Missy, Vol. 1

Missy

by Roy Gill, John Dorney, Nev Fountain

Missy... alone, unleashed and unfettered. What does she get up to when the Doctor isn’t around?

Well, Missy has a plan. And to carry it out, she’s going to have to break some rules. And people. And planets. Look out universe, Missy is on a mission. And nobody is going to stop her...

1.1 A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill

In a spot of bother in Victorian London, Missy is forced to take on governess duties.

But she has another scheme in mind, and her charges are simply in the way. She’s going to have to teach the children some rather harsh lessons about getting what you want.

And there will be tears before bedtime.

1.2 Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney

Missy arrives in Tudor England, throwing the plans of another renegade Time Lord into chaos.

King Henry VIII is on the throne, and aliens are stomping through the countryside. Missy just wants to be Queen.

And the Monk? Once he knows who else is on the scene, he’ll be glad just to stay alive...

1.3 The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain

Tonight, on Dick Zodiac’s America’s Most Impossible Killers, Detective Joe Lynwood hunts the most impossible killer of his career.

There’s a trail of bodies. Impossible bodies. And Joe has one long night to solve the case.

Luckily, DI Missy Masters from Scotland Yard in England, London, England is here to help...

1.4 The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris

Missy’s scheme nears completion. All she must do is subjugate one little planet and bend the inhabitants to her will. Not too much to ask…

But slaves will keep rebelling. It’s almost as if they don’t want to unearth an ancient artefact to fulfil Missy’s plans for universal domination.

She’ll have to do something about that.


Cast:
Michelle Gomez (Missy)
Rufus Hound (The Meddling Monk)
Abbie Andrew (Aleyna)
Beth Chalmers (Djinn / Housemaid)
Oliver Clement (Oliver Davis)
Ryan Forde Iosco (The Actor Playing Joe Lynwood)
Lucy Goldie (Sath / Mother)
Daniel Goode (Mark / Roy)
Kenneth Jay (Dick Zodiac)
Bonnie Kingston (Lucy Davis)
Jamie Laird (Mr Bryce / Father)
Jason Nwoga (Doctor Goodnight)
Guy Paul (Joe Lynwood)
Leighton Pugh (Sir Foxcroft / Gramoryan 1)
John Scougall (Cort / Guard)
Graham Seed (Gramoryan 2 / Taverner / Squire)
Maggie Service (Catherine Parr)
Simon Slater (Montague Davis / Moses Walker / Coachman)
Dan Starkey (Mr Cosmo / Park Keeper / Old Man / Sphinx)
Rachel Verkuil (Frankie / The Actress Playing Missy)

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Fiction

5 pages, Audio CD

First published February 5, 2019

About the author

"Heady, wonderful stuff… I adored this novel" (Paul Magrs on "Daemon Parallel")

The manuscript for Roy’s first novel, Daemon Parallel, was shortlisted for both the Sceptre and the Kelpies prize, and won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. A sequel, Werewolf Parallel (“Clever, creative and fun.” Kirkus Reviews) completed the duology.

Roy's recent short stories have appeared in The Myriad Carnival, Out There and the British Fantasy Society Journal.

As a scriptwriter, Roy has worked on several of Big Finish’s acclaimed audio drama series including The Confessions of Dorian Gray, The Omega Factor, and the Worlds of Doctor Who. His epic Dark Shadows 50th Anniversary Blood & Fire script won the 2017 Scribe Award for Best Audio Drama.

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill - 4/5

Charming little story to start off the set. Nothing spectacular, just a fun way to reintroduce Missy. Missy gets caught for a crime she has yet to commit. Her prison … 19th century London, where she is forced to be the governess to two children. She does so with her well-known flair, while looking for a way out.


Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney – 4/5

The Meddling Monk and Missy have chemistry for days and the story was brilliant. This was fun.


The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain 2,5/5

Took a while to get used to the style. Basic American detective tv show with a little twist. Placing this slow-paced detective story after such a sparkling fun and exciting story with the Meddling Monk also did this story no favors.


