Doctor Who Literature: Recent Episodes
Jason Miller
Doctor Who is not just one of the world's longest-running science fiction TV shows, but it's also generated a prolific amount of tie-in books, often with strong literary merit. Join Jason from the Trap One Podcast on a solo journey through the Target novelizations, in publication order.
This week Jim bids a sad farewell to the legendary David Graham, contributor of voices (and two live-action roles) to Doctor Who, and who did voice work for almost every other British series that mattered, up to and including "Peppa Pig".
Stacey Smith? rejoins Jason for a look at the first Trial of a Time Lord story, The Mysterious Planet. It's Robert Holmes' final completed Doctor Who serial, and -- in story order -- Terrance Dicks' final Doctor Who novelization.
Stacey also digs deep into the rec.arts.drwho archives and finds a Jason comedy post from 1996... which Jim narrates and performs.
This week's episode's got it all.
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"Doctor Who – The Trial of a Time Lord: The MysteriousPlanet" features cover art by Tony Masero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.
The Time Meddler is a seminal moment in Doctor Who history. No Doctor Who podcast can be complete without acknowledging it, and no podcast about Doctor Who Literature can be complete without discussing its novelization.
Frazer Gregory, one of my most frequent and popular guests, rejoins me for the first time since Episode 100. We have a lot to say about this story, including a discussion of its geography -- where in Northumbria does it take place, and on what precise day does it take place? Frazer has a theory, and it involves, perhaps, the very week that we're talking to you.
There are also games to be played, not just the one that I have for Frazer, but the one that he has for me ...
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"Doctor Who –The Time Meddler features cover art by Jeff Cummins.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Welcome to Part One of our intermittent ongoing look at The Trial of a Time Lord, a single 14-part Doctor Who serial that comprised the whole of Season 23, televised between September and December 1986, but broken up into four separate novelizations. Confusingly released out of order and non-consecutively.
Jim Sangster, Doctor Who Literature's multi-talented co-producer, logo designer, and in-house band, adapted and performed this week's introductory number, appeared as a talking head on the Trial of a Time Lord DVDs (recorded 16 years prior to the production of this episode), and is this week's guest. We'll about about Liverpool and its many connections to Doctor Who, and speculate just when does Trial take place relevant to the Sixth Doctor's own timeline?
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"Doctor Who – The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids" features near-pornographic cover art by Tony Masero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes athttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.
Please give a warm Doctor Who Literature welcome to Jeff from Gallifrey's Most Wanted. The Rescue is one of Jeff's favorite Doctor Who episodes and it's great to hear him discuss.
Sampled is an audio encore of Jason's favorite Harvey Keitel interview.
You might also recognize some dialogue from The Big Lebowski.
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"Doctor Who – The Rescue" features cover art by TonyClark.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Welcome to an extra long episode of Doctor Who Literature, but one of the deepest and most rewarding ones we've ever produced.
The subject is the February 1966 Doctor Who episode The Massacre, a troubled production where the original author tried to disclaim credit, the video is lost and only a few publicity photos survived, and the surviving audio is hard to untangle as William Hartnell only appears in a small handful of scenes.
We have three guests this week to help unravel the story:
--Repeat DWLit guest Denise Sutton joins Jason for a specially-recorded live introduction in Central London.
--Repeat DWLit guest Ian Potter, a Black Archives writer, helps Jason try to unravel the troubled production (and troubled production team!) at the heart of the TV serial.
--The Rev. Jerrod Hugenot, an American Baptist minister and Doctor Who fan, whose surname ties into this story, helps us understand the historical and religious context of August 1572.
And although he doesn't appear in this episode, we could not have produced this week without James Cooray Smith, who literally wrote the book on The Massacre.
We'll be back next week to cover another William Hartnell adventure, with a much shorter episode!
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"Doctor Who – The Massacre" features cover art by TonyMasero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe, and rate us!Watch this episode and all previous episodes on YouTube athttps://www.youtube.com/@drwhonovels"Doctor Who – The Macra Terror" features cover art by TonyMasero.Doctor Who Literature is a member of the https://directionpoint.org/.Please e-mail the pod at mailto:DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.You can catch all past episodes athttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholithttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholithttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.
A warm Doctor Who Literature welcome-back to Kate and Jon, last heard together on this show discussing The Talons of Weng-Chiang in July 2022. Two years and many books later, we are gonna get deep into The Ambassadors of Death.
You can find several new works by Kate and Jon, as discussed during the episode:
--Saltier, a short story by Kate.
--United Nations and Intelligence Taskforce, two recent Lethbridge-Stewart novels by Jon from Candy Jar Books.
--and Meanwhile, Turlough, a bonus-download Big Finish audio by Jon.
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"Doctor Who – The Ambassadors of Death" features cover art by Tony Masero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes athttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.
Long-time listeners of Doctor Who Literature know that this podcast is a K-9 house. We are all about K-9 here. This week, his first TV spinoff, the Christmas 1981 special gets its own novelization, the final book of the short-lived Companions of Doctor Who line.
Joining Jason this week are two great friends making their first appearance on the show: Drew and Brent, from Who & Company. And yes, it's coincidence that they're showing up to discuss K-9 & Company.
Jason appeared on Who & Company a few months ago.
Jason has also recently been on Trap One to discuss the Celestial Toymaker Blu-ray animation and a tribute to the late William Russell.
I recommend audio clips from The Simpsons' "Kamp Krusty" and the legit banger that is the Ian Levine & Fiachra Trench K-9 & Company theme.
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"The Companions of Doctor Who –K-9 & Company" features cover art by Peter Kelly.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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As Doctor Who Literature nears the end of a very packed season discussing each of the novelizations and other Doctor Who spinoff books of 1986 and 1987, Jason and Callie were also watching the entirety of Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- 144 episodes in about 144 days. Now we sit down in our dining room to discuss the series. This episode will cover "Welcome to the Hellmouth" through "The Gift".
WARNING: Spoilers will get discussed as the series is nearly 30 years old. Not recommended if you've never watched the series before.There is ambient noise, mostly cats, throughout the recording. Smudge watched all 144 episodes of Buffy with us, so how could we exclude her from this recording?
Welcome to the final week of our four-episode William Hartnell mini-season. The Romans is released in paperback in September 1987 and is the fourth straight Doctor Who novelization to come out of the First Doctor era.
Here on Doctor Who Literature, Jason Davis is back for the week to talk us through The Romans in both its print and TV incarnation. We also discuss lots of classic film and TV contents, and the particular perils of being an American Doctor Who working retail in the late 1990s.
Follow the Jason Davis by signing up for his irregularly offered newsletter at HumanityIsMyBusiness.com. Buy his book, Writing the X-Files, there or at Amazon, or books he edited from their respective authors: Stuntlady by Sandra Gimpel and Pleasure Thresholds by Patricia Tallman.
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Doctor Who – The Romans" features cover art by Tony Masero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Denise Sutton rejoins Doctor Who Literature during Week 3 of a 4-week stretch of four consecutive William Hartnell novelizations.
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"Doctor Who – The Reign of Terror" features cover art by Tony Masero.
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Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com
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Much has been said about the 1964 Doctor Who serial The Sensorites. Not all of it positive. We at Doctor Who Literature are here to reverse that trend. The Sensorites is awesome. Except when it isn't, but when it lands, it really lands.
This week's guest is Black Archives writer Jon Arnold.
Here is one of Jon's many recent appearances on Strangers in Space.
Cover artist of The Sensorites novelization, Nick Spender, passed away recently.
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"Doctor Who – The Sensorites" features cover art by NickSpender.
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We open at the BFI in London where Conrad Westmaas from Big Finish appears live on the show to interview Jason!
David Barsky then joins Jason by Skype from Los Angeles to rap about The Space Museum, and to vigorously debate the most recent Disney+-streamed season of Doctor Who.
In the audio essay, Jason compares all four extant versions of Space Museum: TV, novelization, and both surviving scripts. With comparisons to the music of Elvis Costello.
Audio heard in this episode sourced from YouTube:
--Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney studio version of Veronica.
--Elvis Costello's studio version of My Brave Face.
--Elvis Costello's infamous 1977 appearance on Saturday Night Live.
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"Doctor Who – The Space Museum" features cover art by David McAllister.
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It's our second straight Patrick Troughton novelization on Doctor Who Literature -- before we jump into four straight William Hartnell books -- and this week it is time for The Faceless Ones.
Joining Jason this week is Shannon Sullivan of A Brief History of Time (Travel), the indispensable online resource for the production history of Doctor Who. Jason and Shannon have known each other for 30 years but haven't spoken in person since The Wilderness Years. They have a rousing conversation on Doctor Who, game shows, the 1993 baseball World Series, and so much more besides.
Links for this week:
The Faceless Ones page at Brief History of Time (Travel).
Shannon's 2000 appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (and he has not aged a day, trust me).
Toby Hadoke's Who podcasts, where you can find links to Too Much Information.
The last pitch of the 1993 World Series via Major League Baseball's YouTube channel.
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The Mind Robber is one of Jason's Top 60 Doctor Who episodes, and the 1987 novelization by Peter Ling more than does it justice. This week Jason is joined on Doctor Who Literature by Adam Clegg from The Real McCoy podcast to discuss the TV story, the novelization, the two New Adventures sequel novels involving the Land of Fiction... and brief discussions of the new Celestial Toymaker animation, and (as of this release date), Doctor Who's most recent TV broadcast, The Legend of Ruby Sunday.
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"Doctor Who – The Mind Robber" features cover art by David McAllister.
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In lieu of a regularly scheduled Doctor Who Literature this week, Jason takes a moment to bid adieu to William Russell, who passed away this week at age 99, and explore the legacy of Ian Chesterton in Doctor Who.
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...700 years later, we return to The Ark, an instant sequel to last week's episode. Jim Sangster rejoins Doctor Who Literature to break down the story's accents and Beatles wigs.
And Jason reviews the newest Ncuti Gatwa Doctor Who episode at the time of writing: Dot and Bubble.
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"Doctor Who – The Ark" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Program needs over the next two weeks has turned this look at The Ark, a 1966 episode from Doctor Who's third season, into a two-part episode of Doctor Who Literature.
This week, a conversation with Lelon Stoldt from the InDOCtrination podcast. Lelon and his daughters are not quite up to The Ark yet, but perhaps this conversation will reveal what at least one of them will think about the story/book.
And a review of 73 Yards, which at the time of release is the most recently broadcast episode of Doctor Who.
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For this week we are going back to the Jazz Age, with Doctor Who-specific musical accompaniment by Jim Sangster.
Our Doctor Who Literature guest this week is Steven B., who you can find at the New To Who podcast, The Three-Handed Game: An Avengers Podcast, and Reimagining Doctor Who.
Among several other Doctor Who podcast episodes cited in this week's episode, you can find:
--Steven B.'s appearance on The Library of Impossible Things;
--Jason's Black Orchid appearance on the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast; and
--Jason's appearance on A Kettle and some String;
And please enjoy the following two linked articles, both relevant to this week's DWLit episode:
--James Cooray Smith discusses Paradise Towers and the casting of Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor; and
--A Nerdist interview with Steven Moffat on the writing of the newest Doctor Who episode at the time that this episode was released: Boom.
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"Doctor Who – Black Orchid" features cover art by Tony Masero.
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Please give a warm Doctor Who Literature welcome to Keith Say, a first-time guest here but a long-time guest on Trap One.
One of the two of us really enjoyed the novelization of Slipback, the first radio-only episode of Doctor Who.
The other one of us hated this book. Hated, hated, hated this book. Calling to mind one particular review by the great Roger Ebert.
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"Doctor Who – Slipback" features cover art by Paul Mark Tams.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the DirectionPoint Doctor Who podcast network.
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Doctor Who Literature presents:
This week, as we are in between the 1986 and 1987 slates of Doctor Who novelizations, please enjoy this following bonus content, all recorded live:
--Jason and Callie explore the Doctor Who-branded subway car in New York City.
--Gary Russell sat down with Jason at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles in February to discuss his novelization of The Star Beast.
--Jason speaks with Dale Santos in the Gally dealer's room.
--David Barksy, Mark McManus (from Trap One), Bill Evenson (from The Frankenstein Minute), and Stacey Smith?, discuss Gally One, and there's a new round of limericks.
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Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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It's late April 2024, but Doctor Who Literature takes us back to mid-February, and to the Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles, where Mark from the Trap One Podcast joined me over dinner for a My Dinner With Andre-style conversation about the 1969 Doctor Who serial The Seeds of Death, and its 1986 novelization by Terrance Dicks.
You can view My Dinner With Andre in full here.
