Audio #5: The Fearmonger

TARDIS crew; 

• Seventh Doctor

• Ace

Notable Characters; 

• The Fearmonger- Main enemy 

• Sherilyn Harper- Britannia Party leader 

• Walter- Assassin

• Mick Thompson- Radio show host

• Roderick- Sherilyn's assistant 

• Alexsandr- Leader of the United Front

Detailed Plot;

Part One

This was an absolutely brilliant start to the story, I thoroughly enjoyed! It begins with a speech, but others were heard amongst, watching the speaker, they spoke of monsters. They seemed to be criminals as they were on the lookout for security, security that was now on its way. Screams were heard along with gunshot, it was an assassination attempt! A thrilling start to the audio adventure! The assassins talked of the monsters being close, they said they had knowledge of these fearful monsters. But what interest did monsters have in what was revealed to be a political speech? 

A news report was heard, from the radio, and the voice of the Seventh Doctor was heard. It was great to have McCoy back, although he had featured in The Sirens of Time, I was excited to have a full adventure with the great Doctor. The Doctor ignored the annoyance of the presenter and claimed he was just waiting, but for what? 

Sherilyn Harper was the women who was the target of assassination. Leader of the New Britannia party, somebody obviously disagreed hugely with her political beliefs. The Doctor, somewhat humorously, was given time on air of the radio broadcast. He gave a live message to a Walter Jacobs, assuring him that there was in fact a monster! It was all very intriguing, the Doctor knew what had happened, and it seemed a lot had happened prior to the beginning of the audio that the Doctor had knowledge about. 

Ace was now introduced to the audio, although I disliked her as companion in the original TV run, it was great to hear a familiar voice from the classic series. I just hope her audio run is better than her TV one! She was in her own neighbourhood it seemed, but some fifteen years after she left for the TARDIS. So I made the setting as 2002. She had a gadget, from the help of a friend who was now showing her how to use it. It was a phone hacking system. 

After abruptly going to commercial due to the Doctor's plea, the Time Lord was still on the air but now the radio show was taking callers. Walter called in and wanted to talk with the Doctor. They had a brief conversation with Walter just seemingly being worried. It was though revealed that Walter was one of the assassins who tried to murder Harper. It was claimed that this political leader wasn't what she seemed, was she evil? Politicians and alien evil being mixed together as a possible prospect casted my mind back to the three Slitheen episodes during the Ninth Doctor era, I was kind of hoping he'd meet them a little earlier, but I didn't expect it all. But what I got certainly didn't disappoint. 

The Doctor didn't know what he was looking for, but there was something in connection with Sherilyn Harper. But it was nameless. With more humour occurring, Ace was next to call in for the radio show, and she ignored the presenter and was talking with her Professor. Boy, I wish she'd just call him the Doctor! 

Ace, using the phone hacking system on the radio number, had tracked Walter down and she went to meet him. Walter though was extremely worried by seemingly everything and would only welcome her in under the threat of a gun. He talked of Harper having a monster within her and claimed how Stevie, a fellow assassin, taught him to see it within her. When Ace mentioned the Doctor, Walter went mad! He tried running away, but only ran into the Time Lord himself. It was very interesting, Stevie knew the Doctor and it seemed the Doctor knew him as well. I liked how we as the listener jumped straight in at the deep, full of action, politics and mystery to begin an adventure! The Doctor now wanted to help the assassins, now that's a sentence I wouldn't expect to write! 

Sherilyn Harper was now heard, she was extremely busy during her rallying campaign and she was in her office. She had knowledge of the call between the Doctor and Walter on the radio show hosted by Mick Thompson, and her assistant seemed to know a great deal about the Time Lord. There was reference to his working days at UNIT. He planned on trying to get the Doctor to be questioned by the police, something that wouldn't greet the Doctor all that nicely. 

Stevie was in a hospital, suffering with is mind bordering insanity. He knew the Doctor as 'Dr. Smith', or was that just a cover up to get into see the assassin? They talked of previous events, ones we hadn't heard and occurred before the start of the audio. Stevie mentioned how he had helped the Doctor, but the Doctor needed to find Walter who had left the TARDIS pair when they were with him, when he was mad. 

