Nightmare Country

"Paradise doesn't come cheap."

Writer: Stephen Gallagher 

Format: Audio

Released: November 2019

Series: Lost Stories 5.01

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

The Doctor wakes up on a planet of relics, a dead world, a hostile world... He has no memory of who he is, or how he got to be here. He'd better remember soon, because the very structure of reality is at risk and it all has something to do with that strange blue tomb with the light on top.

Verdict

Nightmare Country was a great Lost Stories adventure! I think it's terrific to get the story adapted for audio by the original actor, and I wonder how he felt revisiting a tale from over three decades ago! That's the beauty of the Lost Stories range. It's both wonderful to get these stories at last in any kind of form, but to also try and imagine how they would have worked on television. I'm not knowledgeable on why this particular story never did make it to the screen, but after listening it does perhaps feel like this may have been slightly too ambitious for the production capabilities of the Classic era. Would we really have been afford the opportunity to utilise the old wooden secondary console room in the TARDIS from the Fourth Doctor era? I doubt it, but that's the beauty of audio. There really are no restraints and it's delightful to hear that in play. The adventure doesn't mess around in getting into the thick of things with the Doctor already within the reality engine and not knowing who he is. That's quite a way to start things! I do think he regained the knowledge of his identity perhaps a little too quickly, although it was fun to play with him not liking the title of professor given what will come during the Seventh Doctor era. That was a fun anecdote that I appreciated. Tegan and Turlough were on the other side of the engine and quite worried when they realised something had gone wrong, especially when the engineer had only programmed in a sole failsafe of the Doctor going through the exit door. But he had no idea who he was anymore and didn't retain that knowledge so things got quite serious. The TARDIS being referred to as a tomb was good and I liked the surprise that occurred when it was finally realised as being the means of escape. The threat of the Vodyani as a representation of fears imagined now become real was excellent and the discovery of them actually being created by Volos the apprentice was a good twist. As the only one that didn't actually come from within the engine, it did seem like we would be heading that way but his shock at the truth was a powerful moment. Konis was a strong character too and I liked how he worked out that the Vodyani were a representation of everything Volos had experienced growing up. That was quite a dark moment. One thing I enjoyed about the format of the story for the Lost Stories range in particular was the run time of each part. It was almost absolutely bang on what would have been expected for a television script back in the 1980s. That gave it a sense of authenticity which I really enjoyed. The humour of Big Bob's existence was a nice injection of small comedy in an otherwise pretty dark story. The contrast between nightmares and reality was good and I really enjoyed the cliffhanger of the Vodyani emerging through the door before them and into the TARDIS. Nightmares literally walking around! The copy of Tegan was also a strong emotional pull in the episode as she basically volunteered to die. She was handling it well in knowing that she wouldn't get to go back through, but being united with Volos at the end was a nice moment. Even if it was only temporary. I think the abrupt way things concluded with the copies of the Doctor and Tegan pondering on their existence as they were left with the Vodyani who were unaware of the reality engine remotely being used as their portal. They wouldn't terrorise the universe. Overall, a really strong story that I would love to have seen on screen! 

Rating: 8/10