Mission to Magnus
Mission to Magnus has a reputation among fans for being a poor story. In fact, prior to buying it in the Ice Warrior sale, many people tried to dissuade me from parting with my money. In fact, on some websites, it rating out of 10 is a measly 5.3 (astonishingly close to Nekromentia’s score of 3.6 I should think). However, in my opinion, this story is highly underrated and its low rating is somewhat undeserved.
I went into the story with a preconception that it was going to be appalling, and, in some ways, I believed that helped me enjoy it. Without the hope of being blown away by it, I was left to enjoy the story, and enjoy it I did. Now, to be clear, it is in no means perfect, it will never be a classic and it has a lot of flaws, but it is a seemingly enjoyable tale.
When an old Time Lord acquaintance from his days at the academy turns up, the Doctor is forced into a situation fraught with enemies, old foes and mad men. The story could be split into two very distinct, almost completely separate episodes. The first focuses on Anzor and Sil, both of whom are old foes for the Doctor. With the former comes a distinct horror to the Doctor, more for the listener than the character though! This old bully, who terrorized the Doctor at the Academy, turns him into a cowering oaf, a fear that not even the Daleks have brought out of him. It really was stupid to write this section in, and listening to it is somewhat worse. On the other hand, I can say that, from the novelisation of the same story, it has been toned down significantly (which is a blessing) and shortened. Anzor would be an interesting villain, had it not been for his backstory. Some may be reminded of the Master, but he is far enough away (and incompetent enough) to be completely different. Now the Doctor has overcome his past fears, it would be interesting to see a reappearance of him. The return of Sil would, for many, be the selling point of this story. His return is good if a little underwhelming. He spends most of the story separated from the action, but the moments he shares with the Doctor and Peri and excellent. The tension between the three is electric, the pure hatred for one another is evident. Nestled neatly between his two TV appearances, it fleshes out a more of his backstory and, considering what their next encounter signifies, brings an all important reencounter for Peri.
The second episode brings in the Ice Warriors who are trying change Magnus’s orbit to make it habitable for their species. There is a marked contrast between the two episodes, with only the small subplot of Sil and the female inhabitants of Magnus with their attempts to discover time travel. It was somewhat disorientating having the sudden bounce between the two, yet it does manage to keep the story fresh and engaging for the audience. In general, the two, hour long episodes makes it harder to keep the audience listening, the lack of cliff-hangers means there are fewer points to stop listening and pick up later, along with fewer surprises for the story to deliver. However, separating it into two stories makes it more like a Fourth Doctor Adventure than a Lost Story.
Now, that’s not to say this story is brilliant, by any means. The plot lacks much depth, the plans are good, but there just isn’t the threat to back it up. Even the Ice Warriors seems rather lack lustre, for all their threats, they fail to live up to them. On top of this some of the acting is down-right awful. I feel horrible for saying this, but it is the young members of the cast who let it down. I never wish to let down budding actors, and between them, there is plenty of talent there for them to use, I just do not think that it was shown on audio. The star of the cast, for me, was Nabil Shaban, who slipped into his role effortlessly, recreating his wet and slimy vocal gurgles perfectly. Next in line in Nicholas Briggs, who manages to play about five different Ice Warriors distinctly, each one of them makes a clear impression on the ears.
Overall, Mission to Magnus is by no means an outstanding story, it will never be considered a classic, but it doesn’t deserve its harsh reputation. There are aspects of the story that bring it down, and certainly destroy its status. On the other hand, there are things that it should be praised for. If there is anything we can learn from it, it is that there is far more that we can do with Sil, and that should be done! If you ever get a chance to buy this for a reduced price, then take the advantage and run with it. If you go into the story with a lower expectations and you will not be left disappointed by it, just as I was.
I went into the story with a preconception that it was going to be appalling, and, in some ways, I believed that helped me enjoy it. Without the hope of being blown away by it, I was left to enjoy the story, and enjoy it I did. Now, to be clear, it is in no means perfect, it will never be a classic and it has a lot of flaws, but it is a seemingly enjoyable tale.
When an old Time Lord acquaintance from his days at the academy turns up, the Doctor is forced into a situation fraught with enemies, old foes and mad men. The story could be split into two very distinct, almost completely separate episodes. The first focuses on Anzor and Sil, both of whom are old foes for the Doctor. With the former comes a distinct horror to the Doctor, more for the listener than the character though! This old bully, who terrorized the Doctor at the Academy, turns him into a cowering oaf, a fear that not even the Daleks have brought out of him. It really was stupid to write this section in, and listening to it is somewhat worse. On the other hand, I can say that, from the novelisation of the same story, it has been toned down significantly (which is a blessing) and shortened. Anzor would be an interesting villain, had it not been for his backstory. Some may be reminded of the Master, but he is far enough away (and incompetent enough) to be completely different. Now the Doctor has overcome his past fears, it would be interesting to see a reappearance of him. The return of Sil would, for many, be the selling point of this story. His return is good if a little underwhelming. He spends most of the story separated from the action, but the moments he shares with the Doctor and Peri and excellent. The tension between the three is electric, the pure hatred for one another is evident. Nestled neatly between his two TV appearances, it fleshes out a more of his backstory and, considering what their next encounter signifies, brings an all important reencounter for Peri.
The second episode brings in the Ice Warriors who are trying change Magnus’s orbit to make it habitable for their species. There is a marked contrast between the two episodes, with only the small subplot of Sil and the female inhabitants of Magnus with their attempts to discover time travel. It was somewhat disorientating having the sudden bounce between the two, yet it does manage to keep the story fresh and engaging for the audience. In general, the two, hour long episodes makes it harder to keep the audience listening, the lack of cliff-hangers means there are fewer points to stop listening and pick up later, along with fewer surprises for the story to deliver. However, separating it into two stories makes it more like a Fourth Doctor Adventure than a Lost Story.
Now, that’s not to say this story is brilliant, by any means. The plot lacks much depth, the plans are good, but there just isn’t the threat to back it up. Even the Ice Warriors seems rather lack lustre, for all their threats, they fail to live up to them. On top of this some of the acting is down-right awful. I feel horrible for saying this, but it is the young members of the cast who let it down. I never wish to let down budding actors, and between them, there is plenty of talent there for them to use, I just do not think that it was shown on audio. The star of the cast, for me, was Nabil Shaban, who slipped into his role effortlessly, recreating his wet and slimy vocal gurgles perfectly. Next in line in Nicholas Briggs, who manages to play about five different Ice Warriors distinctly, each one of them makes a clear impression on the ears.
Overall, Mission to Magnus is by no means an outstanding story, it will never be considered a classic, but it doesn’t deserve its harsh reputation. There are aspects of the story that bring it down, and certainly destroy its status. On the other hand, there are things that it should be praised for. If there is anything we can learn from it, it is that there is far more that we can do with Sil, and that should be done! If you ever get a chance to buy this for a reduced price, then take the advantage and run with it. If you go into the story with a lower expectations and you will not be left disappointed by it, just as I was.