The first mention of the audio title was made early on, the title would have a direct link with the story which is something I like. The Fearmonger was in fact the monster believed to be within Harper. The Doctor believed the assassins and knew it to be inside the political leader. He described how the monster fed off of stirred up emotions, so a political party leader was the perfect host! 

The assassins were being tormented by this monster, whether it knew it was doing it or not, so they attempted to assassinate Harper hoping to destroy the Fearmonger with it. But in their failed shooting, the monster had messed up their minds. They weren't entirely themselves, they seemed altered in someway. The Doctor though revealed how assassination was no good, as the Fearmonger would just find a new host. Stevie was angered by the remark and was getting ever closer to insanity, he demanded the monster dead! It certainly wasn't doing him any favours at all. 

Seemingly a little soon after an assassination attempt, barely days, but another Britannia Party rally was scheduled, and imminent. Harper wanted the assurance of security measures in great numbers and that it was in place early. There were strict restrictions. But that wasn't anything the TARDIS couldn't bypass, and the materialisation was heard. The Doctor and Ace were inside the rally. They'd bypassed security, now they knew Walter would be here somewhere, possibly planning to assassinate once more, so they needed to find him. 

With the strict security measures, it was intriguing how he'd get in, but the Doctor guessed he'd have come early, before the measures were even put in place and simply wait and hide. Harper was introduced on stage for the rally, she began her speech. Ace seemed to dislike the women who's life they were trying to save, and disagreed with her political beliefs. 

After the radio call, Harper seemed to demonise Thompson, the radio show presenter. Walter was underneath the centre stage, in perfect position to kill, he claimed he could hear the Fearmonger in Harper's speech. The sounds created by her speech's tone, speed and words were that of creating an atmosphere for the absence of feeling in favour of feeling. It was all very intriguing! 

The Doctor and Ace found Walter, the assassin made reference to Stevie finding the government files of the Doctor and not liking what he'd dealt with. Walter was scared. Ace calmly approached him, but Walter seemed ready for suicide! He had a bomb, or at least the means of causing an explosion from underneath the stage. He had the switch, on a timer, but he couldn't press it himself. He was too scared and needed to take the easy way out by letting the explosion happen itself. It seemed he wanted to stop it, the Doctor tried talking him further away from assassination suicide. The Time Lord said he knew how to drive the monster out of the party leader. 

Suddenly, an unplanned and unknown loud noise was heard. Walter claimed 'it's started.' But what had? The Fearmonger was out? What was it? What could it do? It was thrilling and filled me with suspense! But the noise was causing disruption, and Walter was affected, if he let go of the switch the explosion would occur and death would happen all around! Was he stable enough to hold on? It didn't seem likely. A fantastic opening part with a sensational cliffhanger! 

Part Two

After the outstanding standard set in the first part, I was extremely pleased that this part continued the brilliance! With a magnificent cliffhanger to resolve, it continued on with the Doctor pleading to Walter not to suicide and let the 'dead man's switch' blow off. The loud noise was heard in which Walter claimed 'it's started.' Thankfully, Ace kept Walter's hand on the switch, it wouldn't blow up. It was safe, but the loud noises sounded like a ship. But there was no craft, just a group of people and going by the sound of the gunshot, they had laser weapons! Ace was assuring and comforting Walter that everything would be okay, the Doctor really liked how Ace was learning from him. 

Above, at the scene of the rally, ceasefire was heard and the group seemed to have left. An evacuation of the attendees was in place. The Doctor came into the sight and ran into Roderick, the assistant of Sherilyn Harper. He explained to the Doctor how the invaders were dressed in black and completely unseen. Roderick however, had been expecting the Doctor. 

Ace had a plan. She wanted to use her friend from her home neighbourhood, Paul, in the political campaign to gain closer access to Sherilyn and ultimately the Fearmonger. Unexpected in Doctor Who (unlike in Torchwood), explicit language was used by Harper after the invasion of her rally. It didn't bother me but it was just not expected in this area of the Whoniverse. 

Roderick had now informed the police about the Doctor, they knew he was here. Would they take him for questioning? The Doctor, Ace and Walter headed to Paul's house, and the radio was turned on for the Mick Thompson show, news time. A message came through of a group claiming responsibility for what had happened at the rally. They sounded slightly robotic but were ultimately human. They named themselves the United Front and claimed they were plotting against the Britannia Party. 

