Doctor Who review: The Demon Rises (Fourth Doctor audio)
By James Aggas
The Fourth Doctor, Leela and K9 face off one of their biggest threats yet in the Fourth Doctor Adventure, The Demon Rises!
The Demon Rises continues directly where The Mind Runners left off. The Fourth Doctor, Leela and K9 have found out who has committed the murders and how they’ve done it. But what they haven’t found out is why. And that’s the key focus in this Doctor Who story.
What’s great about The Demon Rises is that the scale feels much bigger than the previous release. It goes from being a murder mystery to a fast-paced conspiracy thriller. We start to get a sense that higher powers are involved. But how far does it go? And what secret is everyone protecting?
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Turning the genre subtly into a conspiracy thriller helps to keep the momentum and the mystery going. It also explores new ideas, and gives us a fresh look at the ones established in The Mind Runners.
But along with conspiracy thriller, we also get strong elements of horror, too. When you do find out the secret, it’s a very grotesque idea. It’s also something that’s fitting for the period, as many Fourth Doctor stories featured nasty moments of violence.
It’s also something that works very well for the story. Especially for the cliffhanger to part one. When you hear it, it’s a truly horrifying moment. It’s also an excellent cliffhanger that works brilliantly.
Combined with The Mind Runners, The Demon Rises is a great two-hour story. It packs in a lot of plot and world building, while also taking its time to include humor, horror, and of course, well-written characters. A highly recommended film noir story for Doctor Who.
Next: Review: The Lure of the Nomad (Sixth Doctor audio)
Have you listened to The Demon Rises? Do you think it continued well from The Mind Runners? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.