The Cradle of the Snake

"You can't just throw the Mara out."

Writer: Marc Platt

Format: Audio

Released: September 2010

Series: Monthly Adventures 138

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

'The Mara is in all of us, deep in our minds. In our darkest thoughts, that's where it started. Some people call it a demon, but that's too simple. It's about temptation."

Tegan's nightmares have returned. Seeking to banish the snake-like Mara from his companion's psyche, the Doctor sets course for Manussa, the creature's point of origin. But the TARDIS arrives instead in the heyday of the Manussan Empire, where infotainment impresario Rick ausGarten is preparing to turn dreams into reality.

The sun is setting on the Manussan Empire... and it's all the Doctor's fault.

Verdict

The Cradle of the Snake was an excellent audio adventure to conclude this trilogy of stories with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and the returning Nyssa! I thought this was probably the best of the bunch from this mini season with the old become new again quartet and the connections it had to the televised era was brilliant. It followed on immediately from the cliffhanger at the end of The Whispering Forest which was great in revealing that Tegan was still impacted by the Mara, an enemy that was such a big part of her run on television thanks to events in Kinda and Snakedance. Returning to Manussa was a great move to make and going there in a time much earlier to their previous visit was exciting because the permutations of changing history were large! I thought the first part in particular was outstanding with Tegan clearly worried about the Mara infiltrating her mind and dreams again, and the back and forth she had with the Doctor was superb. I really liked how this tested the TARDIS team and it really does seem that their relationships are always strained. Tegan is still incredibly suspicious of Turlough despite all he's done since being rid of the Black Guardian's influence and I'm not sure if she's ever got on with the Doctor! I was surprised to find the comments between Tegan and Nyssa being somewhat unkind as well, even if there was the obvious Mara influencing them. It was good to get a new side to Nyssa as well and I think that's a good element of her being fifty years older than when she departed in Terminus. It's fun and refreshing and hearing her a little drunk after accepting the mark of the Mara was terrific. I thought it was a really good twist to have the Mara infiltrate and take over the Doctor's mind for what was pretty much the entire audio adventure! Peter Davison gave a sublime performance as the possessed Doctor and the shifts in his mind between Mara and Doctor was really impressive. Tegan being rid of the Mara and getting confirmation of that was important, and I liked how the companions never suspected the Doctor was the one infected by the Mara when the coordinates were altered in the TARDIS. It was all a great plan to go into Manussa's history and ensure the rebirth of the Mara. The cliffhangers were strong in this story and I thought the pace was really good with it being the perfect length at an hour and fifty minutes. It just felt right. Rick ausGarten was a fun little character and infotainment was not something I would have associated with the planet, but its use in spreading the mark of the Mara was fantastic. That was so simple but really effective. I liked how the Great Snake was mentioned on more than one occasion and the visuals created by the writing were really good and probably a lot better than the Mara we saw on television! Baalaka was a really good character as well and his influence growing as the story went on was great and I thought his sacrifice to be rid of the Mara was a fitting way to end the audio and the Great Snake! Overall, a magnificent adventure and definitely the best Mara story.

Rating: 9/10