The Magic Mousetrap

 The Magic Mousetrap by Matthew Sweet

I can't help but feel the Magic Mousetrap is one of those plays that the most effective review I could possibly give it would be to say very little. When a Doctor Who story where so much is predicated on mystery and atmosphere is this good, well, I can't help but feel that not much would be gained from me going into much detail, as it might ruin some enjoyment. Usually I don't care about this sort of things, but The Magic Mousetrap's mystery elements are too delicious to serve up to you outright as I would most stories, it's probably best to discuss it in vague terms minus a bit of discussion of the scene setting. The story takes place in Switzerland, where there's a sort of deranged mental hospital - not like deranged in terms of insanity, no one's insane, they're all seemingly ordinary people that are just slightly weird enough. They're obsessed with games, and The Doctor and a new resident of the facility find their way coming up the mountain on a Ski Lift, and the mystery of what the hell is going on in literally every scene begins. I love this story's mystery being so completely all consuming and wild but having a completely satisfying conclusion. The Mental Hospital itself is a good setting too, not too dark as everyone does seem rather amiable but with just a wild side to it, that, if you're a Rocky Horror fan like myself, will probably put you in the mind of Shock Treatment. It couldn't be further than that in tone though, slotting in as yet another story with a dim mood in the Hex Arc (Why Hex puts up with this is fucking beyond me, but at least he isn't abused in this one) and it's early parts have a large sense of melancholy to them. As it goes on though, it takes a lot of campy concepts and plays them completely seriously, which I think gives the play a more signature mood than the arc's previous dire horrors of war episodes. It's not afraid to do bold ridiculous concepts which I think helps the whole thing. The story only barely uses Ace and Hex, most companion dialogue given to a character named Queenie, but ultimately this works for storyline reasons. So really, whether you're interested in picking this up depends on whether you're interested in what it's pitching you. If you like the sound of a "mental hospital" that suspiciously has nothing to do with a mental hospital at all where everyone plays games all day and a somber Sylvester McCoy comes in to investigate, well, that can help sell it. If you really like mysteries in Doctor Who I can utterly and completely recommend it. Not in the "murder mystery" fashion, but if you like stories that make you question what's going on before it all ultimately makes sense, that can help let you know what you're in for. While it's not embroiled in continuity, it is a Hex story, and you will like it or dislike it based around that, even if Hex isn't in it much, it holds a lot of sort of mood in common with stories in this arc. At the very least though, it does have a sick sense of humor that made me like it more than a few other stories like The Settling or No Man's Land, where everything was sad and that made it difficult to get through. By that measure, I would say though that it's one of the best executed stories in this arc. The problem is with the Hex arc, is even with the great stories, the constant dull mood can be challenging. Luckily The Magic Mousetrap rises above. I think I'll give it a 9, but I do like it a lot more than Night Thoughts, a story I gave a 10 on a technical benefit of how much it scared me. I don't really like being scared that much and so - this is by far my favorite Hex episode so far. 9/10