Ken Bentley

Reviews

Writer Stewart Sheargold maintains the clear take on the seventh Doctor’s character that he established in Red, and new director Ken Bentley has an assured hand, coaxing a more energised performance from Sylvester McCoy than some stories of late. Katherine Parkinson makes a good replacement companion for the tale, and there’s a nice bittersweet farewell between her and the Doctor at the end of The Death Collectors, which also boasts one of the more annoying computers in recent times.

Peter Quentin
Dreamwatch Total Sci Fi
★★★★★★★★★★

The small cast is tight-knit and turns in a great performance, and for once, I have to single out the sound design as being outstanding. A recurring feature of The Death Collectors is a mysterious radio signal, and it’s engineered to sound like a cross between an old modem connect sequence and a scream of blind terror; even though this sound is replayed a lot in the course of the three-part story, it never ceases to be unnerving, and the listener doesn’t have a chance to grow jaded about it. It’s an interesting effect into which a lot of thought and work was obviously poured. There are some interesting directorial choices as well, including the decision to have a female computer voice cheerfully announce that the entire situation is destined to end in death for all. This isn’t played for laughs a la Eddie from Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – again, the effect is unnerving.

Earl Green
The Log Book