Customer Reviews

The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book was a great read, I couldn't have been more pleased with such a tribute to the re-revival (that's right, 2 re's-counting Virgin's range) of New Adventures of the legendary programme, "Doctor Who". Using Terrance Dicks as the pilot author was a wise choice, due to his relationship to the series in both TV and book form.

Although the title clearly bears "The Eight Doctors", the eight incarnations don't join forces together. Don't treat this as a let down; it's interesting to see the 8th Doctor meeting (and coping with!) each of his past selves, one life at a time. I won't tell you why he does this, even though his reasons are clearly explained on the back cover.

Despite the luxury of new aged themes, there is a massive intake of information, that I had no trouble dealing with. But the new Whovian wouldn't be able to keep up with elements from every era of "Doctor Who". So I've considered several original titles available on BBC Home Video that you may want to view before taking on "The Eight Doctors": (I'm not trying to make this into a Spoiler!!)

"An Unearthly Child" (1963)w/ William Hartnell

"The War Games" (1969)w/ Patrick Troughton

"The Daemons" (1971)w/ Jon Pertwee

"The Sea Devils" (1972)w/ Jon Pertwee

"E-Space Trilogy" (1980)w/ Tom Baker

"The Five Doctors" (1983)w/ Peter Davison

"The Trial of a Time Lord" (1986)w/ Colin Baker

Lastly, I recommend getting a hold of the "Doctor Who" Telefilm from 1996 (w/ the 8th Doctor, Paul McGann), even though its not on video in America. After watching all this, reading "Eight Doctors" is a great way to get nostalgic and revive old memories all at the same time.

I appreciated how the Doctor in this story came back to visit his former selves at key moments in his personal development. It allows the series to harken back to past triumphs while looking forward to future glory. I hope the character of Sam is further developed, but I'm very happy with the product I have in my hands, and hope to see more of these characters in the future.

I have read many bad reviews of this book. And given that I couldn't put it down, I feel compelled to share a positive review.

First off, I believe a person has unreasonable expectations if they expect a book titled "The Eight Doctors" to have a single, cohesive story where all eight Doctors have something interesting to do. It's difficult, if not impossible, to achieve such a tight-knit story with so many main characters vying for attention. I'm glad that Dicks chose to make the story more of a retrospective, visiting one Past Doctor at a time, and I wasn't expecting the storyline to be any stronger in its cohesion than the "Key to Time" storyline.

I enjoyed how the book answered so many unanswered questions, such as: What was the deal with the multiple TARDISes taking off at the end of "The Five Doctors"? Why was the Trial of a Timelord not held on Gallifrey? How did the Master gain all the new abilities that he demonstrated in the Television Movie?

I also enjoyed many of the events shown in this book that were previously behind the scenes. Okay, the Fourth and Fifth Doctor bits weren't the most exciting choices I could imagine. (I would have preferred to see bits explaining why Romana chose to regenerate in "Destiny of the Daleks" or why the Doctor left Tegan at Heathrow in "Timeflight".) But I didn't think they were bad.

Finally, I liked the scenes with Sam. I can't defend this beyond personal preference, but I did enjoy them.

So, I imagine that the purists who want all eight Doctors joining together to vanquish some "ultimate evil" will be disappointed. Those of us who are content with a retrospective will probably be more likely to enjoy it.

A very good read. It's simple and easy to follow. A trap set by the master gives the Doctor a bit of amnesia. He must go find his other selves to regain his memory and history. I personally liked the explaination on how the master was able to do what he did in the movie, as well as the meeting with the 7th and 8th doctor (although the meetings with his 1st and 4th selves were very well written too). This is a good starting point for anyone just starting the world of Doctor Who and nice stroll down memory lane for us long time fans.

Just recently, with seeing the new 9th Doctor episodes, I've begun to reread the 8th Doctor's books, starting with this one. That is because this is the logical choice because it is the second and also the first BBC 8th Doctor adventure. I say second and first because there is also a novel of the Paul McGann movie, which is a novel I am thankful to own. I've always enjoyed the Doctor, getting in and out of the "interest" as time wore on, and I have to say I really loved the Paul McGann movie (and I am now a big fan of the Big Finish 8th Doc. CD dramas). This Doctor, the 8th, has his own personality, yes, but you can also see the shadows of his former selves. The 8th Doctor is a man of action, much like the 3rd, the 8th Doctor is a man of mystery, much like the 7th. If you really want a book that creates a connection between the movie and what went on next in the 8th Doctor's life, this is really where you start...yes it has a bit about Sam, but the main interest was a "review" a reexamination at what makes the 8th Doctor unique while at the same time bridging the past for new fans who came to the Doctor after the movie.

The only problems I have are problems on my part. For one, I wish that this book had a better connection between it and the last two Virgin Doctor Who novels (Lungbarrow and the Dying Days), that's just me, so I wont bring the book down a star because of this. It would have been nice to have a clear "from there to here" feel for this first novel in the BBC's lineup of the 8th Doctor novels. Secondly, I really really wish they would bring the movie to this side of the world, instead of it only being in Reg. 2 DVD. I really wish that I could have the DVD in my Doc. Who DVD collection. Smaller problems are also just my opinion, some of the books have cursing the Lord's name and some of the books seem to have a humanistic "preaching" about them. I would also be interested in the idea that Big Finish would connect their stories in some kind of "time frame" that bonds the audio series with this first book in the 8th Doctor series. Again, these problems are on my part, they're just how I feel and think.

