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Doctor Who review: Missy: Series 2 features more adventures for the evil Time Lady

By James Aggas

Jenny ('The Dalek Invasion of Earth'), credit: bbc.co.uk
Jenny ('The Dalek Invasion of Earth'), credit: bbc.co.uk /
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Featuring stories both thrilling and hilarious, Missy: Series 2 is another strong box set from Big Finish.

Image courtesy Big Finish Productions

Featuring a strong mix of enjoyable stories with a fun but completely evil protagonist, the second series of Doctor Who spin-off Missy is just as fun as the first.

The first series of Missy was an extremely enjoyable set of stories. Not only was it fantastic to hear Michelle Gomez return to her iconic role, playing it with as much energy as she did in Doctor Who. But we also got four strong stories that explored this unique incarnation of the Master – some that were more focused on the more fun and comedic sides of the character, while others enjoyed reminding us just how evil she could really be.

With such a high standard set by this box set, does Missy’s second series live up to it? Absolutely. Like Series 1, there’s a strong mix of scripts here, which provides us with a great mix of light comedy and evil hijinks, as well as a consistently great performance by Gomez.

Interestingly, there’s also more of a balance, writing-wise: while Series 1 had male writers for all four episodes, this time, it’s split fifty-fifty, with Lisa McMullin and Gemma Arrowsmith joining Roy Gill and John Dorney for this box set.

The Lumiat

McMullin kicks off Missy: Series 2 in a big way with The Lumiat. It’s an episode so huge that it caught the attention of Radio Times, who’ve speculated that it ties into Series 12 in a big way. But how? If you don’t mind knowing spoilers, you can find out for yourself here.

But regardless of The Lumiat‘s impact on mythology, is it a strong episode in its own right? Absolutely. McMullin gets to have plenty of fun with both Missy and the Lumiat – essentially, Missy’s polar opposite.

With the Lumiat acting like a goody two-shoes the whole time, this means that McMullin gets to have fun making Missy as evil as possible. She does a lot of awful things in this story, most of them just for the sake of it. In fact, it might be the nastiest we’ve heard from Missy yet. (Although what she got up to in Series 1’s The Belly of the Beast would be a worthy contender.) With both Michelle Gomez and Gina McKee having a lot of fun as both Missy and the Lumiat, we’re given a great episode to kick off this box set with.

(L to R) Beth Chalmers, Eve Webster, Matthew Jacobs-Morgan, Gina McKee and John Banks feature in the opening episode of Missy.

Image courtesy Big Finish Productions

Brimstone and Terror

Series 1 kicked off with A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill – a fun little story that saw Missy act as a terrible nanny to two children: Oliver and Lucy. It was an enjoyable Victorian adventure story, so it’s not surprising that, for Gill’s second Missy story, he reunites her with those very children in Brimstone and Terror.

It’s not surprising to see why these three were reunited. Oliver and Lucy stood out as interesting companions to Missy – children that enjoyed adventure and mischief but were able to recognize when their “nanny” was going too far. Missy also seemed to have grown fond of the children in their original story, but would that stop her from killing them this time?

On top of that, we also have Strax show up in this story. As ever, Dan Starkey is hilarious to listen as the lovable Sontaran. If there’s one thing that’s slightly disappointing, it’s the fact that he and Missy sadly share very few scenes together. A shame, as both Gomez and Starkey handle comedy brilliantly, and it’d be great to hear more from these two in a future episode.

Treason and Plot gives Missy a fun historical episode. One where she plans to ruin history even more than the Meddling Monk would. (We’ll get to him in a moment.) Gemma Arrowsmith writes a fun comedy episode with this story, one that gives Gomez a lot of comedy to work with while also making Missy as evil as possible. It’s possibly the lightest episode of the box set in terms of plot, but it’s still enjoyable. More than that: we finally get to hear Michelle Gomez say the line.

Some of the cast and crew for Missy. L to R: Ajjaz Awad, Dan Starkey, Glen McCready, John Dorney, Helen Goldwyn, Robert Whitelock.

Image courtesy Big Finish Productions

Too Many Masters

The box set ends with Too Many Masters by John Dorney. While you might be expecting a multi-Master story from that title, what we instead get is a hilarious reunion between Missy, the Monk, and the Ogrons. Neither of the latter two is exactly pleased with Missy or her earlier selves, and they’re both out for revenge. But which of them will succeed?

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Too Many Masters is up there with The Trouble with Drax and Beheaded, Divorced, Regenerated as one of the funniest scripts that Dorney’s ever written. Considering that both the latter story and this episode feature Michelle Gomez and Rufus Hound – two actors who’ve worked a lot in comedy – it’s not surprising. Dorney makes sure that they’re both given a lot to work with, giving us a glorious farce in the process. It ends Series 2 in an extremely strong way, and promises exciting things for Missy’s third series.

Overall, Missy: Series 2 features a fantastic mix of stories. While the overall tone is somewhat lighter than what we’ve had in The War Master, the series still doesn’t shy away from how evil and ruthless Missy is, and we’re given a set of stories that’s both hilarious and enjoyable. Big Finish has really done well exploring this character, and I hope this remains true for later box sets.

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Have you listened to Missy: Series 2? Do you think it lived up to her previous box set? Are there any stories included in this box set that you wish had been on television? Let us know in the comments below.

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