The Lost Stories range has always been special to me. As my entry point into Big Finish, it’s a series that I’ve found myself constantly coming back to. So, with a little time between new releases, I thought there’s no time like the present to revisit and review the whole range, and where better to start than with the story that started it all: The Nightmare Fair.

An infamous story, The Nightmare Fair, was originally meant to open the Classic series’ 23^rd season before it was put on hiatus and changed. Written by Graham Williams and adapted to audio by John Ainsworth, the story follows The Doctor and Peri as their holiday to Blackpool is interrupted by an old foe, The Toymaker.

The TARDIS has been drawn to Blackpool in the year 1985, where the Doctor intends to investigate a dangerous space/time vortex… while enjoying some local attractions along the way. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge.

The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit…

Big Finish Synopsis

Having listened to The Nightmare Fair on several previous occasions, the story has always left me with a bad impression. Although it has been a long time since I last revisited this adventure, memories still persist about this Blackpool runaround’s protracted imprisonment scenes. However, coming into this revisitation with a clear mind, I was surprised at how strong this serial was – or at least it was for the first part.

The story starts strong with its faithful depiction of The Doctor and Peri’s dynamic from the TV show. The Doctor is at his most enigmatic here and spends a good portion of the opening moments gushing about the exquisite beauties that can only be found in an 80s theme park. Peri, meanwhile, is less than enthused by The Doctor’s poetic ramblings, knowing full well that she’s about to be dragged off on another one of his diversions. As they settle in and explore all that Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach has to offer, their scenes together provide a host of nice little character titbits, especially about The Doctor. His time at the park is filled with new experiences, and it’s surprising, given all his years of life, that he’s never discovered the highs and lows of riding a rollercoaster or eating candy floss.

Away from the wonders of rollercoasters and candy floss, the story’s mystery also sets off on the right foot. David Bailie’s version of The Toymaker makes a menacing first impression. Hidden deep within the comfort of the park, he oversees his master plan at work, gloating as he knows he’s managed to trap an unwitting Doctor.

While the story’s character dynamics and villain are written to great effect during the first part, it was during the adventure’s second half that all the bad memories I’d come to experience from this story the first time around all came flooding back. During the final 45 minutes, the story’s writing takes an unfortunate nosedive, and there are two main reasons for this. The first reason is the story’s pace. Much of the story’s second half revolves around aimless corridor wandering or protracted prison scenes, slowing the story down to little more than a meander.  The second comes down to the more visual aspects meant to be on display. A major part of The Toymaker’s plan centres on a killer video game, which The Doctor ends up playing. While it’s an evolution of The Toymaker’s simple children’s games played during his first appearance, much of this is lost due to the inherent visual aspect that comes with video game media. Aside from a few grunts of wit from The Doctor, the audio format struggles to recreate the true extent of the battle that’s meant to be on display.