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Fury from the Deep

Audio review by Chris Rainbow

The BBC's Missing Stories Audio Collection is annoying as it is a constant reminder that what I'm listening to no longer exists as it should do. Fury from the Deep is one of those stories.

Despite the missing visuals, the atmosphere is still conveyed well - the foreboding sense of doom can be felt when the weed's heartbeat resonates through the pipeline. The scenes which are most disappointing not to be able to view are all the foam sequences. The audio gives you only a vague picture, but I am guessing that it would be excellent to watch - after all, they did re-use the same concept for The Seeds of Death.

The only thing that spoils Fury from the Deep is Tom Baker's narration. It may be something to do with Eric Saward's script, but it seems to me that Tom doesn't take the narration seriously, especially when talking about frightening sequences. A prime example of this is the climax of Episode 1 when the weed is approaching Victoria. Tom's 'closer and closer and closer' speech ruins the whole atmosphere. I feel Colin Baker should be asked to do a few more tapes, as his narration for The Macra Terror was believable and not imposing. I also think that the narration should not be written in the first person unless the narrator is someone from the original story.

Some have said that Doctor Who does not work as an audio medium. In large groups this may be so, but devoting a bit of time to listening to it whilst not being preoccupied with something else can result in the same enjoyment received from actually watching it. It just requires more concentration and listening, something that we are all not used to doing too much of when it comes to Doctor Who.

This item appeared in TSV 37 (January 1994).

Index nodes: Fury from the Deep