Doctor Who review: Castle of Fear is almost a Pythonesque opener to the Stockbridge trilogy

The village of Stockbridge moves from the world of Doctor Who comics to audio, as the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa explore its history in Castle of Fear.

After listening to The Comic Strip Adaptations a couple of months back, I’ve been itching to re-listen to Big Finish’s Stockbridge trilogy from 2009. Featuring the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, the trilogy focuses on the village of Stockbridge that had originally appeared in the pages of Doctor Who Monthly, as well as in one episode of the audio Circular Time. Across the whole trilogy, the Doctor and Nyssa explore Stockbridge’s past, present and future, beginning with Castle of Fear.

This is a rather enjoyable little opening story. In the first half of the story, Alan Barnes introduces this medieval world of rich and distinctive characters. There’s a lot of humor in there, and a lot of puns. But it’s actually nice to have a Doctor Who story this funny, especially when you’ve got major British comedy actors involved.

British comic actor John Sessions is brilliant as Roland of Brittany.

(Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Major comedy actors

You’ve got Joe Thomas playing Hubert, the Earl of Mummerset, returning to claim his home of Stockbridge Castle. Of course, there’s a “demon” that’s taken over the place and he needs a brave knight to destroy it. Enter the Doctor and Nyssa.

This was perfect casting for Big Finish. Thomas was still in popular British sitcom The Inbetweeners at the time, and he’s just the right fit for a character as awkward and funny as Hubert. Hubert’s far from a brave knight, and in fact comes across as rather cowardly, at times. But is there more to him than meets the eye?

We also have another great comic actor with John Sessions playing Roland of Brittany. Again, we get another hilarious performance of a very distinctive character. Roland’s extremely French accent is one more detail that gives Castle of Fear a strong feeling of Monty Python, especially The Holy Grail.

Shifting from comedy to story

However, Alan Barnes makes sure not to take things too far, particularly when he introduces a nice little twist in the second half.

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What’s really great is that Barnes has paced this story just right. The first half is more focused on both the humor and introducing these memorable and funny characters. But the second half is where the classic Doctor Who plot comes along, as a very familiar monster is revealed and we start to find out what their plan is.

We also find out that not every character is what they seem, and many secrets are revealed about each of them. It’s another benefit to a story that takes its time by focusing more on the characters than the plot, so that there’s an impact when the reveals come. It may be surprise, or simply a laugh, but you’re still guaranteed to have some kind of reaction.

Storywise, Castle of Fear is rather straight-forward, even with some timey-wimeyness thrown in at the beginning and the end. But, like The Ribos Operation, it’s one of those stories you can enjoy for the characters and the dialogue very easily. An excellent start to the Stockbridge trilogy.

Have you listened to Castle of Fear? What’s your favorite Doctor Who story with an emphasis on comedy? Let us know in the comments below.