The Pirate Planet City of Death Shada Resurrection of the Daleks Revelation of the Daleks

TSV Adaptations The Missing Target Books

• A Review by Richard Radcliffe

A Review by Richard Radcliffe 5/5/03

Going on holiday can be an incredibly tricky business. I was spending a week in Majorca with my wife and some very good friends. But I would need some reading material to while away the extra free time I had. So there I was, standing in front of my bookshelves, contemplating which books to take with me, whilst my wife was busy packing the less interesting things like toothbrushes and clothes. You read more on holidays, so at least 3 books were required. It's a very important decision - previous holidays always being largely defined by the reading material on some beach or by some ruined Abbey. Holidays can be made completely wonderful or shattered beyond repair by a good/bad book.

As I gazed over the mass of unread books (DW and not DW), I stopped on 5 A5 size books which didn't really match the others (they go very nicely next to the Telos Books now). These were books that had been on my shelf for a good 6 months, that I had ordered over the web from New Zealand.

6 months previous I had been very excited to discover that a group of fans had filled in the massive gap in my DW book collection. TARGET had novelized all the TV stories (and even some that didn't quite make it), except 5. These 5 remained the source of irritation. Every time I would go through the TARGET books, this chasm would open up in the later 4th, 5th and 6th Doctors eras. I cursed the selfishness of Douglas Adams and Eric Saward for not allowing these stories to reach print. I sent off for all 5 immediately.

I never fail to be amazed at the generosity of DW fans. They want everyone to experience the happiness they feel from the programme, sharing is commonplace. These New Zealand fans were offering these books just for the price of paper, printing and postage. Mind you it was illegal if they charged more anyway. Nonetheless I was astounded at this extremely good offer.

I received my books, was a little disappointed they were not bound EXACTLY the same as the TARGET books, and found a place for them on the shelf. I attempted to put them amongst the TARGET books in chronological order, but they just looked silly - they thus lived the shelf above.

And now was the Majorca trip - and they just leaped out to be taken to this majestic, mysterious land. I couldn't decide on which 3 to take, so I took them all and I was mighty glad I did.

I started with Shada. This was the one I was most looking forward to after all. Written by Paul Scoones it glories in the Douglas Adams dialogue the original script was blessed with. It was nice to read in detail those unfilmed parts that the BBC Video didn't have. It was just all put together so well. The characters stood out far more than the filmed scenes. I have always liked the story of Shada. I know Douglas Adams didn't think much of it, and a lot of fans thought it was over-rated because of its missing status - but it really is a fantastic story - full of humour and magical characters and objects. 9/10

The first book was read on the first day of my holiday - the day with most travel. I was eager to go onto to the second - and that was to be another Adams script - City of Death.

This adopted a slightly different approach. Scenes had been added, there seemed to be a conscious effort to copy the style of Adams himself. Thus we have the 4th Doctor meeting with historical figures for an evening's chat - quite wonderful it is too. David Lawrence writes this, and you have to admire him for this bold approach. What results is a book that fully complements the classic TV version. This book is fondly remembered by me too because it was predominantly read by a glorious pool, with the sun belting down. 10/10

I fancied a change of Doctor now, and figured the 5th Doctor would be good. Resurrection of the Daleks by Paul Scoones, was thus my next holiday reading. I felt rather different about this book. I don't really like the TV adaption of Resurrection, to be honest. This adaptation stays very true to that - so I suppose it was never going to be a favorite of mine. The book is well written though, and I did feel the same sadness about Tegan's departure as I had before. A competent adaptation of a very ordinary TV story. 7/10

Daleks could do better than Resurrection though, and so Revelation of the Daleks was my next book. The holiday was now well into its second half - I was on track to read them all. The sun was still shining, and I was flung into the snowy wastes and eccentricities of Tranquil Repose. Written by Jon Preddle this could very well have been longer than its Target Length page count. But they were determined to keep to this length, and it thus succeeds in being a very snappy read full of the marvelous interplay that dominated the TV story. I haven't always liked Revelation of the Daleks - it's a story that gets better the more times you see it. The novelization shows just what a wonderful script it is. The TSV books were back on form. 9/10

There was now just 1 book left - The Pirate Planet, by David Bishop. This was the only author of the 5 books I had heard of, and I rated him very highly - thus expectations were pretty big. This was the least interesting of the Douglas Adams stories though, even though it was better than most. What we have here is another competent novelization of the story. It's not Bishop's best book, but that would be expecting too much. It succeeds in being a very good adaptation though, but without the embellishments of City of Death. The rain had arrived on our holiday by now, and this one was read in the hotel room. Not quite the same as by the pool, but a good book nonetheless. 8/10

I had completed the 5 in just under a week - the most intensive DW reading I had probably ever undertaken. I would have to find something else for the trip back - an English paper fulfilled the needs of the journey back, and I was able to catch up on all the Sports Results!

When unpacking my bag on my return home I placed these 5 TSV books back on the shelf. I had chosen well this holiday - I doubted whether I had ever chosen as well on any break, to be honest. TSV had helped make the Majorca trip one of the best holidays ever, with these wonderful 5 books. They tried to stay true to the TARGET adaptations that so enriched my childhood and teens. But to be truthful they did more than that. These adaptations are better than the majority of those books. I now have the full set, and I am a very proud DW fan. When I think now of my favourite adaptations, City of Death, Shada and Revelation of the Daleks invariably are near the top of the list.

The only question is now what to take on holiday this year (2003). I may very well go for adaptations again, I enjoyed these that much - now which ones were the best TARGET books?