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Spaceport Fear takes the basic concept of an airport, removes the possibility of ever actually leaving it, locks everyone inside for four hundred years, and then watches humanity respond by turning Business Class and Economy into rival religious factions.
Honestly, I am amazed it took Doctor Who this long to discover that airports are inherently dystopian.
The Doctor and Mel arrive at Tantane Spaceport expecting the usual arrivals and departures, only to discover that there have been no departures for generations. The surviving inhabitants have divided themselves into two tribes, Business and Economy, each developing their own customs, language and social structures. Duty Free has become a mythical paradise where nobody has to work, while the arrival of outsiders who can literally bring the lights back on has become known as “bringing the summer”. It’s a wonderfully daft premise, but one that Gallagher takes surprisingly seriously.
The setting is where the story really shines. Tantane feels like a decaying Gothic society built inside an airport, with the grandiosity of Gormenghast and the dysfunctional tribalism of The Face of Evil or Paradise Towers. The different factions aren’t merely decorative either. Their separation provides a fairly pointed examination of class, privilege and how arbitrary social divisions can become entrenched when nobody remembers why they existed in the first place.
At the centre of this is Elder Bones, played by Ronald Pickup with precisely the sort of unsettling authority you want from a man who has spent four centuries maintaining a civilisation built around a gigantic lie. His relationship with his young protégé Naysmith gives the story a useful generational angle too. She represents the possibility that this bizarre social order might actually change, while Bones is deeply invested in preserving it.
Then there is the Wailer, a creature lurking throughout the lower levels. Initially it appears to be the obvious monster of the week, but Gallagher wisely makes the real threat considerably more human. The Wailer is less villainous than misunderstood, while Bones’ manipulation of the two factions is considerably more sinister. The story’s examination of fear works particularly well here: people become easier to control when they are frightened of something they don’t understand.
Colin Baker is, naturally, excellent. The Sixth Doctor arrives and immediately starts poking at the entire social structure with the subtlety of a man driving a steamroller through a china shop. Bonnie Langford is equally good, and Mel gets some genuinely worthwhile material. Her technical skills, eidetic memory and practical courage make her an active participant rather than simply someone standing behind the Doctor waiting for the next corridor to explode.
There are weaknesses. The script has rather a lot going on, and some of its various ideas don’t gel quite as neatly as they could. The Wailers themselves are somewhat underdeveloped, while the central mystery can become muddled. The whole thing also feels like it could have benefited from another draft. One contemporary review similarly noted that the many good ideas don’t quite come together, while praising the cast and sound design.
Still, the atmosphere carries it. The sounds of the different areas, the claustrophobic corridors and the bizarre customs make Tantane feel like a place rather than simply a collection of sound effects.
Final Thoughts
Spaceport Fear isn’t quite the masterpiece its wonderfully weird premise promises, but it’s an entertaining, atmospheric and genuinely imaginative adventure. The class commentary, grotesque setting and excellent Sixth Doctor/Mel pairing make this a thoroughly enjoyable listen, even when the plot occasionally starts throwing luggage around in random directions.
4 out of 5 Duty Free shops that have somehow become the promised land.
