November 09, 2009

The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2000)

The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is somewhat of a landmark story in Doctor Who. It’s the first time that the Brigadier has featured in a Doctor Who story since Battlefield (1989). This means that he has worked with the first seven actors to play the Doctor.

The story (as the title suggests) takes place on a Moor sometime presumably after the events of Battlefield. It gives an almost idyllic setting which whilst maybe beautiful to look at would not work so well on audio. In fact as this is their second story as a combination its perhaps better for them to have encountered aliens in a future time on Earth or on another planet before returning to the Moor.

James Bolam (Likely Lads & New Tricks) was the second big name of this story and its amazing that he agreed to do this. He plays Sir Archibald Flint and puts in a sound performance which is what you would expect from an actor of his calibre. I must mention Mrs Moynihan (Susan Jameson) who I found to be an entertaining character and one that was played just right.

This is another fine performance from Colin Baker. He has a special story where he encounters a character from the show which he knows will attract a lot of fans and works well with Nicholas Courtney. Courtney himself sounds exactly like he always did as the Brigadier in the TV series. Its hardly surprising considering he’d been playing the role on and off for 30 years. Maggie Stables is perhaps left in the background as Evelyn as the Doctor forgets his new friend and works with his old one.

The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is an enjoyable story that is what would I would class as a Sunday evening play with a science fiction elements. All the actors worked well in this story and Nicholas Pegg wrote and directed a story that moved at a fair pace. Good stuff.

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