“This is a warning. Your aggression cannot go unchecked. The West must disarm. We will make you disarm.”
When an assassination follows the first demonstration of a deadly new weapon, it appears that an alien race has fired the opening salvo in a new war – a war… for peace.
But is that truly their intent? The Doctor is unsure. The answer lies deep in the heart of a distant country. A place where a man might be a hero or a traitor. Where a man has to face the menace… of the Mega.
THE LOST STORIES: THE MEGA
Over the course of four series and several box sets, Big Finish’s Lost Stories range covered a lot of ground, including multiple stories from every Doctor from Hartnell to McCoy – except one. Jon Pertwee had not been represented in the range until this, the final Lost Story, Bill Strutton’s “The Mega,” adapted for audio by Simon Guerrier. Strutton, who died in 2003, had only one Doctor Who script produced, the infamous “The Web Planet” in 1965. But while “The Mega” commits some of the common sins of six-part Doctor Who, it’s about as far from Strutton’s earlier script as you can get.
Much of that is due to Guerrier, of course – most of the recent Lost Stories have been fleshed out from storylines and synopses, and “The Mega” seems like it’s trying to hit every note of the Pertwee era at once. Everyone in the UNIT family gets something to do, there’s political intrigue, aliens threatening Earth, a scene where Jo thinks the Doctor has died, an opportunity for Pertwee to drive a biplane around, and even a mention of the Master. As a result, it works rather well as a tribute, and should put a smile on the face of any aficionado of the era.
Unfortunately, it’s also six episodes long, and it falls into the same trap as many of the other six-part Lost Stories: it’s way, way too long. Six-part television stories are about 2.5 hours long; “The Mega” is closer to 3.5, and you definitely feel every minute. The widespread rioting and political intrigue of the first episode rapidly gives way to a capture/recapture narrative with the Doctor and Jo that runs in place for over half of the story. It rapidly becomes apparent that, despite the imminent threat of massive alien invasion, very little actually happens in the story in the middle episodes, and for a story that begs this much attention, that’s not the mistake you want to make. Which isn’t to say it’s all bad – Guerrier writes some fantastic confrontation scenes between the Doctor and the villains that you’d just love to hear Pertwee belt out, and the story actually attempts to have a theme, even if it’s delivered in the most obvious, literal manner possible.
The story is full-cast, apart from the regular characters, and co-narrators Richard Franklin and Katy Manning fill those voids. Manning handles the roles of Jo and the Doctor throughout, and while she easily recaptures her traditional role, her impression of Jon Pertwee leaves a lot to be desired, consisting almost entirely of Manning yelling things in a gruff voice. It’s easily the worst Doctor impression in the Lost Stories, truth be told, and it’s almost distracting at time. This isn’t her fault, of course, but it detracts from the production regardless. Franklin, meanwhile, plays all the UNIT parts. He’s still convincing as Yates, naturally, and his Brigadier is surprisingly believable even if the voice isn’t perfect. But what on earth is he attempting in his impression of Benton?! It goes straight past bad to weird and it must be heard to be believed.
The production is largely unmemorable. Ken Bentley directs the full cast admirably, but, as others have said, I can’t remember a single thing about the sound design or the score, both by Richard Fox and Lauren Yason. I suppose that means they weren’t actively bad, but neither did they make an impression. Overall, “The Mega” is a solid tribute to the Pertwee era in ways both good and bad, and it’s good to see the Lost Stories go out with the one Doctor they hadn’t yet covered. I still can’t recommend it wholeheartedly, though, as it’s far too slow and obvious to truly entertain and a couple of the central performances are bizarre.
Uneven.
6/10