"I always wanted a pet lizard."
Writer: Jonathan Barnes
Format: Audio
Released: September 2023
Series: Once and Future 05
Featuring: Tenth Doctor, First Doctor, Vastra, Jenny, Strax
Synopsis
The First Doctor arrives in Victorian London amid a Martian invasion. But he discovers all is not what it seems when Missy appears...
Soon, the Doctor is propelled into a future incarnation – the Tenth – but he is not alone in battling Missy and her Martian invaders. The Paternoster Gang – Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Strax – are also here to assist. But can they offer the Doctor any help in solving his own degeneration mystery?
Verdict
The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Once and Future sixtieth anniversary celebrations from Big Finish! I think this series has really grown now and I liked that we got a hint at the end here of some sort of endgame for the degeneration being experienced by the Doctor. On paper, this episode had some stellar combinations by pairing up the Tenth Doctor with Missy which is a dream to be honest! It’s a shame David Tennant and Michelle Gomez didn’t get to perform together given that this was actually recorded back during the pandemic, but they are tremendous together and I just love that we get to experience a story with Missy and a Doctor wearing a different face. She’s obviously associated with the Twelfth Doctor so to have her interacting with the Tenth was magnificent. I was very happy that the episode actually opened with an extended cameo with the First Doctor arriving into Victorian London, except the planet Earth was not where he expected to land. I thought it was fun for him to be mentioning being back in his original mind and that only made him more certain that he should have been on Planetoid 50. The Paternoster Gang also featuring was terrific and I liked having them under the control of Missy. She’s a phenomenal character and I really can’t get enough of her. She’s so whacky and crazy and that’s more than evident in this episode with her scheme! It didn’t really make any kind of sense but I loved how barmy it was. That was Missy in a nutshell and quite the form of a distraction. Bringing the fictional world of The War of the Worlds to life with the Martians was outlandish and just bonkers. Who else but Missy could it be? The moment the Doctor realises who he’s encountering was fun stuff and with how it was being dragged out a little I was almost expecting him to say he thought she was the Monk! It didn’t happen, but it was still a fun moment. Jenny being under Missy’s control rather firmly was good, but for me the highlight of the episode was the relationship between Missy and Vastra. The way the Time Lady was just mocking and goading the Silurian was incredible stuff! Referring to her as a talking handbag was just sublime stuff. She also threatened to turn her into a pair of shoes! It was incredible and Vastra was just getting angrier and angrier. It was so much fun. Missy didn’t take Vastra’s threats seriously in the slightest and that was a dream. Missy actually needing the help of the Doctor was something she had trouble admitting, but she’d called him in to essentially fix her mess. I was surprised though that Missy was also experiencing some sort of degeneration and gave the Doctor a direction to go in to try and fix the issue and that meant finding the Union. I’m sure we’ll learn more about them in the next episode, but it’s nice to have some direction of some sort of finale. A goal to work towards is always good in my book! Strax was his usual comic delight in the episode and Missy wondering if they’d kissed was quite something, but not as much as her referring to the Doctor as her boyfriend and embracing him in a kiss! Thank goodness the Paternoster Gang walked in on them and goodness knows where that would have lead. Overall, this was a tremendous episode that was just a lot of fun really with a lighthearted central plot and a simple resolution. A really enjoyable 69 minutes!
Rating: 9/10
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