Review of The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (#9)
Big Finish Release Date: June 2000
Doctor/Companion: Six and Evelyn Smythe
Stars: Colin Baker and Maggie Stables
Preceding Story: Red Dawn (Five, Peri)
Succeeding Story: Winter for the Adept (Five, Nyssa)

Storytelling in Doctor Who has several tried and true formulae (the most well known (at least by name) probably being “base under siege“), so it was almost comforting when I realized that The Spectre of Lanyon Moor was making use of one of them: the fantastical explanation for an Earth legend (see also The Dæmons, or the more recent (and extreme) example of Death in Heaven).

The exact details of how a 3-foot-high alien troll uses its psionic energy to further its own purposes, affecting the surrounding area in Cornwall of course take a full, convoluted four parts. But it only takes a few minutes to realize this creature is being presented as the basis of a great many stories and superstitions—most notably the existence of Cornish pixies. I found it reassuringly familiar.

Even more reassuring in its familiarity was the presence of the Brigadier. Although he is by this point in time retired (the story, as its Doctor, occurs between the Brigadier’s television appearances in Mawdryn Undead and Battlefield), he is conveniently right at the thick of things, on one of those ubiquitous “special assignments” that seem to pepper his later life. Never having met this incarnation of the Time Lord before, the Brig is nevertheless quick on the uptake; he recognizes the Doctor from the manner of his appearance on the scene (among other clues). I loved that he was able to take it all in stride.

After some nice set-up, then, the story continues on its merry way, our intrepid Companion Evelyn (to whom I’ve quite warmed by my third adventure with her) haring off on her own a time or two. She’s also showing signs of knowing how these things work, as she seems prone to taking matters into her own hands, proceeding as she believes the Doctor would (or would want her to) in questionable situations.

The twists and turns are not terribly surprising for a listener familiar with the tropes of science fiction and fantasy in general, or Doctor Who in particular, but they are satisfying enough. After all, how can one resist an audio that includes the line, “Are you tellin’ me that [redacted] has entered into some kind of Faustian pact with a pixie from outer space?”

To my mind, the characterizations of the primary players was the most important part of the piece, and those were delivered admirably. I got the (kinder, gentler) Sixth Doctor I’ve come to expect from Big Finish; I got the self-assured, older woman who makes Evelyn such a compelling Companion; and I got the quintessential, post-UNIT Brigadier.

So while I could easily describe Lanyon Moor as formulaic, it was comfortingly so. It’s a perfect example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” storytelling. After all, writers use story archetypes for a reason: they’re proven winners.