Who Novelisation Quest 4: "The Pirate Planet" by James Goss

"The Doctor rarely slept, and when he did, it was purely for the sheer fun of it, and the delight at the breakfast that would follow."

That's just one of the many delightful and captivating lines that makes this book such a joy. The phrase "Bohemian chutney" sticks in the mind as well, but then, chutney's like that.

After the success of Gareth Roberts's novelisation of Shada, the BBC looked at novelising the remaining serials that had not received the Target treatment. While Roberts would not return, James Goss stepped up, proving himself a perfect match for the silly, satirical style of Douglas Adams. It followed City of Death, my all time favourite story, the novelisation of which I approached with trepidation. Surely it couldn't live up to the original? Well, no, since so much of that serial was in the performances, but it was certainly very good.

The Pirate Planet, though, that's something else. The original is good, of course, an entertaining diversion with a clever idea at its centre, but there's the sense that Adams was trying out ideas and hadn't quite got his style down yet. The concept of a literal pirate planet, appearing throughout the galaxy to swallow up unsuspecting worlds and rob them of their resources is an ingenious one, and just one of many in the story. Add to that Adams's humour, and you've a sure fire winner.

Yet, the story's missing something on telly. Goss refines it, working, notably, from Adams's original script rather than the rewritten version that would make it to the screen (doubtless for budgetary reasons as much as anything). As such, how much of the dialogue and description is from Adams and how much from Goss is never entirely clear, and it's testament to just how perfectly the authors fit together that the join is impossible to see.

There are, of course, many deviations from the broadcast story, but this makes it seem all the more in the tradition of the Targets, the best of which shifted greatly from the televised versions. Indeed, this is quite improved over what we saw. The concepts are tightened, the humour given another draft, and everything just gels.

In this version, Romana is a wittier, cheekier version, more on the way to becoming her next incarnation, even though it is explicitly only her second day aboard the TARDIS. The Pirate Captain is a huge and terrifying cyborg, his body reeking of roasting meat, and his face hidden behind a huge, wire beard. The Mentiads, referred to as Mourners, make a great deal more sense with some further exploration. Indeed, everyone's history is explored, although it's the long-suffering Mr Fibuli who benefits the most from a third dimension. His exhausted waiting-for-god existence adds both pathos and hilarity to the scenes aboard the bridge.

Intriguingly, it's hinted that the Black Guardian himself is behind some of the events, tying the story into the Key to Time narrative better than it ever did when it was actually aired as part of it. A significant addition is the Doctor and Romana's time in the Knowhere. A very Adamsian concept, this is a torture device that assails its victims with illusory horrors, allowing the Daleks a cameo in the story. The only difference to the TV version that doesn't really work is the final cliffhanger, which, rather than having the Doctor dupe his enemies with holograms (and thus reveal a major secret of the story) sees him actually walk the plank and be rescued.

The brilliance of The Pirate Planet led the BBC to employ Goss to novelise Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen, and finally, led to the publication of Tom Baker's own lost story Scratchman, which I will finally get round to reviewing very soon. Also, Jon Culshaw's reading of the audiobook is truly exceptional, and steps it up another level again.


Data: 
First published by BBC Books in 2017
Based on The Pirate Planet, first broadcast in 1978
Audiobook read by Jon Culshaw

Who Novelisation Quest 5: "The Five Doctors" by Terrance Dicks

1983 cover

The Five Doctors is unique among the Target novelisations in being written and released before the serial it was based on reached the screen. This must have been an odd experience for the fans looking forward to the series' twentieth anniversary, able to read the story and get the main events before seeing the episode itself. On the other hand, it's not much different to my experience of the TV special, seeing that I'd absorbed most of the stories from programme guides before I saw them.

