The Ultimate Evil

Lost Stories #5.2

Released: 14 November 2019

Listened: 8/8/22

This particular story wasn’t available for the first round of Lost Stories, but became available later. Unfortunately, I had hoped that because it was a later release, some of the more irritating elements of the Lost Stories would be lessened, but I was mistaken. The Doctor decides to visit “old friends” yet again, and fortunately they weren’t murdered before he arrives this time. They live on a planet neatly divided between two hostile races, which have lived in peace for 150 years by simply having no contact with one another. But now the Tranquilans are suffering from a condition that sends them into a murderous rage at periodic intervals (except when the intervals are random), so they chain themselves up, and try to find a cure. This is all being orchestrated by a particularly odious sales-being named Mordant, who wants to restart the war so he can sell weapons to both sides. His “hate ray” works perfectly on everyone, including the Doctor, at great distances. He’s also got a mind-control gun, which also works on anybody, and you’d think would be a better tool for starting a war, but there you go. The Tranquilans can all teleport just by thinking about it, but apparently that has no effect on the story, because they toss people in cells and leave them unguarded. Peri is a close double for the girlfriend of the prince of the ruling family, for no real reason. At least she and the Doctor seem to be getting along better, but they’re only together at the beginning of the story. Like a lot of the Sixth Doctor Lost Stories, I wish this one had some more script editing, but it’s not to be.