Doctor Who review: Subterranea is an easy but strong Fourth Doctor story

The Fourth Doctor and Romana arrive deep underground in a tunneling Drill-town in Doctor Who audio Subterranea. But when they find themselves hunted by the Silax, will they be able to survive?

I must admit, I was a little apprehensive about listening to Subterranea. For many Doctor Who fans, you think “Fourth Doctor story set underground”, you think of Underworld – possibly one of the weakest stories in Tom Baker’s long run as the Doctor. Fortunately, Subterranea is very, very different.

One thing that instantly helps is a simple but excellent story by Jonathan Morris. Many of the ideas featured in Subterranea are instant to visualize, mainly because of how simple but effective they are.

You have an alien race that look like moles; underground Drill-towns that are exactly what they sound like, and the evil and machine-like Silex that serve as the monsters of the piece. With just an hour to tell this story, Morris wisely makes all the ideas and creatures in this very alien environment easy to imagine, allowing for the writing to focus on other things.

Surprising twists and characters

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For example, one element that this story features is humor, and lots of it. There are many moments when I found myself laughing out loud while listening to this one. That’s mainly because the characters are very well written and fleshed out, and it doesn’t take long at all for them to grow on us.

One character that particularly stood out to me was Maxwell. Initially, he seems a little basic and straightforward, an opportunist who’s only focused on what he can both find and use. But as the story goes on, you see more sides to him. You not only get to see how smart he is, but also how much he truly cares. He’s an interesting character, and he’s well played by Matthew Cottle.

Jonathan Morris also throws in some neat twists into the story too, to make it stand out just that little bit more. So while Subterranea is the kind of Doctor Who story that we’re familiar with, it also does stand out on its own terms. Particularly when you get to the ending. There’s a moment that does hit you hard, thanks to great character writing.

With a strong story, well-written characters, excellent sound design by Jamie Robertson and great directing by Nicholas Briggs, Subterranea is another great story in the sixth series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures.

dark. Next. Review: The Wirrn return in UNIT: Revisitations

Have you listened to Subterranea? Do you think Doctor Who should feature more stories set underground? Let us know in the comments below.

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