Customer Reviews

Doctor Who-The Five Doctors

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I had never read Doctor Who Books before, when one day I saw The Five Doctors in my school library. Once I had read it I became an instant Doctopr Who Fan. I recommend it to anyone!

To celebrate Doctor Who's twentieth anniversary, a special program was arranged. This is the novelisation of the anniversary story, adapted by the script writer, Terrance Dicks.

From the title, you will be unsurprised to hear that the story teams up the first five incarnations of the Doctor (well, more or less - on TV, Tom Baker wasn't interested in returning so soon to the show, so the Fourth Doctor's role in negligible) against a big threat, the nature of which I can't reveal in this review for those who don't know the story.

As well as five Doctors, we have numerous companions and old enemies in roles of varying importance - some are cameos, others (like contemporary companions Tegan and Turlough, the Doctor's granddaughter Susan, the Brigadier, and Sarah) have more substantial parts to play.

The story also probes more into the history of Gallifrey and the Time Lords.

In many respects, the results is sometimes like a "best of" Doctor Who, but there are some surprises. But it isn't challenging, and it isn't amazingly original. But it is a celebration of the most successful science fiction show ever on TV.

This is one busy book. It has Doctors and companions galore. All five incarnations of the Doctor take part (although Doctor four has a fairly token part) and each has a companion or two with them. Doctor one has Susan, Doctor two has the Brigadier, Doctor three has Sarah, Doctor four has Romana, and Doctor five has Tegan and Turlough. Even K9 makes a cameo. There are appearances by a Dalek and a horde of Cybermen as well. Then to top it all off, the Master takes part as an ally of the Doctor.

If there is a flaw to this book it is that there is too much going on. With five Doctors to follow around the story jumps from one to another at quite a pace. Still, it is an enjoyable story and a quick read.

One by one, the earlier four incarnations of the doctor are being plucked out of the space-time continuum, and placed into the dreaded Death Zone. Originally used by the Time Lords for organizing gladiatorial matches between various races, Rassilon closed the Death Zone, and forbade the use of the Time Scoop. So, who is doing this, and more importantly, why? It's up to the Doctor (all of them) to figure it out.

This Doctor Who book is based on the episode of the same name. Although "based on" might be generous. This book is the episode in print, which means that it does not contain any surprises for anyone who has seen the show. That said, it is an exciting, well-written book, and I enjoyed it immensely.