is common in Guerrier's other works, making him particularly suited to writing stories featuring the earliest Doctors. (It particularly reminds me of the TV episodes scripted by Kit Pedlar).

There's a nicely unfolding sense of menace as the claustrophobic setting comes under threat from the mysterious antagonist. In fact, the entity placing the base under siege is only clearly seen by any of the characters in one brief scene, leaving the focus on the Doctor and his companions struggling to survive as it advances. In some respects, there is quite a modern feel to the story, yet it feels perfectly natural for Two, and it's easy to see how it would fit in with his televised adventures.

Hines, of course, has previously shown an ability to do an almost uncanny imitation of Troughton's voice, and this does help enormously here. Since Jamie's voice is also distinctive, and Hines doesn't use it for the narration (since that's in third person), the dialogue scenes are particularly effective, with it always being obvious who is speaking. 4.5 stars, rounded up.