It was interesting when the prospect of the Fearmonger attracting unstable minds and feeding off of them was put forward. The monster could be stirring things to feed itself. With the group being heard on the radio, Walter could hear the Fearmonger within them, he was frightened. The Doctor for once didn't have any real knowledge on what they were up against, not even knowing where the fearing monster came from. The group though worked out the origins of the monster and talked of a civilised planet and its history, a people who created these creatures for emotional use, but somehow the monster for fear escaped and ended up on Earth. 

In a stroke of genius, the Doctor had created a forcefield device out of things from Paul's junk draw in the kitchen. Brilliant. The device would crush the Fearmonger and leave it within whilst the host would simply be let free. 

Paul, reluctantly, went to the HQ of the Britannia party and under his cover story claimed he had important information regarding the United Front. He was to be used as a distraction to Roderick while the Doctor and Ace would sneak into Harper's office and subtlety set up the forcefield device that would free her from the Fearmonger. Paul was frightened and  nervous, and under no real pressure sold out his friends. The plan was abandoned and the TARDIS pair needed to quickly escape. Paul simply didn't want any involvement in the matter. But, he had to go back with the Doctor and Ace. 

Arriving back at the house, there was an unexpected sight! Energy was seen there, the same stuff that's within Harper, part of the Fearmonger, or just a tool of the monster's? It was trying to scare the trio of the Doctor, Ace and Walter and recognised them as a threat. This energy seemed to be one step ahead and the Doctor suspected another involvement. The trio couldn't let the energy contact them, the Doctor called for a frying pan! Was he trying to attack the energy? In turn, the energy attacked the Doctor! He was affected greatly and collapsed to the floor. Had it attempted to feed off any stirred emotion, or simply sending a message? 

The Doctor said he'd earthed most of the energy inside him, and it was now gone. But after Paul had sold out the Doctor and Ace, the police were on their way and thankfully Paul warned the trio. Paul said he'd cover for them while they now had to escape on the run. The trio left, but Walter ran away in fear, he didn't want the Fearmonger or its energy spreading anywhere closer to him. He climbed on a bridge, another thought of suicide. He wanted death, he claimed there was no way of stopping Harper and not being able to stop her was scaring him massively! Ace though had her best moment as companion so far (TV and audio) in reasoning with Walter calmly, bringing him down and saying he was worth saving. She'd talked him out of his own death which was fantastic. She was picking up more and more traits of the Doctor, she was fastly improving at being a good talker. 

There was now reference to time itself, and the age old theory that if one butterfly is killed the whole continuum would be altered. The Doctor humorously laughed off that theory, but Ace mentioned the power the Doctor had. He could change everything, but he didn't want that, he said history could sort itself out which I loved. 

Alexsandr was now introduced, the leader of the United Front who'd invaded Sherilyn Harper's political rally. They took responsibly for what now seemed another terrorist attack, they took out a building used by the Britannia Party, but no civilians were killed, and that's what the United Front wanted. They were simply sending a message. 

The Doctor, still wanting to get closer to Harper and find out more about the terrorist group, wanted Walter to arrange a meeting with the United Front, or at least one of the members. Walter though seemed frightened of the Doctor, but the Doctor said he'd fought much worse than terrorists, referring to his enemies in The Web Planet and The War Machines. He did though assure us that the terrorist group were human, and the group had agreed to the meeting, but it was abrupt and the familiar trio were ordered into a car. The Doctor explained how they'd gained access to laser guns, they'd going the prototype from UNIT, something the Doctor was working on whilst there. They'd replicated it and now they had serious fire power. 

They were taken captive now by Alexsandr, who made it clear he didn't like Harper at all. The police had sighted the trio being taken by the United Front and Harper and Roderick were informed. With him being connected now with the terrorist group, albeit held captive, the Doctor could now be suspected as a terrorist! A frightening proposition.  

Walter turned his back from neutral with the Doctor and Ace and swung towards the United Front, he joined with them. He wanted the TARDIS pair let go but Alexsandr wouldn't let that happen. Blindfolded and at gunpoint, Ace stood up to the group leader. She took off her blindfold despite the threat, she claimed she knew she'd survive, belittling the leader, the Doctor warned her to be careful. She used the fact that the group didn't want any civilians killed to her advantage and continued talking before a sudden gunshot was heard and a horrifying scream! The Doctor screamed out 'Ace!' but all was lost. It seemed Ace was dead. 

