Trevor Baxendale, “Fear
of the Dark” (BBC Digital 2013, 2003)
One of the great things about Doctor Who as a franchise is
its flexibility. The nature of the world
means that almost any kind of story can be told.
Fear of the Dark
is perhaps the darkest horror story that I’ve encountered in the
Whoniverse. The setup is simple
enough: Five (plus Tegan and Nyssa) are
on a deserted moon at the edge of the galaxy.
There’s a small mining expedition there. And more importantly, there’s
also an ancient evil: one that predates
the universe itself.
It’s unusual to encounter a Doctor Who story that is this
bleak. All the minor characters begin to
be killed off as the evil force gains more power. Both Tegan and Nyssa are affected: The Dark can affect their minds, and they
become depressed and paranoid. Even the
Doctor is not immune to this meddling:
his more negative qualities are exaggerated, and he is more inhuman than
usual.
For all the great setup, unfortunately Baxendale doesn’t
stick the landing. As the villain
becomes fully materialized in our universe, it also becomes just another
mustache twirling idiot who needs to monologue before being put into his place. Given the large number of horror stories with
lousy endings, this certainly isn’t a deal breaker.
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