With their three spells for the day exhausted, Tom and his grandmother are powerless to stop the magic-harvesting Nekross. Tom manages to teleport himself back to Earth, whereupon he has to rock Benny’s entire belief in the way things work to the core and explain that both magic and evil aliens from space are real. Benny offers to help, but Tom realizes that the only real help for him lies in his grandmother’s hidden crawlspace, where all of her magic books and artifacts are kept. This space also contains the imp Randal Moon, who immediately offers his help in retrieving Tom’s grandmother from the Nekross; Tom’s dad, who isn’t a magic user, finds himself swept into space along with Moon. Magic is useless against the Nekross – they’re immune to it, and thrive off of the energy created by its use – but the non-magic-users help to prove that Nekross technology is susceptible to old-fashioned brute force and escape with all of the wizards that the Nekross have captured. With the knowledge that his friend is in danger, Benny offers to help Tom with scientific know-how the next time the Nekross appear.
written by Phil Ford
directed by Daniel O’Hara
music by Sam Watts
Cast: Scott Haran (Tom Clarke), Percelle Ascott (Benny Sherwood), Annette Badland (Ursula Crowe), Michael Higgs (Michael Clarke), Jefferson Hall (Varg), Gwendoline Christie (Lexi), Brian Blessed (voice of the Nekross King), Tim Rose (Nekross King puppeteer), Dan Starkey (Randal Moon), Paul Hunter (Robert France), Brian Miller (old Mark)
Notes: Dan Starkey has played numerous Sontaran characters on Doctor Who, most notably the moon-hating Strax; he was also the leader of the enslaved aliens in the Sarah Jane Adventures story that became that series’ finale.
LogBook entry by Earl Green