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chicafrom3Another two PDAs down! Posting this somewhat belated because of Life Reasons.
The Fourth Doctor and Leela arrive in Kaldor City and deal with the aftermath of the Robots Of Death story.
The Robots Of Death has never been a favorite serial of mine, and this story doesn't improve on it. The pacing drags terribly, there's no interesting supporting characters, and the Doctor and Leela spend the majority of the plot separated and dealing with boring or annoying supporting characters that they also don't like. I made a note in chapter two that I'm getting really sick of the PDAs having companions sexually menaced by the locals in order to create a sense of threat. (Yes, as soon as they arrive in Kaldor City, The Doctor and Leela get separated, Leela meets some men on patrol, they immediate decide to threaten to sexually assault her.) There's also just entirely too many plot threads that get set up, a problem the author doesn't seem to realize until a handful of pages from the end, at which point they all get resolved with...a poorly-thought-out explosion. ("I'd say you overcomplicated the plot," the Doctor says to the Big Bad (one of the Big Bads) near the end, which is extreme lampshade-hanging.)
So what I'm saying is it's not great. I didn't love it.
Anyway, here's an early exchange between the Doctor and Leela that I did enjoy:
The Third Doctor and Jo, at the bequest of UNIT, investigate strange going-ons in a small English Village, that, of course, turns out to be an alien invasion.
(And of course it turns out to involve the Master.)
(I assume anyone reading these, if anyone is reading these, is not worried about spoilers for Doctor Who books written in -- *checks publication date* -- the year 2000.)
This one was much more suited to me! According to the Internet, this was apparently Mark Gatiss's last Doctor Who novel, and that's a shame, because it's delightful. Some of his DW prose can be a bit workmanlike, but he nailed it here -- all the existing characters, from the Doctor and Jo to all the members of UNIT to the Master, have incredibly recognizable voices (there's a bit I want to talk about in more detail where the Doctor ignores Jo trying to tell him something she's found out about, and when he won't listen she goes off to investigate on her own putting herself in danger, and it is just SO INCREDIBLY THREE AND JO), and all the supporting characters are immediately and distinctively drawn -- which turns out to be Very Important for a book that ends up being about body-stealing aliens; when they get body-snatched, they've all been so recognizably characterized up to that point that it's very creepy. (As an Obnoxious Theatre Kid myself who has known many people like Max Bishop, can I just say that once Max has been body-snatched he is Very Creepy.)
The plot is also just very good. It's not hugely innovative or anything -- like I said, it's a fairly straightforward invasion plot with body-snatching aliens, and of course the Master's involved -- it's a Third Doctor and UNIT story -- and of course at the end the aliens betray the Master and everyone can guess where it goes from there. We're playing with tropes here. But tropes are not bad. It's paced very well, the creep factor is handled deftly, even if the overall shape of it is predictable the moments within still manage to be unexpected.
It's just fun.
The moment I wanted to talk about with the Doctor and Jo -- she's been talking to Noah and she's figured out something big. She's proud of herself, and she's been boasting to Noah about how she and the Doctor are colleagues and they're going to take care of it and Noah doesn't have to worry about it, the experts are on the case. And then she goes to talk to the Doctor about it, and he's so dismissive of her:
And of course she's not going to just take that, so she goes off with Noah and they go looking for it themselves. And when the Doctor can't get hold of her later, it takes him approximately no seconds to realize why:
Can't you just hear their voices? It's delightful. (And of course Jo and Noah get into trouble but they also find exactly what they were looking for and more besides.)
One of my other favorite moments is at the very end of the book, after everything is settled, a reflection on the Doctor and the Master's relationship:
It's such a quiet little moment. But there's really nothing else to say.
Overall a fun romp with some unexpectedly thoughtful insights. Quite fond of this one.
The Fourth Doctor and Leela arrive in Kaldor City and deal with the aftermath of the Robots Of Death story.
The Robots Of Death has never been a favorite serial of mine, and this story doesn't improve on it. The pacing drags terribly, there's no interesting supporting characters, and the Doctor and Leela spend the majority of the plot separated and dealing with boring or annoying supporting characters that they also don't like. I made a note in chapter two that I'm getting really sick of the PDAs having companions sexually menaced by the locals in order to create a sense of threat. (Yes, as soon as they arrive in Kaldor City, The Doctor and Leela get separated, Leela meets some men on patrol, they immediate decide to threaten to sexually assault her.) There's also just entirely too many plot threads that get set up, a problem the author doesn't seem to realize until a handful of pages from the end, at which point they all get resolved with...a poorly-thought-out explosion. ("I'd say you overcomplicated the plot," the Doctor says to the Big Bad (one of the Big Bads) near the end, which is extreme lampshade-hanging.)
