A run of novels from what will probably turn out to be the peak period in terms of consistency of quality in this entire project. None of these is awful; all are decent efforts, though none of them is outstanding. Both the best and the worst (in my humble opinion) are by Malcolm Hulke.

( 19) Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks, by Terrance Dicks )
( 20) Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon, by Brian Hayles )
( 21) Doctor Who and the Sea Devils, by Malcolm Hulke )
( 22) Doctor Who and the Mutants, by Terrance Dicks )
( 23) Doctor Who - The Time Monster, by Terrance Dicks )
( 24) Doctor Who - The Three Doctors, by Terrance Dicks )
( 25) Doctor Who and the Space War, by Malcolm Hulke )
( 26) Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks, by Terrance Dicks )
( 27) Doctor Who and the Green Death, by Malcolm Hulke )

I've said it before (though not all agree with me) but I'll say it again: Jo Grant comes across much better on the printed page, perhaps because of the affection the writers of these books have for this era of the show in general. She often becomes a sympathetic viewpoint character rather than the whiny blonde side-kick she so often was on screen.

The same is true, indeed, for Pertwee's Doctor, who comes across as more affectionate and humorous, and less arrogant, on the page when written by the people who designed the character rather than portrayed by the actor who had his own ideas.

The other UNIT personnel don't fare so well. The Brigadier is on the whole a bit less cartoonish in the books than he became on screen; Yates and Benton don't get a lot to do in most stories (Yates has his moment in The Green Death, Benton in The Three Doctors).

Sarah Jane next!

These five Who books are all from 1967-68 stories, but from different ends of the chronology of publication. The first of these was in fact the very last of the official novelisations produced by Target/Virgin, in 1993; the other four were among the first five Second Doctor books, published between 1974 and 1978 by Target. Having been underwhelmed by my last clutch of Who books reviewed, I'm happy to report that all of these are good stuff.

( 27) Doctor Who - The Evil of the Daleks, by John Peel )
( 28) Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen, by Gerry Davis )
( 29) Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen, by Terrance Dicks )
( 30) Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors, by Brian Hayles )
( 31) Doctor Who and the Web of Fear, by Terrance Dicks )

So that's it for the Jamie/Victoria combination. While Victoria, apart from in Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen, is the screamiest girl companion since Susan, the affectionate interactions between the Tardis crew are almost (but not quite) as entertaining on the page as on the screen.

All five of these books are medium good, and four of them are important as the perspective through which fans of my age first encountered the Second Doctor. The best of them is certainly Doctor Who and the Web of Fear, which wraps up one line of continuity (the Yeti and Travers) while setting up another (the Brigadier and UNIT). But all are worth adding to the serious Who fan's library. (The same can't be said for the other two novels of this run, alas.)

I had hoped that I would be writing up four Hartnell stories this weekend, rather than three; but because the thieves who stole my laptop have also got my DVD of The Web Planet, you'll have to settle for this smaller selection.

( The Reign of Terror )
( The Time Meddler )
( The Celestial Toymaker, and a bit on Bad Wolf )
( the Doctor's background )

I now have only six Hartnell stories left to watch/listen to: Marco Polo, The Sensorites, Planet of Giants, the rest of The Web Planet, The Space Museum, and Galaxy 4. Watch this space.

I have now Run Out of classic Doctor Who to listen to as I commute to and from work. Luckily there are still plenty of Big Finish audios out there, and also I hope to do some shopping in London next week...

( The Smugglers )

( The Highlanders )

( The Macra Terror )

( The Enemy of the World )

In conclusion: All of these are fun, none of them is outstanding, none of them is embarrassing either (apart from my reservations about the narration for The Macra Terror).

The Doctor:...You slap the Federation in the face by sabotaging the Commission - why?
Hepesh: Because I'm afraid.
The Doctor: Afraid? Afraid of what? The Federation is your safeguard.
Hepesh: That is not true! I know the Federation's real intent!
The Doctor: The Federation's real intent is to help you.
Hepesh: No! They will exploit us for our minerals, enslave us with their machines, corrupt us with their technology... The face of Peladon will be changed, the past swept away. And everything that I know and value will have gone.
The Doctor: The progress that they offer - that we offer - isn't like that.
Hepesh: I would rather be a cave-dweller and free!
The Doctor: Free!?! With your people imprisoned by ritual and superstition?

This story, first shown in 1972, brings the Third Doctor and Jo Grant to the barbarous and wind-swept planet of Peladon, ruled by a young king (also called Peladon), which is seeking admission to a Galactic Federation including the future Earth, for whose commission delegates the Doctor and Jo are mistaken.

The story is widely seen as a reference to Britain's entry into the Common Market, now the European Union; the UK's accession treaty was signed a week before the first episode was shown. ( Thoughts on contemporary references )

( But what about the story? )

Actually finished listening to this mid-week, but due to pressure of other things have been only slowly catching up with reviews. Four out of six episodes survive, and perhaps I should give it another chance by watching them (I may even spend some time on the BBC's photonovel); I'm afraid I wasn't overwhelmed by the soundtrack, herewith linking narration from Frazer Hines. Troughton's Doctor doesn't seem to own each scene he is in, in the way that Hartnell's did; and especially when listening, his voice and accent are confusingly similar to some of the other characters'. Also he's surprisingly trigger-happy in the end about wiping out the Ice Warriors. And while Victoria just seems to exist to get into trouble and scream in every story she is in, Jamie's main role here is also to get into trouble (gets knocked out at the end of episode one, spends much of the rest of the story paralysed).

Having vented my frustration with the regulars, there were several things about the story that I really did like. First of all, the Ice Warriors themselves. Bernard Bresslaw, plus colleagues, with that sinister, painful, hissing voice. Unlike the human characters, they sem to know exactly what they are up to. While Roy Skelton's voice of the human computer is sadly difficult to understand, I did like the fanatical relationship between the humans (particular Leader Clent) and the computer - early foreshadowing of the Paranoia role-playing game. And the technobabble and had-waving science was pleasingly incomprehensible, thus not getting in the way of enjoying the show.

So, willing to be convinced about this one, but not yet convinced I'm afraid. We are listening to "Fury From The Deep" while driving at the moment. Irritatingly my car stereo doesn't play my MP3 CDs of the two Yeti stories. Are they reasonably easy to convert into ordinary CD format and re-burn? Or should I just listen to them on the computer?