It isn't the strongest of Dicks's novelisations, but given that he had to speed-write this to meet the deadline, it's pretty solid. It was never the most logical of his scripts in the first place, unsurprising given his remit to include as many Doctors, companions and monsters as possible and then having to rewrite this to suit who was available. Given this, it's odd that the novelisation doesn't differ more from the televised version. Why not take the opportunity to go back to the earlier version of the script, and bring the Fourth Doctor into the story fully? Why not include more faces from the past, without the restrictions of actor availability?

1991 cover

Perhaps that would be asking too much of Dicks when rushing something to completion with such a difficult brief. There are some shifts in the story, mostly a few minor scenes reintroduced or moved around, and even this mainly brings the story more in-line with the later Special Edition video release. There are a few little asides that are noteworthy: the First Doctor being near the end of his life is particularly intriguing, given his tightly-packed adventures on screen. I dislike the insistence of having Susan call the Doctor by that title, rather than Grandfather, which Carole Ann Ford rightfully insisted on when filming the special, even if there is a flimsy justification in the prose. (Basically, everyone else calls him that, so she does too.)

The Five Doctors was a bit of silly anniversary fun, and the novelisation is no different. Even a speed-written Doctor Who story by Terrance Dicks is effortlessly entertaining. It's a pleasure to read.



Data: 
First published by W. H. Allen (Target imprint) in 1983
Based on The Five Doctors, first broadcast in 1983
Audiobook read by Jon Culshaw, with Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen and Dalek

Who Novelisation Quest 7: "Battlefield" by Marc Platt

After a bit of a breather, we're finally back in time far enough to reach the original Target novelisations (kind of spurred back onto it by DWM's excellent Target Books special, which is out now).

Battlefield was the first story of the final season of Doctor Who in its original run. The choices this time were going to be between this and the previous season's opener, Remembrance of the Daleks, both of which are fascinating steps towards the New Adventures line that would continue the Doctor's adventures in print once the novelisations dried up. (The Curse of Fenric, the series' penultimate story, is also a good choice in this regard.) This was a time when televised Doctor Who was trying new things, sketching in a new mythology for the Doctor and his universe, hinting at unrevealed adventures in both his past and future. The novelisations, often by the same writers as the TV series, took the opportunity to explore these ideas further. While Ben Aaronovitch novelised his own script for Remembrance and hinted further at the Doctor's origins on ancient Gallifrey, Marc Platt took on the novelisation of Aaronovitch's other script and looked in the other direction.

The TV serial Battlefield was an unusual adventure, where the seventh Doctor was manipulated by his own future self. He discovered that, one day, he was destined to become known as Merlin in a sideways dimension of high-tech knights and alien sorceresses, and the adventure he was now experiencing had been stage managed by Merlin to ensure the right outcome. The novelisation took this a step further, opening with a prologue featuring the Merlin incarnation of the Doctor. This red-headed, hippy-ish regeneration was a rare glimpse to a future for the Doctor at a time when it looked like Doctor Who might not even have a future. It's a little extra something to the story that marks it out as being something a bit special.

Battlefield is a lovely example of one of my favourite sci-fi tropes: a lost future. The serial, broadcast in 1989 but set around ten years later, had lots of cute little futuristic dressing, such as car phones and five pound coins, which would be superseded or fail to materialise before the real nineties were out. The novelisation is full of such things too, my favourite being the futuristic crisp flavours such as cauliflower cheese, exactly the sort of ridiculous flavour you get these days. (I'd definitely give them a try.) There's a clear impression that Platt is having a lot of fun playing in Arronovitch's toybox. The book includes a number of scenes that were cut from the broadcast version, and not seen until the much later video release reinserted them. This includes the Clarke's Law scene: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." "The reverse is also true." It's an essential moment for the themes of the story.

