The TARDIS is drawn to a mysterious signal emanating from a seemingly dead world. Trapped within a crystalline structure, the Doctor and his friends inadvertently wake a vast army of robots that have lain dormant for many, many years. Waiting… for the Masters of Luxor.
The Perfect One wants to become more than just a mockery of a man, and will stop at nothing to achieve it. But will the cost prove too great?
The travellers are about to uncover a horrifying tragedy. A tragedy that threatens to engulf them all.
THE LOST STORIES: THE MASTERS OF LUXOR
With the third series of Lost Stories winding down, Big Finish turned to an obvious target: the first ever “lost” Doctor Who story, Anthony Coburn’s “The Masters of Luxor.” Adapted for audio by Nigel Robinson, “Luxor” is famous largely for being the story that was replaced by “The Daleks,” the story that made Doctor Who a national smash hit and ensured its longevity. But it has its own positive features, lost as they sometimes are within the conventions of early 1960s television drama.
“Farewell, Great Macedon” was characterized by long, involved dialogue scenes between multiple individuals, focusing almost exclusively on its characters and their relationships. As such, even though its six episodes didn’t feature much incident, they passed quite easily. “Luxor” struggles, especially in the first episode — it takes over half an hour to show the TARDIS crew landing in one room and walking into two others. It’s not dreadfully boring or anything – it’s actually quite atmospheric in places, and the stark tone can be suspenseful – but it’s difficult to pull this off on audio without the corresponding benefit of visuals. The introduction of the Perfect One (Joe Kloska) helps, as he transforms the play from answering questions like “What is going on?” to questions like “What does it mean to be alive?” The Hartnell era is at its best at its most thoughtful, and that’s certainly true here – by the final two episodes, when things get more action-oriented, the story grows rather uninvolving.
Big Finish has attempted, throughout the Lost Stories, to incorporate them into existing continuity wherever possible. For the most part, this isn’t a big deal – though it confounded expectations for “season 27” – but in this case I think they made a mistake. “Luxor” is deservedly famous as a “what if” – the original script doesn’t feature Daleks, no, but it also has a much more religious take on science fiction and defines the regular characters differently from their future portrayals. While the characterization is still somewhat different – Ian is unusually forthright, and all the characters are remarkably harsh toward the Perfect One and his dreams of becoming human – Robinson freely admits that he excised virtually all the religious material from the script. While it would certainly be odd to hear Hartnell expounding on the nature of faith – and there are hints of this in his final farewell at the conclusion – I feel as though the decision robs the audience of the chance to hear the story as it was intended. This wasn’t, after all, something written after 20 years of Doctor Who; this was written to be the second episode. Why not fully explore where the series might have gone?
Much like the previous 1960s Lost Stories, “The Masters of Luxor” is presented as a fully narrated story. William Russell and Carole Ann Ford split the narration, with Russell also voicing Ian and the Doctor and Ford voicing Susan and Barbara. There’s really not much to say about the two Doctor Who legends – they’re excellent, just as one would expect. I enjoy how vigorously they approach the narration: when the prose is designed to arouse suspense, they sound terrified, and so on. And while their impersonations of their fellow regulars aren’t perfect, they’re immediately recognizable, so much so that they can carry out extended dialogue scenes involving all four characters without even a hint of confusion. Joe Kloska fills the remaining gaps, voicing the other characters, turning in an admirable performance.
The production is certainly interesting. It’s difficult to fault Lisa Bowerman’s direction, given the excellent performances – she’s hardly to blame for the often-ponderous material. Toby Hrycek-Robinson’s sound design ably supports the production, but his score is more memorable, with a string suite that doesn’t quite sound of the period but sticks in the memory. Overall, “The Masters of Luxor” is reasonably successful. It drags, often severely, like many Hartnell sci-fi stories. It doesn’t feature some of the more controversial material for which the script is famous. But it does involve some fantastic performances, great atmosphere, and memorable design. I’m certainly glad this was made – it’s a landmark Doctor Who story that deserved to finally be dramatized.
Recommended.
6/10