The Proclaimers appeared on Late Night With David Letterman in March 1989.
Big Blue Marble was a long-running 1970s/'80s PBS series produced in part by Rick Berman (yes, that Rick Berman). You can view an episode here. The opening theme (sampled in this episode) features lyrics by Berman, music by Paul Baillargeon, and vocals by Whitney Kershaw.
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"Doctor Who – The Seeds of Death" features cover art by Tony Masero.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.
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This week Doctor Who Literature is NOT covering a Target book. 1986 was a bumper year for Doctor Who fiction, and, in the States, Ballantine Books got in on the action with both the man in the blue box, AND the still going-strong Choose Your Own Adventure craze, with a series of six books in the Find Your Fate series.
Joining me to read through -- and play -- this book is my old friend Tony Whitt of the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast, without which this show might not exist. Tony never holds back on his opinions, and we both have a lot to say. And not just about Doctor Who.
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"Find Your Fate... Doctor Who: Mission to Venus" features cover art by Romas Kukalis.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Welcome to the first of two planned episodes about the 1966 Doctor Who serial The Celestial Toymaker. The episode eventually spawned a TV sequel ... in 2023, The Giggle. The novelizations of both stories were released in 1986 and 2024 respectively.
Joining me this week is James Goss, author of the Giggle novelization, and we spend about 90 joyous minutes talking about both books.
Links to other podcasts or posts or websites discussed today:
--James Goss recently appeared on Trap One.
--Shannon Patrick Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel).
--James Cooray Smith's Psychic Paper looks at Trial of a Time Lord.
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"Doctor Who – The Celestial Toymaker" features cover art by Graham Potts.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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1986 saw the release of the first two Companions of Doctor Who novels, original full-length books rather than novelizations of Doctor Who TV serials. There would only be one more after this one. Harry Sullivan's War was written by Ian Marter, who died tragically young, on his own 42nd birthday, just a couple of weeks after the book's release.
Jim Sangster rejoins me as the guest for this week's book -- and also wrote this week's theme song!
A video for Jim's son is found here. Song written by Jim Sangster and sung by Antony Owen.
The first 8 minutes are an audio essay about the 1986 baseball season. If you're not a baseball fan, you will be after hearing this essay (or not).
Recent guest Dale Smith recently penned an essay about Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma, the first Companions of Doctor Who novel, covered on this show (by Dale Smith!) just last month.
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"The Companions of Doctor Who – Harry Sullivan’s War" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Returning to Doctor Who Literature this week is Conrad Westmaas, one of the great friends of this show, who brings news from Big Finish and the convention circuit.
After catching up, Conrad and Jason dive into this week's Doctor Who episode and novelization, Fury From the Deep, which may well be one of the 60 greatest Doctor Who stories of the past 60 years.
A link to the choose-your-own-adventure book by Eric Grissom referenced by Conrad during today's interview.
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"Doctor Who – Fury From the Deep" features cover art by David McAllister.
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Very happy to have on the show this week Nathan Skreslet from PixelWho, an innovative Doctor Who online store, which has supplied the bookmark Jason uses while reading the novelizations -- among other art.
Michael Storm from our Mark of the Rani episode has blogged about his appearance and about the book/TV episode.
Shout out to the recent Gallifrey's Most Wanted episode covering The King's Demons, which we covered on Doctor Who Literature last week.
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"Doctor Who – The Savages" features cover art by DavidMcAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Jim Sangster is back on Doctor Who Literature, not only with a new song (and, as usual, a banger), but with a new video as well Jim is here to discuss Doctor Who's Season 20 classic The King's Demons.
Recent Jason podcast appearances discussed in the episode include:
Trap One: The Underwater Menace
Trap One: Gally Report
Trap One: The Daleks -- In Colour
Who & Company: Jason & Dark Shadows
Gallifrey's Most Wanted: Timewyrm: Genesys
Jim's video adaptation of his song for this episode can be found up on our YouTube channel!
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"Doctor Who–The King’s Demons" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the DirectionPoint Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Doctor Who fans may love Pip & Jane Baker. Doctor Who may hate Pip & Jane Baker. But Doctor Who fans cannot ignore Pip & Jane Baker, and what unique voice they brought to their scripts and especially their four novelizations in between Seasons 22 and 24 of Classic Who. And now in publication order we reach the first of their books: The Mark of the Rani.
And please give a warm Doctor Who Literature welcome to Michael Storm, who makes a very memorable DWLit debut. We've got a lot to discuss.
Join DWLit Nation and get your Ghastly Woke Zombie T-shirt here.
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"Doctor Who – The Mark of the Rani" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Here on Doctor Who Literature we take a brief scheduled break from the novelizations. It's still May 1986, and not only did we get the Doctor Who novelization of Timelash, but now we get the debut of the short-lived Companions of Doctor Who line. First up, Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma. Which doubles as the first original Doctor Who novel. Many more would follow.
Joining me to break this one down is Doctor Who novelist Dale Smith.
We'll also discuss Dale's recent Black Archive volume on The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
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"The Companions of Doctor Who–Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Recorded live at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles last week, Simon Guerrier -- author of the magisterial new biography of David Whitaker -- sits down with me, and Mark from Trap One -- to discuss one of Doctor Who's more controversial episodes... Timelash. Plus, a brief recap of Gally.
Mark and I also collaborated on a Trap One Gally Field Report.
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"Doctor Who– Timelash" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Live from Los Angeles, it's Saturday night... or rather, Sunday morning at Gallifrey One. Welcome to the first of three live interviews recorded at the con, with another to follow next week and the third to follow in a couple of months. The accomplished and well-traveled and glamorous Stacey Smith? rejoins me to discuss one of Doctor Who's less remembered, but possible underrated, 1960s episodes.
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"Doctor Who – Galaxy Four" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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This week's Doctor Who novelization is The Twin Dilemma. Which, when you rank Doctor Who's TV stories from best to worst, is almost always at the bottom of the list.
And our Doctor Who Literature guest this week is Graeme Burk, from one of Jason's favorite Doctor Who podcasts, Reality Bomb.
Please listen to the two Doctor Who Essentials episodes of Reality Bomb, here and here.
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"Doctor Who – The Twin Dilemma" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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After two weeks celebrating "The Gunfighters", we now spend a week tolerating, or at least giving a curt head nod to, "The Time Monster". Why was this one of the last Pertwee stories to be novelized? If the TV scripts were co-written by Barry Letts, why does Terrance Dicks appear to have so little patience for it?
Check out Si's Library of Impossible Things podcast.
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"Doctor Who – The Time Monster" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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Jim Sangster rejoins me this week -- this time in the interviewer's seat -- as we continue our deep dive into The Gunfighters. Why was a particular 1983 Doctor Who hardcover reference book so hard on the story? Did the story effectively kill the historical genre in '60s Who? Was this the lowest-rated story of all time? Is the inclusion of the ballad a betrayal of the Western genre?
Jim and I both love this story to bits. Which is why we spent two weeks on it and not just one.
Sampled or narrated this week:
--The final pitch of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.
--The theme to US TV's The Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp.
--Frankie Laine sings the theme to Gunfight at O.K. Corral.
--The theme to Gerry Anderson's Four Feather Falls.
--The Doctor Who discussion in U.S. sportswriter Allen Barra's now out-of-print Inventing Wyatt Earp.
In short, Jim and I had a delightful two weeks in Tombstone. Next week a new guest and I will be off to Atlantis... will that be as much fun?
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"Doctor Who – The Gunfighters" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Jason loves The Gunfighters. Unreservedly and without irony. It ranked as #13 on his Top 60 of-all-time Doctor Who stories as announced in November 2023.
So this episode about the novelization needs to be big, epic, as widescreen as Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas (and Deforest Kelley!) in John Sturges' Gunfight at the OK Corral.
This week, Jim Sangster and I focus primarily on the behind-the-scenes production chaos behind the making of Doctor Who's third production season, which informs a lot about why Gunfighters is one of the show's last pure historicals. Jason also touches briefly on the context of the novelization, and then next week, both Jim and I are back for more rootin' tootin' Gunfighters.
The Harvey Keitel interview referenced in this episode can be viewed here.
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"Doctor Who – The Gunfighters" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Target Book 100 was a special event for Doctor Who fans. A milestone novel, with a special introduction written by show producer John Nathan-Turner -- his only direct contribution to the Target books -- and with a gold-stamped foil logo and a unique flash above the logo.
Is The Two Doctors -- Patrick Troughton's final live contribution to Doctor Who, filmed about two and a half years before his untimely passing -- as special a story as the novelization? We need three guests to break it down for us this week. Conrad, Frazer, and Jason Davis, all back for repeat appearances.
Conrad co-stars in a brand-new Big Finish release with the Sontarans (and TV Sontaran Dan Starkey!). Buy it here!
Musical inspiration for this episode comes from The Sundays.
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"Doctor Who – The Two Doctors" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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NOTE: This episode run time should be 92 minutes. A 66-minute truncated version was erroneously sourced first. We have now updated the stream.
And, incidentally, a happy 2024 to all of you at home.
We are no longer on Twitter, but can be found on YouTube, BlueSky, and all your favorite podcast apps of choice.
Jim Sangster rejoins me this week with a specially recorded "Direction Point" intro, a comedy sketch featuring the Krotons, and, of course, a lengthy conversation about Xmas movies and... the Krotons.
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"Doctor Who – The Krotons" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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And, incidentally, a happy 2024 to all of you at home!
Mark from Trap One is my guest this week. We discuss the coming changes to Doctor Who Literature as Jason is deleting Twitter. You can find this show on BlueSky and YouTube going forward, as well as your favorite podcast apps of choice.
Jason and Mark watch Doctor Who's first New Year's Day special -- Volcano, Episode 8 of The Daleks' Master Plan, aired January 1st, 1966 -- and do a live episode commentary. Couldn't ask for a better discussion partner than Mark!
We also say goodbye to Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), and discuss our plans for the upcoming Gallifrey One convention. You can hear the late Richard's appearance on Trap One here. Jason and Mark's latest Trap One is here.
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We are up to one of Doctor Who's all-time greats -- The Invasion, Number 19 on Jason's recent Top 60 list for the 60th anniversary. Rejoining me after a too-long hiatus is Pete Lambert (@Prof_Quiteamess). And joining us for her first guest reading on Doctor Who Literature is Lucy McCaul (@LucyMcCaul).
Interested in The Golden Land? A trailer from the theatrical staging in NYC a few years back is here.
This past week Jason moderated the Trap One recap of The Giggle.
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"Doctor Who – The Invasion" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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Please welcome back to the show Mr. Si Hart (@Si_Hart) as we travel back into antiquity and explore The Myth Makers. But first, in a conversation recorded two days before the premiere of The Giggle, we predict what might happen in Doctor Who's latest episode. Spoiler alert, one of us is very, very right, and the other one of us (me) is very, very wrong.
Check out Si's new solo podcast, The Library of Impossible Things.
And joining me to break down The Giggle seconds after it ended, please welcome back my teen daughter Callie, who has lots of Thoughts about Fourteen and Donna, and all our other Who pals.
Last week I was back on Trap One to discuss Wild Blue Yonder.
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"Doctor Who – The Myth Makers" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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After taking a month to observe Doctor Who's 60th anniversary with a wide range of guest interviews, we're back -- like RTD back with David Tennant and Catherine Tate to ring in the TV show's newest era -- to look at the Target novelizations, picking up with the July 1985 paperback release of The Mind of Evil.
Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker), who brings so much behind-the-scenes value to this show, joins me on the air to discuss Mind. And some history facts about The Tyburn Tree.
This interview was also recorded on Halloween, so join us as we discuss our favorite scary movies.
But how is Jim with his Doctor Who quotations? The answer might surprise you...
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"Doctor Who – The Mind of Evil" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Happy Doctor Who Day, everybody! Except this episode is not narrated by Paul McGann.
My first guest this week is a great one, Mr. Paul Hayes (@the_questmaster), covering his new non-fiction volume Pull to Open, available from Ten Acre Films, publisher of so much excellent Doctor Who and other BBC-related volumes.
You can find Paul's blog here.
So soon after discussing the making of Doctor Who's very first serial, I'm then joined by longtime friends of the show Jan Fennick, and Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker), as we discuss The Star Beast, the newest DW episode, released on the 60th anniversary plus two days.
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As we continue on with our monthlong celebration of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, please give a warm welcome to Shaun Lyon (@shaunlyon), the Program Director and programming head at the annual Gallifrey One convention in Los Angeles each February. Shaun and I will be presenting our "60 for 60" lists -- our personal top 60 Who TV stories from the past 60 years.
