BBC Audio: Time Lord Victorious - The Minds of Magnox Review
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| The cover for both the vinyl and CD versions of "The Minds of Magnox", designed by Oink Creative. |
Read by Jacob Dudman.
Written by Darren Jones.
Another licensee that it would have been surprising had they not taken part in Time Lord Victorious is BBC Physical Audio. For many years, they have been producing great audiobooks, both original to audio, and audiobook versions of Doctor Who novels, such as the New Series Adventures and the Target Books novelisations from the 1970's and 1980's. As such, they were perfectly placed to be involved with Time Lord Victorious, especially being closely entwined with the BBC, much more so than companies like Eaglemoss, Titan Comics or Big Finish Productions. So, it was perhaps surprising that they haven't been more involved than they have, producing one single audio original, "The Minds of Magnox". As a result, this does have the same sort of feel as Titan Comic's "Defender of the Daleks": inessential, and only really done to include the company in this huge, big event. However, unlike "Defender of the Daleks", this slots itself into the wider story much better, has a much stronger pace and threat, and helps build up the universe of Time Lord Victorious. As such, it works a lot better, despite some cravats.
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| The Tenth Doctor, at the controls of his TARDIS, in a promo picture from the 50th Anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor". |
The story is set during the events of the second Time Lord Victorious novel, "All Flesh is Grass", and sees the Tenth Doctor and Brian the Ood, on the run from his other incarnations after destroying the Koturruh, heading to the planet Magnox, so the Doctor can get an answer to a question of his. While the Doctor must prove to the Minds that he has the intelligence required for the answer to his question, Brian falls in with a group who are planning to kill the Minds... and Brian agrees. From there, a whole series of events spill out, as the Doctor and Brian both face the consequences of their actions. Darren Jones' story builds a wonderfully interesting world for the Doctor and Brian to explore, and we get to take a closer look at this incredibly unconventional TARDIS team in great detail. That's one of the main things that drives this story, and it allows us to really explore the background of Brian the Ood especially, something that, up till now, has been left untouched. While the Doctor's question drives the story, it is Brian's sub-plot that proves the most interesting, as he is given the task of assassinating the Minds of Magnox, and has to prove his capabilities. We get a bit of a potted history for the character, something that hasn't really been touched upon in any previous Time Lord Victorious stories (although some of this material has featured in some of the ancillary material around Time Lord Victorious), and we get a sense of how it affected Brian. Without reducing his status as an interesting, and definitely dangerous, character, Jones manages to tap into the character, and allow us to explore a different side to Brian than that we've seen previously. He might be a heartless assassin, but there is something else there... or maybe it's all just a front to get the revolutionaries to trust him? Jones never really spells out his motivations, and, as such, it makes this thread of the story even more fun. The Doctor's thread, meanwhile, is rather more pedestrian, although it does bring up some interesting questions about what this Doctor thinks at this point in his life. Although this thread is obviously constrained by having to fit in with the wider Time Lord Victorious puzzle, the presentation of the Tenth Doctor is nonetheless interesting, and it highlights how far he has gone across this arc. He's slightly more fragile, slightly more chipped by his experiences earlier in the story arc, and, as such, has a greater sense of his own ego. His conversations with the Council of Minds are the perfect demonstration of this, as he shows off his own superiority, even more so than usual. The Doctor has always had an air of superiority about them, and the Tenth Doctor especially so. Here, however, it is stretched as far as it'll go without the Doctor turning into the villain, and even then it comes perilously close. His ego-centric attitude is what allows the situation on Magnox to spiral so dangerously out of control, and, even at the story's end, he never really faces the consequences of his actions (that aspect being left, of course, until "All Flesh is Grass"). There is a coda to the story that sees some of that aspect explored, but it's an interesting take on the Doctor that, while feeling alien, is perfectly in keeping with the direction the Tenth Doctor took on TV.
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| Brian the Ood, in a promotional picture for the BBC Doctor Who website. |
The guest characters aren't maybe as interesting as Brian and the Doctor, but still provide this story with some colour, and, in some cases, some much needed levity. Wim is my personal favourite, as through him, we get a fascinating look at this world that trades in information and knowledge. He may be one of the more uneducated members of the Magnox species, but despite this lack of intelligence, he has less hubris than a lot of the other characters, and, in the end, comes good because of it. His 'friendship' with Brian the Ood is surprising as well, especially considering that most of his other connections with people have been as enemies, or reluctant allies. We also get to meet another member of the Kotturuh race as well, which allows "The Minds of Magnox" to present both versions of the race that we have seen previously: while Darren Jones does lean into the Lovecraftian horror that "The Knight, the Fool and the Dead" used to great effect, he focuses it through a single member of the race ah la "Lesser Evils" and "All Flesh is Grass". While one could argue that it is little more than a bit part, really, the Kotturuh do provide a suitable threat for the story, and help pad out the runtime a little bit. Despite some of the fascinating character explorations, the actual meat of the story (the Doctor's question and Brian's mission) is rather slight, and, as such, there are sections of the story that feel slightly bloated and cumbersome. At least Jacob Dudman's narration is top-notch, as, in the hands of a lesser narrator, these sections would be a little bit intolerable. Dudman, however, takes Jones' well-written prose and brings it to life with style and sophistication, and brings the various different voice to life incredibly well. I know he's more well-known for his Eleventh Doctor impression, but, honestly, his Tenth Doctor is pretty spot on too, and this story is a good demonstration of that. I loved his Brian as well, especially having had Silas Carson (the traditional voice of the Ood) playing him in "He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not", I expected that this might be a lesser version of that. And, while it is to a degree, I think it would be hard to do anything else, and Dudman imbues the character with all the qualities that Carson brought to the part. He's aided by the wonderful music and sound from David Roocroft, who, while not providing anything matching Big Finish's lofty production standards, provides a score that fits the story, and appropriate sound effects that never swamp the narration.
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| The original promo poster for Time Lord Victorious, designed by Lee Binding. |
Overall, while pretty inessential to the major story, "The Minds of Magnox" is still pretty decent for what it is, and adds to the larger story in a neat way. There's some nice character work here, especially regarding Brian, and so, if you've been enjoying the character in the previous Time Lord Victorious stories, than this is a must. I would also say this is a must if you're a fan of Jacob Dudman's work, as this story gives him a wide range and plenty to have fun with. If you're just collecting the major Time Lord Victorious stories, however, this is pretty much unnecessary, and just a neat side diversion. But, if you do choose to get this, I don't think you'll be disappointed, because this is not a bad story by any stretch of the imagination, and will add to your Time Lord Victorious experience nicely.
You can purchase "The Minds of Magnox" on CD and digital download from Amazon, as well as from all good audiobook shops. The CD and download come with an exclusive coda:
You can also purchase this story on 'repository red' vinyl from Amazon and all good vinyl shops. This release comes without the coda:
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