The Mysterious Planet

The Black Archive #79

by Jez Strickley

‘There is no fire. There has been no fire for hundreds of years.’

Set both underground in the world of The Immortal and overground in the lands of the Tribe of the Free, The Mysterious Planet (1986) is a story awash with dualities. Jez Strickley examines questions of place and placelessness, locale and location, and topophilia and topophobia, and queries what Robert Holmes’ final Who story tells us about the ecology movement of the time.

Genres: Doctor Who

119 pages, Unknown Binding

First published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several years into the series, and they have produced a black archive installment that even I have found completely impenetrable. I assume that those who are already familiar with the fields of study discussed will gain deep insight from this, but I am perfectly content to acknowledge that I am not the intended audience for this work!

If that sounds dismissive, I don’t mean it to! It’s well written and fascinating, I just am not into the theoretical framework.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-mysterious-planet-by-jez-strickley-and-robert-holmes-and-terrance-dicks/

I’m sorry to say that of the 79 Black Archives that I have read so far, this was the least penetrable. Strickley has written it as an exploration of his pet concepts, topophilia and topophobia, through the lens of the story, but using many other sources as well. I found it dense and uninteresting, and I gave up after the first chapter.