The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris 3/5

Cool setting, slaves rebelling against Missy as her plans are finally starting to come to fruition. Interesting concept but having so many voices all sound the same makes the protagonist in particular hard to care for.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to rate this. Dorney's story was BRILLIANT! Nev's story was totally unlistenable. The last story was VERY first season Missy, which was fun but felt a bit out of place because she seemed like her more developed self in the earlier episodes, and episode one was just a bit bland.
When we mentioned on twitter that it was disappointing that the Missy boxset was all male writers someone asked why it made a difference. The first story had five male characters and one female character besides Missy. That's why! Missy was brilliant but having the story then narrated by some 15 year old boy seemed rather unnecessary. It would have been much more interesting to have his sister tell it.
Dorney's story was brilliant. The monk and Missy were very funny togehter. She was SO Missy. I loved that the Monk wasn't dominating her. That she always had the upper hand. Also that Katherine Parr was full of agency. Really delightful.
I gave up after less than ten minutes of Nev's story. It was DIRE. Fake American style crime show, *shudders* even as much as I love Michelle I couldn't bring myself to hear her in this. So tired of medicoure male writers on big finish.
The final story was one that had (possibly) more than one woman besides Missy in it, though they were all kind of the same person. But she was particularly scheming, though less fun. As I said very first season Missy.
Suggestions for the next box set. FIND WOMEN WRITERS! FIND WOMEN ACTORS! Please let Missy play with other women in the sandbox. She was able to even make Clara entertaining when they were paired together.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me wish for a missy tv series

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Missy (Michelle Gomez). She is, perhaps, my favorite incarnation of Doctor Who in the history of the entire show. Literally, every episode of the Peter Capaldi era that featured her was immediately made better by her being in it. Gomez brings this wonderful energy to the role, balancing genuine pathos with the Master's typical crazy, evil behavior. So, when Big Finish Productions announced they were giving Missy her own series, I was absolutely excited for it. Four stories with Missy as the main character? Sign me up! These stories - A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill, Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney, The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain, and The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris - make up this utterly superb first series of audio adventures for Missy. Each episode has a completely different tone and method of exploring Missy as a character - and I adore each of them.

This box set is a series of four stand-alone stories that are loosely connected by an overarching storyline featuring Missy trying to regain her TARDIS/transform it into a kind of super-TARDIS. But that overarching plotline isn't really the point of this set and it doesn't really come into focus until the last ten minutes of the fourth story in the set. The joy of this boxset comes from Michelle Gomez's performance as Missy and the truly delightful stories written for her by Roy Gill, John Dorney, Nev Fountain, and Jonathan Morris. Each story explores Missy in a different light; A Spoonful of Mayhem sees her trapped by space wardens and forced to be the governess for some children in order to further her plans, Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated sees her going against the Meddling Monk (Rufus Hound) in order to steal a part of his TARDIS to further her plans, The Broken Clock sees her impersonating a Scotland Yard detective as she takes part in a weird, timey-wimey true-crime show, and The Belly of the Beast shows her at, perhaps, her most cruel as she is an evil dictator commanding a group of slaves. Each story plays up these different aspects of Missy's personality perfectly and each one is an utter delight.

I don't want to go into any real specifics on the stories other than to say that each one is totally distinct from the other. There are major tonal differences as well as each plot being totally different and featuring totally different characters. For the most part, Missy is the only character who appears in every story - there is one exception to this, but to say anything more would be a major spoiler. So, with that said, it's admirable how the side characters in each story are as well developed as they are. Each writer does this without sacrificing any of Missy's "screentime", too, which is doubly impressive. Particular standouts are Rufus Hound's performance as the Meddling Monk - a role which he has played before and been amazing in. It's always fun when Missy runs into other Time Lords as each of them has to deal with her in a different way and I love how her dynamic changes depending on which Time Lord she's dealing with. My other favorite side characters are the ones in The Broken Clock. As I mentioned, that story takes the form of a true-crime TV show, with a narrator interviewing various people involved in the story and "actors" portraying those people in dramatic reenactments. Missy, predictably, doesn't much care for the actress portraying her and quickly takes over the role and makes the whole story even more timey-wimey.

