Look, I'm not going to have a lot of nice things to say about Nest Cottage Chronicles overall, but its first foray isn't that bad.  When they are new and novel, the wasp creatures are interesting and they make for an intimidating presence overall at Nest Cottage in this first story.  They have possessed all these taxidermied animals and I find the idea very creepy, unsettling, and well done in The Stuff of Nightmares.  I found the energy around this adventure really good - there's a strong sense of tension and dread as Mike Yates reunites with the Doctor and learns what has happened here at the cottage.  Tom Baker does a great job with his performance and there's good sound mixing and audio work for a non-Big Finish production.  It's definitely worth checking out, even if I find the rest of the series pretty underwhelming so far.

Before Tom Baker was enticed into working for Big Finish, he starred as the Fourth Doctor in a series of BBC audio dramas centered Nest Cottage and written by Paul Magrs. For companions, he was set up with an interesting pair: former UNIT Captain Mike Yates, and his Nest Cottage housekeeper Mrs. Wibbsey. I'll never understand why they chose Mike Yates for these stories, but anyway. The Nest Cottage series is made up of three five-part arcs: Hornets' Nest, Demon Quest, and Serpent Crest. Stuff of Nightmares is the first part of Hornets' Nest and is primarily the Fourth Doctor telling Mike Yates the story thus far about alien hornets who desire to take over the Earth, in this story using taxidermied animals. It's fine. At this point, Tom still sounds like the Doctor from TV (compared to his most recent Big Finish releases) and is a decent narrator. The story is somewhat enjoyable, but it's nothing outstanding or spectacular. I'll keep going on the Nest Cottage series but I'm sure there will be plenty of other stuff that I listen to in between.

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

Previous Story: Doctor Who and the Star Beast (Audio Adaptation)

This is a very strange entry in the Whoniverse. It's completely different to anything I've watched or listened to before, but in a good way. The whole story has the feel of the Doctor telling you a story around a campfire.

It's the return of Mike Yates! Arguably my favourite member of the U.N.I.T team and Richard Franklin plays an excellent, wearier version of the Captain. The hornets are a very unique villain, and rather ominous too. The mystery surrounding them makes them a lot scarier. I think they strike a good blend of surreal and scary.

Next Story: The Dead Shoes