Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock

Warning: this review contains spoilers

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The Fourth Doctor and Leela end up on the English coast at the turn of the twentieth century. They had intended to go to Brighton, but instead wind up on a desolate stretch of coast featuring a treacherous rock called Fang Rock. The lighthouse crew have seen some disturbing sights -- has the Beast of Fang Rock returned? The Doctor will certainly find out.

I really enjoyed this story. It featured a creepy enemy, jokes about Sontarans, a great setting, and a surprisingly high body count. This included, much to my relief, the completely useless Adelaide, who spent her entire time in the story crying, screaming or fainting. Leela, meanwhile, was very active and useful in helping defeat the enemy. My show more only complaint was the part where Leela decided to borrow some clothes from the lighthouse crew and she casually stripped off, causing the crewman to gawp in surprise---because this was originally a TV episode, I suspect that scene was included as gratuitous eye candy for all the dads watching the show. It seemed even more gratuitous in print.

I recommend this if you like the Fourth Doctor and/or Leela and/or spooky alien enemies in your Doctor Who stories. show less

I can remember surprisingly clearly taking this book out of my local library when I was about ten years old, I came across a copy of it and for auld lang syne decided to read it. I was pleasantly surprised as despite being a novelisation of an episode of a kids TV program, it holds up very well. I may read another Doctor Who book ( of course it will have to be by Terrance Dicks as I thought these were the best written of this series.)

A fourth Doctor Who adventure and actually quite entertaining to listen to. But golly there is a LOT of death.

I've watched the episode and read the transcript, and I was keen to listen to the BBC audiobook. The narration was great, but the sound effects, not so much. This would be no issue those who listen to the book while driving in their car, or at home through a sound system. But for me, who listens to audiobooks while resting and wearing headphones, it was simply too much noise.

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1007902.html

Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock is a case of Terrance Dicks adapting one of his own TV scripts, which gives him even more than his usual degree of confidence with the material, and he uses the opportunity to fill out the Edwardian background of the story rather satisfactorily.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/horror-of-fang-rock-by-matthew-guerrieri-and-ter...

I don’t completely stand by that judgement now. One point where the novelisation is consistently out of step with the TV version is that the Doctor is cheerful, funny and charming, whereas Tom Baker’s portrayal on screen is moody and Olympian. Baker apparently did not like Dicks’ script, and his bad mood carries over into his show more performance, but it makes it all the more watchable; this is not a funny story and a funny Doctor would have been jarring. Perhaps this is Dicks, again belying his cuddly reputation, getting obscure revenge on Baker. show less

The Doctor and Leela try to stop a deadly alien stalking a lonely lighthouse.