Each story has something new to say about Missy and most of them also add something interesting to the Doctor Who universe at large. We find out that the Monk hid from the Time War and now finds himself stranded because of it. We find out that Missy's TARDIS ditched her because it realized the atrocities she'd commit in the Time War - and also saw the fact that she'd continue to commit atrocities after its conclusion. We learn that, even though the Time Lords are back in the universe, creatures they used to keep under control still run amuck (particularly those who feed on paradoxes). And there's a whole lot of other clever ideas that expand the universe of Doctor Who. This is one of my favorite sets from Big Finish in a long time precisely for the reason that it doesn't rely on overly referencing the past. This box set is about expanding the world of Doctor Who and it does so admirably, with each author bringing something new or doing a new twist on something we thought we knew. I love it when Big Finish audios do something new or try something that the TV series couldn't do. It's one of the reasons why The Broken Clock is my favorite story in this set. I love when shows have episodes that are take-offs on other media - the episodes of The X-Files and Supernatural that parody other shows are some of the best ones - and this take off on true-crime shows, with a Doctor Who twist, is just so much fun. That's the best way to describe this set, really: "so much fun".

All in all, Missy - Series 1 is one of my favorite box sets to come out from Big Finish in ages. It features some of the most creative stories from the company, is all about my favorite incarnation of the Master (Michelle Gomez's Missy), and really expands the world of Doctor Who in new and interesting ways. Every story feels unique, both tonally and plot-wise, while still forming part of a larger narrative that ends in a cliffhanger that makes you long for the next set. It's clear that Michelle Gomez is still having an enormous amount of fun portraying Missy as she delivers a performance that perfectly balances Missy's pathos with her completely bonkers insanity. The performances from the guest cast complement Gomez's performance nicely, and the writing for each story gives Gomez something new to play with each time. This box set is just an utter delight. It's a fun way to spend four hours and I'm excited to hear more.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.1 Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill
La storia di Missy inizia con lei imprigionata nella Londra vittoriana, costretta a diventare governante di due brillanti ragazzi, arrivando con il vento... no, quella era Mary Poppins.
Missy deve riuscire a sfuggire al suo 'agente di custodia' e fare la governante è la sua copertura. Perché Missy non fa mai nulla per caso.
1.2 Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney
Missy e il Monaco sono una coppia splendida, anche se nessuno dei due lo ammetterebbe mai.
1.3 The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain
Un programma radiofonico su un crimine misterioso o un crimine misterioso che sembra un programma radiofonico?
Le cose sono complicate, nonostante la presenza di D.I. Missy Masters (che tutti si ricordano fosse un uomo) e, solo alla fine, tutto diventa chiaro anche per chi ascolta. Lento ad ingranare, ma interessante alla fine.
1.4 The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris
Con un classico piano contorto tipico del Maestro, Missy ricompone i pezzi che servono a creare la sottotrama di collegamento della prima serie a lei dedicata.
Apparentemente quattro avventure autoconclusive si rivelano il solito tentativo di conquistare l'universo.
La Gomez riesce a dare profondità al personaggio, sempre sopra le righe, di Missy. Ma, come già constatato nell'audio già uscito per The Diary of River Song 5, da il meglio di sé quando può battibeccare con un compagno suo parigrado, che sia River o il Monaco non importa.
Come sempre la prima serie serve da esca per il cofanetto successivo, esca ingoiata completamente.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I used to think things were so straightforward. If you knew me a few years ago, when it came to the battle of good against evil, you would have no doubt what side I was on. But then came the war.

I became a soldier, I was required by good people to do bad things to good people in the name of truth and decency. After that, I became more flexible in my outlook. So the question I ask of myself: am I good or evil? Truth to tell, I don’t really know anymore.“


Four stories from the early era of the objectively most iconic regeneration of the master / the mistress, leading up to the reconstruction of the Master Tardis after the Time War.

I absolutely adore her as a character, and no matter what scenario she’s in, you can rely on her to make it much more fun and much more brutal at the same time.

The idea of giving Missy an evil Mary Poppins arc is not exactly original, considering that her costume design for S8 & 9 is just that, but it does make for a very fun story.

That said, The Broken Clock is my absolute favourite story of these four. What starts of as a satirical take on true crime drifts off into a chilling story featuring an unreliable narrator (which is such an underrated trope), the usual time travel chaos and some amazing plot twists, resulting in a horror story that mirrors Missy’s own death in S10 with a cruel irony.