Other reintroduced elements were never filmed, most notably the original concept of the Destroyer, beginning as an ordinary-looking man anachronistically dressed in a business suit before gradually transforming into the big, blue demon we saw on screen. The book goes further than the broadcast serial in setting up the new UNIT team run by Bambera, while Lethbridge-Stewart receives a job offer and sets to leave for places, and dimensions, unspecified. Battlefield was the last of the traditional format Target novelisations, with the last few being longer, more detailed novels that would evolve into the New and Missing Adventures. Surprisingly, less was made of the new UNIT set-up in the subsequent New Adventures than would be expected. Even Merlin makes more cameo appearances than Bambera does. Battelfield is an important stepping stone to the next stage of Doctor Who's literary incarnation, but not as influential as might have been expected.

Data: 
First published by W. H. Allen (Target imprint) in 1991
Based on Battlefield, first broadcast in 1989
Audiobook: unreleased at time of writing

Who Novelisation Quest 9: "Rose" by Russell T. Davies

When the relaunch of the Target imprint was announced, there was a brief period of wondering which episodes would be adapted. There was one story, however, that was never in question. "Rose" began the resurrection of Doctor Who on screen in 2005, and so it was quite right that it would be part of the resurrection of the Target novelisations. Technically, this is the first release in the new run, although in practice they all came out together. Nonetheless, it still feels like the first. Even after thirteen years, "Rose" feels like a beginning.

It's a bit of a coup to get Russell the T back onboard to novelise his own story, but equally it's hardly surprising that he jumped at the chance. After all, he's a dyed in the wool Who fan who grew up reading these books. Even he has said in an interview that he feels like he really "counts" as a Doctor Who writer now. Davies has written for a DW book line before: Damaged Goods for the New Adventures back in the 90s. There are some similarities between the two books - the alien life meets council estates approach of Damaged Goods clearly signposted how Davies would retool Doctor Who later - they are very, very different books. Don't expect heavy drug use or gay sex from a Target novelisation, even in 2018. Nonetheless, Davies goes further with his novelisation than he ever did onscreen, with asides to Rose's abusive criminal ex-boyfriend and a much more LGBT-diverse cast of characters than were ever on television.

"Rose" the episode was a breathless affair, deliberately straightforward to make it as accessible as possible to new viewers, many of whom had never seen Doctor Who. The novelisation is a completely different animal, released into a different environment and for a different audience. Davies elaborates his original story in great depth - essential to make a forty-five minute episode into a novel-length story - and gives far more backstory to both major characters and walk-on parts. The episode began with Rose looking for Wilson to give him the lottery money, before being told that "Wilson's dead." The novel makes Wilson a character in his own right, before describing how the bastard has been creaming money from the Lotto fund, before leaving him to the mercies of the Autons. 

There's a lot of this in the novelisation; tweaking characters so that we're happier with their fates. Mickey comes off best; his backstory is cleared up, and he is made into something of a local hero, central to his little estate community with a band of close mates whom he looks out for. Given that he's a more positively written character in the book, Rose's dismissal of him as we saw on TV would have made her seem even harsher than before. In turn, then, her reaction to Mickey's actions and her final goodbye to him are kinder and more understanding. It's a complete reworking of the story, keeping the same story, with only a handful more plot beats, but bringing so much more depth that it feels almost completely new.

Given that the novelisations are aimed at established fans, Rose in book form is far more steeped in Doctor Who mythology than the episode ever was. Not only is the intended audience different, the series has moved on to the point where the first Doctor can co-star alongside the current incarnation at Christmas. The 2005 episode went to lengths to avoid looking back at earlier iterations of the series, with only the basic trappings - police box, sonic screwdriver - and the choice of the Autons as the monster to link it back to the classic series. 

