Scott Lopes reviews the fourth boxset in the Missy series: Bad Influence

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The Queen of Evil is finally back! After almost three years, Michelle Gomez makes her return as Missy in Bad Influence, the fourth volume of her solo series.

In David Quantick‘s opener, Missy and the Time Assassin, we find Missy shortly after escaping Earth after being abandoned by the Monk in Two Monks One Mistress. She’s without any means of time travel and she’s desperate to find a way back to her Master TARDIS. Her quest leads her to legendary Time Assassin and her own childhood hero James Blakelock (Paterson Joseph)– one of the most cold ruthless killers in history… or so she’s been told.

This story is an amazing start to the set. From a great funny story with lots of twists to great acting from Michelle Gomez and Paterson Joseph who have a fantastic dynamic, you won’t want to miss what’s undoubtedly the strongest story in the set and one of the best in the series. 

Freddie Valdosta‘s second episode, Bad Apple Brigade, sees Missy stranded yet again, this time on Brownsea Island alongside a group of reform students. Though Missy’s main objective is to get her Vortex Manipulator working again, her priorities quickly change when she realizes that she and the children aren’t alone on the island, and something very old and very angry is waiting for her.

Bad Apple Brigade is yet another great episode in the series, successfully mixing bits of comedy, horror and even a little romance. The main antagonist of this story is a genuinely funny twist and is absolutely something you’d expect from Missy’s adventures. The Bad Apple Brigade themselves are also a fun inclusion in the story, and their dynamic with Missy is pretty funny, though they don’t quite compare to Lucie and Oliver from the first two boxsets. Admittedly it sometimes felt like they could have been focused on a bit more but overall Bad Apple Brigade is a very fun story that any Missy fan is bound to enjoy.

The set’s finale, The Baron Robbers by Lou Morgan, picks up right after Bad Apple Brigade, with Missy once more barely escaping only to be stranded once again, this time in the 14th century. With no way to fix her Manipulator and a future angry ex right around the corner, Missy sets her sights on the Black Prince’s ruby as her potential salvation. Unfortunately for Missy however, she’s not the only one after the ruby, and unfortunately for a couple of small-time thieves, Missy isn’t going anywhere without it.

The Baron Robbers, while still being a good episode, is admittedly the weakest part of the set. Missy is without a doubt the best part of the story here whereas this story’s fellow criminals, a couple of thieves trying to steal back what they feel they deserve from the Baron, feel a little underwhelming compared to Blakelock and the Brigade. The episode definitely has its high points though, and everyone, especially Michelle Gomez, is at the top of their game. It’s an overall fun story that may have benefited from not being the season finale, but Missy fans will still have a great time with this one.

Overall, Bad Influence is a fantastic set and a great way to bring back Missy’s solo series. While maybe not being the best of the sets so far it’s still an absolute blast packed with great stories, fun characters, and lots and lots of evil. Any Missy fan is sure to love this year’s set.

Bad Influence is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com