Mission to the Known

"Daleks don't listen to pleas for mercy."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Short Story

Released: December 2020

Printed in: Eaglemoss TLV 02

Featuring: Dalek Time Commander

Synopsis

The Dalek Emperor hopes to exploit the presence of the Dalek Time Commander and a Dalek Scientist in the Dark Times with an audacious mission.

Verdict

Mission to the Known was an excellent short story! This serves as a quick follow up from a personal perspective to The Last Message that kicked off these Time Lord Victorious shorts within the Eaglemoss figurine range. The booklets that accompany the figures to me are usually secondary and that makes sense given the price paid. I wouldn't be forking out the money I did for the two figurines here for a four-page short story! That would be crazy. However, this was the cheapest of the two sets that I managed to pick up boxed on eBay for a mere £15 which I believe is actually less than the RRP on release date four years ago. Good things come to those who wait and all that. However, it does appear that the third Dalek pairing from Eaglemoss in the Time Lord Victorious range is the rarest of the bunch and is going for some startlingly high prices on the resell market at the moment! Hopefully one day I will be able to purchase for a reasonable price as I think the Daleks within that are incredible figurines. I also have a sense of completeness required now when it comes to the Time Lord Victorious range. Whilst I do think the golden domed Emperor Dalek of the previous set is the main event and highlight piece, I really do like the Dalek Scientist in this set. It goes under the radar but that claw and the red paint job make for a stellar little Dalek in the collection. The story at hand here was absolutely tremendous and I'd have loved for it to be longer. There are still a couple of dodgy grammar and spelling errors that a simple editing job would have prevented which is slightly irksome, but this was excellent on the whole. It really tapped into the setting of the Dark Times with its potential there for all to see. It tied in nicely with the wider continuity in mentioning the Doctor having reluctantly brought them there, but now the Emperor had a mission for the Time Commander and Scientist. And boy was it a doozy! I think the title of the story alone is terrific and a really fun play on words. Of course, Mission to the Unknown is sadly missing from the BBC Archives but I feel like it is complete with the University of Central Lancashire remake that occurred a few years ago. That was outstanding. Despite the play on words, this is essentially a reverse of the opening scenes of Genesis of the Daleks. The Emperor foresees a time where the Time Lords unite the universe against the Daleks and so with two of their guard now being in the Dark Times, it was time to stop them at a point before their evolution. It's a shame we don't get a 'Genesis of the Time Lords' in the range but that story has been told, albeit without any reference to Dalek interference. Maybe one day? Although just setting it up here was exciting. The potential! I thought it was fun for the Time Commander and Scientist to feel a sense of surprise despite it not being something that the Daleks possess the ability for. There was a sense of excitement despite the simple nature of their standard 'I obey' reply. I did like the All Flesh is Grass continuity and the Daleks testing genetic material was very nicely done. Overall, not a lot to complain about for me! A really solid read. I look forward to eventually completing the Dalek set at some point in the future, but for now a great read! 

Rating: 9/10