N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

The first thing my son and I noticed about Doctor Who and the Pescatons was its use of the original theme tune (or a version of it at least). Indeed it’s hard to miss the music throughout; it’s reminiscent of the more avant garde incidental music of Pertwee tales such as The Sea Devils (possibly deliberate, but certainly apt).

“This is a fine time to start playing your piccolo.”

Sarah, Doctor Who and the Pescatons: Part Two

In story terms, The Pescatons is also something of a curio, feeling nothing at all like the tales we’ve just watched in Season Thirteen.

Perhaps unsurprisingly I was reminded of Victor Pemberton’s other Doctor Who story Fury from the Deep (the Doctor’s fighting a deadly weed and playing a woodwind instrument adding to the whole Troughton vibe).

Whilst missing episode soundtracks and audio renditions of stage plays have played their part in this blog, it is nice to listen to the first story produced specifically for audio, especially as, however briefly, it means we get to hear the Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen acting together in an audio adventure. Other than the very short Exploration Earth programme broadcast a few months after The Pescatons was released in the summer of 1976, that never happened again.

Doctor Who in audio form would go on to far greater glories than this, Big Finish‘s efforts giving us so many original tales that this marathon would last decades if I were to sidestep and listen to all of them.

Doctor Who and the Pescatons may not be the best audio drama you’ll ever hear, but its place in Doctor Who history is at least secure.