Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: Yeti Attack! (BBC Radio Collection)

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Yeti Attack features full-length soundtracks of The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear, two endearing Doctor Who stories from the Patrick Troughton era. Both stories have all the ingredients of perennial favorites: Patrick Troughton's Doctor, accompanied by Jamie and Victoria, battling large, roaring Yeti, with the assistance of strong supporting characters.

The Abominable Snowmen is the first introduction of the Yeti, and is set in their native Himalayas. The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria attempt to visit a Tibetan monastery, and instead confront an irate English scientist, dangerous warrior-monks, a mysterious abbot, and several sinister abominable snowmen. The Web of Fear first introduces us to Brigadier (then-Colonel) Lethbridge-Stewart, and is one of the earliest stories to use the Earth-bound soldier vs. monster model that would form the basis of the Pertwee era. When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria perform an emergency landing, they are drawn off-course into the London Underground and become entangled in the web of fear.

While the Intelligence that guides the Yeti is a dangerous foe, both stories are set on Earth, and have a lighter, less menacing tone than some of the classic monster stories (such as Tomb of the Cybermen). Morale is high, the banter is charming, every character is memorable, and the Doctor is in top form, playing the role of detective, scientist, mediator, hero, and musician with flare. And unlike some lost episodes, these stories hold up well in an audio-only rendering. The fine quality of the scripts and the supporting cast makes both soundtracks reward multiple listenings. (Jack Watling, the father of Debbie Watling [Victoria], plays Professor Travers in both stories.) I suspect that the popularity of the Yeti wasn't all due to their fuzzy, platypus-like appearance. It must have gained something from the high quality of these stories, which remain among my favorites of the Troughton era.