A supercut of Kevin Stoney saying "Packer" in "The Invasion" does actually exist, not discovered in time for us to seek out permission to include the audio here, but please give a listen!
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We continue on with our 60th anniversary month hiatus from our weekly review of the Doctor Who Target novelizations, with recordings of two interviews that Jason conducted at L.I. Who 2023 this past August, with two Doctor Who novelists, Gary Russell (@twilightstreets) and Mickey Lewis. Two great writers and two great guys. We hope you enjoy.
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My guest this week has already given me dozens of hours of enjoyment as a science fiction and mystery writer. Please welcome Adam Christopher (@ghostfinder) to the show. Adam and I discussed many topics, starting with his Doctor Who fandom in New Zealand in the 1980s, and moving on to his wide-ranging professional career.
The infamous 1977 blackout can be heard on this newly-unearthed Mets radio broadcast, which includes the blackout striking in the 6th inning, and the belated resumption of the game two months later.
During the recording, Adam and I enthuse about the Bowery Boys Podcast, which you can find here.
In writing his Stranger Things novel, Adam found New York Mets knowledge on Faith and Fear in Flushing, which it won't surprise you to learn, Jason has already been following for years.
Jason's latest Trap One episode is here. Thanks to fellow Doctor Who podcasters Brendan (@brandybongos) and Mark (@QuarkMcMalus) for their entertaining joint appearance this week.
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Andrew Smith (@Andr3wSmith) rejoins the show this week to discuss the 1984 TV story The Awakening and its 1985 novelization. Jason and Andrew are coming from very different places with regard to the story, but are more than happy to meet in the middle... and each brings a diabolical game for the other to play.
Shannon Patrick Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel) brings us some data on the authorship of The Awakening.
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"Doctor Who – The Awakening" features cover art by AndrewSkilleter.
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After a run of pre-recorded episodes, Jason is back with a (somewhat) live episode full of current events, Doctor Who news, and tons of feelings.
Ross Aitken (@traitken) from Gallifrey's Most Wanted is our guest this week. The conversation is fast and furious and might not have much to do with Marco Polo, but it's typically intense and wide-ranging.
Please consider ordering in Outside In Regenerates from ATB Publishing. Jason will have an essay in the forthcoming volume.
More information on the late lamented Waldenbooks Otherworlds Club.
This episode features opening and closing titles from the classic U.S. TV Western Have Gun Will Travel, the radio version of which you can find on your Old Time Radio player of choice, or here.
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"Doctor Who – Marco Polo" features cover art by David McAllister.
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A perennial consensus choice for one of the Greatest Of All Time Doctor Who episodes, The Caves of Androzani features an intense script by Robert Holmes, one of Peter Davison's most well-rounded and Doctor-ish performances, groundbreaking direction by Graeme Harper, Roger Limb's best-ever score, and... well, so much else to praise.
My guest this week is truly one of the foremost experts on all things Androzani. It's Paul Scoones (@Paul_Scoones), author of the most recent DVD production notes on the story. Always a great time talking to Paul, and he was game enough to try out our newest game...
The news this week is provided by Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker)!
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"Doctor Who – The Caves of Androzani" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Planet of Fire was a Doctor Who episode with an awful lot happening in it. We here at Doctor Who Literature are of course very fond of it. So, to celebrate, here's an episode... with an awful lot happening in it.
Graeme Burk (@graemeburk) from Reality Bomb joins us to discuss his favorite Doctor Who TV story from the past 60 years.
Mark (@QuarkMcMalus) from The Trap One Podcast joins us for a correspondent's piece on the island of Lanzarote.
David Barsky checks back in with us to discuss Planet of Fire, the record albums of Peter Wyngarde, surprising messages coded in our DNA, and what it's really like to walk on red-hot lava flow.
The song "I Remember It Well" from the film Gigi can be found here.
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"Doctor Who – Planet of Fire" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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In a bonus episode in between our looks at the 1984 and 1985 Target novelizations, we're joined by Andrew Smith (@Andr3wSmith), author of the classic Doctor Who episode (in every sense) Full Circle.
This is a great time to revisit my episode on the Full Circle novelization, which was written by the man himself.
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It's Frontios week on Doctor Who Literature. This is one of the underrated gems of the Peter Davison story, but Si Hart (@Si_Hart) and I are here to spread the word.
The new 60th Anniversary mini-season trailer dropped on the day that this episode releases. Jason gives his instant reaction to the trailer -- perhaps too instant, as Jason had not seen the concurrent BBC tweet identifying Neil Patrick Harris' character!
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"Doctor Who – Frontios" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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The last Doctor Who novelization published before I became I fan of the TV show, it's The Highlanders. Joining us to discuss is a guest who's visited the Culloden battlefield several times, and who actually purchased his copy of this book in the Highlands, it's Daniel Knight (@DanielKnight1973)!
Musical cues featured in this episode include The British Grenadiers and The Skye Boat Song. One particular gag in the text owes a life debt to Netflix's late lamented "The Who Was? Show".
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"Doctor Who – The Highlanders" features cover art by Nick Spender.
Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Jason flew all the way to Los Angeles to record this week's interview with David Barsky, one of the producers of this podcast and an important figure in the development of the show. Sitting in Barsky's nearly 3,000-book science fiction and fantasy TV and film library, we enthuse about Inferno, book and TV, and also talk about Peter Cushing, The Twilight Zone, and a host of other related (and, of course, unrelated) topics. Includes an encore presentation of Kate Orman's audio essay from last week's episode on The Aztecs. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe, and rate us! "Doctor Who – Inferno" features cover art by Nick Spender. Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network. Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com. You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
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A jumbo-sized episode as Ross (@traitken) from Gallifrey's Most Wanted (@GallifreysMWPod) stops by to discuss The Aztecs, both the 1964 Doctor Who TV serial and the 1984 novelization. We have lots to say about it... as well as about critical readings of the story, OPPENHEIMER, Bing Crosby, and our favorite American soap operas.
Also contributing to the show this week are Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) with an introductory segment, and Doctor Who author Kate Orman, who narrates her own 1992 essay on the Aztecs book.
Audio from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series: an excerpt, and the recovered full game video.
Also discussed this week is James Cooray Smith's Substack essay on The Krotons.
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"Doctor Who – The Aztecs" features cover art by Nick Spender.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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This week it's an unplanned bonus episode replaying the audio of two fan panels Jason moderated at L.I. Who 60 (@LIDoctorWhoCon) last weekend, with permission to record from all panelists.
Special thanks to Conrad (@HairOfTheHound_), without whom this week's episode would not exist.
"60 for 60" features Jason, Keir Hansen (@GallifreyRadio), Drew Meyer (@whoandcompany), Hannah Long (@HannahGraceLong), and Jan Fennick.
The Target Books discussion features Jason, John Peel, Kathryn Sullivan, Rob Bardsley, and Dan Murphy.
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One of Jason's early favorite Doctor Who episodes, Warriors of the Deep, comes up for discussion. Joining in the fun is Jason McLaughlin (@jangomac72) of Bearded Geek Toy Reviews.
This episode also features music by Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) as we explore that '80s vibe!
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"Doctor Who – Warriors of the Deep" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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And now, the episode of Doctor Who Literature that you've all been waiting for... the showdown between Frazer Gregory (@FelixFrazer) and myself over what many believe (but not Frazer) is one of the worst Doctor Who tales of all. But today, the debate will be settled (or not).
Also appearing this week are Stacey Smith?, reading an excerpt from Look at the Size of That Thing, and Bill Evenson (@BillEvenson) reading an excerpt from Outside In.
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"Doctor Who – The Dominators" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Hello, and thank you for downloading the Doctor Who Literature podcast. This special trailer is being released on August 9, 2023, which has been designated Doctor Who Podcast Day. Please enjoy the brief introduction to the show, and, whatever you do, keep turning the pages!
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A very special guest joins us this week to discuss Enlightenment... my daughter! She has much to say about Barbara Clegg and how this story is unique in showing the female perspective in Doctor Who's early years.
Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) also has a song for us this week. With a YouTube video!
This concludes our run of ten straight Peter Davison books. The Target range's focus is about to shift in a major way. And be sure to join in next week for what may well be our Biggest Episode of All Time.
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"Doctor Who – Enlightenment" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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The novelization of Snakedance is published the month after the novelization of Kinda, so it fell to Terrance Dicks to adapt both Doctor Who Mara stories from the small screen to the printed page. Terrance doesn't have all that much to add to Christopher Bailey's complex themes and explorations of the dark sides of human nature... but we have plenty to add to the discussion.
Joining me this week is Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker). Jim also contributed our show logo, and this week's celebrity voice impression sketch. Along the way, we'll talk about the great Hollywood movies, EuroVision and Top of the Pops, Nellie Bly, and... well, many other topics.
Superman: The Movie can be purchased or streamed on Amazon, while My Dinner With Andre can be watched free on YouTube.
You can hear the voices of H.G. Wells and Walt Whitman on YouTube, and also watch the entirety of the January 1973 Foreman v. Frazier heavyweight title fight.
Lastly, for more on Nellie Bly, check out the Bowery Boys Podcast, as I always do for all things NYC.
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"Doctor Who – Snakedance" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Delighted to welcome to the show this week Ian Potter, who's done remarkably good work with Big Finish, Black Archives volumes on The Myth Makers and Carnival of Monsters, and with RIffTrax Presents. A great conversation, do not miss!
And Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) has a correspondent's piece for us about the recent Target Books Day in London. Thanks, Jim!
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Rejoining me this week is Dale Smith, author of several Doctor Who novels and Black Archives books, including a forthcoming (August 2023) look at The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. The book this week is 1982's Kinda, novelized in 1984.
Jason has several other podcast episodes out on other shows, including A Kettle and Some String, and new Trap One episodes repackaging my interviews with Philip Hinchcliffe and Elizabeth Morton. Please enjoy (after you've downloaded this episode first).
Friend of the podcast James Cooray Smith also has a terrific Psychic Paper article up about The New Adventures, well worth a read. Jason previously did a documentary about the first four NAs over on Trap One.
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Season 6 of Doctor Who Literature starts a week early as our bonus episode is delayed. We jump into the 1984 books by looking at Mawdryn Undead with the capable help of Steven B. (@steedstylin) from the New To Who podcast (@NewToWhoPodcast). We have a lot to talk about.
Steven's new project is Reimagining Doctor Who, which comes highly recommended.
Many thanks to Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) for research assistance and for a dramatic reading from the diaries of Angus Mackay, a member of the Mawdryn Undead guest cast.
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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As we continue on with our look at The Five Doctors, Doctor Who's 20th anniversary special, this week we are joined by Elizabeth Morton (@LiverpoolGirl72), author of the new novel The Orphans from Liverpool Lane. We'll discuss Elizabeth's strong Doctor Who family connection, and, of course, with two Doctors in her household already, who's her favorite? The answer may surprise you.
A panel of three great friends of the podcast then join Jason to discuss Five Doctors -- is it the greatest episode of all time? Again, the answer may surprise you. Welcome back to Graeme Burk (@GraemeBurk), Professor Stacey Smith?, and David Barsky.
Jason then examines the back half of the Terrance Dicks' Five Doctors novelization.
Next week we'll finish up our look at The Five Doctors and will have another bestselling author for you to join the conversation.
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"Doctor Who – The Five Doctors" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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This week, it's The Five Doctors, the 20th anniversary special for Doctor Who, aired (at least in the States) exactly on the 20th anniversary, and the novelization, by episode writer Terrance Dicks, came out the same week. We're now at three times the 20th anniversary, but this story still has a powerful hold.
We'll be bringing you three straight episodes exploring Five Doctors - in every dimension, in every detail - and this week my guest is James Cooray Smith, author of many Black Archives titles such as The Massacre, and keeper of the great Psychic Paper Substack. James and I have much to discuss; there's probably enough material in here to cover seven episodes, let alone one, as we discuss Five Doctors and beyond -- way beyond.
Music heard this week includes a 1980s US cartoon TV theme (sung by John Sebastian!), the theme to the PBS staple This Old House (via Fats Waller), some old school late '80s hip-hop, and a Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) homage to Tulips from Amsterdam.
Shout-out to the Metebelis 2 Podcast.
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"Doctor Who – The Five Doctors" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Joining me this week is Bill Evenson (@BillEvenson) of the Frankenstein Minute Podcast (@FrankenMinute). This was Jason's first Doctor Who cliffhanger; Bill came to the story later, but we're both fond of it, even against conventional wisdom.
Naturally the conversation takes several twists and turns. No conversation with Bill fails to reference the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins.