+Missy casually going: “My boyfriend…“ is just so in character for her and I love it
+obsessed with the fact that Missy’s opening + end titles begin and end with the same exact chords as Twelve’s electric guitar opening titles

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill
★★★★☆

A well-considered introduction to the series, stripping Missy of her ability to kill and thereby transforming her from Machiavellian villain to insouciant anti-hero. She’s even given two temporary companions who are held in thrall to her mystique (much like the Doctor’s are).


Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney
★★★☆☆

John Dorney’s first contribution to the range is an exuberant run-around that pits Missy against the Meddling Monk (a most welcome addition, played superbly by Rufus Hound). An overabundance of repartee makes for great fun yet leaves little room for dramatic substance.


The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain
★★★☆☆

Nev Fountain certainly isn’t afraid to try something different. Here we’re given a faux- cheesy American reconstruction of an impossible historical murder spree laced with metatextual fourth-wall breakings (themselves explained in-story). Though it’s clever and fun, fake fakeness still sounds risibly fake.


The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris
★★★☆☆

A well-acted story with a callous, slightly loop premise and Caves of Androzani vibes (treated with uncommon restraint by the Big Finish effects department). Though perfectly enjoyable, this does rather feel as if Morris dusted off an old script featuring the Rani.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I originally reviewed these stories, they were all separated in the Goodreads system, so I had 4 different ratings, but I'll rate it here again: If loved Missy on the show, you'll also love this. And the second audio collection. And whatever more are hopefully coming.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Spoonful Of Mayhem: Such a really fun riff on Mary Poppins, with Missy's more devilish side providing some darkly comic moments. This is *exactly* the story I was hoping for from a Missy spin-off.

Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated: This one was a ton of fun. Michelle Gomez and Rufus Hound make for a hilarious pair, as they exchange witty banter. It all leads to a satisfying ending, with the real Catherine Parr getting one over Missy & The Monk. Comedy gold.

The Broken Clock: This is the penultimate episode in the Missy box set, and like the previous two it has a wickedly dark sense of humour. I chuckled a lot at the narrative's satirical take on crime documentaries, and Missy's takedown of some of this genre's clichés is hilarious to witness. It's all rounded off nicely with the reveal concerning the Master's Grandfather Clock TARDIS, which provides a neat callback to Classic Who.

The Belly Of The Beast: A suitably batty story for Missy. This one concerns a group of clones who the Doctor's arch nemesis enslaves inside a giant stone beast, and it's exactly as manic as you'd expect from this character. This audio really does a good job at conveying the Master's more manipulative side, as she makes a number of dark and calculative moves regarding the clones who decide to rebel against her rule.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great.
This might be one of the most fun things Big Finish has done so far.
Missy is simply awesome and especially her team-up with the Monk had me laughing out loud.
The banter between the two Timelord renegates was delightful.

There is some play with the role of Missy as "evil Poppins", she is deliciously murderous and deceptive. Plus, some of the stories can get quite absurd and meta- which for me is a good thing.

If you liked her in the TV series, you will also like her here.

So if you are looking for some fun lighthearted mayhem, look no further.
Well written, well acted and highly recommended.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUBLIME!!!

[Joseph S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly remarkable.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome and entertaining audio drama to listen to.
I can hardly wait for series two.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This consists of four stories featuring Missy as a major character, and at times even a protagonist. The result is much more anarchic than the War Master series and it's noteworthy that each episode has a very distinct feel. But all of them feel perfectly fitted to the character we see on screen, ruthless and a little bit mad, having fun with all the chaos she leaves in her wake.

• A Spoonful of Mayhem – The first story plays on the ‘Scary Poppins’ motif with a story in which Missy takes work as a governess as part of a plan to escape from 19th century Earth. It’s a nice idea, but, at least for me, fell flat in the execution. Part of that is due to a plot that (like Mary Poppins) relies on magic, or at least the appearance of magic, which always feels off to me when it comes to Doctor Who . But it also relies over-heavily on narration, much of it being from the perspective of the children she is looking after – there’s one scene where the pair spend a lot of time describing to each other a series of events that they can both clearly see. Which is unavoidable on audio to some extent, but here is lengthy and detailed enough to feel ham-fisted. Yes, Gomez is great, perfect for audio with her habit of switching accents in mockery or as the character’s mood flips, but she’s let down by a mediocre story. 3 stars.

