When a newspaper reporter goes missing, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa uncover a case of alien abduction. The trail leads them to the planet Luparis, and a city that appears to be a replica of Tudor London.
What are the monsters that lurk in the shadows? And what is the terrible secret at the heart of Luparis? To save a world, the Doctor must try to defeat the evil plans of Queen Zafira.
And one of her plans is to marry him…
THE LOST STORIES: HEXAGORA
The second release in Big Finish’s third series of Lost Stories, “Hexagora” from Peter Ling and Hazel Adair (adapted by Paul Finch) continues the short trilogy of lost season 20 stories featuring the fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa. Much like “The Elite,” it captures many of the features of the era; unlike its predecessor, it’s not especially interesting or compelling.
The structure of “Hexagora” reminds me of “The Time Warrior,” oddly enough. There’s an extended prologue on Earth in which the Doctor and his companions become aware of a situation elsewhere that needs their help, and after their trip to that other place – here an alien planet, then the past – they never return to present-day Earth. The prologue is interesting because it actually gives some back story to Tegan, revealing a missing journalist to be an old boyfriend/crush from Tegan’s high school days. Unfortunately, they don’t do anything significant with this – Tegan is afraid to admit Mike’s transformation to herself, but even though he acts heroically near the end, we don’t really learn a lot about Tegan from it. Toby Hadoke is great as ever, though really, he’s going to fire up the barbie and put some beers on ice? Regional stereotypes ahoy!
There are some fascinating ideas at the heart of “Hexagora.” The concept of an insect race losing its hive mind when it migrates into a human population is intriguing, and the concurrent societal breakdown is much more understandably clichéd when viewed in context. I also love the image of the hive’s memory being contained in a giant ceiling-mounted droplet. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t explore these concepts, opting instead to revolve the drama largely around Tudor-themed sequences. There’s marriage intrigue with the queen (Jacqueline Pearce), drama at court, and a planned rebellion by minor nobles. All of this passes the time reasonably well, and it’s competently written, but the ideas largely introduced in the fourth episode are much more compelling and beg the question of why they weren’t explored earlier.
Peter Davison is fun in this, confronted with an unwanted marriage – and the prospect of siring hybrid offspring! – and maintaining the forthright sarcasm seen in “The Elite.” He also resolves the central conflict without needing to take action – he simply gathers information from knowledgeable people and eventually talks the queen out of her planned course. I actually like this: he’s the smartest person in the room and it’s nice to see him occasionally get straight-up respect for that. Tegan and Nyssa do less well, unfortunately: Tegan spends most of the story freaking out about Mike turning into an insect, and Nyssa spends most of the story doing absolutely nothing. It’s a running gag at this point, but honestly, Sarah Sutton doesn’t get a single line until close to 20 minutes into the fourth episode! “It’s true, your majesty!” Oh, welcome back! How was lunch?
The production is unusually poor for a Big Finish production. The story is dragged out unnecessarily – Ken Bentley’s direction is normally pacier than this. And whether it’s down to Bentley or sound designer Simon Robinson – or both – the action sequences are deeply confusing, with no clear suggestions about who’s attacking and who’s being attacked. Robinson’s score is odd, too – rather than Paddy Kingsland or Peter Howell, it’s Keff McCulloch! Which, unlike many fans, I enjoy, but in a season 20 story it’s disconcerting. Overall, “Hexagora” is an average entry in the Lost Stories series. Unlike “The Elite,” I’m not upset this was never produced, but at least it justifies its own existence. Good for completists, unnecessary otherwise.
Very average.
5/10