I'm not a hero, I make mistakes. People die... You don't want my help.

Summoned by Shadows is the first in a series of six direct to video films in BBVs The Stranger series, unlike their later productions like PROBE which centred on licenced Doctor Who characters from their creators, The Stranger is essentially Doctor Who in everything but name. Although the behind the scenes on these films make for a story in their own right, when it comes to the first in this series it reveals some interesting potential brewing in one of BBVs first proper productions and what they would later go on to achieve.

After the cancellation of Doctor Who in 1989, it would be 7 full years until it returned to the screen and then a further 9 after that before a new series would run again. During that time came some rather questionable skirts of copyright and sometimes incredible unofficial continuations of the show from various other companies. BBV is one of those and perhaps the more infamous of the two most well-known ones.

Battered by his experiences travelling through space and time, the mysterious Stranger has rejected his long time companion and is in self-imposed exile on a barren planet, where he determines to ignore the pleas for help from the victims of a macabre and strangely familiar Conjuror, who seems to have limitless power. But the Stranger soon finds he cannot ignore their please for long - just as he cannot ignore his own past...

While it's certainly on the shorter side when it comes to these productions, only clocking in at a very short 34 minutes, it's a very nicely directed feature in parts with some really lovely looking shots, especially on the budget it had. The writing is nothing to talk at length at but Christian Darkin does a decent job in making it work and there are some really melancholy pieces of dialogue thrown in for good measure. The music by Duncan Chave is quite nice despite its limited soundscape and is very catchy. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are very good in their roles as The Stranger and Miss Brown, respectively, but don't do a whole lot for the limited runtime. Michael Wisher plays a great villain, but again, isn't nearly developed enough due to the runtime.

Overall, Summoned by Shadows comes across as one of the more average Colin Baker era stories, in all honesty, but does show some level of competency in what this series can deliver with its limited budget.

Even with all these people around me, I still end up feeling so alone.