A fantastic second part and I was really loving this audio so far! A sensational cliffhanger again which I looked forward to seeing the resolution and aftermath of. 

Part Three

Fantastic! I'd really loved this audio so far and now with three quarters of it complete, I can safely say I'm impressed. After the sensational cliffhanger to conclude the previous part, the third part begins and Ace has actually been shot. No other gunshot to the rescue as seen in previous TV cliffhanger resolutions, but the companion has been shot. The Doctor ordered an ambulance be called and from Walter agreeing, Alexsandr called for one. Walter bargained with the United Front leader and if he was to join the group he wanted the Doctor and Ace free. 

Ace was taken to a hospital, the Doctor didn't seen overly worried and was confident of her survival. Inside the hospital, Paul was there to welcome the TARDIS pair, but Roderick was there as well. Paul seemingly had betrayed his friends again. 

Back at the Britannia Party HQ and Harper wanted to know of UNIT involvement, she figured the Doctor was still linked with them from the 1970s and 80s. The Doctor was taken to the police and held in a cell, but quickly had escaped, well it seemed he was let go due to an apparent possession of a card linked with UNIT. The Doctor described how there was little left that could fear him, and jokingly claimed how he does death well. But he found something he feared most in this very story, the possibility of a companion dying. 

The Doctor seemed to be greeted by the energy that attacked him previously, it seemed to communicate but I couldn't be entirely sure. The Doctor soon ran into Walter again, and he claimed that it was Walter himself who'd led the way for the creation of the United Front by attempting to assassinate Sherilyn Harper. Walter, also flanked by Alexsandr, were outside Harper's home and this was where the Doctor was waiting for them. The pair knew she wasn't home, they didn't want death, just destruction and a message sent. The Doctor again blamed Walter, frightening him, saying how Walter is now scaring people much worse than Harper ever did. However, the Doctor hadn't won, United Front had a plan, and they were confident it would make the news headlines. 

Ace had finally awoken in the hospital after being shot, she was conscious and mentally well. Thankfully, she'd been shot in the shoulder so no serious permanent damage was done. She'd soon recover. But the news broke as the United Front wanted, they'd bombed the homes of three Britannia Party members. A message was certainly sent. The Doctor now accompanied his companion in hospital, but it would be some three weeks before Ace could leave apparently. 

The Mick Thompson show was now on, and with the election just days away, a certain Sherilyn Harper was the guest of honour. Paul, now given a job at the party, accompanied her at the interview and he shockingly had the forcefield device the Doctor previously built! Was he ultimately betraying the Doctor and keeping Harper safe? But in turn it seemed as though Paul was working with the Time Lord! A great secrecy u-turn. Paul did seem stuck in between the affairs of Harper & Roderick and the Doctor & Ace. Who could he trust? 

The Doctor made reference to his six previous 'deaths' that caused regeneration, but he now left Ace alone in the hospital. Almost immediately, a monster sounding Walter entered the ward and confronted Ace. On the radio interview, it was revealed that due to the terrorist attacks, support for the Britannia Party was ever increasing. Would Harper gain political power? 

I really liked Roderick's reference to the Doctor having worked for UNIT during the '70s, it certainly brought back some fantastic flashbacks in my mind. Walter though revealed how thanks to his UNIT work, he was terrified of the Doctor and what he dealt with. Walter held Ace, uncomfortably for the latter. 

The Doctor had a plan and Ace knew all about it, Harper was set for her interview in an hours time, but came on too early and would wreck the plan of the Doctor's! The Doctor greeted Paul at the radio centre and he was annoyed at how he now had hardly anytime to carry out his objective. The Doctor was to turn on the forcefield and trap the Fearmonger leaving Harper free. 

Back at the hospital and a great twist was thrown in! Walter now claimed that he could hear the Fearmonger in Thompson, the radio host! The monster had changed host it seemed. The forcefield device was switched on but the mission failed. Ace now claimed she could hear the monster, what would this mean for her? The Doctor was getting angry at the readings, before Walter rang in to the radio show as the last caller and subtly told the Doctor how the Fearmonger was now in the presenter. 