This episode also features a musical composition by Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker), and includes a few feature, #DoctorWhoOnPluto
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Thank you for downloading this episode of the Doctor Who Literature podcast. We know you have a choice... and we know that not many Who fans are gonna wanna sit through a 105-minute discussion on Terminus -- but this is a strong episode. Promise!!
Steven Alexander (@stealexanderuk) from the Robots in Your Eyes podcast (@RobotsInEyes) is my return guest this week. He has a LOT to say about "Terminus", both TV serial and book. We'll discuss religion, disease, Norse mythology, the movie Alien, and epic 1920s Hollywood silent-film-blockbusters... and "Terminus".
The 1923 Cecil B. DeMille production of The Ten Commandments can be watched on YouTube.
The 1993 HBO original movie And The Band Played On can be watched on Max.
Paul Scoones' excellent article on the Doctor Who DVD information text commentary tracks can be found here.
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Earthshock was a signal moment in the journey of many Doctor Who fans when it aired in March 1982, from the surprise reveal of a returning monster, to the unexpected departure of a regular cast member. Ian Marter's August 1983 novelization of the story is a bit different from what we saw on television, but is no less impactful.
We're very happy to have with us this week Jon Arnold (@The_Arn) as a first-time Doctor Who Literature guest. Jon can be heard on two other excellent podcasts, the Doctor Who-inspired Strangers in Space (@strangerscast), as well as the football (soccer)-themed @BustingBallsPod. Jon has also written several terrific volumes in Jason's favorite Who non-fiction range, The Black Archives from Observe Books, including a look at a TV story previously examined on this very show, Invasion of the Dinosaurs. And don't forget Jon's contributions to the Silver Archive range; Jon and Jason also discuss TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" this week.
Also mentioned this week is Jim Sangster (@monster_maker)'s newest DWLit-themed T-shirt.
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Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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For a story like Four to Doomsday, what else could we do but give you three terrific interviews, with two guests?
Up first is Jason Davis (@TheJasonDavis), writer and editor extraordinaire, of TheJasonDavis.com, This interview was recorded live at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles in February 2023, and you already heard the first half of that interview in my Harlan Ellison special. This is the rest of that conversation.
Then I was joined on short notice by Matt West (@WingedPodcast) of Q the Winged Podcast and Miwk Publishing (on which Matt gives me a pronunciation lesson).
Followed by a return visit from Jason Davis.
Between the three of us and the three interviews, he hit just about every corner of science fiction from television to the printed page.
You can find some more of Matt's work on the original Pyramids of Mars DVD.
And Jason (this podcast's Jason) was most recently on Trap One to discuss the Season 9 Blu-ray Collection.
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As much as I love Season 18 and its novelizations... the Season 19 premiere, "Castrovalva", and its novelization, are right up there. Especially the novelization, says my guest this week, Graeme Burk (@graemeburk) from Reality Bomb. We both read out favorite passages from the book -- and then quickly get off on several wide-ranging tangents, before coming back to the greatness of "Castrovalva".
Simon Guerrier (@0tralala) recently tweeted out the first page of David Whitaker's unfinished novelization of "The Enemy of the World".
Groucho Marx duets with his then 8-year-old daughter on a song from The Mikado.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEuXaea8rY
Graeme references the 1964 documentary on Culloden, which can be found here.
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The new trailer for the Autumn 2023 Doctor Who specials is up!
Conrad Westmaas (@HairOfTheHound_) is back this week as we discuss "Meglos". Conrad tries to win back his 20 Questions crown... how well will that go? We also play a lively game of show-and-tell.
The "Josie and the Pussycats In Outer Space" series can still be found on DVD.
The full cut of Peter Howell's "The Astronauts", mentioned this week, can be heard in full.
"Doctor Who – Meglos" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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It's 1983! And the second-ever novelization of a Peter Davison story, released just in time for the end of TV's Season 20.
Joining me this week is Frazer Gregory (@FelixFrazer). We have an epic discussion of "Time-Flight" the book and TV, and play an involved game of "Target Books First Lines" -- turning the tables on Frazer after he sprung this game on ME on an earlier episode.
You can hear a lot of Frazer's recent appearances on other Doctor Who podcasts such as WHO Corner to Corner.
And Jim Sangster (@MonsterMaker), who contributed the excellent show open this week, can recently be heard on Reality Bomb and the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast.
You can read Waris Hussein's 1963 diaries here.
Also mentioned in this episode is David Gerrold's very funny book about the genesis of Star Trek: TOS "The Trouble with Tribbles".
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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What is The Sun Makers on TV? A simple satire on 1970s' British taxation? A subversive takedown of capitalism? Colonialism? All of these things? Lewis Baston (@LewisBaston5) has written the book on this story -- literally -- and is back this week to discuss with us.
Please purchase Lewis' Black Archive volume on Sun Makers here.
Last week, one memorably cranky reviewer on Apple Podcasts described my guests as "ghastly woke zombies". You bet we are! And even more of that this week. Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) has gone ahead and designed the Ghastly Woke Zombie T-shirt.
And friend of the podcast Brian Burkart has given us the K-9 Roomba.
"Doctor Who and the Sunmakers" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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One of Jason's favorite Doctor Who TV episodes and novelizations is the subject of this week's episode.
Joining me is long-time Doctor Who author Jonathan Blum, back for his third appearance.
Kate Orman was on the schedule but unable to join us this week, but please purchase and listen to her incredible new Big Finish audio novel, The Dead Star.
John Fraser, who was the principal guest star in Logopolis, wrote a terrific autobiography several years ago which you can still find -- even if, sadly, the book doesn't describe his three weeks on Doctor Who.
Jason's most recent guest spot on the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast can be found here.
"Doctor Who – Logopolis" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
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Joining me this week to wrap up the E-Space Trilogy -- the first story in the trilogy is the last to be novelized -- is Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker), the designer of our excellent new logo, and the musical genius behind... well, you'll hear it within today's episode.
Check out Jim's RedBubble Store, my official Doctor Who convention T-shirt outfitter, and from which Jim wore a selection during our recording for this week.
You can catch Jason on the most recent podcast guest appearance on the most recent episode of Gallifrey's Most Wanted.
This week's episode frequently references James Cooray Smith's excellent Doctor Who-themed Substack.
A new James Bond novel is out, and author Kim Sherwood has a surprising connection to Doctor Who's "Full Circle"...
"Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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This week, it's the first Peter Davison novelization, the first Season 19 novelization, and the first photographic cover. We love all three, no surprise.
Our guest is the superb @Quark_McMalus of Trap One Podcast.
You can find an image of the proposed (and rejected) cover painting for this novelization here.
Doctor Who: Doom's Day Hours 14-11 by M.G. Harris is due out in August.
We have a new logo beginning this week and it's all thanks to @Monster_Maker! It's absolutely lovely and I can't believe it's mine!
If this week's book sounds familiar, it's possibly because the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast covered it last week, also with the help of @Monster_Maker.
And don't forget to tune in NEXT week, when our special guest is... @Monster_Maker.
The full 1963 version of "Meet the Mets" can be found here.
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Welcome to your weekend of Jason. This weekend I can also be found on the following just-released podcast episodes:
We're All Stories in the End: Camera Obscura
Trap One: The Season 2 (William Hartnell) Blu-ray Collection
Doctor Who Literature: The Eight Doctors
Meanwhile this week, the ubiquitous Si Hart brings his talents back to DWLit. And brings not one, not two, but, how gratifying, THREE copies of the Leisure Hive novelization.
We also discuss the significance of Lalla Ward's bathing costume, the many splendors of Season 18, and whether or not, when it comes to playing "20 Questions", Si is smarter than an AI program.
"Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Happy April 1st, y'all!
The topic of our annual April Fool's episode is Terrance Dicks' generally derided 1997 novel The Eight Doctors. But, no fooling, Stacey and I just get into a pretty hard-hitting debate about all sorts of things related to the book.
Back with a regular episode tomorrow!
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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We continue on our Season 18 run with our third straight novelization from the season -- unusually, all so far in story order. "The Keeper of Traken" on TV is a delightful gem, and the book is not too far behind it.
Joining me this week to celebrate Season 18 -- as well as the many other topics which inevitably come up -- is Lelon Stoldt (@LelonStoldt) from the InDOCtrination Podcast, a delightful show in which Lelon reads his way through the Target novelizations with his daughters -- in story order. You can catch their latest episode here.
All our guests are up for a rousing game of "20 Questions"... but what happens when an AI program attempts the same? Find out... the results will shock you.
"Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.]
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Our journey through Season 18 continues with the novelization of "Warriors' Gate" -- and, for a short time only, the Target books match up by publication order AND story order!
Jason's guest this week is Adam Clegg (@AdamJClegg), a popular returning guest, and co-host of both The Real McCoy Podcast and Harry Sullivan Is An Imbecile!. We are both delighted by Warriors' Gate, both in print and on TV. As a result, this conversation is much more on topic than usual. But there's still time for a game of 20 Questions.
Jason then breaks down the text of the novelization, which is in many ways a stark departure from the previous Target books that we've been examining in publication order. What is the significance of the April 1982 release date?
"Doctor Who and Warriors' Gate" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Seasons 18 through 21 of the Classic Series are my era of the show, and this week's novelization, January 1982's "Doctor Who and the State of Decay", is the first novelization of the JNT era. You'll be hearing a lot more Peter Howell music on this show the next few seasons!
After a brief roundup of some distressing current events, we revisit Harlan Ellison, one of the topics from last week's show. The anthology referenced is "This Book Needs No Introduction, by Harlan Ellison".
This week's guest is the always wonderful Denise Sutton (@CupOfTea69).
"Doctor Who and the State of Decay" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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This week we take a break in between the 1981 and 1982 seasons to explore the legacies of two writing titans.
Harlan Ellison wrote the 7-page introduction that appeared in most American reprints of Target novelizations, put out by Pinnacle Books. How did that essay come to be commissioned, and why did Harlan write it? We have answers! We're joined by Jason Davis, who edited several of Harlan's collections, and shares his knowledge with us, in an interview recorded live at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles in February 2022.
You can find Jason at Humanity Is My Business.
We are then rejoined by Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who's producer between 1974 and 1977, and producer for Chris Boucher's first two TV episodes, to discuss the work and legacy of Mr. Boucher, who passed away in December 2022. This interview was recorded in January 2023.
And stay tuned for a bonus conversation, also recorded live at Gally, with long-time show contributors David Barsky and Bill Evenson. This conversation is, ah... much less scholarly and stately than the other two.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Doctor Who's origin story is our focus this week.
There is so, so much to discuss, and it's fitting that Mark from The Trap One Podcast is the one to join me this week. We discuss both the TV serial -- Doctor Who's first four weeks on television in late autumn 1963 -- and the novelization, which came out 65th in Target's publication run but is indeed the first story.
Mark and I have lots and lots of memories this week. And lots more in my audio essay, following the conversation with Mark.
You can find for purchase two Doctor Who spinoff media tales mentioned by Mark:
--"Hunters of the Burning Stone", a comic book sequel to this adventure.
--"The Last Day at Work", a Big Finish freebie audio play also riffing on this adventure.
On YouTube you can find:
--the 1976 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Weebles set.
--Game 6 of the 1981 World Series, which aired the same week this novelization was published.
"Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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This episode of "Doctor Who Literature" was mostly recorded live at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles between February 16 and 18, 2023.
Stacey Smith? joins me to discuss the episode and novelization of the week, the pandemic, the convention, and her international travels. And Dale Santos returns from the Gally dealer's room with some fascinating book-related treasures.
The con is not over yet and there's plenty more con-related content to come over the next few episodes!
"Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World" features cover art by Bill Donohoe.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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"The Creature from the Pit" as a TV episode has divided fandom over the years, but fortunately, my guest this week, the great Frazer Gregory (@FelixFrazer), fall onto the same page in discussing both the episode and the January 1981 David Fisher novelization.
However, Frazer doesn't find "20 Questions" such an easy time of it...
"Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit" features cover art by Steve Kyte.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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December 1980 marks a watershed moment for the Target novelizations range -- the last calendar year in which more than half a given year's books will be written by Terrance Dicks. We will look back and pay tribute to his contributions to the range during this episode -- though of course he will have many more novelizations put out over the next decade-plus.
Joining me as a first-time guest this week is Jo Short (@thebrainofspock). Technical problems transpired to make this a very short interview, but Jo came packed with insights, so there's not a wasted moment.
"Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon" features cover art bySteve Kyte.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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We've got a show bursting at the seams this week.
We have a new Season 9 Classic Series Blu-ray collection trailer, and it is very emotional.
Jason previously discussed this week's book, "Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon" over on our sister podcast, The Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast.
