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[overdue reactions] Doctor Who - The Mythmakers / The Daleks Masterplan
One thing I will never get used to with classic Who is how one storyline runs across twelve episodes.
The Mythmakers
If there’s one thing I’m happy about the revival historicals is that the Doctor is no longer the cause of historical catastrophes like... the burning of Rome, or the sacking of Troy.
stares at the Doctor.
The Mythmakers started well enough with the first episodes as a comedy and then veering a hard left into THE SACKING OF TROY. And then Vicki from the future opting to stay with Troilus because apparently Vicki from the future took the name of Cressida. So, that was a thing that happened.
The Daleks Masterplan
But first! Look, a couple of university students recreated the lost Mission to the Unknown episode!
And it looks like a real classic episode!
Anyway, the Daleks Masterplan boy there are some surprises here, I think is the first ever story where companions die, and not just one but two. Or three depending if you see Brett Vyne as a Companion.
Katarina, a servant girl from Troy whom Vicki saves to go in her place to the TARDIS (Vicki, apparently lives a long life in ancient times).
One of the things that really surprise me is the Daleks reaching out for allies and actually being sneaky about it. I’m so used to the revival!Daleks where it’s all about purity and can’t even last a pretend coalition for an episode.
This makes Junkyard!Resolution!Dalek feel more like Classic!Dalek to me.
Then we meet Sara Kingdom, highly efficient security officer from Earth, who used to be unquestioningly loyal to ‘The Guardian of the Solar System’ Mavic Chen.
I wish they could go in depth in to her arc more -- because she ends up killing Brett, who later is revealed to be her brother, out of blind loyalty until circumstances trapped her with the Doctor and Steven, and she has to face the reality that the leader she followed all along was actually power hungry, and will bring about the ruin of the whole universe.
I’m really glad I just listened to this in audio-play form because Mavic Chen character in yellow face... yikes.
There’s a lot of run around in the story although I did like that the Monk returned to cause havoc to the Doctor. He really is the class clown, or trying hard to be the class clown but he only ends up annoying people instead of making them laugh.
I think these are the episodes where the Doctor is slowly getting known as the enemy of the Daleks. In my headcanon like these Daleks, in their timeline come before the Chase episodes. The events here are the reason why the Daleks were keen on chasing the Doctor down in The Chase.
The way Sara dies though, slowly withering away to dust -- it’s horrific. And she was only a few feet away from the TARDIS and didn’t even make it.
That was dark.
I think I will skip The Massacre because wow, I really can’t with these series of stories.
I know things lighten up with The Gunslingers which I love. An old Western with songs!
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