#doctor who novelisation

[starleska]

oh my god GUYS. this line from the novelisation of The Giggle, from the Toymaker's perspective!!!! OF COURSE HE READS FAN FICS. OF COURSE HE KNOWS WHAT FANDOM IS!! WHAT ARE FANWORKS IF NOT A FORM OF PLAY?!?! 😭😭😭😭😭

[please-attend-carefully]

Terror of the Autons, Book Review

Terror of the Autons (Novelisation) by Terrance Dicks, 1975

Terror of the Autons is the novelisation of the 1971 Serial with the same name. It is the introduction to The Doctor’s new companion, Jo Grant, and also rival Time Lord, The Master. 

This book builds on the already strong premise of the Television serial, expanding it in a way that is both faithful and interesting. Conversations are extended, characters given more depth to motivations and actions in ways that would slow down the snappy pace of a 25 minute episode. Scenes are connected together, and re-written to allow for a flowing narrative on the page, rather than cutting back and forth between multiple scenes like you would see in the visual medium of Television.  The written form allows expanded scenes where characters challenge one another, and don’t just have to accept the orders given to them for the sake of pacing. Characters are able to act in ways that may have been restricted by the physical capabilities of the actors on screen. My favourite example of this is the Master’s introduction. 

Both the Protagonists and Villains of the story are given more rounded characterisation, and have their own internal conflicts amongst themselves. The friction is not restricted to just good vs. evil. Jo and Yates put up a fight when they are ordered to remain on base while the Doctor and Brigadier go out to investigate Farrell’s plastic factory, which feels more natural for the two of them wanting to accompany their superiors instead of sitting around UNIT headquarters drinking hot chocolate together. In the TV serial Jo is seen flirting with a member of the science department to acquire equipment for the Doctor, which the novel brilliantly informs us that she is doing this intentionally to butter up the man on the end of the line, and is not in fact just flirty with her colleagues. For her introductory story, her internal dialogue is key to learning about her intentions and actions, rather than accepting the watered down plight of a woman in a male dominated workplace. Additions like this create a more rounded version of the characters and adds to them rather than just imitating their on screen counterparts. 

Dicks is able to show UNIT in a far more capable light, with their military operations not limited by a pre-watershed time slot and BBC budget restrictions. Their weapons are effective, and they patrol around in appropriate military Jeeps instead of the blue sedan seen on TV. Their anti-tank missiles make quick work of the plastic Autons, with the line “Firearms won’t work on them!” cut completely. The lack of budget limitations extends to the plastics factory and the Autons, with more sinister visuals of bubbling chemicals and churning production lines bringing the villain's base of operations to life. This imagery creates a greater sense of danger, and shows that the Master is producing a large scale army ready for invasion. The climax of the story even gets an overhaul, with a giant octopus crab monster being drawn through the radio tower signal, rather than just the flashing lights seen in the original broadcast (the recent blu rays have since added the monster in) Again, this helps to give UNIT more to do, bigger and more numerous threats equals more need for heavy artillery and UNIT presence. Illustrations throughout the novel help to highlight some of the creative changes, including an updated version of the Master’s killer plastic doll.

Dicks corrects slight continuity areas, and adds in details that at the time were unavailable to them. The Sontarans wouldn't be on our screens for another two years after Terror of the Autons, but with their creation, Dicks can add details of their weapons into the text of the novel, arming the Master with Sontaran Grenades. This gives a wonderful expanded identity to the Master’s arsenal, bringing together lore from the Universe around him and connecting ideas together that the TV Serial wasn’t able to at the time. 

Ending the novel, Dicks expands the Doctor's thoughts on the Master returning, giving us more than "Actually, I'm rather looking forward to it!". His sentiment in the book mimics the Master's line from The Five Doctors, "The cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about.” A line that Dick's won't write for another 7ish years. It shows how the Master and the Doctor clearly share the same thoughts about one another, despite being so different. They define their relationship in the same poetic way, and given that the same author wrote both lines, it's clearly intentional.

Terror of the Autons is a strong adaptation, and the standard I will be measuring other novelisations against. It has everything that you would look for in an adaption; character’s interactions and choices explained and expanded, imagination and visualisation unhindered by lack of budget, and additions of lore that connect it to the wider universe of Doctor Who. I couldn’t recommend this enough if you are looking for more Doctor Who content to consume.  

