Episode #157 : The Curse of Fenric

"We hoped to return to the North Way, but the dark curse follows our dragon ship... The Wolves of Fenric shall return for their treasure, and then shall the dark evil rule eternally."

Episode 157:   The Curse of Fenric.
Companions:   7th Doctor and Ace.
Air Date:         25 October to 15th November 1989.

The TARDIS materialises at a secret naval base off the coast of Northumberland toward the end of the Second World War. Dr Judson, a scientist there, has created the Ultima Machine, an early computer designed to break German codes. The base's Commander Millington plans to let a Russian commando unit led by Captain Sorin steal the Machine's core, which he has booby-trapped with deadly toxin. Judson uses the Machine to translate some ancient runes from the crypt of the nearby St Judes church and this leads to the release of Fenric, an evil entity from the dawn of time whom the Doctor trapped seventeen centuries earlier in a Chinese flask by defeating it at chess.

The Curse of Fenric is an exceptional story that covers multiple story lines and wraps up a number of plot lines that we perhaps didn't even notice were there. Mainly the story deals with the return of Fenric, a Great Old One, sealed away by the Doctor in a much earlier untelevised adventure. We learn that the Doctor beat Fenric at chess in order to do so. The chess game we saw previously in Silver Nemesis, was part of Fenric's scheme, and we learn that the time storm that snatched Ace away from home to deposit her on IceWorld was also his doing. Fenric had been planning things for a very long time.

The script for this is perfect. There isn't anything wrong with it and combined with excellent production values gives us a chilling atmospheric tale of ancient horror set to a backdrop of the second world war. If only the late 80's could have had this level of writing and production value all the way through then no one could have complained.

The celebrity guest star in this tale was Nicholas Parsons, a household name in the 1970's and 80's for the game show Sale of the Century. In this story he plays a priest who has lost his faith because of the horrors of war.

This story is very much a return to classic Doctor vs the monsters but with some of the best writing of the classic show. You cannot go wrong with The Curse of Fenric.