Bad Terms: Red for Danger!

"When light is absent, darkness prevails."

Writer: Nev Fountain

Format: Audio

Released: August 2025

Series: Sixth Doctor Adventures 9.02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

New teachers Dr Pretorius (History) and Professor Brown (Biology) find a lot to alarm them at one of the most menacing places they've ever visited – a traditional English public school. Finding aliens among both staff and pupils, can they solve the mystery of Malcolm – a boy whose connection to the Doctor is closer than the Time Lord could ever imagine...?

Verdict

Red for Danger! was a great and rather unique story to conclude the Bad Terms series of Sixth Doctor Adventures! I thought the shift from a pirate-set adventure into the classroom was a stark contrast but it was one that really worked. I think there's something special about a school as a setting that just works. I think it might be something of the subconscious and how ominous a place it could be as a child. The comments about walking through the school when it was quiet and essentially abandoned in the main walkways was fantastic. I remember sneaking off from the main hall at a school disco into a corridor for a kiss back in year four and just being in the cloakroom and corridors in the dark was such a different feeling to that younger version of me. Of course, this was no ordinary school as the traditions soon became apparent. The Pullover Club was a fascinating aspect of the story and it was just accepted that they were the bullies and that was that. If one of them wanted dough balls after hours then they were going to get them. Or else! I thought Malcolm was a fascinating character and the idea of him being the Doctor's son was actually quite lovely. It was left with no doubts as to who he was describing at the start and the prospect of him actually having a TARDIS key and a segment of the Key to Time was quite spectacular! Talk about the gifts of a father. I thought the cliffhanger to part one where he announced his dad was Doctor Who was magnificent and there was actually a logical reason why he was using that term. It was a nickname he'd given his mystical father because he never really met him. The description of the long scarf and frilly shirt was initially confusing as that didn't match just one incarnation that may have fathered him, but it kept the mystery very much alive. I thought Reggie was a fun character to be on the side of Malcolm and he took a bit of a shining to Peri which is nothing unexpected, especially when the entire school was just male! Peri disguising herself as Professor Brown was fun and I liked how Darius Strangerman was onto her because he knew she was using a chameleon disguise. The fact that alien tech and knowledge was vastly present in such a real setting was terrific and gave things a rather unique feel which I enjoyed. Malcolm and the Doctor starting to bond was actually quite touching and felt very heartwarming as the Time Lord began to come to terms with the prospect of actually being a father here. The moments they built a sonic screwdriver together were lovely and Malcolm's reaction to being told he could keep it was joyous. He would then though take things way too far in his assessment of becoming a hero. He knew he would do things differently to his dad, but he went to the extreme. I thought the revelation of the truth about Malcolm's parents was slightly disappointing with it just being Andigor as someone who became the Doctor's biggest fan as a result of how he defeated him. That is pretty amusing and it explained the mixed attire! The Doctor was very quick to leave Malcolm back with his true parents and the link back to Planet of Fire with his TARDIS key being found at Lanzarote was very good. But the links to that serial wouldn't end there as Dr Drylake revealed his true identity as Turlough! That is a reunion I was not expecting but I'm all here for it. He was a bit of an annoying character which is now less surprising but with the school setting and the insistence of referring to a red-headed boy, he was always on my mind linking back to Mawdryn Undead. The idea of him now encountering the Sixth Doctor and Peri is very exciting and I'm intrigued to hear where things go from here. I'll certainly be purchasing the next boxset! Overall, a really strong story to a conclude a consistent and fun series! 

Rating: 8/10