Doctor Who – The Holy Terror
Written by Robert Shearman
Directed by Nicholas Pegg
Starring:
Colin Baker as The Doctor
Robert Jezek as Frobisher
“The
Holy Terror” is one part comedy and one part tragedy. Well, it’s probably a bit
more in the tragedy section as time goes by and its plot unfolds, but that’s
what makes it such a pleasure. When exploring Doctor Who audio adventures, “The
Holy Terror” tends to throw its weight around as being one of the highest
reviewed and praised Doctor Who adventures in any medium, and I’m here to weigh
in on that reputation with my own two cents.
Set in a medieval castle in an
unknown kingdom, the audio drama throws the Doctor and his extraterrestrial
companion Frobisher right in the thick of a domestic dispute. This dispute
involves the currently reigning god of the kingdom, Pepin VII, and his deformed
brother, Childeric. Pepin is to be his kingdom’s new embodiment of god after
his father, the previous god, drowned while taking a bath. (No joke.) Naturally,
Childeric has his own plans to usurp his brother’s position as god. Deception,
betrayal, and assassination are afoot, but deep under the castle, something
more sinister lurks.
While we are graced with a
wonderful performance by Colin Baker, the sixth Doctor, we also are treated to
one of his most unique companions: Frobisher. Frobisher isn’t just an alien;
he’s a shape-changing alien who takes the form of a talking penguin. Who fans
unfamiliar with Frobisher might be taken aback by such an out-of-place and
silly companion. Well, I’m here to tell you that it works. Frobisher fits in
perfectly with the sixth Doctor. Not only is he a unique companion—you can’t
deny that—but Robert Jezek does a wonderful job playing him. I myself at first
was a bit hesitant going into this, as my knowledge and experience with
Frobisher was next to nothing, but boy, was I in for a treat. Frobisher is not
only charming, but he’s quite the funny bird, too. In fact, the biggest
let-down of this audio drama is that Big Finish, the wonderful company behind
it, has only used Frobisher in one other audio besides this one. Shame on you
Big Finish, clearly this needs to be remedied.
Not only is Frobisher there to make
us laugh, but the audio drama puts him and the Doctor in one of the most oddball
societies imaginable. The setting isn’t your average medieval castle—or rather,
it is. What makes this setting so intriguing is the nature of the society
living in this castle. Living in the castle under the rule of their god, Pepin,
is a host of guards and subjects who obey Pepin’s every command as long as he
can show off some magic tricks and survive an assassination attempt or two (because
you’re not ruling over a kingdom unless you’re constantly worried about a knife
in the back). Pepin’s subjects live to serve him; they’ll literally stop
breathing if he commands it. To this kingdom’s subjects, being “god” is a
fleeting thing. While you’re god, you are everything to these people, but when
you fail to live up to their expectations, you and everyone you love are
brought down faster than you can say “TARDIS.” For example, after Pepin’s
father, the previous god, passed away, Pepin’s mother was sent to the dungeons;
her husband’s death brands her as a heretic for a now-false god. She’s completely
accepting of her confinement to the dungeon, too, as that is where “heretics”
belong. It’s her duty to be tortured and maimed, and she accepts it without a
word of protest. A lot of outlandish acceptance runs rampant in this kingdom;
anyone with a half a brain would gawk and protest at what goes on inside these
castle walls, but we accept it. We don’t accept it simply because it’s there,
though; we accept it because it’s not only funny, but charming in its own way.
This charm comes from not only some top-notch acting, but a very well-written
script.
The script by Robert Sherman beguiles
us with wit and laughter while it paints us into its medieval world. It’s an gripping
story from the very first scene; an average citizen is imprisoned for allegedly
believing in the now false god Pepin VI, but simply has to sign a waiver saying
he renounces his devotion to the previous god to be free to go. The man goes
about his imprisonment and signs the waiver with perfect nonchalance, as if
it’s an everyday occurrence for him, giving you the first taste of how psychologically
peculiar this world is. The treatment of the characters and their psyches,
whether main or secondary, are shown in just the right amount of detail to give
us a better understanding of the story and the world these characters inhabit
without bogging everything down. Right when I felt a character was forgotten,
they came back into play, adding new depth to the overall plot. The perfect
example of this is Pepin’s mother, Berengaria, whom we are introduced to early
on but sparingly see again till near the end. My favorite scene in this audio
is the return to her character during the final act; her performance in this
scene stood out for me above all others, which is saying a lot, as this audio
is full of fantastic performances. Normally, having a character suddenly come
into play during the last thirty minutes with little development beforehand is
frowned upon, but in this case it actually serves to enhance the character
rather than leave her feeling rushed and unimportant.
Right when you think you’ve grasped
what “The Holy Terror” is about, things start spinning out of control and you
realize you didn’t know what it was about at all. A simple story about two brothers
and an overly devoted kingdom quickly gets much more complicated, and the body
count rises fast. It’s because of this story’s depth, charm, twists, and comedy
that this audio gets so much praise, and after listening to it, expecting it to
be “decent” at best, I was won over by the spectacular finish. I have happily
joined the legion of fans tooting this story’s horn, and strongly recommend
that you do the same.
Rating: 5/5
“The Holy Terror” can be bought from Big Finish at: http://bigfinish.com/14-Doctor-Who-The-Holy-Terror
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