The Doctor and Romana find themselves in a 1980s council estate where a group of children are involved with a boy genius who has access to technology well beyond the time period. The story turns into a Pseudo-Cyberman story when the main antagonist Matthew is replacing his body parts with mechanical parts. The story proceeds apace and is an easy read. 7 out of 10.
I love that spin-off books like this are published but I must admit that this one did not strike my fancy. I found it slow going although it did pick up towards the last quarter of the book. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy was not a favorite story of mine and it is probably one of the ones I have watched the least of all the classic stories. This led me to have some unfamiliarity with the characters. In hindsight I should have re-watched the story on TV first, I strongly recommend you do this prior to reading. 6 out of 10.
I was very impressed by the depth of Frankel’s analysis. She did not just discuss the TV companions but went into all aspects of the subject covering all of the extended media. Mentions were made of; John & Gillian, Jorjie from the K9 series, the kids from Class and the Sarah Jane Adventures, Olla, Izzy, Destrii and Courtney Woods to name just a few. Characters were examined for all parts of their attributes and evaluated with the Bechdel Test. 9 out of 10.
This is a must buy for anyone even remotely interested in the Doctor Who extended media. The breath of scholarship is unsurpassed in the coverage of whatever subject is being analyzed in a particular issue. This edition’s topic is the first episode of the program and all of its iterations. The alternate beginning from the David Whittaker novelization of the Daleks is presented in animated form on the free DVD as well as in text articles. There is an excellent short story from John Peel about the character of “Old Mother” from the Tribe of Gum. No question 10 out of 10.
Big Finish holder of the Blake’s 7 license for audio books and novels published novelizations of the first season of the series comprising 14 total episodes. This first novelization written by Paul Cornell covers the first two stories The Way Back and Space Fall.
Paul Cornell’s writing never disappoints and this novelization bears this out. Terry Nation‘s original scripts set up the premise of the series exceptionally well painting a Federation the polar opposite of the one we see in Star Trek. Roj Blake gives us a sympathetic view of a terrorist doing everything he can to fight for freedom from the tyranny of his society. The comparison of Blake’s aggressive approach with the passive faction of the dissidents gives you pause when comparing it to current world events such as in places like Palestine. Cornell outlines each character who will become members of the “7”, but also flesh’s out some of the ancillary characters, The following of Blake’s lawyers Varon and Maja make you relate to them and pull for them in just a few chapters as they unravel the mystery of his past. It is with genuine sadness when they meet their demise. Kudos to Nation and Cornell for a riveting story and believable world building. 10 out of 10.