One bit that really stood out for fans in the original episode was Rose's visit to Clive in his obsession shed. Aside from one line - "That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" - nothing suggested that the Doctor had ever looked like anything other than Christopher Eccleston. Of course, it's easy to understand why RTD didn't want to chuck in a bunch of old men in funny clothes and confuse new viewers, but there's no way that scene would be written the same way today. And so it's not. In the book, Clive files his documents by incarnation, kept in strict order as best he can figure out. Rose is shown photos of various Doctors, not only recognisable incarnations (although she does see the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth Doctors) but even potential future incarnations. The novels have been introducing possible future Doctors since Battlefield but it still adds a little something to the expanding expanded universe, and RTD really flies with it. Apparently, some day in the future the Doctor will look like a dark-skinned woman and wield a flaming sword, while in another life they'll be childlike and use a wheelchair, and own a robot dog (K-9 mark five?) In fact, it makes it clear that Davies was displaying admirable restraint when he wrote the script for "Rose."

Also, hats off to him for managing to incorporate Graham Norton's unintended voiceover from the original broadcast. Now that's novelisation.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books (Target imprint) in 2018
Based on "Rose," first broadcast in 2005
Audiobook read by Camille Coduri

Who Novelisation Quest 10: "The Christmas Invasion" by Jenny T. Colgan

Jenny Colgan has been one of the surprising hits of the Doctor Who book line lately. A huge fan of the series but coming from a completely different genre of work, she's provided a new voice in the increasingly predictable novels line. So it's no surprise that she was chosen to write one of the novelisations in the new range, being, in fact, the only non-television writer to do so.

With The Christmas Invasion Colgan has probably the least momentous story of the four. It is, of course, the first Christmas special and the first story for the tenth Doctor, which is quite significant, and blimey, it seemed like the most important thing on TV at the time. Looking back at the episode through the novelisation, and it's surprising how little actually happens, and just how long it is we have to wait to really get to know the new Doctor. Reading it retrospectively, when we already know Ten and he's a fixture of the past, it doesn't have the same impact when he finally arrives.

However, this is a solid retelling of an enjoyable story, extremely easy reading and a real pleasure. It's by far the most straightforward adaptation of the four new novelisations, but that's not a bad thing. And it's not to say it doesn't add something to the story; in particular, the lesser characters are expanded considerably. Daniel Llewellyn of the Guinevere project is especially well-rounded, coming across as a full character now, and even enjoys the beginnings of a romance with UNIT secretary Sally. The entire Guinevere project is expanded and given context, and UNIT seem far more vital to the plot than before.

There are some nice touches - the chapter titles are all Christmas songs, for example - and some extra scenes are included to give some more context for events. For example, the idea that the tenth Doctor picked up his accent from Rose is reinstated from a cut scene, and the Children in Need mini-episode that introduced Tennant is incorporated. The novel really gets into Rose's head and the mix of emotions she feels having seen her friend suddenly transform. For all RTD's reputation for emotional drama, there's a lot more to the novel than the original episode when it comes to human feelings.

The only real downside to including The Christmas Invasion in the line-up is the similarity between it and Rose. It's two stories featuring Rose, Mickey and Jackie set largely on the Powell Estate in the same time period, and this makes it seem less exciting. The fact that the audio versions of both books are read by Camille Coduri drives this similarity home (and I'm not much inclined to one book read by her). It just makes things a little too samey in a very short series.

On its own merits though, this is a lot of fun and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon or two.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books (Target imprint) in 2018
Based on "The Christmas Invasion," first broadcast in 2005
Audiobook read by Camille Coduri

Who Novelisation Quest 11: "The Day of the Doctor" by Steven Moffat

Perhaps the most anticipated of the new Target releases, The Day of the Doctor is the first novel by Steven Moffat, surprisingly for a writer who has become so prolific. Although initially asked to novelise Twice Upon a Time, Moffat instead decided that this was the one he absolutely had to write, especially considering the dreadful time he had writing the actual episode. I get the impression that this revisitation was a much more enjoyable experience for him.