[expelliarmus]

[luthqrs]

doctor who novelisations (2005-2023)

i just spent a considerable chunk of time sourcing as many nuwho novelisations as i could get my hands on and in the spirit of sharing i have some free gifts for the tumblr dot com population

also up for grabs: doctor who audios (x) and torchwood audios (x) (all big finish)

a list of what's there + how to open below the cut x

things you'll find here

rose

dalek

the christmas invasion

fires of pompeii

planet of the ood

waters of mars

the crimson horror

day of the doctor

zygon invasion

twice upon a time

kerblam!

the witchfinder

the star beast

wild blue yonder

the giggle

the legends of river song

the angel's kiss: a melody malone mystery

the ruby's curse

the missy chronicles

the wintertime paradox

i am the master: legends of the renegade time lord

the wonderful doctor of oz

and how to access them

do this for every book you think you’ll want to read, even if you don’t have time to read it now. don’t rely on this link always being available.

ios: tap the 3 dots -> open with -> apple books*

android: tap 3 dots -> open with -> google play books*

mac: download and open in books

or: download and put the file into an epub reader

* or any epub reader app

want something you can't have?

if there's a particular book you wanted to read that i don't have listed yet, send me an ask or pop it in the comments x

happy reading! x

[harbek]

Let this man chill. (He's listening to Kylie Minogue's greatest hits.)

[dwrogue]

Quotes from the novelisation

So the Target novelisation is out! Highly recommend it, an extremely good time that somehow gives us a ton of backstory on Rogue while also still leaving things very open for fic.

A selection of quotes I highlighted on my way through:

The Doctor being horrendously into Rogue

The Doctor was now walking in the gardens with Rogue beside him, his new favourite brooding stranger.

He looked back at Rogue, walking, brooding (of course), and had to remind himself that this was an interrogation, not a date.

Sure, the Doctor couldn’t deny, Rogue was incredibly handsome.

The Doctor was suddenly very conscious that their hands were almost touching.

Rogue grabbed the Doctor’s arm and moved him with ease to the middle of the small metal pieces. ‘Stand there.’ The bounty hunter’s strong, the Doctor thought. Confirmed.

The Doctor could already feel people starting to turn and whisper but his focus wasn’t on that. All he was thinking about was Rogue. Rogue’s hand on his shoulder, his chest. Rogue’s eyes locked with his as the pair of them turned and twirled across the floor.

More below the cut: some of these get very spoilery including for the very end of the book, so don't click if you don't want to know.

Rogue being horrendously into the Doctor

His gorgeous brown eyes beamed up at Rogue from the middle of the crowd. For the first time in a long time, Rogue felt that jolt of electricity when you meet that person. That next person who might be the one to change your life.

the main thing that impressed him was how stylish it all was. How well placed and how welcoming. Rogue had only known the Doctor for one night, but it was clear this ship was perfectly made for the person who travelled in it.

‘I know.’ Rogue smiled at the kind, brilliant, amazing man in front of him.

Rogue felt another jolt of that electricity as their arms almost touched.

He wondered how long he would have with this new and wonderful stranger, and then also why he was troubling himself with the thought at all.

He’d not been asking the Doctor for marriage, but for some simple commitment. A sign he should stay longer than this one adventure. To see those worlds he’d promised. At least for a little while. Now he couldn’t stop wondering how much of their connection was real and how much had been for show.

Socially anxious king

It was then that Rogue emotionally left his body and started panicking a good 50 feet above the scene playing out below.

‘So, have you known the Duchess long?’ It was here that Rogue hoped the Doctor was his bounty because his small talk game was not his best quality.

Usually, the imaginary conversations Rogue had with [Art] were when he was alone in the ship but in moments of crisis sometimes, he would imagine him, a life raft in a sea of social interaction nightmares.

‘Can’t I storm off alone?’ said Rogue. ‘I would rather not talk in front of this many people.’

I had to stop and compose myself for a minute

‘Don’t blame me! De Lacaille chose them! Great astronomer, bad with names.’ Then he smiled cheekily. ‘But if it’s romance you’re after? He also named those stars there the pump, the chisel and Norma.’ Okay, he was flirting now. Ruby would be furious with him if this silly side quest was what got him killed.

‘Not what I’m after,’ replied Rogue, his tone back to matter-of-fact but his face blushing a little.

["the pump"]

**

Rogue had met many dreamers and magicians in his travels. It was surprising how many had bounties on their heads; he immediately recalled quite a complicated winter with Houdini.

[...WHAT. Was this the winter after the Doctor's long hot summer?? What a year Houdini had.]

**

On the banks of the pond, the pair of them dragged themselves out. Rogue’s shirt was stuck to his body; the Doctor’s was the same. They were both drenched through. They looked at each other and laughed. ‘Okay, Ruby was right, this is a bit Mr Darcy.’

[I know the odds of this having been filmed are almost zero, nobody's letting Jonathan risk his voice jumping into a pond in Britain at night in May, but #releasetheherroncut]

**

[Rogue imagines a letter in which his dead love Art gives a potential new relationship his blessing] Please give him a hug from me and do not name a child or dog in my memory when you move in together. A cactus is fine, though. [Almost put this in 'Rogue is horrendously into him' but the 'WHEN you move in together' had me putting the book down for a second. Also that Rogue is contemplating what they should or should not name their future dog OR CHILD.]

