The Monthly Adventures #015 - "The Mutant Phase" by Nicholas Briggs

Going off one of the most unique and fascinating stories I’ve ever experienced, I was not happy to see I was going into yet another instalment of the utter thrillride that is the Dalek Empire quadrilogy, now penned by Nick Briggs himself, who did just such a stand up job on his last script. I’ve listened to The Mutant Phase before and when I did, I remember liking some ideas in it, but finding the story and characters all together lacking. Listening to it again, I can say I was very, very much right the first time around, The Mutant Phase is another very dull story, although, I can certainly say it does try.

Chasing a strange fluctuation in the vortex, the Doctor and Nyssa find themselves stranded in a universe ravaged by the Mutant Phase, a genetic disease that turns Daleks into insectoid abominations

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

As is common for these Dalek Empire stories, there isn’t a whole lot to talk about with The Mutant Phase, it’s not as bog-standard as its two predecessors but it certainly doesn’t do well at filling its time. I’d actually call this the best of the quadrilogy so far because I actually quite liked what it was going for, the idea of it is genuinely really interesting. A parasitic wasp has caused a genetic fault in the Daleks that has resulted in a mutation that leaves the pepperpots as ravenous, unstoppable beasts, which has caused history to change and the universe to end. The mutant phase is a terrifying force to be reckoned with for one thing but I also like the sci-fi angle of the paradox; I always love when Doctor Who utilises its concept as a time travel show to create a conundrum. Mainly I just admire this story - The Genocide Machine and The Apocalypse Element were both so generic I could barely keep my focus up but The Mutant Phase actually has a good idea behind it, and I really can’t fault it for that. Other positives? I don't know, a lot of this story is just fine. The acting's fine. The sound design's fine. A lot of it's fine.

However, there are some major places where it slips up. The script is too long and too boring, none of the characters are memorable in any respect, the narrative is a mess. It jumps location about three times in the first two parts, changing characters along with settings and it makes the plot both jarring and underdeveloped. Eventually, all this meandering leads to an incredibly convoluted ending that feels as messy as Briggs’ previous work. So, the paradox began when the Dalek Emperor hidden in the body of a human scientist (doesn’t really make sense for a Dalek to willingly do this, given the whole superior species mantra and all plus the scientist never has a hint of acting like a Dalek, even after the reveal of his true identity, I’m off topic now) convinces the Daleks in the past to use a pesticide to kill the mutant phase, which would end up not working when, if he had left it alone, they would’ve successfully removed the parasite. This is not explained clearly enough and when the credits rolled, I was just left confused. Briggs’ strong suit is not in the exposition that’s for sure.

The Mutant Phase is one of the weird stories where I just feel like half of it was missing; I am certain more happened than I remember because I recall so little going on and it’s two hours in length, so I must be forgetting the finer details. I’m getting very tired of these dull as anything Dalek stories, even if this one entertained a good idea.

5/10

Pros:

+ The idea of the Mutant Phase is a very interesting concept

+ The paradoxical storytelling was a nice touch of sci-fi

+ Tried something new and I can admire it for that

Cons:

- Extremely forgettable sidecast

- Jumps from plot thread to plot thread too quickly

- Convoluted and overwritten ending

- The Emperor didn’t act like a dalek at any point

- Overly drawn out