Following on from the disappointment of Bad Terms’ opening act, the second story in the boxset is a much stronger affair. Nev Fountain’s ‘Red for Danger!’ is a stacked three-part adventure that sees The Doctor and Peri continue their travels, this time, undercover at a public boys’ school filled with twists, turns and aliens.

New teachers Dr Pretorius (History) and Professor Brown (Biology) find a lot to alarm them at one of the most menacing places they’ve ever visited – a traditional English public school. Finding aliens among both staff and pupils, can they solve the mystery of Malcolm – a boy whose connection to the Doctor is closer than the Time Lord could ever imagine…?

Big Finish Synopsis

From the outset, this adventure sets itself on strong foundations. The first of its three parts opens with The Doctor and Peri going undercover as teachers in history and biology at a particularly nasty public boarding school. It’s a role that both characters embrace naturally, with the two of them adopting different styles of slightly nutty substitute teachers. Fountain and the main cast are clearly having a lot of fun with the material during these scenes, as their engagement is projected through their spirited performances.  

While The Doctor and Peri play at being educators, the rest of part one’s scenes are dedicated to setting up the main mystery. These scenes focus on a child at the school, Malcolm, who bears all the hallmarks of being the son of one titular Time Lord: The Doctor.

Though quite obviously meant to be a bait and switch, the story gets good mileage out of it. For the majority of the adventure, The Doctor is convinced of Malcolm’s lineage. As a result, we hear the often-untouched fatherly side of The Doctor. These moments bring out a more retrospective version of this incarnation as he reflects on his journey from brash and dangerous to becoming one of the most human-like and sympathetic of all his regenerations. The Doctor’s journey through fatherhood also takes a more serious tone by the final part of the story. In a sharp reminder of the difficulties of parenthood, The Doctor is forced to put an end to Malcolm’s school revolution when he takes the Doctor’s words on doing the difficult thing too literally.

Despite these darker moments, parts two and three are still able to keep their lighter, comedic undertones. The climax of the story is a great example. After 90 minutes of intrigue, Malcolm’s true identity is finally revealed as the son of the Terrible Zodin and Andigor Birch. Perhaps the craziest unveiling of the year, The Terrible Zodin is a referenced antagonist that harkens back all the way to the 6^th Doctor’s second story, Attack of the Cybermen. Nev Fountain puts a fantastic spin on this reference by making her out to be a villain turned Doctor Who superfan who put Malcolm in the school to witness one of The Doctor’s greatest escapades. As a result, the twist ends up working for the sheer brass ones required to even try and pull it off.