The Stuff of Nightmares [AUDIO/2009.9.3]

★★★★☆

  If there's any Doctor who deserves a set of stories narrated by himself, showing the intricacies of his thought processes and describing everything with such relish and imagination, it's dear old Four. I don't think these Hornets' Nest audios would have worked half as well without the booming voice of Tom Baker, so deliciously reading every line and keeping the listeners' ears laser-focused on the proceedings — it's not a slight on the other aspects of production (particularly not on Paul Magrs' brilliant ideas and script), it's simply to emphasize just how amazing Baker is at narrating. From the ominous factory with stuffed animals from the dead come to life to the vicious fight the Doctor has with his cotton-filled assailants, you feel the tension in the air, the creeping horror which drives the mind wild. If Magrs' intent was to make this a spiritual homage to the Philip Hinchcliffe years, I must say he succeeded in flying colours.

  Magrs kicks off the Hornets' Nest series in spectacular fashion, succeeding in both laying the groundwork for the stories to come and whetting listeners' appetite with a remarkably told macabre tale. In classic Magrs fashion, the ideas are as exciting as they can be; indeed, the main antagonizing force is a mysterious race of hornets, seemingly aware of the Doctor from their past, who pride on controlling the mind of innocents with their awesome powers. Mike Yates returns to the Who world, and joins forces with Baker's Doctor to form what seems on paper like such an odd combination but reveals itself to be the best duo since hot bread and honey — the two actors bounce off one another brilliantly. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  I couldn't have asked for a better Fourth Doctor tale to ease me into this five-part epic... I can't wait for more. The Stuff of Nightmares proved to me, more than anything, that Tom Baker has never truly let go of Doctor Who and was always ready to don the scarf again. Eyes sparkling, mind whizzing and mouth laughing and growling in equal measure — he is the Doctor.