Madquake

Main Range #267

Released: 12 August 2020

Listened: 8/16/20

This is a primarily Doctor-less story, with Nyssa, Tegan, and Marc dealing with the aftermath of “Conversion,” on the unnamed planet where the Doctor left them. The planet seems to have some pacifying properties, which Tegan objects to, but in fairness, that’s because the memory of the Mara is still fresh for her, not just Tegan being irritable. Marc, of course, has it worst of all, as his cyber-conversion has left him feeling disconnected, and his physical strength makes him a danger to the others. Because the Doctor isn’t in the story, that means they can use the Slitheen without causing any continuity errors. And it’s kinda fun to see the Slitheen again, but they’re not my favorite new-series villain, and they aren’t used very creatively here. They’re just implacable hunters, a role that could have been filled by a variety of monsters (the unnecessary fart joke is all Slitheen, though). But the Slitheen aren’t really the important part; the internal conflict is. And that isn’t really resolved, so the story is a bit dissatisfying on the whole.