Day 320: The Mutants Episode 3

In this time of the series, the Doctor has been exiled to Earth. This was deemed to be not a very good idea by the production team as it meant that the potential for variety in storytelling was reduced, as there were only so many stories that you could tell about attempted invasions of Earth. So therefore, the proposal was given that the Doctor would fulfil errands for the Time Lords, in order to give the show a chance to utilise the idea set forth in the premise: of a box that can go anywhere in time and space as opposed to being stuck in 20th century Earth.

The mission that the Doctor is fulfilling in The Mutants is the delivery of a package to one of the residents of Solos. Pleasingly, Baker and Martin cholse not to stretch out the package delivery process, which would stretch the credibility of the story, instead they restrict this to half of the story, leaving the other half to discover what the contents of the package means, which means that the story is able to have room to breathe and develop ideas over the course of the 6 episodes that it takes up. Tomorrow, we'll have a look at what the contents of the package mean, and how they relate to the world as we know it.