• Divorced Beheaded Regenerated – Then we have a comedy, which is much better than the opening episode, and better suited to Missy’s persona. Certainly, one couldn’t imagine it working with any other Master and this alone distinguishes it from the sort of story we get with, say, the War Master. The story is set at the court of King Henry VIII and there are a few historical inaccuracies in it… but given that it also features the Monk, and he’s had a few years to get his meddling in, that could be deliberate. Most of the humour comes from the banter between him and Missy, two devious characters with wildly different motives both trying to get one over on the other. It turns out that Gomez and Rufus Hound (as the Monk) play off each other well, and I’m glad to see that the pairing re-appear in later releases in the series. 5 stars.

• The Broken Clock – The third story starts out as if it also a comedy, appearing to be a cheesy and cheaply produced US ‘true crime’ documentary. It only becomes more surreal once Missy turns up and starts to argue with the voice over. But it’s a very different flavour of comedy from the previous episode, and slowly morphs into something more serious as the details of Missy’s plan become clear. It’s a bizarre timey-wimey tale that leaves some questions open (which may put some listeners off) and that turns out to have more heart than appears the case at the outset. Plus: the world’s most intentionally bad Mexican accent. 4.5 stars.

• The Belly of the Beast – It’s only in the final episode that we have something set off Earth as we visit a planetoid that Missy is mining for some mysterious purpose. Much of it is told from the perspective of her slave labour, slowly discovering the disturbing details of what’s going on as they try to rebel. It’s a darker story than any of the previous ones, although Missy’s flippant style keeps it distinct from the War Master series and it doesn’t quite reach the level of despair of, say, The Master of Callous. It’s fun, but not quite as much so as the previous two, although it does tie back to both of them, giving a (retrospective) feeling of a plot arc. It’s open-ended, setting things up for the next release, although I wouldn’t say that the ending is a true cliffhanger. 4 stars.

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bien dans l'ensemble, avec un épisode particulièrement inintéressant, pas à la hauteur des épisodes télévisées et assez égal à la parution du recueil de nouvelles Doctor Who: The Missy Chronicles. Une trop grande utilisation de discours méta-narratif dans tout le boîtier cependant, Missy ne devrait pas ressembler à un Deadpool.

A Spoonful of Mayhem par Roy Gill
L'épisode de Roy Gill est remarquablement similaire à la nouvelle de Paul Magrs dans The Missy Chronicles: Missy est une gouvernante de deux enfants (un garçon une fille), elle est coincée à l'époque victorienne, il y a l'utilisation d'un génie pour parvenir à ses fins. La conclusion de l'épisode est toutefois très différente de la nouvelle ainsi que les différentes péripéties et détours entrepris.
Malgré les thèmes très similaires, ça reste deux oeuvres très distinctes et je dois avouer avoir préféré cet épisode à la nouvelle sans penser que c'était vraiment exceptionnel. Quand même beaucoup d'hommes dans le premier épisode, on ne sent pas vraiment qu'il y a un effort pour aborder cette question qui pourtant traverse définitivement le personnage.

Divorced, beheaded, regenerated par John Dorney
Un épisode écrit pour être un duo comique entre Missy et le Meddling Monk et qui réussit bien objectif. Il y a peu d'autres personnages, l'intrigue est vraiment juste centrée autour des deux personnages.
Le développement de Catherine Parr comme personnage est particulièrement intéressant. Le dialogue méta-narratif à son propos était parfait alors que je suis plutôt las de la figure.

The Broken Clock par Nev Fountain
De très nombreuses longueurs et répétition, adressées de manière méta-narrative, mais tout de même présentes et qui gâchent un peu l'écoute. Une autre parodie d'une enquête du genre "noir" (surjoué intentionnellement) raconté de manière télévisuelle avec de nombreux commentaires méta-narratif. Un dénouement vraiment très surprenant qui demande de connaître un peu le lore de Big Finish et dans la guerre du temps.

