"Fear of the Daleks"
by Patrick Chapman

The second Companion Chronicles adventure - a Second Doctor tale, as recounted by ex-companion Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury) - is Fear of the Daleks. It sees an Zoe troubled by memories of travelling through space with the Doctor and Jamie, as the Time Lords' blocks on her memory break down; in particular, she is haunted by dreams of an encounter with a faceless race of metal robots . . .

Writer Patrick Chapman openly acknowledges in the CD's booklet that he has attempted to throw in as many traditional elements of the Second Doctor's stories as possible - "evil scientist; world-changing invention" - and thankfully he pulls it off, with them all working well. Fear of the Daleks tiptoes carefully along the line between authentic reproduction and uninspired cliche, and falls wholly on the favourable side.

Padbury narrates in a warm and gentle tone, welcoming the listener comfortably into a story which then becomes rather tense and horrific at times, and she makes the story feel quite personal. Her reading is permeated with a sense that the story really means something to its narrator, and it feels convincingly like she's confiding in you. She also portrays Zoe as being noticably older and more mature than she was onscreen, less chirpy and more wise, showing that she's really given this role some consideration. She puts less effort into the voices than she could, though, barely changing between characters - which is a shame, because Patrick Chapman has absolutely nailed the Second Doctor's character in his dialogue and descriptions.

The "second voice" for this story is Nicholas Briggs as The Daleks. Whereas the use of a guest actor in the first Companion Chronicles release worked well, kept separate from the main body of the 'audiobook', it's less successful here; it feels strange that Padbury provides all-but-one of the voices in the story, and Briggs's contributions sometimes stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to Wendy Padbury's own tranquil tones. However, given that the alternative would have been Padbury screeching through a ring modulator, I think the best choice was made.

The score for this release is, once again, fantastically appropriate, by being wildly inappropriate. Dramatic moments are punctuated by a sudden and unexpected burst of music, as over-the-top and wild as was used in the sixties episodes. Where the main range of audio dramas seems to have been influenced by the current series of Doctor Who, pacier and more action-orientated, it really is nice that these CDs go to such lengths to replicate their home era with charming (if, in the case of the music, unintentionally amusing) accuracy.

Fear of the Daleks is an enjoyable and authentic Second Doctor story, written and read brilliantly. Well worth a listen.