Fear Her has quite a distinguished reputation in the Whoniverse. Fandom
generally perceives it as the wooden spoon, the pits, the dregs, the standard
by which all 'bad' Who should be measured, (some subsequent stories have been
awarded the unfortunate accolades of Fear
Her Part 2 and Fear Her Part 3...)
But is this torrent of negativity justified? Is there no good to be found in
this quirky little number from 2006? If you sense a little reluctance every
time you reach for that season two box set, here's a few reasons why you should
give the lonely Isolus one more chance...
1) "Not you too, Bob...!"
Almost everyone loves the Olympics, (even me, the least sporty
person in the world!) Fear Her is set against the backdrop of
the London 2012 Olympic Games, and adds some wonderful (and unique) moments to
the Who canon. Who didn't punch the air when the Doctor swooped in to retrieve
the torch from the fallen athlete? And what's not to like about Huw Edwards'
questionable, yet highly amusing, performance as the BBC commentator?
2) "I was a dad once..."
The Doctor and Rose's scene in the TARDIS is a historical one,
because it is the first time the Doctor has ever admitted he was a father. Did
this finally end the debate as to whether Susan Foreman was his biological
granddaughter...? I love the fact that this game-changing revelation was
slipped, so sublimely, into a good old-fashioned "romp." It's worth
watching the ep for this scene alone.
3) "Cake...?"
One of the things that makes the episode - and the closing scene in
particular - is Murray Gold's amazing score, conveying all the hope, joy and
love that's prevalent in Fear Her,
such as Rose's love for the Doctor, and the Isolus' love for Chloe Webber. It
really makes that simple moment on a housing estate look, and feel, like the
stuff of a Hollywood feature. It's just a shame that piece didn't make it on to
the official soundtrack. An outrage!
4) "Put it in a big book about tarmacing..."
An oft-forgotten player in the Fear
Her saga. Kel the tarmacer, played by Abdul Salis, turns in a wonderfully
comical performance as the eccentric man from the council. His scene with Rose,
in which he declares the magnificence of his beautifully smooth tarmacadam, is
amusingly written and very well acted. Nice one.
5) "If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings
can become living things..."
This episode would probably have frightened the life out of me had I
watched it as a kid. Fear Her is
quintessential Who, harking back to the shop window dummies from Spearhead from Space and the troll doll
from Terror of the Autons. The idea that
something very ordinary and real can suddenly become a major threat is the
stuff of nightmares. Although the idea isn't as well executed as it could have
been, (owing to the constraints of time and money), I think the concept
deserves an appreciative nod.
Really, Fear Her struggles
from the fact that it was written at the last minute, (with virtually nothing
in the way of sets, budget, or CGI to help it along), and that it
lives in the shadow of the epic two-part finale that followed, (featuring Daleks,
Cybermen, Torchwood, Rose's departure AND Catherine Tate no less!) There is
much to enjoy in those 43 minutes, and whilst it may never be anyone's Desert
Island Who, there's something oddly reassuring about it... If this is as
"bad" as the new series can get, then, really, we have nothing to
worry about.
Alex Skerratt