The Belly of the Beast par Jonathan Morris
Un autre épisode avec plusieurs couches qui alternent entre le questionnement du rêve ou de la réalité, de l'original ou du double, etc. Probablement mieux maîtrisé que beaucoup d'entre en ce sens qu'il est traduit en véritable poétique (thème, narration, double et interrogation) plutôt que d'être un simple élément de revirement de situation répété. Une Missy véritablement diabolique et sans considération aucune autre que pour elle-même.


La musique est très joyeuse tout le long du coffret, je comprends l'effet d'espièglerie qui veut être associé à Missy, mais ça frôle peut-être un peu trop l'enfantin plutôt que des émotions beaucoup plus brutales.

[Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun boxset that focuses on Missy (the incarnation of the Master that was both enemy and ally of the Twelfth Doctor). The boxset contains four stories that are part of a loose arc. The first "A Spoonful of Mayhem" sees Missy stuck in 1800s London, imprisoned for a crime she has yet to commit. Because she's stuck, she's forced to get a job, as a nanny. Thus, this story feels like a riff on Missy as an evil Mary Poppins.

The second story, "Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated" sees Missy in England during the reign of Henry VIII. Here, she meets the Monk (a character who first appeared in the TV Story "The Time Meddler" and has gone on to be a semi-recurring character at Big Finish). This story is worth the price of the boxset right here. Yes, the plot and the monsters are kinda thin, but this is worth it just to listen to the joyous banter between Missy and the Monk.

The third story, "The Broken Clock" is a spoof of True Crime shows and America's Most Wanted as Dick Zodiac takes us through a puzzling mystery of murder victims who seemingly aged to death. Helping the cop on the case is DI Missy Masters. It's a bit corny, but still fun.

The final story, "The Belly of the Beast" is probably the most traditional Doctor Who-type script, but it's still fun. Missy's hunting something (I won't spoil what it is) and is using slave labor to do it. And because it's taking a while, she's also leading the rebellion to give herself something to do. This story does tie in the previous two, with the first kinda being an introduction of sorts as missy escapes imprisonment. Thus, the boxset is a cohesive whole.

This was fun, moreso than I initially expected. I think that all boils down to fun scripts, and the fact that Michelle Gomez is an amazingly talented actress who just brings a joyous sense of fun to the role while still being a bonkers evil genius that is the Master. I really enjoyed this and think that any fan of Missy on TV will love this.

[Blair Jobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely mind blowingly great! And incredibly funny too. This is my favourite BigFinish AudioDrama release of 2019.

Missy... alone, unleashed and unfettered. What does she get up to when the Doctor isn’t around?

Well, Missy has a plan. And to carry it out, she’s going to have to break some rules. And people. And planets. Look out universe, Missy is on a mission. And nobody is going to stop her…

1. A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill
In a spot of bother in Victorian London, Missy is forced to take on governess duties.But she has another scheme in mind, and her charges are simply in the way. She’s going to have to teach the children some rather harsh lessons about getting what you want.And there will be tears before bedtime.

2. Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney
Missy arrives in Tudor England, throwing the plans of another renegade Time Lord into chaos.King Henry VIII is on the throne, and aliens are stomping through the countryside. Missy just wants to be Queen.
And the Monk? Once he knows who else is on the scene, he’ll be glad just to stay alive…

3. The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain
Tonight, on Dick Zodiac’s America’s Most Impossible Killers, Detective Joe Lynwood hunts the most impossible killer of his career.
There’s a trail of bodies. Impossible bodies. And Joe has one long night to solve the case.Luckily, DI Missy Masters from Scotland Yard in England, London, England is here to help…

4. The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris
Missy’s scheme nears completion. All she must do is subjugate one little planet and bend the inhabitants to her will. Not too much to ask…
But slaves will keep rebelling. It’s almost as if they don’t want to unearth an ancient artefact to fulfil Missy’s plans for universal domination. She’ll have to do something about that.

[Calum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This box set was a pretty great introduction to big finishes Missy and it was delightful hearing Michelle Gomez again.

