The Dark Planet

"The eternal dawn arrives!"

Writer: Brian Hayles (Adapted by Matt Fitton)

Format: Audio

Released: September 2013

Series: Lost Stories 4.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki

Synopsis

Somewhere far back in the early days of the universe the TARDIS lands on a world lit by a dying sun. Missing from the Doctor's star maps and dotted with strange crystalline statues, it is a world ripe for exploration. But it is also a world of destruction.

Venturing out onto its surface, the time travellers find themselves drawn into an age-old conflict between the two species residing on the planet – people of Light and Shadow. Proving a catalyst for the escalation of the conflict, the Doctor and his friends need either to create a peace or to pick a side.

Because in times of war, nothing is ever black and white.

Verdict

The Dark Planet was a great Lost Stories adventure! This was pretty damn long clocking in at close to three hours, but I don't think it overstayed its welcome in the slightest which right away is a huge compliment. I was actually listening to this adventure as I was having an overdue sort out and clean of my extensive figure and figurine collection, so it was nice to be in theme! I think the team of William Russell and Maureen O'Brien is just tremendous and they did a fine job in recreating the second ever TARDIS team. This felt like it was so authentic and certainly the early parts of the opening episode were everything I would imagine a 1960s story sounding like. Even the terminology acknowledged within the TARDIS and the Doctor referring to his own star maps was brilliant. It was so perfectly a Lost Story in that regard which immediately makes me happy. I could easily imagine seeing this on screen and whilst I'm not sure on the background of why these scripts never made it to screen, I think the budget at the time would have been impossible to do this story justice. There was so much going on and the visuals that came from the descriptions of the battle between Shadow and Light were stunning. I'm not convinced there would have been the means to present this well ons screen during Season 2. In that regard, perhaps it's better we just get an audio version? I think taking the TARDIS to a very early point in the universe's creation and actually being in the first segment of time was intriguing to say the least. Things were a little different here and the Doctor was soon able to utilise that with his knowledge of stellar engineering. I liked how that was almost ridiculed by Ian but the Doctor was serious indeed. Vicki was shown to be very intelligent in the story which was really nice and I like how Ian mentioned he should get a science lesson from her. The conflict on the world of Noumeia was really interesting and it was a strong thread to carry though the lengthy adventure. Learning of the differences each side felt towards each other was good and the use of past dialogue as a means of encouraging more in the future was good. How else would a species name be shared as the title across both sides? There must have been some sort of communication. The theme of light in particular was handled very well and blindness hitting more than one companion was fascinating! I don't think that has happened before so that was something new and a strong sense of vulnerability. That also came when the TARDIS was not viewed as a safe haven. It was pretty surprising to hear it infiltrated but I was a big fan of it because it made such an impact. The fact it rarely happens is why that was so surprising. I thought Vicki's relationship with Elise was fantastic and the heartbreak she had when she realised the truth and how they were sacrificing themselves was powerful stuff. Krogor didn't seem like the best of enemies at the start of the story but he grew into a strong monstrous type by the end which I enjoyed. I thought the rush to the TARDIS at the end of the story was good and authentic with what happened often on screen at this time. It was also good to get so many strong cliffhangers. Again, they felt exactly like ones that would have happened on screen. Dark and light against each other, and then coming full circle with Vicki looking on and seeing light travelling in space with shadow was tremendous. She liked to think their efforts weren't in vain and perhaps they did make a change. But we'd never know. That was terrific. Overall, a really strong adventure! One I could definitely have seen fitting in during Season 2.

Rating: 8/10