If you don't care for Moffat's approach to storytelling, then you won't much like The Day of the Doctor. This is timey-wimey throughout, one of the more complex tellings in the Doctor Who line, certainly the most complex of the novelisations, jumping back and forth in time and between different characters' viewpoints. Well, that's at first glance, but the vast majority of the book is told from the Doctor's perspective, in one of his many incarnations, each chapter being delivered as a separate document by an omniscient narrator with a unique perspective on the overall story. Three guesses as to who that is. There's a chapter that's told from a human perspective, until you realise actually, it's a Zygon, but otherwise this is the Doctor's story through and through. And rightly so, because no other story in the TV series' history has ever been as much about the Doctor's own experiences and his views on his very long, eventful life.

The episode leapt about quite a lot, but the book is even more jumpy, and is presented in an order that never quite makes a logical progression clear. It opens with Chapter Eight, which adapts "The Night of the Doctor," the eighth Doctor's last minutes of life, before continuing with Chapter Eleven, the opening to the actual anniversary episode with Clara and the eleventh Doctor. Focusing on the numbering will lead you astray, though, and it's nothing as simple as chapter = Doctor, although the fact that Chapter Nine is redacted in a pretty funny decision, surely a snub to Christopher Eccleston for declining to appear in the episode. In fact, he's in this even less than the actual broadcast, since one of the very few elements not expanded upon is the War Doctor's regeneration, which is sadly relegated to occurring off-screen.

The broadcast episode was primarily the eleventh Doctor's story, given that Matt Smith was the incumbent star at the time, but Moffat has said that he views this version more as the War Doctor's story. In practice, however, so much more prominence is given to the Elizabeth/Zygon storyline that in effect it becomes the tenth Doctor's story for much of its telling. Things are particularly complicated (but ingeniously told) when all three Doctors are locked away together, with the tenth Doctor sandwiched between his suppressed past and his unwelcome future. Cleverly, Moffat doesn't resort to referring to the Doctors by number, but drops in little descriptors instead, which can be entertaining, albeit a little confusing, when the viewpoint is switching between incarnations. Given that this is original author reworking his own material, the dialogue is surprisingly altered, but what author can resist tinkering with their own work even after it's ostensibly finished?

As with Davies and Rose, Moffat takes the opportunity to expand the story in various ways. Satisfyingly, we find out just why and how the tenth Doctor made his way into Elizabeth's affections, cementing the feeling that the other Doctors barged their way in part way through another adventure. There are a number of extra elements inserted; River Song turns up, perhaps not surprisingly, in a bit of backstory; the twelfth Doctor is made more important to the heavily revised climax; and the thirteenth Doctor makes an appearance. The grand "all thirteen!" finale is very different, but perhaps even more satisfying, with Moffat realising that what works as a surprise and a visual treat onscreen won't work the same way in prose five years later.

The Day of the Doctor is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Who novels I've read, and believe me, I've read a lot. It stands up as one of the very best of the novelisations and makes me hope that someday Moffat will turn his hand to novel writing again.

Some fun observations from the novel:

The Doctor's first two incarnations were apparently colourblind, something the Doctor didn't realise until the Time Lords corrected this with his second regeneration. So, all that time we were watching the episodes as the Doctor would have seen them.

A. M. Thompson's amazing fan cover

Moffat reinstates something he was dying to include in the broadcast episode, but couldn't due to rights issues: the Doctor Who movies starring Peter Cushing exist in-universe as depictions of the "real" Doctor's life. He isn't the first author to suggest this, but he runs with it farther than others, even having the tenth and eleventh Doctors take time out from the proceedings to watch both films and then go back in time to fetch Cushing so he can make another one. It's a pretty hilarious way to explain how he can turn up in a new Star Wars film years after his death...

The potion given to the eighth Doctor by Ohila was just "lemonade and dry ice." So it's true the Doctor was just using this transformation as a way to excuse his behaviour during the War. (I'm still convinced he was cured of his half-human DNA during this regeneration though.) He also mentions Fitz during his companion rundown, fittingly given this is now a prose story.

The War Doctor half recognises Clara from her voice, referencing the later episode "Listen" which had her speak to his childhood self.