Harper, still the guest, talked with Walter about the assassination attempt he tried on her. Harper belittled the frightened Walter and with Ace now coming on the line, Roderick called the police. They knew the location of the assassin. Ace was heard on the radio arguing with Thompson rather comically. 

After her humorous arguing with Thompson had ended, Ace intelligently realised that the police would be on their way looking for the assassin that was Walter. Ace, injured but able to walk, knew they had to leave. Ace was just about able to get away. Back at the radio centre and Paul was trying to ring Ace for the Doctor, but understandably now there was no answer. The Doctor was getting ready to leave also, the forcefield leaving with him also. The Doctor, despite being close by, called Thompson privately and named a location- possibly a meeting point. Thompson seemed to ignore the call. 

Ace and Walter intended on going to Thompson studios in search of the Doctor. But with elections close up and the assassination and terrorist happenings, riots were occurring across the British capital. Without being noticed, Ace and Walter see Thompson, it seems he's listened to the Doctor's call and does want to meet up with him. Ace and Walter secretively follow the radio presenter. The companion showed a wonderful trait of the Doctor, she planned on improvising. 

The Doctor was heard working on the forcefield device to alter the wavelength to suit Thompson now. Part of a classic Third Doctor phrase was heard with 'reverse the polarity...' but it wasn't quite completed. Still, it put a smile on my face. 

Thompson entered the building in which Ace was shot, Ace and Walter followed and the Doctor was there waiting. Upon Thompson's entry, the Time Lord had trapped the radio presenter in the forcefield. Was the Fearmonger trapped? However, after bracing themselves for something, nothing seemed to happen. The Doctor was shocked by the readings given, the monster wasn't only not in Thompson, but never had been! It was intriguing! The Doctor seemed annoyed, almost like he'd been tricked. He claimed he was following the wrong trail all along. Was it in somebody else? Despite both Walter and Ace claiming they'd heard it in Thompson, the Doctor rubbished it and said how fear alters people's perception. Because they were ill, they were confused and unintentionally had made up the sound of the monster! Walter was saddened before Ace suddenly gasped. The Doctor asked what was wrong, but Ace claimed it was nothing. The end credits hit, it was an average cliffhanger but it left the final part wide open. Anything could happen! 

My theory here was that due to the perception of Walter being affected by fear, that Walter was in fact the host of the Fearmonger and the gasp was the transformation of hosts from Walter to Ace. I may be completely wrong, but that's my approach, I looked forward to seeing the outcome in the concluding part! 

Part Four

A wonderful conclusion to what was a magnificent audio story, I really loved this one. I'll give my overall analysis after writing about the part itself. It begins continuing on from a pretty non-dangerous cliffhanger and Mick Thompson wanted to know what was happening. But there wasn't much time as the angry rioting London mob was approaching. The Doctor wanted Thompson to call his producers and request a live report about the mob via his phone. Walter was still affected and he admitted himself that he was crazy. The Doctor wanted to know information about the United Front, and Walter revealed a secret location. 

Back at the Britannia Party HQ and Harper was coming up with a plan to cover up the riots and make it absolutely sure that the party was not the cause of the rioting. The responsibility of that would damage the party's reputation indefinitely. 

Ace made a call to Paul, and per the instructions of the Doctor, he was told to make some calls to people about a meeting. But, unknown to the listener and the rest of the characters, Ace requested something else from Paul. She had a plan, but what was it? 

Thompson was now on the air via phone live from the mobs. He was scuffling before his car was damaged. He was desperately trying to stay clear of the mob, but he was ever so close. The mob were rocking the car, and the Doctor climbed on top and was juggling! He was insane, but comically genius. He was biding time. Thompson claimed he wanted an interview with those responsible for the origins of the riots which were spreading. Heard from the news, the United Front wanted to meet with a member (or members) of the Britannia Party. Was it a cover up from Thompson? He didn't sound too certain. The mob were edging ever closer to the live broadcast, and in a scuffle the Doctor was taken down by a launched rock. The mob seemed to be starting to turn against the radio presenter! 

But the Doctor quickly found his feet and he was up and awake. The police confirmed to Roderick that a proposed meeting with the United Front was genuine, what would be up for discussion? The Doctor and co arrived at the secret location Walter talked of, meeting Alexsandr there and entering. Walter was still affected, and the Doctor agreed with what he wanted. He wanted all the riots and the fear over. In an unexpected turn of events, the Fearmonger was heard in the Doctor! Mick Thompson, still transmitting live, wanted to interview Alexsandr. 

