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Mission To

The Unknown

9TH OCTOBER 1965

(1 EPISODE)

“Mission To The Unknown” - a single twenty-five minute episode broadcast four weeks before the first ‘official’ episode of “The Daleks’ Master Plan” serial - is an episode unique

in the history of the classic series – not one, not two, but all three of the regular cast members were on holiday!

Moreover, despite being regarded as part of the larger narrative, this stand-alone episode

has the distinction of being the only single-episode story in twenty-six seasons of Doctor Who (save for the feature-length special, “The Five Doctors”, I suppose). Effectively a

lengthy trailer for the upcoming story, this ‘Dalek Cutaway’ episode focuses exclusively on the exploits of the Space Special Security Service Agent Marc Corey (Edward de Souza)

on the planet Kembel. He discovers that the Daleks are planning to unite several aggressive alien species against mankind, and although he is exterminated by the Daleks, a tape containing his findings survives, setting up the ensuing twelve-parter.

Only available today as an audio soundtrack, “Mission To The Unknown” is a curiosity that even die-hard Doctor Who fans will struggle to get excited about. It is entertaining enough, but personally I had no real interest in the characters. Fair dues, when listened to in conjunction with the rest of the story, this little episode does do a remarkable job at slowly cranking up the tension, and at the time must have had a lot of viewers scratching their heads, looking for a resolution that was not forthcoming.

Moreover, if nothing else, this episode gives us a glimpse at what Nation’s proposed Dalek spin-off series, The Destroyers, could have been like. Unfortunately for Terry Nation, it also gave the broadcasters an impression of what such a series may have been like… perhaps the deciding factor in why it never got made!

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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