The Valley of Death

Lost Stories Special

Released: 9 January 2012

Listened: 3/29/22

This particular entry is a Lost Story, rather than a Philip Hinchcliffe Presents, so it lacks the same sense of gothic horror, but it’s still a four-parter. It involves an explorer who went missing in the Amazon in 1873, and a follow-up expedition in 1977 that the Doctor and Leela join under UNIT credentials. Leela should be in her element here, and she certainly thinks she is, but she fails to track one tribe, and then fails to notice another before they capture her. She’s clearly having an off day. In fact, the whole story is slightly off, just a bit too whimsical and humorous. Even though it came from an idea from Philip Hinchcliffe, it’s a Jonathan Morris story, with the attendant off-kilter tone. In that sense, it feels like it belongs in the Graham Williams era of the show. Halfway through, the setting abruptly changes to London, and UNIT gets involved, but only ineffectually without the Brigadier. It does have slightly higher stakes and a more dramatic ending than the previous few stories, but mostly it feels a bit strange. Of particular note is Jane Slavin, playing an American journalist with a pretty decent New York accent. We’ll see more from her in a little while.