Back at the Britannia Party offices and more explicit language was used. It somehow didn't seem right in a Doctor Who story, but it really didn't bother it. Roderick went to the secret location as the representative of the party. But in a shocking and brilliant turn of events, it was revealed that Roderick and Alexsandr were working together! The Britannia Party and the United Front were working as one! A tremendous twist! It was all a plan to gain publicity ahead of the election, and up until now it was working. But their support would soon be lost. Thompson was still broadcasting live to the World! Their plan was heard and their act was up. It was all heard live on aid that Roderick was part of the United Front. I loved this twist! 

Walter now, still scared wanting everything over, picked up a gun and made threat. The Doctor again showed his dislike, Roderick was threatened at. But soon he dropped the arm after being talked out of it. The Doctor brilliantly revealed how he'd planned out the turn of events and tricked Roderick into revealing the truth live during broadcast. 

Interestingly, the issue of the Fearmonger was far from over and both Ace and Walter claimed they could still hear the monster. Fear was still overcoming them it seemed. But the issues of the political party were all tied up as the police arrived and arrested Roderick, Walter and Alexsandr. One was a scheming fake while the others were assassins/terrorists. Thompson, confused by the happenings, hurriedly left. The Doctor though saw there was one last loose end that needed tying up. 

Ace went to get the forcefield device, the monster still loomed somewhere, and she could hear it within the Doctor. The Doctor, in the dark, greeted Sherilyn Harper. Her party campaign was over. She claimed how the nation were 'slaves to their own fear.' I liked that description. The Doctor, seemingly acting, claimed he understood. Harper had heard of Roderick's arrest. 

The rioting mob was still at large, and now it was coming straight for Harper. She was all false, she was just trying to gain votes. One big conspiracy campaign. Harper claimed she was afraid, but the Doctor had shifted out in the shadows and left. 

Ace rang Paul, and her unknown request was revealed. She wanted the dead man's switch, or in other words the explosive device that was pivotal to the cliffhanger of the first part. She wanted to get it close to the Fearmonger. Paul was confused at how the monster could control so many people. In Ace's mind, the Fearmonger was inside the Doctor and seemed to take over the Time Lord. The monster was in control. Ace ran, the Doctor followed. A chase was on between Doctor and companion, something unique! Ace though was still injured, barely leading the Doctor to the forcefield. She threatened the monster within her beloved Professor. She admitted that she would possibly kill the Doctor, a risk worth doing in order to save the universe. Ace also showed her trust and loyalty to the Doctor, portraying her willingness to die for him. 

The Doctor though seemed to be returning more to his normal self, talking his way out if trouble, turning the fear on Ace. Or was the monster pretending to be the Time Lord? I was eager to find out! The Doctor claimed, as I theorised at the end of part three that the Fearmonger had been in Walter all along before switching to Ace. The Doctor talked of Stevie and past hosts, the Doctor was back and right of course. The Fearmonger was inside Ace, and the Doctor talked it out of her! The forcefield was on, the Fearmonger was trapped and the bomb was stopped. All was safe and the Fearmonger threat was over. I really liked how Ace's worst imaginable nightmare was the Doctor going bad. 

My analysis; 

To conclude, The Fearmonger was absolutely magnificent from start to finish! The use of a political election was fantastic and the assassination and terrorism made it all very real. I thought Ace was magnificent in this audio, highly improving from her TV days, and showed some magical traits of the Doctor. She was learning well. I thought McCoy and Aldred worked wonderfully well together also. The guest cast were fantastic with the mentally unstable Walter and the brilliant party leader in Sherilyn Harper. Roderick was also fantastic. The many references to UNIT were wonderful! The overall plot was magnificent and I loved how the Fearmonger monster wasn't always the centre of attention due to the United Front. The use of Mick Thompson and his radio show was excellent and sparked some great humour. The first two cliffhangers were also pulsating in an action packed adventure based around politics! It was wonderful! The Fearmonger certainly is my joint favourite audio adventure along with Phantasmagoria as of the moment. But I'm only five in, I've got a long way to go yet! 

Rating; As I said, I loved it from start to finish- 10/10!