Maker of Demons

Main Range #216

Released: 13 September 2016

Listened: 1/28/21

This entry, by Matthew J Elliott, has a lot of interesting things going on. Most obviously, it deals with the repercussions of a previous adventure the Doctor and Mel had on this planet, where they supposedly brokered peace between human colonists and the indigenous population, which fell apart almost as soon as the TARDIS left. Returning 100 years later with Ace, they find that the native Mogera have mutated into monsters, and the humans are on the verge of being wiped out. Of course, things are not what they seem, and although the Doctor bears some responsibility for the situation, it’s not the way he thinks at first. Mel gets to play to her strengths, doing some computer research and generally being clever, but also being strident while trying to get the humans to look for Ace. Ace spends most of the story apart from the other two, and figuring out the Mogerans’ side of the story, but still being an action girl. There are lots of elements lifted from The Tempest, including almost all the character names, and some of the style and language of the colonists, to the point where the Doctor hangs a lampshade on it. I don’t think any plot elements are borrowed, though. I liked this one more on my second listen than I did on the first, but the resolution isn’t the strongest.