This week Deb, Erika, Liz and Tansy revisit an oft maligned (by Deb) story — “The Daleks’ Master Plan”. There are a few disagreements as to pace, plot, story, Katarina… and while may not all agree on which companion actually clocks in as the official 7th companion in Doctor Who history, we do all agree that Sara Kingdom is a BAMF.
How do you feel about this “epic” adventure? Is it a rambling mess? A beloved Doctor Who romp or BOTH? And what is your preferred method for consuming this phantom of a story? Leave us a comment or send us a tweet and let us know how you feel about Bret, Sara, The Meddling Monk or any one of the other 1,183 plot points in “The Daleks’ Master Plan”?
^D
Happy Things:
- Deb (and most of Doctor Who fandom) is excited about the new Series 12 Trailer — new baddies, old baddies — can’t wait!
- Liz is particularly excited about the cosplay options the trailer inspired — FORMAL WEAR!
- Erika is delighted Handwavium is covering one her favorite stories — “The Sensorites”!
- Tansy is once again filled with admiration and glee at Big Finish’s commitment to delving into the cracks of Doctor Who history — particularly the new release Daughter of the Gods, which lets Katarina shine!
Bonus Links:
“Mission to the Unknown” recreation by by the University of Central Lancashire
Support Verity! on PatreonDownload or listen now (runtime 1:21:35)
Support Verity! on PatreonDownload or listen now (runtime 1:21:35)
VerityPodcast.com 
Comments on: "210 – Asylum of The Daleks’ Master Plan" (8)
Help, Verities!
The download link gives me episode 209 again! Thrilled as I am about hearing you talk about Silver Nemesis, I;d really rather hear you talk about The Daleks Masterplan. 🙂
Ack! That’s what happens when I rush to post something before I leave for vacation. Should be fixed now. Apologies!
No need to apologise! Thanks for the quick fix, and have a great vacation! 🙂
After meeting Liz at Thought Bubble I downloaded your podcast.
Just want to say how much I’ve been enjoying it!..
For starters, I’m very pleased that Verity covered this serial. Personally, I believe if we had all the episodes, Daleks’ Master Plan would be thought of highly for its ambition, if not anything else.
I consumed the serial via Tele-Snaps.
In series 11 of New Who, we got 10 episodes and a New Year’s Day special with Resolution. Daleks’ Master Plan is 12 episodes. That would satisfy a whole season by today’s Golden Age of Cable television standards. So excuse me for injecting this into the conversation, but of course Sara Kingdom is a companion.
Again, this conversation of Verity was delightful. And to me, the appearance of the Monk brings this story up a notch.
If the number of episodes in a season and being on the Doctor’s side is all that makes a companion then its very problematical.
Jackie Tyler, Osgood, all the supportive courtroom characters in Trial of a Timelord, and the White Guardian are all companions under that definition. Not to mention the 7 and 8 episode series of the Pertwee era that had recurring background characters.
And of course the Alpha Centauri who, with more episodes than a modern season, has a much greater claim to being a companion than Sara Kingdom.
Intent and travelling with the Doctor is important. Until The Five Doctors fandom and the BBC did NOT consider The Brigadier a companion. He was considered to be an ongoing background character and the Doctor’s boss. Some fans still don’t count him as a companion.
I just reread that and aside the typos (dratted tablet) it reads much grumpier than I intended.
My only point is really that Sara Kingdom was one of many characters who over the 56 years of Doctor Who could have been a companion but wasn’t until recent fandom moves included her in some lists.
Mike Yates, Savalom Glitz, Wilf (Donna’s grandfather), Sergeant Benton, Alpha Centauri – all in multiple stories and yet one of them are official companions
This was one of the harder episodes of “Verity!” to listen to. (This little boy just wanted a nice bedtime story! I don’t like it when Mummy and Mummy ( and Mummy and Mummy) fight! – Paul B, aged 55-and-three-quarters) … But it was well worth sticking with to the end. =:o}