My guest this week is the great Ross Aitken (@traitken), from such amazing podcasts as Gallifrey's Most Wanted (@GallifreysMWPod). Ross, like Jason, never shies away from strong opinions, and there are some great ones this week.
We discuss some Hall of Fame athletes this week as well, and joining the Doctor Who Literature guest reading Hall of Fame is the one and only Jim Sangster (@monster_maker).
Ross and Jason briefly discuss the game that broke Jason's heart when Jason was just days old, Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. We have very different rooting interests in this game.
The stakes are very high in this week's game of "Guess That Cliffhanger".
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Substack is an incredible ride.
"Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon" features cover art by Steve Kyte.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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January 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the releases of the first three Target novelizations. Happy Birthday to Doctor Who novels!
My guest this week, and it's a fun, wide-ranging chat, is fan favorite Pete Lambert (@Prof_Quiteamess). Fresh off his appearance discussing "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" on another podcast, Pete has several fresh takes about the way Buffy/Angel and Doctor Who have influenced each other over the years, and we detour to a brief lovefest about "House, M.D.".
The story of the week is "Nightmare of Eden", Bob Baker's final "Doctor Who" script before departing to the world of Wallace and Gromit, and this is the final novelization of any of his stories. How does the TV production differ from Baker's intended story? And how does the great Terrance Dicks bring the story back to basics?
Pete will have his hands full with a game of "Guess That Cliffhanger".
"Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
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Possibly our biggest and boldest episode yet. The great Philip Hinchcliffe is back to discuss his third and (sadly) final Doctor Who novelization; August 1980's "The Keys of Marinus". Always an honor to speak to Philip, who had not read this book in decades and gained a new perspective on the text.
And Jim Sangster (@Monster_Maker) is back to discuss "Marinus" in both TV and book incarnations and why "Marinus" is so important to 21st-century "Doctor Who"... as well as Jim's prolific creative work and DW content, Bette Davis, limericks, and the long-awaited return of everyone's favorite game, "Guess That Cliffhanger".
The Bette Davis/George Colouris interview may be found in its entirety here.
The "Blake's 7" anthology for which Jim provided illustrations may be found and purchased here.
"Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus" features cover art by David McAllister.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
We're very excited to welcome Paul Scoones (@Paul_Scoones) to Doctor Who Literature. Paul wears many hats in the "Doctor Who" universe and we'll discuss almost all of them today. We'll also discuss pronunciations, genealogy, the long and benevolent shadow of Terrance Dicks... and play a game of "20 Questions".
Read Paul's accounting of the recovery of Episode 1 of "The Crusade", which occurred 24 years ago this week.
You can find the TSV novelizations -- including two written by Paul himself -- here.
Bonus reading on the Curse of the House of Atreus.
"Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
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Happy New Year to all; we wish you a happy and healthy 2023.
My guest this week is the great Iain Martin (@broadanddeep), from oh so many great Doctor Who podcasts, including but not limited to We're All Stories in the End and All of Time and Space.
Iain proves a true challenge to the all-time "20 Questions" quiz title-holders.
While the TV version of "The Power of Kroll" doesn't win a lot of fans this week, the novelization was previously featured on Jason's Terrance Top Ten list in September 2019.
"Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
And, incidentally, a happy Christmas, to all of you at home!
For this Yule themed (and 7th-day-of-Hanukkah themed) episode of Doctor Who Literature, we feature K-9 singing holiday classics.
There are two guest interviews this week. Delighted to have Michael Stevens, editor of the Target Audiobooks range, which featured a new novelization of this week's story, "The Androids of Tara".
And we have frequent Doctor Who Literature guest Pete Lambert (@Prof_Quiteamess) reading the Terrance Dicks adaptation of "Androids of Tara" for the first time!
Don't forget to listen to the Trap One discussion of the David Fisher novelization.
"Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
We lost two big names connected with Classic Doctor Who this week: episode writer and novelist Chris Boucher, and actor Jane Sherwin. This episode features audio clips from Boucher's "The Robots of Death", and of Sherwin (with Frazer Hines and Graham Weston) in "The War Games".
My guest this week is Jason McLaughlin (@JangoMac72), one of my fellow co-hosts from The Trap One Podcast, and the impresario behind Bearded Geek Toy Reviews over on YouTube. "UK Jason" offers us a tour of his recording studio and his impressive array of genre memorabilia.
Topics discussed this week include the great Saturday morning TV shows of Sid and Marty Krofft, specifically "Far Out Space Nuts" and "Land of the Lost". UK Jason also takes his turn at "20 Questions", with surprising results.
We also have Listener Mail, Jason's review of the "Stones of Blood" novelization, and much much more.
"Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
We have a guest host this week. Mark (@QuarkMcMalus) from the Trap One Podcast does a brilliant job manning the ship and taking us back to Gallifrey, discussing this week's book with a first-time (and yet oddly familiar-sounding) guest.
"Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
This has been a fraught week on the Internet, on Twitter especially, so we open with an unscripted monologue on the subject.
Some background reading on the odious Joe Rogan, my fellow Spotify podcaster.
A link to Judd Apatow's 2015 anthology, Sick in the Head, an excerpt from which is read on the program. No copyright infringement is intended.
This episode features Mouret's Rondeau, best known in the US as the theme to PBS's "Masterpiece Theater".
My guest this week is the great Frazer Gregory (@FelixFrazer). We discuss Underworld (the week's book and its parent TV episode), but also Warriors of the Deep and the Doctor Who Rubbish Monsters Advent Calendar. There are dramatic readings, and there's a game -- but not the game you were expecting.
"Doctor Who and the Underworld" features cover art by Bill Donohoe.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Jason is back from LI Who (Long Island Doctor Who) presents: Meglos 2022. And he's brought back interviews with four convention guests plus several fan friends. The perfect way to spend a week in between the end of the 1979 Target books and the start of the 1980 books.
Jason then does a spontaneous, unrehearsed audio commentary for a single 25-minute Classic Series Doctor Who episode. The episode we will be discussing this week is...
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
This week on Doctor Who Literature we close out our third season with a look at the last novelization of 1979, Ian Marter's third book, and the first book in the "Key to Time" cycle. US TV producer David Barsky rejoins us to talk about Harlan Ellison, "American Chopper", and a rousing game of "Listener Limerick Challenge".
Also this week we learned that Millie Gibson will be playing Doctor Who's newest assistant, and she's interviewed by the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, here.
Jason can be heard this week on the latest episode of Reality Bomb.
"Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation" features cover art by John Geary.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
We have a short Terrance Dicks novelization this week, but one that was very influential on Young Jason's fandom, so there's a lot to say on this episode. My guest this week is Larry, the founder and CEO of the Direction Point! podcast network, and the host of the Doctor Who Collectors Podcast. Larry has been around American fandom since practically the very beginning and has a wealth of stories to tell, but, more importantly, we also discuss which city makes the better pizza: New York or Chicago (spoiler alert, this is my podcast, so the answer is not going to be Chicago).
Last week I moderated a Trap One podcast discussion on The Stones of Blood, the new David Fisher novelization, with three other Doctor Who fans well known to listeners of this podcast. You can watch the full "Sesame Street" Monsterpiece Theater version of "Me, Claudius" (featured in this episode) here. "Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks" features cover art by Andrew Skilleter. Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network. Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com. You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit
50 episodes of Doctor Who Literature, and this episode releases of the first anniversary of my original trailer for the then-forthcoming podcast, November 6. It's been a fun and rewarding year, we've read some great books and interviewed some great guests. Thanks to all of you who have been along for all or part of this journey.
"The War Games" is surely one of Doctor Who's best -- and most groundbreaking -- TV serials. The novelization by Malcolm Hulke has not quite received perhaps quite so much love, but we try to remedy that over the course of this episode.
Joining Jason this week is Ross from Gallifrey's Most Wanted Podcast as well as Stop! Let's Team Up. We discuss War Games, Jack Kirby, and Eli Wallach; and reflect on some of the badly-dated language used in the 1970s to denote race in the Target novelizations.
Many other special guests stop by this week to remember "The War Games" (TV and book) and to wish the podcast a happy 50th episode.
Read more about Rudolph Walker, who had a too-small part in Episodes Four and Five of "The War Games".
Pete Seeger's rousing rendition of "John Brown's Body", a fight song for the Union Army in the American Civil War, as referenced in the novelization.
Eli Wallach's excellent autobiography was published in 2005. The actor passed away a few years later at age 99.
"Doctor Who and the War Games" features cover art by John Geary.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
And, incidentally, a Happy Halloween, to all of you at home.
Welcome to the first episode of Doctor Who Literature made after the airing of "The Power of the Doctor", the BBC centenary episode, and the last hurrah for Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall. I appeared on Trap One earlier this week to discuss the episode. And be sure to check out DWLit vets Conrad, Mark, and Pete, discussing the Disney/Doctor Who news.
Joining Jason this week to break down "Image of the Fendahl" is friend of the podcast and TV producer David Barsky, who brings us news on his latest series, braves a round of "20 Questions", talks cross-country travel, and discusses just what merit might be found in this slender novelization. Plus, a surprising abundance of jokes about novelization author Terrance Dicks' surname.
This is your last week to contribute any audio recollections in advance of next week's special Episode 50, covering "The War Games" and its novelization.
"Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl" features cover art by John Geary.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
This episode is being released the same day that "The Power of the Doctor" -- the Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall finale -- is set to air. One day ago, we received this gorgeous new trailer. How excited are you for this episode? We are, and we'll talk about it a lot today. My guest this week is a returning guest, Daniel Knight (@DanielKnight73). We'll be talking "The Robots of Death", TV and book, but we also discuss the legacy of Philip Hinchcliffe, the last DWM survey of the entire series, and our thoughts on Jodie's and Chibnall's work on Doctor Who the last few years. We are also joined again by Simon Hart (@Si_Hart), our correspondent at "Terrance Dicks: A Celebration" at Riverside Studios earlier this month. "Doctor Who and the Robots of Death" features cover art by John Geary. Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network. Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com. You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit
For the third straight week on Doctor Who Literature, we are examining the novelization of a Bob Baker & Dave Martin TV episode. Made at the very beginning of the Graham Williams era, the first story produced as part of Season 15, this proves to be a somewhat rocky maiden voyage for Doctor Who's incoming producer, and the scripts that Williams was handed... probably did not help matters. There are some terrific ideas on the page and some terrific visual effects on screen, especially in Part One, but, this week's guest (the inaugural member of the Doctor Who Literature Five-Timers club), Si Hart (@Si_Hart) and I, sure have a lot of fun breaking down what went wrong.
Jason and Si also apply our Retrospective Script Editor hats to try and improve several Classic Doctor Who stories, such as "The Time Monster", and we revisit a COVID-inspired trip through the Jon Pertwee era.
Among the many other places you can catch Si is on the Maximum Power Podcast, which is about to launch its second season.
And catch Jason on the most recent episode of the Trap One Podcast discussing the Power of the Doctor trailer.
"Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy" features cover art by Roy Knipe.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.]
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Doctor Who Literature is now a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.
This week we are joined by Dale Smith, a prolific writer of both Doctor Who fiction and non-fiction. Dale talks about two of his Doctor Who novels and his recent Black Archives volume on "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". You can find Dale's masterful website detailing his writing career here, and can purchase his Black Archives volume here. We've talked a lot about "Talons" on Doctor Who Literature lately, but Dale's literally written the book on the subject, and this was a particularly fascinating conversation.
"The Hand of Fear" features one of Doctor Who's most emotional companion departures, and another amazing vocal performance by the great Stephen Thorne. We will cover all of that, from the sublime to the sublime.
Thanks to Frazer Gregory (@FelixFrazer) for this week's transcendently good guest reading.
"Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear" features cover art by Roy Knipe.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Several program notes this week. We're a big hit in France. The fabulous novelization cover by Roy Knipe generates much talk on Twitter. A major change to the show coming next week -- tune in and find out --
-- but before you do that, stick around this week. The always funny and ever-unpredictable Bill Evenson (of The Frankenstein Minute Podcast and Reality Bomb!) is back. We discuss Frankenstein, his Doctor Who humor book (co-written with repeat Doctor Who Literature guest Stacey Smith?), which is the better show: Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, and... occasionally, just very occasionally, we talk about "Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment".
Bill has a memorably rough time with "20 Questions". Will he finish? Will he be the first person in the history of the show to NOT get the answer?
Jason breaks down what CultBox calls his "forensic look" at the text. Who's the better narrator -- Jason, or Jon Culshaw?
Links this week:
We're thrilled to make CultBox's September podcast roundup.
