Original writer Robin Mukherjee resurrects his 1990 lost story Alixion, in one of Big Finish’s best explorations of the post-Survival Ace
There are many different types of Lost Stories. Some were never made because script editors changed direction, or writers became unavailable. Others were simply so different in the final version that there can be a thrill in exploring the original intent. But some rare few, like Axilion, faded from view because Doctor Who itself vanished into the darkness. While the show returned in 2005, it’s only now that Big Finish are bringing Axilion back into the light.
Script editor Andrew Cartmel gave old writing workshop collaborator Robin Mukherjee a commission to provide a three part story for the 1990 season. A season which ultimately never materialised.Big Finish have produced other adaptations of potential Season 27 stories. Yet Axilion feels the most substantial and real. Despite originally never advancing past the outline stage, and the writing losing the outline in the decades since, it feels like a polished and confident execution of that original idea.
The story uses its SF ideas to touch on themes of self-recrimination and intrusive thoughts in a very real, true to life, way
The Doctor brings Ace to Alixion, a moon once home to an ancient order of monks. Now, however, it’s a luxury health spa that trades on that mythology and history. In the Whoniverse it feels like most destination spas are the cover for aliens preying on the guests. But Axilion can take pride in being pretty much the original take on the idea. It’s also one of the best iterations so far. There are some twistedly nasty secrets buried in the warren of tunnels around the resort, while the notion of the company exporting health drinks that give many a compulsion to visit them is a neat one.
A suitable alternate title for the story could have been Intrusive Thoughts. It’s those which power the plot in multiple ways. The hive queen extends her influence across the star system by gaining access to the thoughts and fears of anyone who uses the drink. There’s also strangely helpful disembodied voice Colin. Ace and the Doctor can each hear Colin talking to them in separate conversations, like someone flipping between different chats. He’s still an intrusion, though, and one Ace wishes she could get a break from, as he comments on her every memory, offering mysterious sounding advice. And why is so keen the two friends should each abandon the other, anyway?
Most significantly, though, the hive queen’s form of attack echoes the real life phenomenon. Both the Doctor and Ace, but the Perivale teen in particular, are targeted with a constant stream of vivid flashbacks to bad things they’ve done, bad things they might have done, and bad things others might think they’ve done.
The now experienced television writer effectively script edits his younger new hire self to produced a smooth and accomplished piece
These flashbacks also provide Mukherjee with his smooth, clever solution for turning a three episode plot into a four parter. What was a single scene in the original plan is here an entire subplot of its own. The Doctor offers to take a new young friend for ‘just one trip’ in the TARDIS. The Time Lord picks the safest, most serene destination he can think of. But with Axilion’s central theme of regret, consequence, and self-loathing, it’s not hard to guess where the Doctor’s decisions will ultimately lead…
Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, after a quarter of a century of friendship, are as superb together as always. Nobody knows their characters better than they do, and with Wicked! promising all the full on fun and banter of their 1980s heyday, Alixion is a timely reminder of the deep emotional bond between the two in those seasons. It’s certainly a must by for Ace fans. Her troubled childhood and steady growth as a young woman are sensitively explored. It dove-tails beautifully with her Season 26 character arc.
Had it made it to television, Axilion would have formed a loose thematic trilogy with Ghost Light and Curse of Fenric. It’s every bit the equal of those tales, and the most satisfying version of what our heroes went next after people made of smoke, and cities made of song.
Doctor Who: Alixion
Checking into a luxury health spa for a little rest and recreation, the Doctor and Ace find themselves at the mercy of a malign entity that craves the conquest of time and space.
Exploiting their memories and regrets, the queen of the hive, which hides behind the polished walls of the spa, forces them to confront their deepest fears as she steals the Doctor’s life force to spread her powers across the universe.
Doctor Who – The Lost Stories: Alixion is now available to purchase for just £13.99 (download to own) or £16.99 (download to own + collector’s edition 2-disc CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,750 copies and will not be repressed.Â
