Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: Spiral Scratch (Doctor Who (BBC Paperback))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the cliché says, this is a story that needed to be told. I do admit that I liked the Missing Adventures of the 6th Doc, but I always felt they had something lacking. Maybe it was the NA/MAs desire to show an evolution into the Valeyard by the 6th Doctor, thus the birth of the 7th Doctor being "Time's Champion." That's not to say I didn't like those novels, I really did, but sometimes I felt they were giving Colin's Doctor a bad name...so to speak. I guess that I am one of the few people out there who really did like Colin's tenure as the Doctor and wished that there had been more. Still I was glad for the 6th Doc's MAs and I have been having a blast with the BBC's line of Past Doctor's 6th Doc adventures. Thus, getting to this review, I am well pleased with this "final book" for the 6th Doctor. The story is slow at first because you really do not understand what is going on, but, as time moves on, you get deeper into the horrors and mystery of a dying multiverse. Why is it dying? What are the effects of the dying universes? You'll have to find out for yourself. Still. This adventure kind of reminds me of the hard to find So Vile A Sin. At least the ending with all the different 6th Docs and Mels coming together to fight the bad guys. GR is able to catch the quirkiness, the violence, the haughtiness, and the grace of Colin's Doctor. The story is intriguing and well worth an almost epic pitch to it...I wonder how a Big Finish would work this one. That would be interesting. Still, if you desire a closure for the 6th Doctor this is as good as any. I am sure you'll like it.

This book not only gives us the story (finally, thanks to Mr. Russell) of how the Sixth Doctor regenerated into the Seventh, but crafts some nice "alternate" universe continuity into the Sixth Doctor's all too brief era. This encompasses the Sixth Doctor's television and audio adventures (via Big Finish, also highly recommended), and weaves a classic story dealing with of course, time travel, and also a truly "heroic" Sixth Doctor bow. The character of Mel (all three of her!) also gets proper treatment here, which is long overdue. Literary Who at its best!

Highly recommended for two reasons: 1) A fast-paced plot that moves unerringly towards its resolution and, in addition, it's interesting! Frequently with Dr. Who books I have to push myself to keep reading and remembering all those little plot points--sometimes I forgot them because (unfortunately) I really don't care that much. But in Spiral Scratch we have a relatively tight and unique plot involving time and alternate realities. Although the writing is not stellar, the author's plot and characters were well done, making the story more enjoyable than many other books that are technically better written. The alternate Doctors and their corresponding Mels are particularly intriguing.

2) The Sixth Doctor in this story is the Sixth Doctor I would have loved to have seen on my TV screen. Finally, the Sixth Doctor is unequivocally the hero. And we have a more pleasing sequence of events leading up to his regeneration. (However, I didn't quite understand the ending until I read about it online, not remembering "Time and the Rani" that well.)

I have collected most of the BBC PDAs, but have refrained from reading the Sixth Doctor ones until now because I hated the man. (He replaced the Fifth Doctor [my favorite] and he was a total jerk [first attempting to kill Peri and later abandoning her.]) However, after listening to Colin Baker in some Big Finish Audio Adventures, I was very impressed--his charm and larger than life personality are very well-suited to the audio format. So, I decided to give him another try.

And so now the Sixth Doctor is starting to grow on me. So, thank you Gary Russell and the other authors of the Sixth Doctor BBC PDAs and Big Finish stories. After all of the negative things that happened during his reign (culminating in Colin Baker being fired), it's nice to see the Sixth Doctor and Colin Baker getting some vindication!

(Spoilers ahead!) This was a great read, and a very fitting, heroic end to the Sixth Doctor's story. I for one would love to see this turned into a Big Finish audio adaptation, so Colin Baker would have the honor of sending Six out in style. If you're not satisfied with the idea of a Time Lord going out by banging his head on the TARDIS console, definitely give this book a try. You won't be disappointed!

This is a rather tedious exercise which only serves one purpose to allow Russell to write the regeneration story. And even then he contradicts everything we've been told right back to the New Adventures about this event. There are a couple of nice set pieces and some interesting things to say about continuity and the rehabilitation of Colin Baker's portrayal. But in the end it's a rather boring book.