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Doctor Who and the Pescatons Format Reviewed: CDReview Doctor Who and the Pescatons is something of an oddity. It was produced by Decca towards the end of Sarah-Jane Smiths involvement in Doctor who, but includes several things that make it seem like a BBC production. Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen are in their usual roles as the Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith respectively, but there is only one other cast member, Bill Mitchell who plays Zor. There are other sounds such as crowd noise and a baby crying, but these three are pretty much the only roles in the story. What is used here is a rather odd method of Tom Baker basically reading a story, interspersed with some interaction with Sarah or Zor. This makes the story feel rather disjointed and odd, especially in the light of subsequent Doctor Who audio dramas. In truth though, the thing that really strikes you about Doctor Who and the Pescatons is that it appears to have been made in such a rush. This is confirmed in the interview with Sladen in the second CD in the set, where she said she was there for maybe a morning at most. This again makes the story disjointed, and also feels like it was just done as a marketing opportunity. What does feel authentic in the story though is the sound effects and the incidental music. It was revealed in the documentary that the person responsible for this was ex-BBC, and had worked on Doctor Who before. Consequently the sound effects in particular are very reminiscent of Doctor Who in the Petwee era. The story itself is rather short, and appears to have been rushed through to get it in on time. The plot line is clear, but doesn't really add much to the range of Doctor Who stories available in the ether, and can be seen as similar in point of fact to Fury from the Deep. It also seems to end rather suddenyl with the destruction of Zor, leaving the listener with a sense of unfulfillment and thinking, "oh, was that it?". Overall, the best way to describe Doctor Who and the Pescatons is that it is an oddity. As much as I hang on every word Tom Baker speaks in the context of Doctor Who, if I hadn't heard this story it would have been no great loss. It's not terrible, but I can't imagine anyone being upset that they havn't heard it. Rating:  Back to BBC Audio Index |