BBC Audio adventure, November 13 - January 29, 1966
Mission to the Unknown is the prelude to The Dalek’s Master Plan. It’s action packed and pretty good, despite the lack of our heroes in the storyline. We get our introduction to the whole situation on the planet for everything to be clear later on. The Daleks are discovered but no one is notified. Then The Dalek’s Master Plan begins as Bret Vyon and Kert Gantry are searching for the Space Agent killed in Mission to the Unknown, Marc Cory. Katarina has joined Steven in the TARDIS after Victoria leaves them in Troy. Steven has contracted blood poisoning so the Doctor stops off at the planet Kembel to get help for him. Katarina is just as good of a screamer as Victoria, we discover, but a lot less annoying because she’s mostly walking around in a daze of amazement and awe, thinking she’s on her way to the afterlife.
When agent Sara Kingdom joins the crew, there is hope for a strong woman as a companion but our hopes are later dashed and Leela would have to be the first of the fighter women the Doctor takes onboard. There is the completely pointless excursion to the prison planet. All that happens is that the prisoner from the planet forces them to turn towards Kembel again. And they ditch the screamer, that’s for sure. Steven shows his nature as a protector by just screaming at the prisoner but Katarina has the final solution brought on herself. The Doctor finally puts aside his irascible nature for a moment to remember Katarina, at least, though he seems more fond of her than other companions who were with him longer. Sometimes it’s just weird how he reacts in these old stories.
Fortunately, the Daleks are back to their good old treacherous ways and will use whatever they have at their suckers to destroy all life but themselves. Though how the history eraser, er, Time Destructor weapon will destroy everything so how does that help them conquer and rule? They sure do understand the greed of other species and easily use it against them. This story goes around and around and around, with lucky escapes all over the place for the Doctor and Steven, while everyone around them dies. They go from Kembel to Desperus (a prison planet) to Earth to Mira to Kembel to Earth to Kembel again. It’s quite the merry chase all over the galaxy but it almost seems pointless because nothing is really accomplished with this travel. Just seems to make the story longer. It’s fun but not really adding anything to the tension or the story as a whole. Other than adding Sara Kingdom as a companion, that is.
And how crazy is Mavic Chen? He believes the Daleks are nothing without him and that’s really not reality, is it then! He is just insane up to the end, even as the Daleks hunt him down and kill him. It’s never cleared up as to how the Time Destructor will help the Daleks but the Doctor at least destroys it, sort of. I really wish that Sara Kingdom was around longer! What a refreshing change from the other female companions she was. A wrapped mummy rises from a sarcophagus and she utters not a sound. Victoria or Dodo or Katarina would’ve been screaming and climbing the walls. Ugh. They get a decent chick on there and they have to kill her off. This is just a long-winded storyline, designed to please the Dr. Who fan of the time as they wander in and out of situations on other planets and meet old enemies (the Meddling Monk) while eluding the Daleks. Not the most successful episode but it wasn’t horrid. Just a muddle!
William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Adrienne Hill, and Jean Marsh
writers: Terry Nation (episodes 1-5, 7) and Dennis Spooner (episodes 6, 8-12)
director: Douglas Camfield