The Myth Makers

As far as Doctor Who stories go, “The Myth Makers” is about as ‘lost in time’ as a story can be. Along with the soundtracks to “The Massacre” and “Galaxy Four,” this four-parter is one of just three stories solely represented on my shelf by the audio CDs – every other lost story has at least an existing episode or a telesnap reconstruction to give me a feel for the story.

Despite also being spoiled by Big Finish’s superb Doctor Who audio plays (which are, in fairness, deliberately written for the audio medium), I still enjoyed “The Myth Makers” a great deal – far more than I expected. Written in the same spirit as “The Romans,” Donald Cotton’s take on the Trojan War is a story that dwells on ridiculous stereotypes and fantastical events – very aptly, the stuff of legend... or at least, how we perceive myths and legends. What “The Myth Makers” lacks in gritty realism, it more than makes up for in some delightful, almost ‘Carry On’ style tongue-in-cheek humour.

The Doctor in particular is hilarious as he desperately tries to worm his way out of the Greeks’ custody. The Greeks have mistaken the Time Lord for their God, Zeus, and the brutish Odysseus expects him to design the weapon that will finally allow them to take Troy! It’s brilliantly written how the Doctor scoffs at the idea of the ‘Trojan Horse’ when it is suggested to him, and instead struggles against all the odds to built the Greeks a catapult. Of course history (myth?) always wins, and quite worryingly the Doctor becomes inadvertently responsible for a massacre – an ending that doesn’t really sit well considering the tone of the rest of the serial.

“The Myth Makers” is also a good, solid outing for the Doctor’s companions. Vicki, whom the Trojans christen ‘Cressida’ (aah…) falls in love with Prince Troilus and is married off in the final episode. Not exactly the most original mode of departure for a companion, but Maureen O’Brien seems to make the most of it nonetheless and gives probably her best performance to date. Steven is also surprisingly effective; Peter Purves’ comic timing is wonderful, especially in his scenes posing as ‘Diomede’ and sparring with Paris. However, Katarina’s introduction in the final episode. “Horse of Destruction”, is treated almost as an afterthought. I’m not sure whether it was known that she would be ‘red-shirted’ from the word go, but in this story there is almost nothing done with her in terms of development. If I hadn’t known she was destined to leave in the TARDIS at the end of the story, I would have thought her just an annoying extra.

In all, I would definitely recommend “The Myth Makers” above the other two ‘audio-only’ missing serials – way above, in fact. It’s nothing groundbreaking or monumental, but it is a lovely little piece of 60s Who that still has the power to entertain today, even when the competition is Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean the like…