Doctor Who and the Pescatons [AUDIO/1976.7.?]

★★☆☆☆

  I've always said that Tom Baker is unmatched when he narrates a story with excitement and razor-sharp intensity on the tip of his tongue. It still rings true today, with examples such as Paul Magrs' Nest Cottage series and (to a lesser extent since he's acting a part as opposed to narrating the entire story) his Big Finish Fourth Doctor audios. If, however, you're simply dying to experience an instance where Baker is so clearly unengaged by the whole thing that not even his booming, silky voice can save the monotonous bore of a story he's handed... look no further than Doctor Who and the Pescatons.

  Those who know will know that this has something of an infamous reputation among Doctor Who fans with some knowledge on the franchise's audio efforts. It's known for its bland plot, equally unengaging performances (both Baker and Elisabeth Sladen sound like they're on sleepwalk mode) and controversial genocide of the Pescatons carried out by our heroes. I mean, I don't find this to be an especially egregious stray from the Doctor's public reputation (especially considering both the various heinous acts the Doctor directly and indirectly committed in the entire mythos and the fact that the Fourth Doctor is perhaps the most bloodthirsty of the lot), but it does add a bitter taste to one's mouth.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  Sorry for the rather haphazard structure of this review; this sort of thing tends to happen when I have very little of import to say about a given story. Doctor Who and the Pescatons is what it is, a bad Doctor Who adventure that doesn't emote anything and doesn't try anything interesting. I suppose it's only slightly noteworthy for being much more brutalistic than even its TV counterpart (due to the Pescaton rampage resulting in several civilians becoming shark alien lunch), but that's about it. Thankfully, though, it's not as horrendously boring as Exploration Earth.