Some people really responded to this one but I found it pretty clunky, and hard to connect with, to be honest.  It's a bit of a curiosity more than anything.  I can appreciate how grim the whole episode feels but I also can't say I was very invested in my watch experience compared to the average Doctor Who story.  I think part of it is that the Daleks aren't really enough connective tissue to feel like a Doctor Who story.  It reminds me a bit of the Dalek Empire Big Finish audios which I have also been struggling with.

Mission to the Unknown: 8.7 - A story that really made me excited for Daleks Master Plan. The reconstruction done by University of Central Lancashire was really well done and felt very authentic to the times. The plot of the episode was also cool and the Daleks teaming with a bunch of other aliens makes me think the Daleks are going to betray them all. I thought that Cory was also a cool character and his death surprised me as I thought he would be a major player in DMP.

📝5/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“Mission to Missed Potential: A Skippable Dalek Detour”

Mission to the Unknown stands out as a unique anomaly in Classic Doctor Who history. It’s the only episode without the Doctor, his companions, or the TARDIS, serving instead as a prologue to The Daleks’ Master Plan. It’s also the swan song for Verity Lambert, the show’s original producer, making it a bittersweet entry in the series’ canon. However, despite its unique place in Doctor Who lore, this standalone episode feels like an underwhelming prelude rather than an essential chapter.

All Build-Up, No Payoff

Clocking in at just 25 minutes, this episode spends its runtime laying groundwork for events that won’t unfold until four episodes later. The result is an extended teaser that feels like it could have been seamlessly integrated into The Daleks’ Master Plan. While the Target novelisation of Master Plan wisely folds its events into the main story, the episode itself is little more than exposition and setup with no immediate consequences.

Is it essential viewing? Not at all. Everything important here is reintroduced when The Daleks’ Master Plan begins, making Mission to the Unknown one of the most skippable episodes in Classic Who.

Morbidly Simple Yet Strangely Effective

For all its shortcomings, this episode benefits from Terry Nation’s restrained approach. The story is refreshingly straightforward, avoiding convoluted subplots in favor of bleak, Dalek-driven brutality. The Daleks are reestablished as a force to be reckoned with, their cold, calculating menace given full rein. This grim tone makes the episode one of Nation’s stronger contributions to the series, even if the narrative itself feels hollow.

The first half, centered on three human characters battling both the hostile environment of Kembel and the encroaching Daleks, holds promise. Unfortunately, this tension dissipates as the focus shifts to a drawn-out meeting between the Daleks and a group of bizarre, forgettable alien delegates plotting universal domination. These scenes lack momentum and fail to capitalize on the eerie atmosphere established earlier.

The alien delegates are unintentionally comical, their over-the-top voices undermining any sense of menace. While the UCLAN version tones down the ridiculousness, it’s still hard to take them seriously.

The treacherous planet Kembel is vividly realized through strong sound design and production elements, making it feel alive and dangerous even in reconstructed form. Similarly, the transformation of a man into a Varga plant is suitably horrifying, even without the original visuals. The recreations effectively convey the grim body horror of the scene.

The Reconstructions: A Tale of Three Versions

Since the original episode is missing, fans rely on reconstructions to experience Mission to the Unknown. Each approach offers its own merits:

1. Loose Cannon Reconstruction
   The telesnap version offers a rough glimpse of the original episode but struggles due to the limited surviving material and poor-quality audio. It’s a serviceable option, though far from immersive.
2. Ian Levine Animated Version
   This animated reconstruction provides movement and restores some of the original performances using the surviving soundtrack. While not flawless, it’s a competent alternative for those who prefer a more polished presentation.
3. UCLAN Student Film (2019)
   The standout reconstruction, this recreation by UCLAN students faithfully replicates the look and feel of 1960s television, even utilizing the original shooting scripts and authentic production techniques. With Nick Briggs voicing the Daleks and impressive attention to detail, this version feels eerily authentic, though the model shots of the Dalek ship slightly betray its amateur origins.

Final Thoughts

While Mission to the Unknown is a fascinating experiment in Doctor Who storytelling, it’s ultimately an exercise in frustration. Without the Doctor or his companions to anchor the narrative, the episode lacks the heart and energy that typically define the series. Its disjointed structure and lack of immediate stakes make it feel more like a curiosity than a vital piece of the Whoniverse.

For die-hard fans and completionists, the UCLAN student film offers the most enjoyable way to experience this peculiar slice of Doctor Who history. For everyone else, it’s safe to skip ahead to the main event.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• This episode was never broadcast internationally, deemed “too violent” for its heavy dose of Dalek carnage.

Watched Levine's animation for this one, what a fascinating episode! No doctor, no companions, just a bunch of temporary cast who all get morbidly killed, either by extermination or transformation into these disgusting creatures. No one will ever find out what happened to them or where they died and they failed to get any warning out to those on earth.

This is one of the most unique Doctor Who stories ever. The new series delivers Doctor-lite episode, but this story shows this show’s infinitely flexible nature, you can have no regular elements from the wider show and it’s still Doctor Who

A bit of an odd one to review, considering it is a prologue to a bigger tale.

This story focuses on Mark Cory, a secret agent for the SSS. They’ve landed on a small planet in our solar system, where they discover Varga plants. The thorns of this plant turn anyone who touches them into a mindless killer, before finally turning into a Varga plant themselves.

The problem is, these plants are native to only 1 planet: Skaro. Which means the Daleks are back in our solar system. We soon see them discussing plans with other allies to take over and destroy all planets. Including, of course, Earth.

After losing his allies, Mark Cory is the only one left to warn the universe of the Daleks’ return. Sadly, before he can send a message into outer space, he is discovered and shot dead. The recording of the final message is left behind on the ground, and we end the episode.

There’re some really fun ideas in here, like Dalek allies, the Varga plants and the whole premise of a prologue episode. While not self-contained, it is a fun side story.

There’s also some joy to be found in the way this episode can be watched. There’s of course the Loose Cannon adaptation. And it got animated as well, but we get a rare third TV option.

In 2019, this story was remade by students of the university of Lancashire. While not exactly 1 to 1 (different actors after all), it hits almost exactly like a 60s story would and was apparently made on a 60s budget as well. This recreation is probably the most modern, definitive way to experience the story. I have to give them props for their work.

Since the character are all one-offs, there’s not that much development or interaction to be found here. But that’s not the intention of the story anyway. It’s a setup episode, while still doing some fun stuff on its own.

And it is that fun stuff that makes this worth watching. It has some unique circumstances as a recreation. It has some fun with ideas like Varga plants, and it is setup for something big! Definitely worth checking out.