The Mutants

"Their condition was incurable."

Writers: Bob Baker & Dave Martin
Format: TV
Broadcast: 8 April - 13 May 1972
Season: 9.04

Featuring: Third Doctor, Jo

Synopsis

The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo on a mission to deliver a sealed message pod to an unknown party aboard a Skybase orbiting the planet Solos in the 30th century. They are caught quickly in a power struggle between the cruel Marshal of Solos and the young Solonian, Ky, over the future of Solos – a future that hinges on the contents of the message.

Verdict

The Mutants was a pretty average serial and sadly was the worst of the television stories I have been watching over the past couple of weeks. This one had a decent story at the heart of it, but it just went on for far too long. There was no need at all for this adventure to be six parts and I think it really did hurt it. The pace just wasn't there and it had a serious feeling of being dragged out. The story started well and dealt with the Doctor's earthbound exile by having a Time Lord message being delivered for him to deal with. I thought the premise of the circular object only being able to open for who it was intended for was excellent, but the revelation that it was meant for Ky seemed to come a bit soon. There should have been more of the story focused on finding the correct recipient, rather than knowing who it was and trying to find them. That took away a bit of the mystery in my opinion. I thought the Solos setting along with the Skybase worked pretty well and the shifts between the two were decent in shifting focus. Considering the story's title and the intriguing design, I really felt that we should have had more of the Mutants themselves instead of just the story behind how they got into the condition that they were in. There was definitely enough time for them to initially be thought of as a threat! They just didn't end up doing much which didn't quite seem right. The Doctor and Jo getting separated was good and I liked how the Marshall was pretending he had Jo in captivity being treated. I was intrigued because I had similar thoughts running through my head as I did with my recent blogging of Nightmare of Eden, in that I could clearly remember a number of details from the novelisation, Doctor Who and the Mutants, despite me blogging it six years ago! I think this story absolutely works better in prose. The cliffhangers on the whole were pretty much okay with none being particularly bad or amazing. One element of the serial I did enjoy was bookending the Doctor and Jo's arrival and departure in the TARDIS with the damaging of the door in storage area four. I liked that a lot. The Marshal made for a pretty good villain, but I wasn't overly impressed with the actor. That's not a knock against his performance, he just didn't seem intimidating despite his looking making him appear capable of such horrors that he planned to inflict on the planet. Too much was focused on him though. There really ought to have been more on the plans for independence, but they were quashed too quickly in my eyes which was a shame because I'd have liked to have explored that further. The relationship between the Doctor and Jo was lovely to see in this one and the former's face when she was shown to him alive and well was a joy to behold. He really does care for her. The arrival of the Investigator was fantastic and I really liked the idea of putting the Marshall to justice. Again, he probably should have come earlier as the feeling of the Marshall not having the upper hand seemed to come and go in a flash. That was a strange development. The Doctor pushing him into an outburst against the Muts that all but confirmed his guilt was very good though. I did enjoy elements of this adventure, but in this format it just runs far too long which is a shame because it really isn't bad.

Rating: 6/10