It may be the Civil War, but at least we don't have Manuel on guitar...

Slightly sadistic as it may sound, I enjoy it when an excuse is given to give us a good story set in one of the more less known pointless battles in human history. Particularly because if done right, then they'll focus on the right people rather than focusing of the famous idiots, like having a once respected political discussion show become a weekly visual meeting point for nutcases. Such is the case for this little ditty.

DOCTOR WHO MAIN RANGE REVIEW

215: FIESTA OF THE DAMNED

By Jack Ryan

BEWARE: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

If you're like me, then the only real thing you'll have been taught about the infamous Spanish Civil War was that Franco was an arsehole and that was it. Kind of insulting, I think. We can know of every single detail of every single player their teams parade onto Match Of The Day, but when it comes to one of their biggest conflicts in history, and an important event within the Second World War, we only thing we seem to know of is a man who was made into a running joke by both Fawlty Towers and Saturday Night Live. Thankfully, writer Guy Adams aims to rid us of that slight typecast of history.

The real Spain. That is what The Doctor has promised his companions Mel and Ace. And what could be more like the real Spain, than dropping them all in 1938, right in the middle of the Spanish Civil War? As the war rages on, the TARDIS team befriend a ragtag group of Republican soldiers who make their way to the secluded village of Farissa, for shelter. Only there is something just as dangerous happening there as well. People are disappearing, the dead are returning, and there is something else living with the village. And whatever it is, only one thing is known. It is hungry.... but for what?

Guy Adams seems to take this story into his stride. Within the first five minutes, we have the customary greetings and slight hostility between our two groups, followed by big unexplained bonkers event and finally the Scooby-Doo tried and tested "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES" method of staying alive. After that, it's mainly a story of character building and understanding what was happening behind the scenes of this battle. Then, with a healthy dose of extraterrestrial monsters and nice little plot twists, Adams gives us a nice little two hour piece, exploring a unique take on base-under-seige and a chance to know some very unique characters.

And to give us good characters, we need good actors, and this story manages to do much with very little. We naturally have our returning regulars of McCoy, Langford and Aldred as the Doctor, Mel and Ace, we have a small but brilliant cast comprising of the "British DeNiro" Enzo Squillino Jr., Coronation Street's Owen Aaronovich (brother of Ben), And Then There Were None's Christopher Hatherall and Tom Alexander who lend their tones to the voices of the soldiers and villagers we care for as the torment rains down on them, all directed by the formidable force that is Ken Bentley. Adding to this is the impeccable sound design of Martin Montague, who makes every scream and roar, every dropping bomb and gunshot, ring in the ear long after the shock. Throw in a fine, and very Spanish, soundtrack from regular composer Jamie Robertson and everything just sounds marvellous.

This was a nice little story. A nice little distraction from the big arced trilogies and boxsets we've been getting throughout the year. But just because it doesn't tie into anything, doesn't mean it should be ignored. In fact, I believe the opposite. The fact that this can stand on its own and not need anything supporting it, makes it a nice little story that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of what you know of the series as a whole.

VERDICT: 4/5 A nice little distraction that deserves the attention it gets. ;D