The Colour of Terror [AUDIO/2023.2.8]

★★★☆☆

  Out of all the Lizzie Hopley scripts, this is my favourite one. It's thrilling, it's a lean piece of horror that uses an everyday element as the most horrifying thing ever (the colour red), has a dependable cast of characters and has Christopher Eccleston confidently striding about the place dominating the scene. I like that the Ninth Doctor gets to be both impatient and emotionally acute at the same time, giving a woman some space as she says her final goodbyes to her deceased fiancee; being a fantastic actor, Eccleston sells these scenes so well. Do I think Nine is a bit uppity in these audio adventures? Yes, and I still think it's consistent with what we see in Series 1. Besides, I'm not the biggest upholder of "character consistency" anyway -- as long as it's fun, I enjoy. The Colour of Terror is essentially what I'd call a very well made 'ordinary Dr. Who' adventure, but there's no shame in that. Hopley clearly had a fun time writing the script with the creativity of the baddies themselves and the interaction between the Doctor and the other characters, and that leaves me with a smile on my face.