Harvest time again, and I seem to be drowning in paperwork even more than usual. Although I probably say that every year at this time, this year I am having to contend with two new labyrinthine pieces of major software, both of which are far from bug-free and finished.
To make matters even more fun, the only training offered is of the good old "have a go and see if anything works" school. Which would be good in a quiet time, but somewhat annoying when there just aren't enough hours in the day to tit around beta-testing stuff.
Anyway, it's about time we had some Daleks around here...
A much-discussed and genuine oddity, "Mission To the Unknown" remains a treasured enigma. With no regular Doctor Who cast present, it is often considered a pilot episode of sorts for a Dalek based series Terry Nation was hoping to sell to America. Amateur bean-counters, on the other hand, postulate that the series was owed an episode from way back in the first production block, when "Planet of Giants" was condensed to three episodes to cut the dull bits out. (No sarcastic comments, please).
Whatever the truth may have been, (and who cares, really) for one episode between an exploding planet and a wooden horse, the Daleks were very much centre stage.
Well, them and a load of cool alien delegates up to no end of mischief. Yes, there was... erm... Trantis? And wasn't one of them called Malpha? And what about the one with the crazy-paving face? And, erm... Beus! Who probably wasn't the one who looked like he was made out of cardboard with painted-on eyes and a little crown. But what the heck.
Yes, we probably still don't really know, but that just adds to the excitement, as far as I'm concerned. While the surviving soundtrack is wonderfully claustrophobic, it's a shame we can't see Edward de Souza trying to avoid being turned into a cactus.
And whilst the lack of surviving visual material only whets our appetite, it stands as an unusual yet fitting farewell for Saint Verity of Lambert. Her guts and expertise laid the foundations for so much of what I have enjoyed throughout my life.
This one's for you, Verity.
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