Doctor Who: Mission to the Unknown – What to check out next
By James Aggas
You’ve enjoyed the recreation of the lost Doctor Who episode, Mission to the Unknown. But what should you watch or listen to next?
If you haven’t checked out the complete recreation of Mission to the Unknown already, do so right now. It’s one episode long, it’s short, and it’s an extremely impressive piece of work. An excellent and authentic recreation that captures the original story perfectly. Best of all, it’s free. So go to this YouTube link right now and enjoy.
Watched it? Good, wasn’t it? But now you’re probably wondering: what happens next? The heroes are all dead, the Daleks and their new allies are threatening to invade – surely it can’t end there?! And where was the Doctor this time? Why didn’t he save the day?
For those of you who don’t know, Mission to the Unknown (also known as Dalek Cutaway) was designed to be a one episode prelude to the twelve-part epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. Essentially a teaser to the main event, this is why William Hartnell, Maureen O’Brien or Peter Purves don’t appear in this episode as the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven, respectively.
What happens next?
In-between Mission and Master Plan is the purely historical story The Myth Makers, where the trio arrive in ancient Troy. Like Mission, all that survives of this story is the soundtrack, which is available to buy on Audible or iTunes.
Of course, if you did want to skip directly to The Daleks’ Master Plan, an introduction at the start of the story’s surviving soundtrack gives a quick recap of the events of The Myth Makers. As you’ve probably guessed, most of the episodes in this story are sadly missing, but not all. You can watch the three surviving episodes – namely, the second, fifth and tenth episodes – as part of the Lost in Time box set.
The Daleks’ Master Plan is long, but it’s also dark, ambitious and epic. It’s not perfect, and unsurprisingly, some episodes do drag a little. But it’s also a very successful and effective Dalek story. So it’s certainly worth checking out in any format that you can get it.
Decades after the original Master Plan, the consequences are explored in the sequel The Syndicate Master Plan.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
The sequel
But the story doesn’t end there. If you wanted to delve even deeper into the Doctor Who universe, then you might want to check out this year’s season of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, The Syndicate Master Plan. As you can probably guess from the title, the story is in some ways a direct sequel to the original story. But how? Well honestly, finding out’s part of the fun. It’s an extremely accessible season for The Fourth Doctor Adventures too, as we’re introduced to a brand new companion – WPC Ann Kelso, played by the excellent Jane Slavin. You can get both volumes of the whole season directly from Big Finish’s website on CD or download.
If you haven’t watched much of the Classic Series before, then I hope Mission to the Unknown has inspired you to delve deeper into the history of the Classic Series, or even beyond. I also hope you find new favorite stories to enjoy as a result.
Next. Mission to the Unknown is an incredibly faithful recreation. dark
Did the recreation of Mission to the Unknown make you want to check out more of the Classic Series? Are you keen to find out what happens next in The Daleks’ Master Plan? Let us know in the comments below.