It’s been a while since I listen to that Audio.
This one in many ways could feel from the first glance as a checkbox story (having 6 and the Brigadier properly meet) but I have to say while it’s quite standard, it’s a VERY solid standard who Story.

Colin and Maggie as Evelyn and 6 are a blast dream team as always, with Courtney, they are such a lovely trio.

The Setting is lovely and used well throughout here!
While if I were to give it a rating, which would be a high 7/10, it’s a good sign how many of the interactions I still remember it quite well. Always a good sign for the very early BF MR Stories, easily one of the best I heard as yet.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: The Marian Conspiracy

Our adventures with 6 and Evelyn continue in The Spectre of Lanyon Moor. While not as fantastic as it's predecessor, it's still really great and marks the first appearance of the Brigadier in Big Finish. It's also his first and only meeting with the Sixth Doctor. Colin Baker and Nicholas Courtney immediately have great chemistry, you'd be forgiven for thinking they had met on TV. I love how the Brigadier immediately recognises the Doctor because he's met him enough times and who else would try to pull off a coat like that. Maggie Stables' Evelyn continues to be an excellent companion and a perfect foil to the Sixth Doctor.

The plot itself is alright, though nothing special. It's a fairly typical Doctor Who story set in a sleepy English town with some great alien mystery unfolding. It's got the obligatory betrayal twists and "character suddenly pulls out a gun to show they're evil" scenes that I see in just about every story. Sancreda is an interesting enough villain, with a very annoying voice. I do like that the Brigadier was the one to resolve the story, and the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his life to save the world only to then be very humble about it was a very Brigadier thing to do. It's a shame Nicholas Courtney doesn't appear in that many more stories alongside the Doctor because I really enjoy their dynamic.

Overall, a bit weaker than the last one but definitely a strong adventure that I'd be glad to relisten to.

Next Story: The Apocalypse Element

Seconding what other people have said, this really is peak comfort who. Colin is in his element, Evelyn continues to be utterly delightful, and Nicholas Courtney steps so effortlessly back into the role it's like he'd never left, once the brig, always the brig.

The actual plot of this is pretty enjoyable too, but mostly it's those characters that bring this up for me, and I do love how much this setting gives everyone a chance to shine. Evelyn doing her research and talking to contacts in oxford, the Brig still kicking even in retirement, and the semi-globe-spanning nature of the story giving him a chance to call in those UNIT connections, and of course, the alien itself giving the doctor a lot to do, both with explaining the myths of the area and with the psychic abilities which gives him a chance to use his. That final scene too, character driven and oh so sweet, the sort of ending I love for these sorts of stories.

Overall a very solid 8/10 from me, and a main range story I could definitely see myself coming back to.

16.02.2022

I love Evelyn. She's definitely making my top companion list. Brigadier is nice to hear once again.
Unfortunately, the story itself isn't as captivating. The villain is just evil and destructive. His story is comically underwhelming. The omnipotent villains in Who is an interesting concept, but quite underutilised here.
The story is fine in the moment and forgettable once it's over. 2.5/5

MR 009: The Spectre of Lanyon Moor

Kind of wild how all the good stories so far are Sixth Doctor stories. Coincidence? I think not! Am I saying that the Sixth Doctor is the best Doctor? Well yes, obviously. That's just an objective fact. But am I saying the only good Doctor Who stories are Sixth Doctor stories? I feel like we'll just have to let history decide that one.

Speaking of history, this story has a real sense of it. An alien that looks like an imp of some sort has been stranded on earth by his shipmate for 18,000 years, well outside of human recorded history. It can't really do anything because its ship has gone and it draws its psychic power from its ship. The most it can do is cause manifestations of itself and use those to influence people. Which it does.

This is just a fantastic little adventure. I don't normally like the Brigadier, especially not on the show, but here he's fine. He gets a nice little "get off my world" moment at the end when he fights the alien. And I'm glad he got a story with the Sixth Doctor.
There's a really interesting cast of characters here as well. An archeologist digging up the moor and getting more than he bargained for. An eccentric rich guy funding the dig who is more than he seems. The archeologist's assisstant who is secretly working for the rich guy. The assisstant to the dig who has been influenced by the alien. And all of these characters have their own backstories and quirks and are really enjoyable to listen to and digest their stories. Not to mention that Evelyn herself is ridiculously comfy to listen to.

I particularly enjoy the rich guy's arc here. He thinks he can harness the alien's power and use it to take over the world. But the alien kills him with a thought for daring to try to use his power. The alien does the same thing with the woman who he's influenced to help him.

In the end it turns out that the alien accidentally shot his shipmate instead of the shipmate having left him. So he decides to take out his revenge on the Earth for having been trapped there for so long. But that's when the Brigadier tricks him.

It's genuinely a fantastically engaging story from start to finish. This is the first story that really FEELS like a classic who serial in the way it's presented. Wandering around the Moor. The mad rich guy. The archeology dig. The alien manifestations. I could see this on the classic show easily. Definitely not during Colin's actual seasons, probably more during Tom's early seasons. Great story all around everyone. It's wild how this is Nicholas Pegg's ONLY writing credit for BF considering how good it is. Pull him off operating Daleks and have him write some more please and thank you. It makes me more than excited to continue to hear Six and Evelyn. Come on Five and Seven get your act together. lol