Doctor Who review: Static is one of the darker and scarier stories on audio
By James Aggas
With the sequel recently told in UNIT, we look at Sixth Doctor audio Static, and why it’s one of the scarier and stronger Doctor Who stories in recent years.
When I was about to review the latest UNIT box set Incursions, it suddenly dawned on me that, somehow, I had never written a review for the Doctor Who audio Static. And that’s a huge mistake. Because not only does the first episode of the latest UNIT series connect directly to it. But it’s also one of the strongest Doctor Who audios from the last five years. Certainly, it’s one of the scarier ones.
This is especially true of the first half of the story. During the first two episodes, there’s a real sense of fear and creepiness built up over the course of the story. Especially when writer Jonathan Morris introduces an extremely disturbing idea at the end of part one.
I don’t want to give away what it is, but it’s the kind of idea that you’d expect to see explored more in a Torchwood story than in Doctor Who. (In fact, Torchwood did explore a very similar idea in one or two episodes.) Morris doesn’t go too far with the horror, but he does come very close – which is exactly when Doctor Who does horror best.
Explanations and emotional moments
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During the second half of Static, the story changes direction. I’m reminded of the classic Tom Baker serial The Stones of Blood. The first half was focused heavily on horror, while the second half was definitely more sci-fi overall.
Static isn’t quite as extreme, but after a very disturbing first half, the story does start to feel closer to a more traditional Doctor Who adventure once the explanations start coming. Especially when some timey-wimeyness is thrown in, which Morris has often been good at.
However, there’s also an extremely emotional moment that occurs during the second half. Something happens to one of the companions, something that could have an impact for a long time to come. Colin Baker gives a brilliant performance in this scene, and continues to show exactly why his Doctor is so brilliant in the audio medium.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’ve kept as deliberately vague about Static as possible. That’s because the less you know going into this one, the better. I also recommend listening to this before listening to This Sleep of Death, the sequel to this story in UNIT: Incursions. Not that the sequel doesn’t do a great job of recapping the events of Static, but it definitely helps going in if you have no clue what to expect from the original story.
Regardless, Static is still an incredibly strong Doctor Who story, perhaps one of the very best, and highly recommended for horror fans.
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Have you listened to Static? Do you think it’s a strong horror story? What’s your favorite creepy story in Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments below.