Night of the Stormcrow

Fourth Doctor Adventures Special

Released: 12 December 2012

Listened: 3/1/22

This bonus release is a bit odd because it feels like it should be part of Series 1 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, and it was released between Series 1 and Series 2, yet it’s labeled as a special. Anyway, it’s a spooky, atmospheric, “Fang Rock” kind of story. The Doctor and Leela land near an observatory on a small Pacific island, where the lead astronomer has found something unusual orbiting the Earth, something she’s chosen to call “Stormcrow.” It’s never entirely clear what the Stormcrow is, just a kind of sentient blackness, as are the scavengers that follow it, which the Doctor calls “no-things.” Apparently they eat time, and cause despair and jealousy in people. It’s a Mark Platt story, so the whole thing has a semi-mystical feel, and most of it you have to take on faith. In the absence of a hard plot, you’re left with the performances, which are quite good all around. Ann Bell does a great job as the astronomer, seeming like the “older eccentric scientist” character common in this era, but there’s a lot more going on there. American Chase Masterson (of Deep Space Nine) plays the authority figure with bad intentions, for the Doctor to bounce off of. Tom Baker gets an interesting turn when the Doctor is affected by the scavengers, giving Louise Jameson the chance to air Leela’s feelings of homelessness. She hasn’t really expressed how she feels about traveling before, so this makes for an interesting twist. Mark Platt stories, while interesting, usually leave me feeling like I’ve missed something, and this one is no different. It’s a fine addition to the first series, but not particularly memorable.