The Nightmare Fair (TV Story)

***The Nightmare Fair*** was the first serial of Season 23 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Graham Williams, directed by Matthew Robinson and starred Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor & Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown

## Synopsis

The Doctor & Peri arrive at Blackpool in the year 1986 for a fun day out. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge.

The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit...

## Plot

### Part One

The TARDIS has materialised on Blackpool's pleasure beach. Peri is impressed that the Doctor kept his promise, and has successfully arrived in Blackpool. The Sixth Doctor is amazed that she would think he couldn't do it. The Doctor and Peri, finding nothing else amiss, start to enjoy the fair's attractions .

## Cast

* The Doctor - Colin Baker
* Peri - Nicola Bryant
* The Celestial Toymaker - Michael Gough
* Kevin - Michael Jayston
* Stefan - Tony Selby
* Woman - Lynda Bellingham
* Shardlow - William Whymper
* Attendant - Glen Murphy
* Yatsumoto - Paul Spurrier
* Truscott - Andrew Johnson
* Manager - Art Malik
* Man - Affab Sachak
* Humandroid - Anthony Andrews
* Security Man - Alun Armstrong
* Geoff - Sean Arnold
* Guard - Paul Brooke

## Crew

* Assistant Floor Manager - Pennie Bloomfield
* Camera Supervisor - Alec Wheal
* Costumes - Anushia Nieradzik
* Designer - Marjorie Pratt
* Film Cameraman - Godfrey Johnson
* Film Editor - M A C Adams
* Film Sound - Barrie Tharby
* Incidental Music - Malcolm Clarke
* Lighting Director - Henry Barber
* Make-Up - Linda McInnes
* Producer - John Nathan-Turner
* Production Assistant - Llinos Wyn Jones
* Production Associates - June Collins, Sue Anstruther
* Production Manager - Andrew Buchanan
* Script Editor - Eric Saward
* Special Sounds - Dick Mills
* Studio Sound - Andy Stacey
* Technical Co-ordinator - Alan Arbuthnott
* Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
* Title Music - Ron Grainer
* Title Sequence - Sid Sutton
* Video Effects - Dave Chapman
* Videotape Editor - Hugh Parson
* Vision Mixer - Nigel Finnis
* Visual Effects Designer - Chris Lawson

## References

* Peri suggests that the Doctor could have taken her to Disneyland, but he suggests that it needs another hundred years "to settle."
* The Toymaker operates outside of the Celestial Toyroom.
* The Toymaker can intensify the Time Vortex on occasion.
* The Toymaker refers to the Christmas Truce of 1914, where he says "During one of the Great Wars, they (the people of Earth) stopped fighting and played games."
* Truscott mentions Preston North End.

## Story Notes

* This story features the return of the Celestial Toymaker, who was last seen in the Season 3 *story of the same name*.
* For this story, Michael Gough did not wear yellowface when reprising his role as the Toymaker, due to yellowface being a highly offensive Chinese steryotype. The Toymaker's costume was also changed slightly for similar reasons.
* This is the first Season opener to continue on from the end of the previous Season, and not be a post-regeneration story.
* This is the first story to be written by a former producer.
* The story was originally written with the format of a Season 22 story; 2x45 minute episodes. However, when Michael Grade ordered John Nathan-Turner to scrap the 45 minute format, the story was converted into the old 4x25 minute format.
* This is the first four part story since *The Twin Dilemma*.
* This is the first story since *The Twin Dilemma* to use the 25 minute runtime.

## Continuity

* The First Doctor visited the Celestial Toyroom, the domain of the Celestial Toymaker, in the company of Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet. (TV: *The Celestial Toymaker*)
* The Doctor manages to succeed in his promise to take Peri to Blackpool. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)
* The Doctor recalls his encounters with Magnus Greel and the Peking Homunculus (TV: *The Talons of Weng-Chiang*, AUDIO: *The Butcher of Brisbane*) and his visit to Brighton during his fourth incarnation in the company of Romana and K9. (TV: *The Leisure Hive*)
* In the TARDIS wardrobe, Peri finds a sporran with a £5 note in it. The Doctor believes that it belonged to Jamie McCrimmon, noting that "He was always so careful with his cash."
* Peri is not surprised by the existence of androids. She previously met them on Androzani Minor. (TV: *The Caves of Androzani*)
* The Doctor tells Kevin that he knew a man who was always hitting things in Paris. (TV: *City of Death*)
* The Doctor refers to Romulus and Remus. (TV: *The Twin Dilemma*)

## Home video and audio releases

### VHS

* This story was released on VHS on 11th October 1993.

### DVD

* This story was released on DVD on 29th September 2008.
* This story along with the other stories in Season 23 were upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and were released as *Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 23* in the UK.

### Streaming

* This story was made available on Britbox on Boxing Day 2019.