So what I'm saying is it's not great. I didn't love it.
Anyway, here's an early exchange between the Doctor and Leela that I did enjoy:
Leela glanced away from the screen and scowled at the Doctor. ‘I do not frighten people.’
‘You don’t think so?’
Leela thought for a moment. ‘I do not think so,’ she said finally. ‘Fear is the enemy of reason.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘You did.’
‘It must be true then,’ the Doctor said, operating the TARDIS’s door control.
The Third Doctor and Jo, at the bequest of UNIT, investigate strange going-ons in a small English Village, that, of course, turns out to be an alien invasion.
(And of course it turns out to involve the Master.)
(I assume anyone reading these, if anyone is reading these, is not worried about spoilers for Doctor Who books written in -- *checks publication date* -- the year 2000.)
This one was much more suited to me! According to the Internet, this was apparently Mark Gatiss's last Doctor Who novel, and that's a shame, because it's delightful. Some of his DW prose can be a bit workmanlike, but he nailed it here -- all the existing characters, from the Doctor and Jo to all the members of UNIT to the Master, have incredibly recognizable voices (there's a bit I want to talk about in more detail where the Doctor ignores Jo trying to tell him something she's found out about, and when he won't listen she goes off to investigate on her own putting herself in danger, and it is just SO INCREDIBLY THREE AND JO), and all the supporting characters are immediately and distinctively drawn -- which turns out to be Very Important for a book that ends up being about body-stealing aliens; when they get body-snatched, they've all been so recognizably characterized up to that point that it's very creepy. (As an Obnoxious Theatre Kid myself who has known many people like Max Bishop, can I just say that once Max has been body-snatched he is Very Creepy.)
The plot is also just very good. It's not hugely innovative or anything -- like I said, it's a fairly straightforward invasion plot with body-snatching aliens, and of course the Master's involved -- it's a Third Doctor and UNIT story -- and of course at the end the aliens betray the Master and everyone can guess where it goes from there. We're playing with tropes here. But tropes are not bad. It's paced very well, the creep factor is handled deftly, even if the overall shape of it is predictable the moments within still manage to be unexpected.
It's just fun.
The moment I wanted to talk about with the Doctor and Jo -- she's been talking to Noah and she's figured out something big. She's proud of herself, and she's been boasting to Noah about how she and the Doctor are colleagues and they're going to take care of it and Noah doesn't have to worry about it, the experts are on the case. And then she goes to talk to the Doctor about it, and he's so dismissive of her:
‘I think I could pinpoint exactly where on the marsh he saw that thing. We should get on to it right away.’
The Doctor returned to the phone. ‘Hold on.’ He flicked his gaze towards Jo. ‘We will. But you’ll be far more use to me here. Now off you go. There’s a good girl.’
Jo felt her face flush. ‘OK, colleague,’ she said under her breath and stumped away sullenly towards the green.
And of course she's not going to just take that, so she goes off with Noah and they go looking for it themselves. And when the Doctor can't get hold of her later, it takes him approximately no seconds to realize why:
‘She’ll have gone to the marshes.’
The Brigadier frowned. ‘How can you be sure?’
The Doctor let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Because I told her not to.’
Can't you just hear their voices? It's delightful. (And of course Jo and Noah get into trouble but they also find exactly what they were looking for and more besides.)
One of my other favorite moments is at the very end of the book, after everything is settled, a reflection on the Doctor and the Master's relationship:
He sniffed. ‘I say. Who was that chap I saw? He was down here when I made one of my passes. Dark-looking chap. With a beard. Assumed he was one of Bliss’s lot.’
‘Not exactly,’ said the Brigadier.
Whistler shrugged. ‘Oh. Friend of the Doctor’s?’
Jo and the Brigadier exchanged glances.
Jo watched as the Doctor walked slowly back towards his car, a tall figure against the rising sun, his cloak flapping in the fresh wind.
‘Just someone he went to school with,’ she said.
It's such a quiet little moment. But there's really nothing else to say.
Overall a fun romp with some unexpectedly thoughtful insights. Quite fond of this one.
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