Death and the Desert

Main Range #275

Released: 16 March 2021

Listened: 2/12/21

This is the first part of “The End of the Beginning,” the final Main Range story, so naturally it has to be a multi-Doctor story, to reflect “The Sirens of Time.” Like “Sirens,” each part is mostly complete unto itself, although the stories are brief. Unlike “Sirens,” there are companions involved, but the choices are limited, as the stories were recorded during lockdown. In this case, the Fifth Doctor is with Turlough. The story starts in media res, with the Doctor and Turlough looking for something in the desert near Mesopotamia, but it’s the early 20th century, so of course they’re captured by English treasure hunters who call themselves archeologists. They think the Doctor knows where to find a famous gemstone, but in fact he doesn’t; he’s looking for a data crystal left by one of his old tutors. We’ve never heard of this tutor before, but he went renegade while the Doctor was still young, to look for a lost moon of Gallifrey, which probably inspired the Doctor. The tutor is long gone, but left this data crystal for the Doctor. However, there’s a mysterious Death Lord who has been following the Doctor from the beginning of the story, and turns up at the end to kidnap him and Turlough. Taken alone, the story is fine, if slight. However, this one definitely should be listened to as a whole.