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A review by thoroughlymodernreviewer
Doctor Who: Kerblam! (Target Collection) by Pete McTighe
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
The original TV version of “Kerblam” is one of those Doctor Who stories that mostly works, but always feels like it’s missing one key ingredient to make it wholly come together. And Pete McTighe’s novelization of his original script manages to bring the story much closer to fully coalescing - but it still feels like it misses the goal just a bit.
In Kerblam, a mysterious message hidden in a Kerblam delivery box draws the Doctor and her friends to one of Kandoka’s moons - the home of Kerblam’s warehouse. There, the group uncovers a conspiracy involving missing workers, malfunctioning robots, and deadly deliveries. But who’s behind it, and why?
On the surface, Kerblam is quite enjoyable. It’s a very classic Doctor Who romp, crammed with investigations, action sequences, at plenty of fun quips. The story, itself, is quite interesting too. But where the TV version fell apart was in its messaging. “Kerblam” felt like it wanted to be a critique of the practices of companies like Amazon. But instead, it ended up siding alongside the faceless company taking advantage of its workers. A stance that always felt quite weird.
McTighe’s novelization doesn’t entirely fix this problem, but it delivers a much more nuanced take. Here, all of the key characters get backstories that fully flesh out who they are, why they’re doing, and how the history of Kandoka’s gradual robot uprising led to this specific moment. The novel comes much closer towards raging against the system, too. Here, it feels less like McTighe is giving “space Amazon” a pass for its problematic behavior, and more that he’s condemning both the system and the proposed solution. And while that’s not a perfect fix for the episode, it works well enough. At least Judy and Charlie feel like properly-fleshed out characters this time around. And that makes a world of difference.
On the whole, Pete McTighe’s “Kerblam” novelization is an enjoyable read. Sure, many of the episode’s problems can still be found here. But honestly, there’s only so much you can do without wholly rewriting the plot. But as far as Target novelizations go, this one’s a great one. It’s paved excellently. The added backstories enrich the original story, adding a much-needed layer of complexity that genuinely makes for a much better story. And, best of all, it’s just a whole lot of fun. If you really disliked the original episode when it aired, the novelization’s probably not gonna change your mind. But for everyone else, it’s a very lovely expansion on an enjoyable Doctor Who romp.
In Kerblam, a mysterious message hidden in a Kerblam delivery box draws the Doctor and her friends to one of Kandoka’s moons - the home of Kerblam’s warehouse. There, the group uncovers a conspiracy involving missing workers, malfunctioning robots, and deadly deliveries. But who’s behind it, and why?
On the surface, Kerblam is quite enjoyable. It’s a very classic Doctor Who romp, crammed with investigations, action sequences, at plenty of fun quips. The story, itself, is quite interesting too. But where the TV version fell apart was in its messaging. “Kerblam” felt like it wanted to be a critique of the practices of companies like Amazon. But instead, it ended up siding alongside the faceless company taking advantage of its workers. A stance that always felt quite weird.
McTighe’s novelization doesn’t entirely fix this problem, but it delivers a much more nuanced take. Here, all of the key characters get backstories that fully flesh out who they are, why they’re doing, and how the history of Kandoka’s gradual robot uprising led to this specific moment. The novel comes much closer towards raging against the system, too. Here, it feels less like McTighe is giving “space Amazon” a pass for its problematic behavior, and more that he’s condemning both the system and the proposed solution. And while that’s not a perfect fix for the episode, it works well enough. At least Judy and Charlie feel like properly-fleshed out characters this time around. And that makes a world of difference.
On the whole, Pete McTighe’s “Kerblam” novelization is an enjoyable read. Sure, many of the episode’s problems can still be found here. But honestly, there’s only so much you can do without wholly rewriting the plot. But as far as Target novelizations go, this one’s a great one. It’s paved excellently. The added backstories enrich the original story, adding a much-needed layer of complexity that genuinely makes for a much better story. And, best of all, it’s just a whole lot of fun. If you really disliked the original episode when it aired, the novelization’s probably not gonna change your mind. But for everyone else, it’s a very lovely expansion on an enjoyable Doctor Who romp.