I finally got round to Nick Briggs’s Fifth Doctor and Peri story Mission of the Viyrans. This story is the fourth disc on main range title #102, available separately for 99p or free on Soundcloud! It has even been free for people with a DWM code a few years ago. It may only be short but still warrants some level of review.

The story

From the product page:

The Doctor and Peri take a holiday on the planet Gralista Social, but soon discover they aren’t the only time-travelling aliens in town.

A short tale focussing on the need of the Viyrans to wipe Peri’s mind and cure her of one of their plagues. The trope that a companion would catch a rare Viyran disease is a bit flimsy but the story does set out the nature of the Viyrans along with the horror of the specific condition Peri contracts. The Doctor has little to do but the Viyrans emerge with a clear identity.

The storytelling

In my mind the Viyrans are a Sixth Doctor / Charley menace that also pop up in Dark Eyes 2. Having them in a Fifth Doctor story threw me for a moment. Nick Briggs does a good job in setting out the character of the aliens and Barnaby Edwards deserves credit for working with Nicola to create one of her stronger performances. I also find the planet name [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Gralista Social entirely wonderful![/inlinetweet]

Overall a decent short story.