Mulkern of Radio Times described the serial as "polished" with "an air of confidence in the writing and performances". He praised the masked ball ending and the costumes and music, and remarked that "perhaps the only feeble note is the representation of the Helix". DVD Talk's Ian Jane gave The Masque of Mandragora three and a half out of five stars, calling it "pretty entertaining stuff". While he felt that "it's a bit predictable and most of the supporting cast is surprisingly poorly defined", he praised Baker and the atmosphere of the serial and wrote that ultimately the good outweighs the bad. Commercial releases In print A novelisation of this serial, written by Philip Hinchcliffe, was published by Target Books in December 1977. A French translation of it was published in 1987. An unabridged reading of the novelisation read by Tim Pigott-Smith was released by BBC Audiobooks in April 2009. Home media This story was released on VHS in August 1991, on DVD on 8 February 2010, and as part of the Season 14 Collection on Bluray on 4 May 2020. This serial was also released as part of the Doctor Who DVD Files in issue 64 on 15 June 2011. References External links Target novelisation Fourth Doctor serials Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials Doctor Who serials novelised by Philip Hinchcliffe Television episodes set in Italy 1976 British television episodes Fiction set in the 15th century