Trevor Baxendale

Trevor Baxendale’s Doctor Who: Fear of the Dark features the Fifth Doctor as portrayed by Peter Davison, Tegan Jovanka as portrayed by Janet Fielding, and Nyssa of Traken as portrayed by Sarah Sutton. The story takes place sometime during season 20 of the original run of Doctor Who based on references to the stories “Snakedance” and “Kinda.” In the story, the Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa arrive on the moon of Akoshemon, a planet believed to be cursed. They find a rogue mining group there trying to find valuable ores in order to stake a claim before the Consortium uses its power to jump their claim. As they dig, they uncover an old evil created by scientists who used genetic modification in the search for a better method of suspended animation. Now the Doctor must help uncover the mystery and save the miners from the creature.

Baxendale’s portrayal of the Fifth Doctor and his companions honors their appearances in the show while also offering opportunities for character exploration. For example, Nyssa muses of the Doctor, “Sometimes she felt as though there was more to learn about life than could possibly be squeezed into just one lifetime. She envied the Doctor his seemingly limitless knowledge and experience, and had tried to learn as much from him as she could” (pg. 49). The Doctor himself continues to feel the effects of Adric’s death, weighing on his decisions as he and his companions face danger (pg. 233). The story is great for longtime fans as well as those who have only seen a few adventures starring the Doctor. This edition of Baxendale’s book came out for the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who, but it’s worth revisiting with the approaching sixtieth anniversary.… (altro)