Bill and Stacey Smith? wrote a very funny book.
Jason previously interviewed Bill and Stacey about it on Trap One.
Jason returns to Trap One to discuss The Celestial Toymaker this week.
And Bill can be heard weekly on The Frankenstein Minute.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
There comes a time in every Doctor Who podcast's life -- and I'm sure I'll have plenty of them -- where the episode under discussion just isn't that good. This is one of those weeks, but it's a tribute to Doctor Who in general that it took 44 weeks' worth of books to get to this point.
Jason opens up with several anecdotes meant to delay the inevitable. Talking about dorm room decorations, Brooklyn geography, Winona Ryder, off-Broadway musicals, and knitting.
A mystery guest speaks to us, via an excerpt from a forthcoming Doctor Who Literature episode, about "The Android Invasion" on TV. Listen on to find out who!
Ross Aitken (@traitken) from Gallifrey's Most Wanted (@GallifreysMWPod) joins Jason this week for an all-encompassing and unpredictable discussion about the entirety of Doctor Who -- we literally chat about 1963 and 2022 and most stops in between -- while taking a few minutes to scowl at the TV episode and book in question this week.
Jason then reads a more sarcastic than usual breakdown of the Terrance Dicks novelization -- but Terrance himself has some thoughts on this story, it seems, and they're not too dissimilar to Jason's and Ross's.
Links to other podcasts mentioned in the episode:
Trap One: Galaxy 4
Gallifrey's Most Wanted: The 3rd Doctor
Gallifrey's Most Wanted: The 4th Doctor
Trap One: Doctor Who - Flux Trailer Breakdown
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
This week in September 2022 saw the announcement of the title of the next Doctor Who episode ("The Power of the Doctor"), although not the release date. This week also saw "Cobra Kai" Season 5 drop on Netflix, though that's of slightly less importance to fandom.
My guest this week is Paul Simpson (@scifibulletin), who has several terrific stories to tell about the early years of the Target Books publishing office and some amazing details about the early writers (Malcolm Hulke and his graph paper!). Paul is currently managing editor of Sci-Fi Bulletin.
Release information and a link to "Doctor Who and the Daleks: The Illustrated Edition" can be found here.
Stick around for the second half of the program, when Jason discusses the "Death to the Daleks" novelization -- a perfect example of how Terrance adds value and insight and depth to the TV serial even in a very short book. There's lots to break down today.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
It's been a busy week in world news, especially in England, with the selection of a new Prime Minister, the passing of the Queen, and the accession of a new King.
Here on Doctor Who Literature, we tackle the novelization of "The Time Warrior", a book with sole writing credit to Terrance Dicks, but actually the work of two men: Terrance, and Robert Holmes.
We spend some considerable time on the book's Prologue, written by Holmes. This week's guest, Conrad (@HairOfTheHound_), lays down one of the great guest-readings of all time. Jason and Conrad have a long chat about the state of Doctor Who in 2022, "The Time Warrior" on TV, that prologue, and all the other wonderful material in the book.
Conrad takes a run at becoming Champion of "20 Questions". Will he succeed?
Finally, Jason goes through the rest of the book chapter by chapter. What happens to Eric the Squire in the book vs. on TV? Who is Professor Dingle? Who is Professor Crabshaw? Who has the upper hand in their alliance -- Linx, or Irongron? The answers to all these might surprise you...
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Steven B. (@steedstylin) from the excellent New To Who podcast is a first-time guest this week. We have much to discuss about "Tomb of the Cybermen", which premiered 55 years ago this week. We take a look at some of the TV story's more questionable choices on race and ethnicity, and discuss what it was like to watch this story in 1967 when it first aired, versus 1992 when it was recovered after being thought lost, versus today. Steven also enthuses over the novel's cover art, and we discuss the great work of Jeff Cummins and other titans of the Target cover-painting range.
Here you can find New To Who's Ratings Matrix, a nifty way of ranking all the Doctor Who episodes from worst to best. What are some of our choices for best?
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Jason is on vacation this week, so here is a pre-recorded episode. We did not discuss the book cover, but this is one of the all-time great Target covers, so take an extra minute to drink that in. Jeff Cummins, everyone. Such a haunting, moody painting.
Jason is joined this week by Steve Alexander (@stealexanderuk), a very familiar voice to listeners of the Trap One and the "Hamster with a Blunt Penknife" podcasts. Steve brings terrific intensity as we discuss not only "Horror of Fang Rock", both TV episode and novelization -- but also the long line of Target novelization audiobook adaptations. Steve brings with him a Top Ten list of audiobooks and his revelation of the top spot is not to be missed.
Jason then reviews the novelization, in terms so glowing that the review itself could serve as a lighthouse.
Also discussed this week is the fascinating 2018 Scottish film The Vanishing, based on the original Flannan Isle Lighthouse mystery.
And don't forget to read the Wilfrid Gibson poem based on the same subject.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
In 2022, it may be mid-August, traditionally a slow season for media, but there's been a lot going on this week. Jason takes a look at the series finale of "Better Call Saul" -- is it the greatest US TV series finale ever? And there's a new trailer out for the Doctor Who Blu-ray Collection -- it's Season 2, and Maureen O'Brien is back on screen as Vicki! We also have listener mail, and a plug for two new Black Archives releases.
Back to January 1978, Jason is joined by Lelon Stoldt (@LelonStoldt), creator and co-host of the InDOCtrination podcast -- catch its latest episode, which dropped after we recorded.
There's much to discuss about the novelization of "The Face of Evil". How does Terrance handle the TV characters. Is Chris Boucher's script flawless, and, if not, what does Terrance do, or not do, to salvage some of the flaws? How do you introduce your young daughters to "Doctor Who"? We also look at "Better Call Sault", and the current Star Wars spinoffs -- the latest of which has a name very, very familiar to longtime fans of "The Face of Evil". And how will Lelon fare at a game of 20 Questions?
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Jason pauses the read-through in between the 1977 and 1978 books, and gives the episode over to Jim Sangster, a long-time Doctor Who fan who you know from pretty much everywhere, but most recently from his pandemic-inspired read-through of the Target novelizations in publication order (does that project sound familiar?), the wonderful Escape to Danger blog.
You can also find Jim on Twitter and I highly recommend his Target-inspired Redbubble shop.
We also have listener mail; Jason is left completely speechless by some of Jim's stories; and Jason digresses to discuss his all-time favorite Albert Brooks movie.
We will be back next week and will embark for the next few months on our journey, this time through the 1978 and 1979 books.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
We close out the 1977 Target novelizations with the longest-ever episode of Doctor Who Literature.
This is largely because we have two interviews this week. First, former Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe rejoins Jason to discuss his work on 1970s Doctor Who, specifically the TV production and the novelization of "The Masque of Mandragora".
We take a moment to reflect on the passing of Nichelle Nichols and of Vin Scully, the latter of whom has a surprising connection to TV science fiction.
We're then rejoined by Graeme Burk (@GraemeBurk), co-producer and co-host of Reality Bomb. We discuss the differences between our two podcasts, share our love for the Philip Hinchcliffe era, and both the TV and book versions of "Masque of Mandragora", share some laughs... and then go deep into debate over "Talons of Weng-Chiang", subject of last week's episode. Was "Talons" controversial when it came out in 1977? When did public opinion start to shift? Was "Talons" really banned in Canada? And, after clearing the air, we discuss Graeme's soon-to-be-released Hinchcliffe biography.
Lastly, Jason goes deep into the "Masque" novelization, and wouldn't even say no... to a salami... sandwich.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is still, by popular acclaim, one of the greatest "Doctor Who" stories of all time. It's still in the top-10 -- out of both Classic and New series -- in the year-2014 DWM survey, and is even top-5 among Classic stories on that list.
"Talons" however also has major problems. One is the language; words that may (or may not) have been acceptable in 1977, are certainly not acceptable here in 2022. Two is the story's world-view, in which the immigrants (the Chinese, and other groups to be found in London's East End in the 1890s) are Other, alien, here solely to cause trouble -- described by various English characters within the story as "inscrutable", "pixilated", and "bloodsucker". "Doctor Who" -- both the TV show and the character -- has spent the better part of 60 years sticking up for the underdog, empowering the powerless and defending the oppressed. But for six weeks in the winter and early spring of 1977, the show took a break from that, and told a story instead about defending the Crown from... those other people.
Of course, "Talons" is NOT the only "Doctor Who" story with indefensible language and beliefs -- not the only Classic Series story to do that, and certainly there are New Series stories which also have problems. Does loving "Doctor Who" mean we have to accept its baggage?
Over the next two hours, join Jason -- and our first tandem guests, long-time Doctor Who novelists Kate Orman and Jon Blum -- as we take an unflinching look at this story, and then try to see if it's still possible to love this story in spite of its flaws, its many flaws.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
"The Deadly Assassin" is the first Season 14 story to be novelized, the first of four straight Season 14 books to come, and the start of a long consecutive run of adaptations of many truly excellent Doctor Who stories.
Helping me break the book down this week is returning guest Mark (@QuarkMcMalus) from The Trap One Podcast. We have much to discuss about Time Lord mythology, the population breakdown on Gallifrey, how this story doesn't (or does!) connect up with "The War Games", and who are the best actors to play Borusa and the Master. Mark is also challenged to a game of "Guess That Cliffhanger". Plus we have more Listener E-Mail from a surprising source.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
This week Denise Sutton (@CupOfTea69) is our guest. We discuss what it's like watching Doctor Who overseas, what it's like when "The Dominators" is your birth story, and what links "The Mutants" has to other Bob Baker & Dave Martin scripts. Denise can also be found at her blog and on several terrific episodes of Trap One, such as discussing the Audio Annuals or "The Pirate Planet".
Denise goes for the all-time record on "20 Questions", and we have our first listener e-mail (it's... interesting).
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
Back for a record-setting fourth appearance on Doctor Who Literature this week is Simon Hart (@Si_Hart). We both break down the TV version of "Planet of Evil" -- is this one of Doctor Who's most successful hours? How does the dialogue and plot logic measure up to the many other jewels in the Philip Hinchcliffe era crown? Then we get to the book -- is Terrance Dicks able to work his usual magic on a script that he seems to find less enjoyable than many others he's adapted in the past?
Si also tries to defend his crown as all-time DWL "20 Questions" champion. Can he break his own record this week?
Later on, Jason walks us through the text of the book and gets the impression that Terrance is rolling his eyes at the story a little more than usual.
Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.
It's June 1977, and the release of the novelization of a Doctor Who story whose influence is still being felt in the New Series even 45 years later. It's "The Brain of Morbius".
My guest this week is Adam Clegg (@AdamJClegg) of the Real McCoy Podcast, and we both have thoughts about Morbius, and the New Adventures, and the current series, and many, many other topics.
Catch Jason and Adam together on past Trap One Podcast episodes such as this one.
You can also hear Jason this week on the newest episodes of Reality Bomb and Gallifrey's Most Wanted. And check out the night that Trap One took Times Square!
Check out all past episodes of Doctor Who Literature here.
Jason is joined this week by three-time Doctor Who Literature guest Stacey Smith?, to break down Ian Marter's first novelization, "The Ark in Space". Stacey, who continues to be prolific, recently edited the Outside In volume on Twin Peaks, and, of course, Stacey being Stacey, has several other books in the work. All at once. Other passionate and controversial opinions are exchanged.
Jason then does his close reading of Ian Marter's text of the Ark in Space book. What does Marter do differently from Terrance Books? How do the scenes in the book stack up to those on television? And how much are we looking forward to Marter's next book after this one?
You can check out the full Doctor Who Literature archives here.
It's April 1977, and "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" has just finished its controversial run on TV, but in the books, we are back in the height of the Pertwee era, reading the novelization of 1971's "The Claws of Axos".
My conversation this week is with Jan Fennick, a New York-based Doctor Who fan and writer, and a long-time friend of Jason's. We cover lots of ground -- Long Island geography, stories about U.S. Who fandom in the '80s and '90s, and, of course, "Star Trek" and "Twin Peaks".
Jason then brings us home with a glowing discussion of the magic that Terrance Dicks works on the "Axos" novelization -- perhaps not the greatest episode but certainly one of the more fun and involved books. That makes two books in a row where Terrance is really enjoying himself.
You can find Jan's writing in many places, but especially recommended is Red, White and Who, the book on the history of American "Who" fandom, and the forthcoming Outside In Walks With Fire, in which Jan (but not Jason this time) helps analyze the entirety of "Twin Peaks".
We will be back next week with another episode, but in the meantime, don't forget to check out our full archive here.
