Mission to Magnus

"Doctor, you have thwarted our plans before, have you not?"

Writer: Philip Martin

Format: Audio

Released: December 2009

Series: Lost Stories 1.02

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis 

The Doctor and Peri face enemies at every turn on the planet Magnus. There's the Time Lord bully Anzor, who made the Doctor's life hell during his time at the Academy. There's also Rana Zandusia, the matriarchal ruler of the planet, who seeks to prise the secret of time travel from these alien visitors. Also on Magnus is the slug-like Sil, still bitter from his defeat on the planet Varos and seeking to make his fortune from the most potentially destructive ends. And, deep within the planet, there is something else. Another old enemy of the Doctor's. And the future is looking decidedly colder...

Verdict

Mission to Magnus was a tremendous audio adventure! A brilliant plot, three major villains of which two were making returns and the wonderful pairing of the Sixth Doctor and Peri. I loved the audacity of Philip Martin to submit a script of such villain volume! Not only do you have the devious Sil and the major return of the Ice Warriors, but a brand new Time Lord enemy is also introduced in the form of Anzor! I loved the backdrop of the new Gallifreyan enemy and I was extremely intrigued that even in the Time Lord academies school bullying occurred. And the Doctor was a victim! I suppose it's not a surprise as how many times has our hero seemed so different and minuscule in the presence of other Time Lords? The War Games and The Infinity Doctors come to mind. I was intrigued how this story almost seemed split into three sections spreading across the two parts. Anzor dominated the first third with his continued intimidation of the Doctor causing the TARDIS to be stuck in a force field on Magnus. I loved how Peri was shocked and outraged at how easily the Doctor gave in to Anzor. She'd seen him defeat Cybermen, Daleks and the Master but a different Time Lord and the Doctor so easily gave up? That wasn't the Doctor we know, especially in this incarnation! Once the Doctor had expertly dealt with Anzor, Sil along with the dominating women of Magnus lead by Rana were next on the agenda. Sil was tremendous in this audio and just seemed like a great nuisance. His lack of loyalty was brilliant and I liked how he'd bargained with Rana and the Ice Warriors, as the Doctor pointed out he strives to back both sides against the middle. Sil and the women were ever present and the fact that Rana constructed a TARDIS key to the Doctor's type-40 on the basis of mathematics was special. Never has that been attempted! Superb. But it was tremendous how the Doctor anticipated their entry and even the TARDIS was working against the intruders. The arrival of the Ice Warriors could have been a little more astounding but I guess the intention on television would have made it very grand! I'm a big fan of the Ice Warriors when they have evil intentions like in The Ice Warriors and The Seeds of Death, but I despise them when they're 'good' like in The Curse of Peladon and Red Dawn. And in this audio, I wasn't disappointed! The magnificent Martians were back to their very best and with Mars heating they were in need of a cold planet to be their new home. So they'd ventured to Magnus and planned a chain of explosions to shift the planet entirely off its axis and propel it away from the sun! Staggeringly good! The Ice Warriors, at the command of the Grand Marshall, were destroying a planet to create a perpetual winter. Now that's the kind of plan I want to see the Ice Warriors engaged with! The sexist theme against women in this audio was very intriguing and I wonder how it would have been accepted by the 1980s television audience this story was intended for. Vion was a good young character and I liked how he aided the Doctor and Peri rather significantly at the age of just 10! Once all was settled and the Doctor had sent Anzor to the beginning of time, left Sil on his own and reverted Magnus' axis back to normal rendering the Ice Warriors to death due to the heat, the sexual innuendo between the men captured by the Ice Warriors and Rana and her women was terrific. Overall, an excellent story but I didn't see why Anzor had to briefly return at the end, even if he was dealt with rather early in the story.

Rating: 9/10