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tempus's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
A great novelisation of the tv serial. Some added action, and locations that are detailed beyond what's on-screen. Technobabble is explained a bit better here.
reginacattus's review
3.0
I haven't watched much of the classic Who so I wanted to get around to reading the novelisations. It was fairly interesting, with a relatively good plotline although the way the Doctor saved the day seemed a touch unbelievable and it was hard to distinguish between 'doctor' and 'doctor two' as they are only designated to be a certain doctor once.
thomcat's review
1.0
Little more than a transcript of the television show. Opportunities for creativity were instead "blob men" and "grey sand". To be fair, there was a lot of the latter, but an opportunity to visit our characters thoughts was very much missed - this is mostly dialog and action.
Oh well, at least it was short.
Oh well, at least it was short.
otherwyrld's review against another edition
4.0
This is the novelisation of a four part serial that ran from December 1972 to January 1973 and featured the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee, Jo Grant and UNIT in the form of the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton. It is of course notable because it also starred the Second and First Doctors, though William Hartnell was too ill to do much more than a cameo appearance, so much of the hard work falls of the shoulders of Patrick Troughton.
This was a well written and thrilling story as the three Doctors are sent by the Time Lords to work together to save the universe from being destroyed by a mad Time Lord called Omega. There's a lot of adventure as our heroes are sucked into Omega's anti-matter universe and have to find a way to stop him from sucking all the energy from our universe into his. Omega is actually something of a tragic hero, as he was responsible for providing the source of all the Time Lords energy, but millennia tapped in another universe has sent him mad, especially as he thinks that the Time Lords abandoned him. The two Doctors each have their moments and play to their own strengths, although they also have a tendency to bicker with themselves, which the First Doctor has to clamp down on. Jo Grant, the Brigadier and Benton also have plenty to do battling Omega's minions, blob-like creatures created from his own will.
The Doctors succeed in destroying Omega, who is discovering to comprise only of pure will as his physical body has been destroyed by the hostile environment of the anti-matter universe. As a reward, the Time Lords restore the Tardis's ability to travel through time and space. It is a bitter sweet moment for Jo as she realises that the Doctor will soon be off on his travels, and that she may not end up going along for the ride, though he assures her that she is welcome to travel with him. The story is also notable for it being the Brigadier's first trip in the Tardis - needless to say he doesn't believe that it really is bigger on the inside, he thinks it is some kind of optical illusion (typical Brigadier).
I think that this is one of those stories that is better on the page than on the screen, as there are a lot of special effects here that sound good but I'm willing to bet looked a bit rubbish. It's a good story though, and an important one for the reasons I have already mentioned.
nicolamb's review
4.0
Another great read from the master of Doctor Who stories. this one added to the TV episode and managed to make it better. I loved the extra details like the purple sky and the description of the gel guards. Was really easy to follow and a quick read.
infinitespace's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
I actually expected this one to be better than it was after hearing so many great things about it. Most of the target novelizations I've read have been of the missing episodes, but I was interested in this one as a multi-Doctor story because I thought the narration might give us some more insight into how the different incarnations think, like the novelization of The Day of the Doctor did. In this case though, you don't really get anything more than what's in the tv episode, and given the great performances by all the actors in that, you're better off watching it than reading it.
nwhyte's review
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1037395.html#cutid6[return][return]This is one of the novelisations that is so much better than the original that the TV version is a real disappointment - the stupid music, the lousy special effects, the clumsy resolution of the story all either absent or fixed on the printed page. It is not one of the great novelisations but it is nonetheless very enjoyable.
caitlintaylor's review
4.0
I love every story where multiple Doctors interact with each other. This was a little hard to follow when they were talking to each other, but overall a great story!
kirstieellen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing
I was skeptical at first, but this ended up being much better than I anticipated. Despite not being overly familiar with the Doctors that are in it, I thought it was very much so like any other good Doctor Who novel. I'm really curious to watch the TV serial that this one was based off, now too!
The Three Doctors
The Three Doctors is a short novel that is based off one of the old episodes of Doctor Who . It revolves around the Doctor and his companion — Jo — but in this particular story, events unfold that lead to there being three doctors all at once. These are the first three doctors: Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee.
The events of the book see the Doctor trying to stop the original Time Lord, Omega, from destroying the universe with a blackhole that he has created. Along the way, an alarming number of humans are wrapped up in the events and it’s really quite a busy and fun story.
I have to say this totally surprised me with how much I did end up liking it. I’m a Whovian through and through but I am infinitely more familiar with the reboot Doctors (nine onwards). So I was unsure as to how much I was enjoy this book, it being focussed on older regenerations.
But in the end, this is just as much fun as any other Doctor Who novel I’ve read and gives me confidence that it’s simply the familiarity with the show itself that makes it enjoyable, rather than the characters. Although I’m sure it would be even better if you had that familiarity, too.
Things I Found Difficult
Evidently, I did not give this a 5 star rating. Why? Because it was a very light-hearted book that just didn’t seem like it was up there with other books that I’ve rated so highly. Also because, my god, is it difficult to understand what is going on.
The basic premise of the story — there being a black hole that is slowly destroying the universe — is added to by “blob-monsters” as Dicks has named them (although in the serial they are referred to as “Gel Guards” during the credits). There is a lot of discussion (and it’s really rather crucial to the plot) about anti-matter and the like. Usually, I find all the crazy science stuff that the Doctor goes on about to be just fine; this time I confess I was so confused. I mean, at the end of the day I understood perfectly what was going on, but sometimes it was a little overkill.
