SIL AND THE DEVIL SEEDS OF ARODOR / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: KEITH BARNFATHER / SCREENPLAY: PHILIP MARTIN / STARRING: NABIL SHABAN, SOPHIE ALDRED, JIM CONWAY, JANET HENFREY, CHRISTOPHER RYAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
One of the better things about Doctor Who fandom is the way it inspire fan work. The world of the Doctor gives writers almost infinite scope. Not only do they have all of time and space to play with, but also the many Doctor Who stories to revisit and adapt. This has led to fans telling stories in all sorts of media, including spin-off media that is ‘adjacent’ to Doctor Who lore without ever actually referencing the show.
Sil and the Devil Seeds is one such enterprise. It’s a low-budget serial split into four parts. The story takes the character of Sil from the Colin Baker era of the show and gives him his own solo adventure. He’s a fairly obscure villain, but you don’t need encyclopaedic knowledge of mid-‘80s-era Doctor Who to enjoy this story. Sil is a Mentor, a slug like amphibious creature from the swamps of Thoros-Beta. They are broadly a race of intergalactic venture capitalists who care more about ‘lovely money’ than people. As such they make for great dramatic foils and we can see how actor Nabil Shaban was so keen to reprise this role.
Sil is a mostly sedentary character, and this suits the plot of what is essentially a court room drama. The story is silly and political in places; Sil is on trial for distributing a deadly poison to the ‘Eurozone’, and serves trial on a lunar base, awaiting possible extradition where he may well be executed for his crimes. As such much of the drama relies on Nabil Shaban’s ability to both emphasise and despise Sil. He does this brilliantly; the horrible slug is both hilarious and sympathetic. No piece of scenery goes unchewed, which is exactly what we hoped for.
Sil and the Devil Seeds is a labour of love and an entertaining one at that. It is, however, not meant to be a broadcast standard sort of thing. Some of the special effects would look cheap even back in the ‘80s. Others, such as the set and the outside ‘space ship’ shots are excellently done. As a low-budget, artefact of fan work, it is superb. As a sincere expression of appreciation for all things Doctor Who, it is pretty much perfect. You do wonder what Reeltime Pictures could achieve with an actual budget.
Don’t expect anything that could compare to modern Doctor Who, but if you’re looking for a hit of nostalgic mid-‘80s sci-fi British drama (and we include Galloping Galaxies and Captain Zep in that list), then this will certainly deliver. We also get a fun cameo from Sophie Aldred as a Draconian, another criminally underused Doctor Who alien. And none of the sets wobble.
The limited edition DVD also comes with extras, which deliver a strong insight into the world of small sci-fi production and fannish glee. Smashing stuff.
