Brian Hayles (1930–1978)

5

Not much to say about this one. It's original writer Brian Hayles' perfectly good novelization of his own perfectly good TV serial - and, because it's one of the earliest novelizations, he's taken the opportunity to flesh out the backgrounds of the characters and the situations a little bit. I'm not sure Peladon comes over as a more realistic society, but King Peladon himself carries a bit more weight when you learn some of his childhood, his relationship with his mother, and so on. The big show more change - the one that everyone remembers - is that here, Hayles is free to depict Alpha Centauri without the limitations of budget. He has fully-functional tentacles, a "watery eye," and the ability to change color depending on his emotions. He's a walking mood ring! show less

The Doctor returns to Peladon, where the working classes are being exploited to further an intergalactic war effort.

I kind of hate planet Peladon, but it isn't nearly so bad this time around.

Concept: D
Story: B
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: D
Acting: C
Music: B

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 1.9/4

Some of the original 1970s Doctor Who Target novelisations have now been published as e-books, so I am re-reading this one in light of the release of the DVD this weekend. This is not one of my particular favourites, but rattles along quite well, with some extra back story being given for a few of the minor characters. There are a number of quite well drawn human characters, while the Ice Warriors come across as quite a forbidding threat here, rather than as the reptilian soldiers the rank show more and filers sometimes resembled in later stories. show less