The March 1977 Target release was the novelization of "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", by Terrance Dicks. This contains perhaps the greatest opening sentence of the entire Target run and shows what Terrance Dicks can do with one of Doctor Who's most iconic hours.
Jason breaks down the text in the first half of the program and uncovers some surprising changes that Terrance made to the original story.
Jason is then joined by John Peel, who's written several Dalek novels himself, and we have a wide-ranging conversation through the entirety of Doctor Who history, from "The Daleks" in late 1963, to "Eve of the Daleks" on New Year's Day 2022... and beyond. That starts at about 30:00.
This is the last novelization of a Willian Hartnell episode to be published in the 1970s. It'll be a long wait for the next one, so get your fill now!
Doctor Who Literature is delighted and overjoyed to bring you Jason's interview with Philip Hinchcliffe, the man who produced "The Seeds of Doom" for television and who then wrote the novelization. This half-hour was one of the high points of Jason's decades as a fan and we couldn't be happier to share it with you.
Our guest conversation this week is with Shannon Dohar (@SDohar), a Doctor Who fan in New York City, whose voice you can also hear on the musical podcasts Deeper Cuts and So Much to Sing About. What was it like reading the novelizations and New Adventures in the US before the New Series hit it big here? What are our thoughts on the Chris Chibnall era? How much does Philip Hinchcliffe and his era's stories mean to us today? Spoiler alert: Quite a bit. And how does Shannon fare on a game of "Twenty Questions"?
Lastly, Jason reviews the "Seeds of Doom" novelizations and talks about the different needs of a six-week TV serial versus a 120-page adaptation.
Special thanks to David Barsky for the production of this episode.
It's January 1977 and the start of another year of Target books. It's the third straight Terrance Dicks book, and the third Third Doctor book out of the past four. For a slim book, just 119 pages of text, Terrance manages to make a lot of changes from the TV serial.
My guest this week is a returning guest, Pete Lambert (@Prof_Quiteamess). We discuss the linguistics of Polari, the evolution of Jo Grant, and whether or not Drashigs are meant to scurry, or to slither.
In the second half of the program, Jason does a deep dive into the book's text compared to the TV episodes, and finds the changes good. What's the Third Doctor's favorite alcoholic beverage? What extra detail does Terrance add when describing the Doctor's nose? And, if it's 1926, what does that mean for the UNIT dating controversy?
And don't miss Jason's recent moderation of a Trap One episode on the Galaxy 4 DVD animation.
Don't forget to tune in next week for a non-Terrance Dicks, 4th Doctor novelization, in what may prove to be the biggest episode of Doctor Who literature to date!
Delighted to have Sadie Miller on as my first guest this week to discuss her Big Finish audios, her Doctor Who legacy, and this week's episode, Pyramids of Mars.
Joining me on the second half of the program is my good friend Mark from the Trap One Podcast as we discuss the TV story's December 1976 novelization, Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars. What's changed in the book from the TV episodes? How's Jason's grasp of Egyptian geography? How much did it cost Sutekh to ship the Osirian rocket parts from Valley of the Kings to Mick Jagger's estate, using 1911 freight charges? And will Mark be able to break the all-time "20 Questions" show record?
Jason then reviews the Pyramids novelization, and surveys his favorite shows about TV lawyer and judges.
It's Doctor Who Literature's biggest episode yet!
You can also catch Jason on the most recent episode of the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast. So much fun to record with Tony and Dalton and discussing another epic Terrance Dicks novelization of a Tom Baker classic.
Delighted to welcome to the show this week, for the first time, Conrad Westmaas. We discuss the ethics of adding illustrations to your own Target book copies, the unexpected career intersection between John Abineri and WInona Ryder, and what it's like to hear Paul McGann namecheck your own character on TV. Is Planet of the Daleks a good story?
Conrad also braves a game of "Guess That Cliffhanger!", with surprising results (spoiler: sadly, no cliffhangers involving John Abineri appear this week).
In the second half of the program, Jason discusses the surprisingly extensive differences between the TV story and the slim novelization.
Jason discussed the casting of Ncuti Ghatwa on this past week's episode of the Trap One Podcast. Please check that out as well!
BREAKING NEWS! Ncuti Gatwa is the new Doctor Who!! ... but this episode was recorded and edited before the announcement, so join me on Trap One later in the week for a deeper analysis.
Welcome to the 25th episode of Doctor Who Literature -- this week is the 49th anniversary of Target's first Doctor Who book releases, and now we're reading their 25th published novelization, "Doctor Who and the Space War", published in September 1976. My guest this week is Daniel Knight, and we discuss the history of TV production in the US, Star Trek, what makes the definitive Malcolm Hulke novelization, and what other Doctor Who podcasts might also be tackling "Frontier in Space" this week.
Daniel joins us for a game of "Guess That Cliffhanger". Can anything in the world stop him now?
In the second half, Jason does a close reading of the text. Is this an improvement on the TV story, or perhaps a slight diminution?
The episode features a brief musical cue from The Beastie Boys for Mothers' Day. No copyright infringement is intended.
When Bill Evenson is in the house, anything can happen on the podcast. Today we discuss The Web of Fear, the TV episodes (four of the six of which were famously rediscovered and released in 2013), and the 1976 Terrance Dicks novelization. But we also discuss Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, Mel Brooks, alcohol, the LAX Marriott and Doctor Who convention dealers' rooms, and... more alcohol. Also, one of us can't tell the difference between Rod Steiger and Roy Staiger, but both of us agree that baseball is no substitute for Doctor Who.
Bill is a prodigious talent. You can hear him on just about every episode of Reality Bomb, read him (with co-author, and friend of the program, Stacey Smith?) in Look At The Size of That Thing (never mind the cover art), and hear even more of him as co-host of the Frankenstein Minute podcast.
I previously interviewed Bill (and Stacey Smith?) on an episode of Trap One in 2021.
This episode features musical excerpts from the incredible vocal talents of Patti LuPone from the US TV series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", and from the film soundtrack of Fiddler on the Roof.
The new documentary Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen is still playing in Manhattan as this episode releases, and will be touring North America throughout spring 2022. I have no involvement with the film or filmmakers, and its relation to "The Web of Fear" is of course strictly tangential. At best.
This is the first episode of Doctor Who Literature recorded and aired after the April 2022 premiere of "Legend of the Sea Devils". Hear Jason's review at the top of this episode -- and, for a more balanced view, Jason recently joined a Trap One panel discussing the same episode.
This week, we have our first three-time guest, Mr. Si Hart. We break down, just how good is Genesis of the Daleks? How do you rank the four actors who portrayed Davros on TV? Who does the better dramatic reading from the novelization (hint, it's Si)? And, just how many copies of this novelization is too many to own (hint, that's a very large number)?
Si also joins us for a game of "Guess That Cliffhanger". The results will leave you in suspense.
The episode concludes with Jason's review of the "Genesis of the Daleks" novelization.
Featured throughout are selections from D'Oyly Carte productions of Gilbert & Sullivan's, HMS Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance.
May 1976 saw the release of "Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen". It's the third novelization of a Tom Baker episode -- all by Terrance Dicks so far -- and the third novelization of a Cybermen episode -- but this is the first one by Terrance and the first one NOT written by Gerry Davis.
David Barsky joins us in the first half to talk about how he got into television, where his career has taken him, and where Doctor Who fits in. We both give contrarian takes on "Revenge of the Cybermen" the TV story, and have a lot of fun sharing our opinions on Christopher Robbie's controversial Cyberleader. We then discuss passages from the book, and marvel over how much it strays, at times, from the TV version.
We're also debuting a new game here on Doctor Who Literature. How does Barsky fare on the premiere edition of "Guess That Cliffhanger"? We'll leave you in suspense until you listen...
In the second half, Jason tackles the text of the novelization, and tries to figure out where this fits among Terrance's previous adaptations.
And be sure to join us next week for another guest, another novelization, and another thrilling game.
It's March 1976, and, it's not the first Target novelization to feature The Ice Warriors, but it is the novelization of their very first TV adventure. It's Brian Hayles' second, and, sadly, final, Target novelization.
After a discussion of the news this week in New York City-based Doctor Who fandom, Jason welcomes back to the show Frazer Gregory, to discuss the Ice Warriors novelization. The two of us exchange dramatic readings of favorite passages, discuss how well Hayles captured the 2nd Doctor in print, along with all the other supporting characters and monsters. We come at this book from different perspectives, having discovered it at very different times in our lives. And Frazer makes a run at becoming the King of 20 Questions on Doctor Who Literature... can he do it?
Jason concludes with his review of the Ice Warriors novelization. And we'll see you next week!
This week Jason is joined by Lewis Baston, author of a forthcoming Obverse Books' Black Archive book on the Doctor Who serial "The Sun Makers", to talk about Malcolm Hulke's February 1976 novelization of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"... but, fear not, we get plenty of talk in about "The Sun Makers", too.
Later on, Jason breaks down all the ways, plot-wise and dialogue-wise, and tone-wise, how the novelization differs so greatly from the TV serial.
Along the way, we also discuss Von Daniken, play a game of 20 Questions, and give a look at the new trailer for Doctor Who: "Legend of the Sea Devils".
Happy April 1st to all our listeners. This week, our read-through of the Peter Cushing novelizations, by Observe Books, reaches "Escape to Danger", a short-story anthology adapting all six episodes from Cushing's wildly successful second radio series as Dr. Who. What happens when Robert Holmes turns his hand to the Cushing Universe characters?
You won't want to miss Jason's breakdown of the first two short stories in this collection.
You can find "Escape to Danger" (edited by Robin Bland) from the good people at Observe Books. The Cushing novelizations are no joke!
It's February 1976, and "Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet". The first Hartnell-episode novelization published in ten years, a novelization of the first Cyberman TV adventure... and William Hartnell's last full story.
Ross from "Gallifrey's Most Wanted" rejoins Jason to talk about how this book compares to childhood memories. We also take a grand tour through all of Doctor Who -- TV, books, Big Finish, and even some non-Doctor Who-related content. Ross really knows his stuff and it's always a thrill discussing the entirety of Doctor Who with him.
In the second half of the show, Jason (plagued by some really bad microphones and audio quality -- please bear with me!) works through the text of the novelization. What does Gerry Davis do with the by-now ten-year-old TV scripts? How do the Antarctic landscape, the Cybermen costume and voices, and the generation of the First Doctor into the Second, work in the book, compared to how we would have seen them on TV?
It's January 1976, and season 2 of Doctor Who Literature begins with a look at Terrance Dicks' second novelization of a Tom Baker episode: Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster, a quick-to-print adaptation of the Season 13 series premiere, "Terror of the Zygons".
Jason is joined at the top of the hour by Simon Hart (@SiHart) as we discuss how Terrance's novelization differs in many key ways from the TV broadcast. What do Doctor Who monsters sound like when we're reading these books as kids, before having seen the TV story in question? Did Si remember to charge his laptop before the recording started? And can Jason stump Si in a game of "20 Questions"?
In the second half of the program, Jason takes his signature close look at Terrance Dicks' writing style. Is this book a mere transcript of the TV episodes, devoid of extra insights or observational humor? Far, far from it.
This hour features a musical snippet from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
We take a break between Seasons 1 and 2 of the program -- as we're in between the 1975 and 1976 books -- and reflect on the passing of Lynda Baron, one of the great "Doctor Who" guest performers (1966, 1983, 2011). What are the best verses of "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon"? What happens when the Target novelization of "Enlightenment" is missing a key scene? And, worst of all, what happens when Jason lets Joe solo-host the show for a minute? I mean, what could possibly go wrong...
We also premiere an interview with Dale Santos, a prolific collector of Target novelizations and original cover art, who explores with us the roots of his collection. How many different cover variants of Target books are there? What happened to the original cover paintings?
Regular programming resumes with "Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster" next week, but this bonus content is not to be missed.
It's the last novelization of 1975, and the end of the first season of Doctor Who Literature. In a slight format change, Jason goes deep into the memory banks to explain a curious notation that he wrote on the inside cover of the book back in 1985.
We're joined then by Jason's good friend Mark from the Trap One Podcast to discuss what the novelization of "The Three Doctors" means to us. Plus many other stories of having met now-deceased Doctor Who greats at conventions over the years, and how has the language of fandom changed over the years, and what makes a multi-Doctor story tick, and, does "Twice Upon a Time" count as a multi-Doctor story?
And, after the interview with Mark, Jason goes deep to discuss what changes Terrance made between screen and script. Is this book better or worse than Jason remembered it from his last read-through? What is the significance of the words "purple" and "flute"? And where, oh, where is the First Doctor?
We open by paying tribute to two big names from the Doctor Who family who we lost this past week, an actor from the 1970s and a writer from the 1960s.
