3.0 out of 5 stars
The Stranger's past...revealed, December 30, 2003
This review is from: Stranger Terror Game [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Following his previous adventure, In Memory Alone, the Stranger materializes on Earth in the back alley of a nightclub, sardonically described by hostess Tamora Hennessy as a techno-techno place with sweaty dancers and overpriced beer. He keeps passing out, as he somehow recognizes this place, but wonders if he is too early or too late. He also replays a scene in his mind where he climbs up some stairs in the club and has a gun, and opens the door. Tamora though befriends him with a table and coffee, thinking that he's a customer from last night who had one too many drinks. All the Stranger remembers is a girl and a man with a bowler hat (Ms Brown and the hologram from In Memory Alone).
Meanwhile, two unsavory types who turn out to be terrorists, long scraggly-haired Saul and bald, thick, pug-faced Egan get confirmation that a Mr. Raven is the manager of the nightclub, and that he's the victim tomorrow night at ten. They have information about the victim, the time, and that they can get away. However, Egan is uneasy about the situation, especially about the disappearance of their Cell Leader. Imagine their surprise when they run into their missing Cell Leader. It is none other than the Stranger.
It's here that the Stranger's past and memories gradually return, and why he escaped his job as Cell Leader and why Ms Brown became his companion. But who is the mysterious Mr. Raven, whose face is wrapped in blood-stained bandages?
The Stranger's weariness and cynicism comes through when he questions Tamora why she helped him. "Maybe I know this world of yours. I've seen thousands like it. Urban cages, sentient life forms, trapped in concrete warrens. People here don't feel responsible and they don't help strangers." No, they don't, not in the city. Here in the country, maybe.
The scenes take place either in the nightclub or the dingy flat Saul and Egan are in prior to their assignment. And the special effects aren't bad, especially the dematerializations of people.
Like the other stories before it, The Terror Game features two other Dr. Who alumni. Louise Jameson (Tamora) played the Fourth Doctor's companion Leela, she with the huntress tights and knife. She's aged quite well here, and that voice is familiar enough. And David Troughton (Egan) was King Peladon in the Who story The Curse Of Peladon, but his late father, Patrick Troughton, was the Second Doctor (1966-1969). And for those who have seen the first Stranger story, John Wadmore (Saul) played Dane the deaf-mute in Summoned By Shadows. Here, he's more talkative, and at times a bit trigger-happy.
While a departure from the earlier puzzlers, this story deals more with the Stranger's past, and isn't bad in itself. The story is continued in Breach of the Peace, with more of Saul and Egan.
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