Castle Of Fear

Castle Of Fear

That's a proper Robert Holmes / Philip Hinchcliffe story title, isn't it? But we're talking 'The Tomorrow People' circa 1978 here so we're not quite into full-on Horror mode.
Nevertheless, the opening scene has a decent stab at creating some atmosphere and wastes no time in establishing our location.

There's a man in a hotel bar having a dram or two of Grant's whisky, while singing a snatch of 'The Bonny Banks O' Loch Lomond' in a Scottish accent. There also appears to be some tartan wallpaper behind him. Then the ghostly apparition of a Highlander swims into view, carrying his head under his arm. The man reveals his name is Angus MacDuff...

Anyone care to guess where this scenes is taking place? Yes, it's just like the opening scene of 'Terror Of The Zygons', so maybe that Holmes/Hinchcliffe analogy ain't so far from the mark after all...
It's easy to mock, but this story is another two-parter and it's not got time to hang about, as we've got a new Tomorrow Person to meet in the form of Andrew Forbes.

The ghost had been projected by Andrew to scare Angus, but the sleeping Tomorrow People pick up on the image and are alerted that something is up.

Andrew's also got his face in the title sequence, so that's a bit of a give-away, really. He appears to be trapped in a watch, but sadly we never get to see that particular story...

TIM is in full coffee-table mode, dispensing hot chocolate galore. I always wonder whether over time his balls became covered in brown rings from the mugs he summons up, but that's neither here nor there...

Back at the Castle Hotel, Andrew's father, Bruce, admits that they are in financial trouble. There is a research team staying, who are investigating the Loch Ness monster, but otherwise business is very poor.

Andrew wonders if they can advertise that they have ghosts in the hotel, but Bruce has never seen one. Andrew showcases his ability, but Bruce regards it as the work of the Devil, fearing for Andrew's soul.

A good game to play with this story is Spot The Product Placement, as all sorts of brands get a few seconds in the limelight...

Andrew takes some lunch to the American team, lead by Dr Gail Mayer, who have not seen a dicky-bird on the Loch and will have to return home unless their fortunes change soon.

Watch out, watch out, there's a Homo Superior about (as the old song goes) and bingo, Nessie puts in an appearance with a model that's rather below the standards achieved in 'The Goodies'. Bonus points though for the proper cicrcular overlay representing the point-of-view of someone looking through binoculars. Quite a few shows uses two overlapping circles for this sort of shot, but that just means you haven't got them properly adjusted.

The research team are justifiably excited and the phones are soon buzzing at the hotel with enquiries from eager newspaper reporters. We get to see Bruce operating a gloriously ancient switchboard that is straight out of 'Carry On Abroad'. You genuinely expect it to explode at the end...

Bruce guesses that Andrew caused Nessie's appearance and his fury is really quite terrifying, more so than any ghost in this story. He locks Andrew in the cellar with the Balvenie and Bols, which seems to be putting more temptation in his path.

The Tomorrow People arrive at the hotel to investigate and talk to Dr Mayer and Angus, who manages to knock part of the bar set to the floor, but carries on regardless...

Angus discovers Andrew in the cellar, who scares him with a manifestation of Frankenstein's monster, like you do. As Angus is about to free Andrew, Bruce appears and the two men struggle, injuring themselves.

Bruce and Angus are transported to the Lab, where TIM patches them up. There's a sly reference to how TIM has also treated some liver damage for Angus.

Mike confronts Andrew who summons up the traditional Bloke In A Rubbish Gorilla Costume, that every series has to feature at some point. Mike falls from the cellar stairs and needs a bit of the old TIM treatment, too.

Andrew retreats to the roof of a nearby tower, which is nicely shrouded in mist. Eventually the Tomorrow People turn up and a not-that-exciting battle takes place between some half a dozen imaginary Highlanders and three Redcoats.

On the roof of the tower, Mike explains to Andrew that they are the same, although neither of them seem able to remove all the scratches from the film used in this sequence...

Bruce accepts that Andrew is not a force for ultimate evil and holds a party, which is an excuse for everyone to get the kilts out again.

Dr Mayer's search for Nessie is abandoned, but with some help from Andrew, her boss (Professor Young) is convinced there is something here that needs investigating...

All in all, this one's not too bad at all. Nigel Rhodes makes a decent debut as Andrew and the story is simple but interesting. There are no shoddy aliens on display and the sets are pretty decent into the bargain.

A cheery 7 out of 10 for this one, I think...

And viewers might like to know that  they'll be staying at the Castle Hotel for a few more weeks, as the events of 'Achilles Heel' unfold...

(By Andrew Trowbridge)