Episode one was maybe the weakest but had the most potential. It's a fun dive into the mystical side of the doctor who universe and I want more however I did find the children pretty annoying.
6/10

Episode two is definitely a step up from one with the monk being pretty good and not as annoying as he usually is. Gomez and Hound work excellently together.
7/10

Episode three was by far my favourite and one of the best big finish audios I've listened to in a while. It's cheesy and meta and I absolutely love it.
9/10

Episode four is a pretty average story held up by a cool concept.
6/10

Overall its a fairly inconsistent box set but the each episode has a high point an looks at some interesting concepts.

[Someone Who Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

• A Spoonful of Mayhem: 3/5
Missy gets caught for a crime she has yet to commit and and forced to be the governess. a dark version of Mary Poppins. liked the soundtracks.

• Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated: 4/5
fun and very much enjoyable. i haven't watched the classics yet and didn't know the Meddling Monk but i had so much fun with Rufus Hound.

• The Brocken Clock: 5/5
the story narrates through a show named Dick Zodiac's America's Most Impossible Killers. it goes meta. the final twist was really good. my favourite in this set.

• The Belly of the Beast: 3/5
resembles a typical doctor who episode. liked the ending.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho más de lo que pensaba esto de las aventuras en audio. Fue buena idea empezar con la serie de uno de mis personajes favoritos, y es que Missy tiene la ocasión de brillar más que nunca en estas historias.

Para más detalles ya tengo las reseñas individuales de cada historia, pero en general lo he pasado muy bien. La segunda es particularmente buena, adoro la dinámica entre Missy y el Monje y estoy deseando llegar al tercer volumen en el que parece que pasan mucho más tiempo juntos. Tengo ganas de seguir después del cliffhanger del final.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable set of episodes. The first two episodes are very good, the third an experimental format-breaking episode that was challenging enough that I had to start it over in order to follow the storyline -- such as it was -- properly. It kind of falls apart in the final episode. That one just didn't work for me. It felt like a bit of an anti-climax, or an episode-long set-up for Series Two. (Assuming there's going to be one.)

However, Michelle Gomez is outstanding here.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.1 A Spoonful of Mayhem by Roy Gill - 4/5 Stars
Meh. Anooying british kids, should have died.
1.2 Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated by John Dorney - 5/5 Stars
Missy and The Monk get married?
1.3 The Broken Clock by Nev Fountain - 4/5 Stars
Love this one, feels like one of those true crime podcasts but they break character 15 minutes in.
1.4 The Belly of the Beast by Jonathan Morris - 4/5 Stars
This one is so dark omg

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Spoonful of Mayhem.
Good introduction to Missy in this medium. Plot was solid and the incidental audio work was great. 3/5

Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated.
Plot was ok but Rufus Hound was great as the Monk. Really elivated the story. 3.5/5

The Broken Clock.
Plot was different but excellent. Highly recommended if you want something weird from DW. 4/5

The Belly of the Beast.
Story was solid but predicatable. Overall though it didn’t really feel like a finale. 3.5/5

[Neveah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a ride - the first two episodes are great; a completely silly Mary Poppins episode, and a Meddling Monk double act. The third episode is incomprehensible rubbish with horrible lazy stereotypes - and it’s the first Big Finish that I couldn’t finish. The fourth is ‘okay’ but rather repetitive in places. A rocky start, since making Missy more than a big camp villian is clearly a lot harder than some of the scriptwriters realised….

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun listen. Missy is very much her mischievous self here, making plans and playing sides and whatnot. The Monk was an interesting addition, and it helped that I was somewhat familiar with Henry VIII and his wives. The third story feeling like a procedural TV show was a fun change of pace that got kind of meta. And there are definitely some fun lines in the last story.

[Jurgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.1 'A Spoonful of Mayhem' by Roy Gill: 4*
1.2 'Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated' by John Dorney: 5*
1.3 'The Broken Clock' by Nev Fountain: 5* <3
1.4 'The Belly of the Beast' by Jonathan Morris: 4*

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Divorced, Beheaded and Regenerated was my favourite :)

[Shaun Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun, and Michelle Gomez is hilarious!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first two more than the other two. 3.5

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Spoonful of Mayhem 3.75
Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated 3.25
The Broken Clock 4.5
The Belly of the Beast 4

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