Just pure romance

[on seeing the ship] Oh, Rogue, he thought. What happened, love?

**

Rogue just stared in awe, taking in the Doctor, all of them. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he said.

**

Rogue slowly opened his arms, and the Doctor fell into them and sobbed. ‘I’m sorry,’ Rogue said over and over.

**

Rogue looked into the Doctor’s eyes and knew that he would never stop caring. Could never stop wanting to help, to fight, to go on. That was who he was. The Doctor let go of Rogue’s hand and climbed in through the window, and Rogue did what he knew he would do for ever.

Follow him.

**

Then he stepped forward and wrapped the Doctor in his arms and kissed him. It was a soft, passionate kiss, full of promise. The moment was tender. Romantic. It was theirs.

**

As he fell, his mind had one, clear thought. Worth every second.

**

The Doctor just kept smiling, keeping his eyes on the sky. ‘At least we got to live and love together a bit. Exist.’

**

Of all the timelines they could both have inhabited, Rogue was grateful that their eyes had met on this one. What a great surprise that had been from the universe. Yes, right now, he was lonely, but time wasn’t linear, and this was his favourite thing about it. Rogue was sitting in this cave, but he was also walking with the Doctor in the garden, he was laughing with Art in the Yossarian, he was falling from a building, he was running from one memory of his life to another. All at once.

Rogue was in the Doctor’s arms, spinning around and around, for ever.

[doodles-dearest]

so howre we feeling about that novelisation

[iconuk01]

From the point of view of the Toymaker? Intriguing!

"Oh dear, will no one think of the gifs?"

[fearsomeandwretchedandwrong]

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

The Doctor: Everywhere I go I see this woman's face. Kate: Maybe she fell into your timestream, like what happened with Clara. The Doctor: She told you about that? Kate: More or less. She talked in her sleep. The Doctor: Right. The Doctor: The Doctor: The Doctor: Hold on!

[nat-20s]

I AM ONCE AGAIN CLAIMING DONNA NOBLE AS AN ADHD QUEEN

[howthebestwaslost-blog]

[dragons-are-epic]

Thirteen days to go!

[expelliarmus]

[starleska]

you know what makes the Toymaker's 'ge-sticking on dee hair meinself' scene extra horrifying? we've seen that he has the capability to transform people into toys with just a touch (e.g., turning those UNIT guards into balls)...which means he chooses to 'make' (i.e., hand-craft) his dolls piece by piece 👀 in The Giggle novelisation, he says of Donna: 'What lovely hair Donna Noble had. How I would enjoy stitching it into place on a doll's head and combing it nice and straight.' making living people into toys isn't just the unconscious act of a godlike entity with too much power: for the Toymaker it's a deliberate, sadistic act he takes pleasure in 😭 even scarier: although he wants to stitch Donna's hair to a doll's head, it's clear that he wants Donna's soul to be inside the body of that doll (as he mentioned putting her in a cabinet and inviting her out to play games). but in the episode, some poor woman's had her hair cut off and stitched onto Stooky Bill...so where's the rest of her? i think that the Toymaker doesn't just hand-craft his toys. i think he mixes and matches his toy parts from different people 😨

[clarasteam]

additional spoilery thoughts about the Rogue novelisation: Rogue's ship edition

"The mess aside, the make of the ship did not surprise him. It was an old asteroid hawk from the 50-56, often sold on the cheap in many star systems. If anyone's ship was a shed, this was the one. He looked across the console, trying to see if there might be anything that could help him to escape or at the very least steer the conversation towards suggesting Rogue should get a broom."

I like the humour here, but also the matter-of-factness about what kind of ship this is; just because it looks like a big bird doesn't mean Rogue is one of the Chuldur, or indeed Horus. the idea of what's common across star systems is also helpful for my puzzling about the Chuldur recognising the transport gate, though the Doctor doesn't have a reference point for that in the way he does for the ship type.

there's a bit more dialogue in the Kylie scene, the Doctor asking "So, do you play this before missions to get in the zone, or...", and there's more of Rogue trying to grab the sonic ("Too slow... close... miss again... At least try!"), and this is what leads to "I'm just standing still, baby."

we don't get "Give me that device. Now", or the miming to "Boy, your lovin' is all I think about" [eta: it does say the Doctor "was now miming the lyrics" while Rogue tries to grab the sonic, but we don't get that specific moment], or the Doctor handing the sonic over; instead, Rogue succeeds in snatching it.

in this version, the Doctor doesn't find out the transport gate goes to the incinerator until after the D&D and Kylie business; some other bits are also in a slightly different order, and there's a chapter (Lord Barton and the Duchess in the ballroom) in between "I press send" and the Doctor telling Rogue he's got the wrong man and offering him the psychic paper as proof.

we also don't get Rogue's "I'm just so trigger-happy", and I would love to know when and how that got added :)

variants and revisions = my jam

🥄