In the first part of the program, Jason -- having run out of blog posts to adapt, had to write half of this week's script from scratch -- takes us on a journey through Terrance Dicks' word-pictures, editorial additions and omissions, and lyrical evocation of the senses, in his novelization of "Planet of the Spiders", which is set half on a planet of the spiders, and half on a planet of the Buddhists.
In the second part of the program, Jason is joined by Graeme Burk from "Reality Bomb" to discuss the book, the origins of our Target collections, Graeme's memorable weekend with Terrance Dicks in the year 2000, whether or not the Eighth Doctor Adventures books stand the test of time... and Graeme joins me in a new segment, a game of Twenty Questions, before announcing his latest book.
Please listen to the special Terrance Dicks episode of Reality Bomb.
You can also find some of Graeme's acclaimed Doctor Who non-fiction here.
This week's episode features the vocal talents of Dooley Wilson.
Welcome to a special recorded-at-Gallifrey-One-in-Los-Angeles edition of Doctor Who Literature. While Jason the Brooklyn boy is somewhat out of his element in this big big city, he's joined long-distance by a fellow Brooklynite to discuss Malcolm Hulke's glorious August 1975 paean to the common man and laborer.
The first half of the book features Jason's breakdown of the text of the book, adapted from a three-part blog post originally published in February 2017.
The second half sees Hannah Long, a freelance writer and commentator, discuss "Doctor Who and the Green Death" from a different perspective to Jason's own, but they do find a lot of common ground to like about the book. You can find Hannah's writings about Doctor Who here and please look her up on Twitter as well.
This episode features musical selections from the legendary Woody Guthrie and the incomparable Mandy Patinkin.
It's May 1975, and Terrance Dicks' second book in three months. Will his increased writers' output affect his style, descriptive powers, wit, pizzazz? ... obviously not. This book is tremendous and actually an improvement over the TV serial in several spots.
In the first half of the episode, Jason breaks down why this novelization is such an upgrade from TV, and why the mere act of opening the book brings a lump to his throat.
In the second half, Jason is joined by a very old internet friend from the rec.arts.drwho days, Eric Gjovaag. Eric tells some wild stories about the old days of American Doctor Who fandom in the 1980s and '90s, and these are not to be missed.
You can find Erc's own Wizard of Oz book and other Oz writings, as well as his long-running Oz homepage, and his Doctor Who fan club's page.
It's Episode Lucky-Number-Thirteen. Doctor Who and the Giant Robot is one of our favorite novelizations from childhood, a slim volume -- the shortest Target book to date -- but it's held an outsized influence over Jason's life, since he first read it over 35 years ago. What about this little book is so magical? Why should it still be widely read today?
In the first half of the episode, Jason takes you on journey through the book's text. Terrance Dicks uses fewer words here, in the March 1975 release, than in his earlier books, but pulls no punches, and works his usual craft in adapting the teleplays while never missing a wicked character aside or sharp internal thought.
In the second half, we're rejoined by Stacey Smith?, a prolific Doctor Who non-fiction writer and editor, making her second appearance on Doctor Who Literature. How did Stacey come to get this book co-signed by the wrong Doctor? Is this book more memorable than its parent TV story? How do the book's politics play out in this tumultuous world of 2022?
This episode features Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" (not featuring Miss Winters... or Arnold Jellicoe).
Doctor Who Literature turns to Jason's first novelization, Doctor Who and the Cybermen, which Jason first read -- all in one day -- on Super Bowl Sunday 1985. Thirty-seven years later and the book's prose, vocabulary, and descriptive powers, are still unmatched.
In the first half of the episode, Jason breaks down what makes Gerry Davis' writing style so good, and fortunately there are many more Davis novelizations to come.
In the second half, we're joined by Pete Lambert, a good friend from the Trap One Podcast. We talk about how influential this book was to us as young readers, what other classic book series we moved away from once the Doctor entered our lives, and how the Target books would stack up against today's YA fiction. What is the significance of the word "radiophonic" to the text? Who exactly in the story as a "fetish", and what's it about? And why are there Welsh shepherds on the moon? A truly fun and relaxed conversation, and we can't wait to have Pete back on again soon.
We're up to the 1975 Target Doctor Who novelization releases. Up first, the first novelization (of two) by Brian Hayles, featuring the first novelization (of four) to feature the Ice Warriors.
Stand by... for news. A lot happened in the Doctor Who universe this week. We learned the identity of the next five Target novelizations: three New Series adventures, and new takes on two Classic Series tales. We learned which Classic Series season is getting the Blu-ray treatment, via another canon-worthy Pete McTighe-scripted trailer, and with a tantalizing set of new Chris Chapman documentaries, Matthew Sweet interviews, and all the other usual Behind the Sofa-type goodness. And, lastly, happy birthday to Doctor Who's reigning elder statesman.
Once we get to the book, the first half of the episode is Jason and his trademark breakdown Brian Hayles' prose style and narrative choices.
In the last half of the episode, I'm delighted to be joined by Ross from Gallifrey's Most Wanted, who provides a different take on Hayles' prose style. We thoroughly explore the politics of this story, and what those politics look like today, both in the UK, where the Peladon adventures were written, and here in the States, where similar issues continue to drive the political narrative. This is a can't-miss conversation.
Welcome to the double digits for the Doctor Who Literature podcast (excluding bonus episodes), and it's the last Target novelization of 1974, Terrance Dicks' third book, and the first novelization of a Patrick Troughton/2nd Doctor adventure.
The Abominable Snowmen has been in the news this week, or, at least, on the rumor mill, with stories that the forthcoming animation of the TV serial, co-funded by BBC America, will be the last such project... at least, co-funded by BBC America.
In the first half of the episode, we break down Terrance's book, and talk about how he works his magic in print, elevating or often improving on the visuals we saw on TV.
In the second half, we're joined by prolific Doctor Who novelist Jonathan Blum, who reveals a soft spot for Terrance Dicks. We discuss how Terrance actually adapted, rather than merely transcribed, the TV serial, and what objectionable bits he removed along the way. We take a tough look at the TV production, and examine why we enjoyed the book regardless.
Musical cues taken from the 1961 rendition of "Blue Moon" by The Marcels.
It's October 1974, and Malcolm Hulke's third novelization of the year. He'll never have another year this prolific, but what a trilogy of books he's left us. Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils is the shortest of the bunch, but don't let the length fool you; there's some terrific material here in terms of character insights and observational humor. Even if there aren't too many actual Sea-Devils.
In the first half of the episode, I break down Hulke's writing style in the book, and catalogue the many changes from screen to book.
In the second half, I'm joined by one of my favorite podcast guests, Frazer Gregory, who shares his memories of this novelization, and does some of the best dramatic readings from the book that you'll find, outside of the Target novelization audiobook range.
This may be the end of Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils, but the Sea Devils will return.
This week we're up to October 1974 and the first book of Target's last double-release month. The first of those two books is the novelization of "The Daemons", the Season 8 finale, and is written by the episode's producer and co-writer, Barry Letts. It's one of the longest novelizations Target will ever put out, and in the first half of this episode, we'll take a deep dive into just what Barry is able to do with all that extra space.
For the second half of the episode, we're joined by Simon Hart (@Si_Hart), a very prolific and very funny podcaster, who talks about how he first encountered this novelization, and how well it holds up today.
This week's outro music features two different versions of "Heart" from the Broadway musical "Damn Yankees", including selections from the 1958 movie adaptation and a 1969 episode of the Ed Sullivan Show.
March 1974 saw two Target novelization releases; Episode 6 covered one of those, Malcolm Hulke's Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon. This week we jump back in time from the 30th century to the 22nd and take a long look at Terrance Dicks' Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks. A remarkable book, one of Terrance's longest, this expands greatly on the troubled TV production, adding a prologue and epilogue not seen on TV, and giving us Terrance with some of his most evocative prose ever.
The first half of the episode features Jason's trademark deep dive into the book's prose.
For the second half, we're joined this week by Tony Whitt of the Doctor Who Target Book Club podcast (@DWTARGETBC). Tony's excellent Target podcast previously covered this book -- and paid tribute to Terrance Dicks in general -- in 2019, and you can find that episode here:
https://soundcloud.com/doctorwhotargetbc/ep-59-day-of-the-daleksdicks-tribute-wlarry-vanmersbergen
It's March 1974, and the third and fourth Target novelizations of Doctor Who episodes are released in the same month. Once again, the double release features one Malcolm Hulke book and one Terrance Dicks book. This week we're discussing the Hulke entry, the novelization of 1971's "Colony in Space".
In the first half of the episode, we'll break down this long and remarkable book. In the second half, we're joined by Mark (@QuarkMcMalus) from the Trap One Podcast (@trapone_), for a wide-ranging discussion about the book, and a few related topics.
Living on a hostile alien planet and being threatened by a capitalist world-state, has never been this entertaining or illuminating!
For the first time, Jason is joined by a guest, prolific Doctor Who non-fiction writer, longtime fan, epidemiologist, and a former profile subject on Morgan Freeman's "Through The Wormhole", the inimitable Stacey Smith? (the questionmark is part of her name).
In the first part of the episode, Jason goes in-depth on the text, prose, and themes of The Cave Monsters. Then, as Stacey joins in, together, we discuss and debate Malcolm Hulke's first novelization, "Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters". Stacey previous wrote about the parent TV story for the Black Archive series, which she and I previous discussed on Trap One, which you can listen to below.
This week we also pay tribute to Chris Achilleos, one of the great Doctor Who illustrators, who painted the cover and drew the internal illustrations for The Cave Monsters. Chris Achilleos passed away on Wednesday, December 9, 2021.
https://trapone.podbean.com/e/stacey-smith-on-the-black-archive-the-silurians/
After three episodes on the Frederick Muller books from the 1960s, it's now 1974, and the Target range -- which began with 1973 reprints of the Muller books -- begins properly with a twin January 1974 release of novelizations of "Spearhead From Space" and "Doctor Who and the Silurians". It's a very warm welcome to the Target line for Terrance Dicks -- they'll end up keeping him. Join us for a deep dive in Terrance's magnum opus, a 150-page book, one of his very best, if not THE best, books he wrote. What value does Terrance add to the TV scripts and direction? How does he describe the TARDIS materialization sound and the Third Doctor's face, in this, his first Doctor Who book? Join us, and find out ...
Chapter 5 of Doctor Who: Flux, Survivors of the Flux, contained a voice cameo hearkening back to UNIT's glory days, as well as a surprising if somewhat illogical revelation about that voice's military track record. Join us for a bonus episode looking back to November 2003's Past Doctor Adventure novel, "Deadly Reunion", Doctor Who's 40th anniversary story, and something of an autobiography for its co-author, one Barry Letts.
The third and final Frederick Muller-published Doctor Who novelization -- and its second by David Whitaker -- came out in February 1966. The book remains in print today and still generates many fresh topics for discussion. Are Ian and Barbara a couple? Are wars only waged between one good side and one evil side? Who are we supposed to root for in this book? When is it appropriate for an author to break the "show-don't-tell" rule? Is this a rote adaptation of the TV scripts for "The Crusade", or is David Whitaker using the book platform to tell a new story, one too broad and deep for the small screen? Join us as we discuss all these things.
Welcome to the first bonus episode of Doctor Who Literature. For this episode we're discussing not the books, but the TV series itself, on this, November 23, 2021, it's 58th anniversary. Tying in to Jason's recent Twitter watch-through of the Classic Series, #drwhopilgrimage, this episode will feature two randomly selected episodes of the classic series, with live and unscripted commentary over each one. Most of Doctor Who is made up not of all-time stone-cold classics or the worst turkeys, but just average workaday episodes. What can we learn about classic Doctor Who by not watching the all-time titans, but just two random ordinary episodes? Which episodes will the episode generator give us, and what larger lessons about Doctor Who can we gather from these random stories?
Welcome back to the Doctor Who Literature podcast. This week, I'm discussing the second published Doctor Who novelization, adapting the notorious (and very highly-rated) 1965 serial, "The Web Planet". Bill Strutton's only contribution to the books line. Strutton, who had a prolific career and a fascinating biography, came to the books very early on, and some of his assumptions about the TARDIS and the Doctor's female companions look downright odd to us today in 2021. How does the book hold up, 56 years after its release? What positive messages can we take away from it today?
Welcome to the first full episode of the Doctor Who Literature podcast. I'm discussing the first Doctor Who episode novelization, 1964's "Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks". It's a novelization... that isn't.
Coming soon, the History of Doctor Who Literature podcast, a book by book examination of the Target novelizations, in publication order.