Coal Hill headmaster Mr. Armitage is completely in on the Doctor's existence, having been tipped off by governor Ian Chesterton.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books (Target imprint) in 2018
Based on "The Day of the Doctor," first broadcast in 2013
Audiobook read by Nicholas Briggs

Who Novelisation Quest 12: "Twice Upon a Time" by Paul Cornell

With the release of the first new Target novelisations in decades, it seemed a good opportunity to follow up my old Who Novel Quest with a new run through the novelisations - one for each Doctor (excluding the War Doctor). For no particular reason, I'll run through them in reverse. Why not? Timey-wimey, or something. 

The final release of the Target line – for now – is the most up-to-date it could be, with Paul Cornell novelising the 2017 Christmas special, right up to the first, and so far only, appearance of the thirteenth Doctor. Unlike Rose or The Day of the Doctor, Twice Upon a Time isn't covered by the scriptwriter, but by one of the most celebrated authors of the novel line. Cornell shot to Who stardom with the early New Adventure Timewyrm: Revelation back in 1991, being one of the first writers who really looked into what made the Doctor tick. It makes sense then that Cornell takes on this introspective regeneration story.

Twice Upon a Time doesn't spend as much time in the Doctor's head as The Day of the Doctor, but it does look at the Doctor's perspective on his upcoming regeneration - both of them. I'm absolutely convinced that the twelfth Doctor's reluctance to regenerate is completely within character, but the novelisation goes into more depth, adding an element I hadn't considered. The Doctor has now lived what he considers a normal, human life: years spent with his wife, followed by a long retirement as lecturer at a university. Decades longer than a human life, of course, and interspersed with trips through time and space, but still, the closest thing to normality he has ever really experienced. Added to which is the Doctor's defence that he is, after thousands (arguably billions) of years, just tired. This is a man who is ready to let go. From the first Doctor's perspective, the fear of the unknown is more apparent as his reason, having held onto his original body for too long and in dire need of a regeneration (although I'm pleased to see Cornell note that it isn't simply old age, but the energy drain of the Cybermen that finally does him in). A nice touch is that the first Doctor almost accepts the need to regenerate, until seeing his future as “the Doctor of War” puts him off.

It's quite right that the cover of the novelisation depicts David Bradley as the first Doctor, given his wonderful guest role in the special. However, reading the story in prose form provides the opportunity to imagine the adventure featuring the Doctor as portrayed by William Hartnell. The twelfth Doctor is even more bemused by his first incarnation's behaviour in the book, rightly noting that he is behaving rather out of character. He even wonders if he is showing off in front of the Captain, which would be quite in character for the first Doctor. Still, being able to imagine the story as featuring the original Doctor does add a little something, even if it does cause it to slip into black and white in my head from time to time. The one significant element missing from the TV version was Susan, so I'm pleased that the first Doctor comments on how much he misses her. There's even a nice allusion to their reunion in The Five Doctors, something that is normally skated over.

Bill's story is much expanded, which adds an extra dimension to a story that otherwise focuses heavily on the Doctor. We learn a great deal more about her life with Heather, one that saw them settle on Earth surprisingly quickly, in what might be seen as a parallel to the Doctor's longing for an ordinary life. More of the story is told from her perspective, and from the Captain's, than we might expect given the focus on the Doctor on TV. We also get some welcome expansion on the fates of certain characters, from Nardole to Rusty the Dalek, although Clara's ultimate fate remains mysterious.

Most of all, the twelfth Doctor's acceptance of his regeneration is more fluid here, coming over less as a story obligation than in the broadcast version. While Twice Upon a Time doesn't play with the story like The Day of the Doctor, or explore the Doctor in the same depth as Cornell's best works, it does exactly what a novelisation should do, which is to bring depth to a story that leaves it stronger and more satisfying than it had a chance to be on the screen.

Data: 
First published by BBC Books (Target imprint) in 2018
Based on "Twice Upon a Time," first broadcast in 2017
Audiobook read by Mark Gatiss