M. Wilberforce 2006-10-25

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

"The Macra Terror", by Ian Stuart Black, is one of those adventures that probably benefits from being presented in audio format. Why? Because, in visual terms, the Macra themselves have a reputation for being utterly rubbish. Doctor Who seldom did well at representing non-humanoid monsters, and the Macra are no exception.
As it is, however, we get a decently paced adventure with clear audio quality and intelligible audio narration. "The Macra Terror", however, departs from the format of the rest of the missing story audio CDs, reusing the narration from the earlier audio cassette release of the story, which is in the past tense and is read by actor Colin Baker rather than one of the TV companions contemporary to the story (the latter being the norm for the Audio CD releases). The past tense narration doesn't work as well as the present tense narration to which CD listeners are accustomed.
The crab-like Macra have relatively little direct involvement with the story. Instead, the Doctor and companions Ben, Polly and Jamie are pitted against a society of brainwashed humans. Some use is made of the traditional capture-escape-capture motif of early Doctor Who, but not exclusively so. The holiday camp colony is a bizarre image, accentuated by the grating 1960s incidental and in-scene music, but plays a background role in much of the proceedings. In general the story is decently constructed and reasonably diverse, and Troughton and company are on good form. "The Macra Terror" is unremarkable, perhaps, but has a few original ideas and has earned its place in the Doctor Who canon.

2000-09-19

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

The BBC, in the days before home video, decided that some of its programs were no longer required in its archives. In a somewhat unsystematic purging, many classics were consigned to the flames, including several Doctor Who stories. Fortunately, some fans of the series had made their own audio recordings, and these (following a thorough re-mastering by the BBC) are being released.

"The Macra Terror" is one of these releases. The story features a human colony under siege from a race of monsters - not an unusual description of a Patrick Troughton story. What makes this story unique is the nature of the colony - set up like an archetypical British holiday camp, the enforced bon hommie and cheerful tunes cast it in a different light. (This kind of society was revisited some 21 years later in the Sylvester McCoy story "The Happiness Patrol".)

The comparatively recent addition of Jamie to the TARDIS crew mean that all three companions (the other two being Ben and Polly) have smaller roles than might be desirable. The Doctor is very much on centre stage in this story, and Pat Troughton is well in his stride in the part.

Linking narration is by Colin Baker, who played the Doctor's sixth incarnation, and is surprisingly subdued given Baker's portrayal of the Doctor. The visual aspects of the show would probably added quite a bit to the enjoyment of the show (particularly in setting the holiday camp tone), but based on stills the appearance of the Macra is probably not truly missed.

The story is quite strong and not unduly tied in to the shows on-going history, so is suitable for both fans and casual listeners.