I guess my ultimate reason for not rating it higher was just down to it being less complex that the show usually is. It wasn't simple by any means - but it was much quicker and easier to resolve than Doctor Who tends to be. It was no brain-bamboozaler by The God Complex, that's for sure.
What I Enjoyed
I absolutely loved the bickering and hilarity of the three Doctors together. I loved the subtly foreshadowing of how events were going to resolve themselves and I enjoyed the human companion’s contributions to the plot throughout.
It’s certainly worth a read if you are a Whovian, it’s the type of classic plot line that is just irresistible. Plus, the fact that maybe you don’t know these three Doctors too well isn’t really a problem — at the end of the day, the Doctor is the Doctor and you can see that classic bumbling idiot inside of him no matter what version.
Summary
In the end, this was a fun, quick-paced adventure that I’m glad to have finally read! I recommend this to any Whovian out there who has a spare few hours to give to this story and enjoy it. I’m certainly impressed with Dicks’ writing and keen to read more of his novelisations!
Happy reading!
Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing
I was skeptical at first, but this ended up being much better than I anticipated. Despite not being overly familiar with the Doctors that are in it, I thought it was very much so like any other good Doctor Who novel. I'm really curious to watch the TV serial that this one was based off, now too!
The Three Doctors
The Three Doctors is a short novel that is based off one of the old episodes of Doctor Who . It revolves around the Doctor and his companion — Jo — but in this particular story, events unfold that lead to there being three doctors all at once. These are the first three doctors: Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee.
The events of the book see the Doctor trying to stop the original Time Lord, Omega, from destroying the universe with a blackhole that he has created. Along the way, an alarming number of humans are wrapped up in the events and it’s really quite a busy and fun story.
I have to say this totally surprised me with how much I did end up liking it. I’m a Whovian through and through but I am infinitely more familiar with the reboot Doctors (nine onwards). So I was unsure as to how much I was enjoy this book, it being focussed on older regenerations.
But in the end, this is just as much fun as any other Doctor Who novel I’ve read and gives me confidence that it’s simply the familiarity with the show itself that makes it enjoyable, rather than the characters. Although I’m sure it would be even better if you had that familiarity, too.
Things I Found Difficult
Evidently, I did not give this a 5 star rating. Why? Because it was a very light-hearted book that just didn’t seem like it was up there with other books that I’ve rated so highly. Also because, my god, is it difficult to understand what is going on.
The basic premise of the story — there being a black hole that is slowly destroying the universe — is added to by “blob-monsters” as Dicks has named them (although in the serial they are referred to as “Gel Guards” during the credits). There is a lot of discussion (and it’s really rather crucial to the plot) about anti-matter and the like. Usually, I find all the crazy science stuff that the Doctor goes on about to be just fine; this time I confess I was so confused. I mean, at the end of the day I understood perfectly what was going on, but sometimes it was a little overkill.
I guess my ultimate reason for not rating it higher was just down to it being less complex that the show usually is. It wasn't simple by any means - but it was much quicker and easier to resolve than Doctor Who tends to be. It was no brain-bamboozaler by The God Complex, that's for sure.
What I Enjoyed
I absolutely loved the bickering and hilarity of the three Doctors together. I loved the subtly foreshadowing of how events were going to resolve themselves and I enjoyed the human companion’s contributions to the plot throughout.
It’s certainly worth a read if you are a Whovian, it’s the type of classic plot line that is just irresistible. Plus, the fact that maybe you don’t know these three Doctors too well isn’t really a problem — at the end of the day, the Doctor is the Doctor and you can see that classic bumbling idiot inside of him no matter what version.
Summary
In the end, this was a fun, quick-paced adventure that I’m glad to have finally read! I recommend this to any Whovian out there who has a spare few hours to give to this story and enjoy it. I’m certainly impressed with Dicks’ writing and keen to read more of his novelisations!
Happy reading!
pussreboots's review
4.0
Doctor Who and the Three Doctors by Terrance Dicks builds on Doctor Who and the War Games although there are a number of adventures (and three seasons) in between the two.
The Third Doctor is still stuck on Earth and is working for UNIT. Meanwhile a probe studying energy signals from deep space has picked up a hitchhiker in the form of a superluminal signal carrying an antimatter blob intent on capturing the Doctor. To save the universe the Time Lords back on Gallifrey must break one of their cardinal laws and let the Third Doctor work with his previous selves.
The Third and Second Doctor along with his companion and most of UNIT and some innocent bystanders end up in a world in a black hole. They must go against the mysterious Omega.
What I enjoyed most about this book was seeing how the Doctor has changed in regenerating from Second to Third and then extrapolating forward to future Doctors. The book builds on the Doctor's feelings of contempt for authority and the Council's distrust of but absolute dependence on their wayward Time Lord.
The Third Doctor is still stuck on Earth and is working for UNIT. Meanwhile a probe studying energy signals from deep space has picked up a hitchhiker in the form of a superluminal signal carrying an antimatter blob intent on capturing the Doctor. To save the universe the Time Lords back on Gallifrey must break one of their cardinal laws and let the Third Doctor work with his previous selves.
The Third and Second Doctor along with his companion and most of UNIT and some innocent bystanders end up in a world in a black hole. They must go against the mysterious Omega.
What I enjoyed most about this book was seeing how the Doctor has changed in regenerating from Second to Third and then extrapolating forward to future Doctors. The book builds on the Doctor's feelings of contempt for authority and the Council's distrust of but absolute dependence on their wayward Time Lord.