If you saw the 1996 Telemovie with Paul McGann and wanted more, this book is for you. I don't want to spoil it for you, but the 8th Doctor is taken to all his other 7 selves to discover who he is after loosing his memory. It was a walk down memory lane, the book itself played out like an old Doctor Who episode. All Eight Doctors in one book, could life get any better for a Whovian? I don't think so.

I loved this book. Yes, Sam was not well developed and 1 dimensional. But this book was outstanding. The 8th Doctor going back in time and meeting his former selves due to a trap set by the Master was an interesting way to do it. While some may be disappointed that there was no big eight doctor team up, this novel makes up for it with thoughtful and adventurous scenarios with previous Doctors (the 4th and 6th Doctors particularly stand out). BBC could not have started the series out any better. "Celestial Investigation Agency"...C.I.A... very funny. This book is a KEEPER!!!

I'd read a lot of reviews dismissing this as a poorly written book that spends all of it's time talking about the previous incarnations of The Doctor. I couldn't disagree more. Terrance Dicks brings his vast knowledge of the history of Who into this story and does a fantastic job of connecting the various Doctor personalities to the Eighth Doctor.
Having lost his memories due to a booby trap left behind by the Master, The Eighth Doctor must go on a quest through time and space to meet with his previous selves and telepathically regain his past. Meanwhile, forces in the Gallifreyan High Council are at odds with how to deal with the possible paradoxes created by the Doctor's actions. This story also introduces teenager Sam Jones, the new companion.
The only time I had a problem with this book was the Third Doctor meeting. It did seem to take too much space building up where in continuity this meeting was going to take place, however, despite this one slow spot I found this book a great read.

This book contradicts itself completely in terms of what it attempts to deliver. Synopsis: The Eighth Doctor, who got short shrift with only one on-screen adventure, visits all his past selves to recover from amnesia, picking up a new (and awesome) companion along the way.

The goal seems to have been to introduce Doctor Who for readers who never saw anything outside of the TV movie, aka "Doctor Who: The Enemy Within." However, the execution is pure fanfic, and poor quality fanfic, at that. That is to say, rather than providing new Who fans a tour de force of the character's past development, it becomes a long march of "What if the Eighth Doctor was in a deleted scene from TV episode X?" The answer: the episode concludes as aired with a short conversation or a bit of a side-adventure.

Nothing is at stake. There is zero character development. Nothing happens in this novel except at the beginning, and, presumably, the end - the segments where Sam Jones, the new companion, gets introduced. New Whovians will be completely lost by a deluge of glimpses which don't have time to grow on them. Old Whovians will only enjoy the bulk of this book if they crave fluffy past-Doctor worship to the exclusion of all else.

I say "...and presumably the end" because I broke a rule with this book. I refused to finish it. Go read my review of Kursaal to see - I will finish a horrible novel just to give the writer a chance. That rule does not apply to bottom-barrel fanfic. I'm flatly amazed that Terrance Dicks had it within him to write something this unreadable.

On the other hand, there's Sam Jones. Sam is a wonderful and unique character in the other Eighth Doctor novels, but here, she's just a human substitute for Susan, with nearly the exact same introduction, in the exact same setting. Yes, really.

If this had been the first EDA I'd read, I never would have read another again.

Following on the release of the 1996 TV movie with Paul McGann as the eight Doctor, BBC Books decided to launch a new book series featuring the adventures of the Eighth Doctor. To start if off they brought Long-time Who script editor and writer Terrance Dicks. What Dicks produced is an enjoyable trip through the best moments of the original series.

Dicks was script editor of the series during the Jon Pertwee years and was the writer of most of the novelizations published by Target books during the 1970's and 1980's so he was a good choice to start off the adventures of the (then) new Doctor. How better to do that then have the new Doctor go back and meet his past selves?

But instead of having it done along the lines of his own story The Five Doctors, Dicks chooses to do a direct continuation of the TV movie. While that idea is a good one, the downside of it is that Dicks does tend to spend a lot of time on some Doctors (especially three and six) while devoting as few pages as possible to others (the seventh is really short changed). It's a good idea with a mixed result.

The charm of this novel is that it makes good use of the continuity of the series...for the most part. Dicks uses the concept of the Doctor visiting his past selves to fill in the occasional gap in the series like how the Master escaped after The Sea Devils or the downfall of the government on Gallifrey mentioned in The Trial of a Time Lord. There is also some good use of Sontarans, the Master, and even the return of his own Reston Fighting Robot. That said Dicks also creates a few continuity problems such as setting the seventh Doctor down on Metebelis Three. After doing so well with the continuity of the other Doctors, Dicks goes and messes up big time. I don't mean to sound like a raving fan boy but this was more for the third Doctor not the seventh. Its Dicks one bad use of continuity (if one can call it that) and like the novel's concept proves to be a good idea with a mixed result.

Another big problem of the novel is that the addition of introducing a new companion. Samantha Jones, who would go on to become a companion of the eighth Doctor, is given a rather poor introduction in The Eight Doctors. It's not that the character was badly written, but the fact that the introduction seems a bit forced and awkward in the midst of a trip down memory lane (or is Totters Lane?) which doesn't help the novel out at all.

While it does have its problems, The Eight Doctors is far from the worse Doctor Who novel. In fact it's one of the better ones I've read. Dicks' novel is not a piece of literature (far from it in fact) it is fast paced, fills in a few plot holes from the series (along with creating a few), and is above all enjoyable. And that's what Doctor Who is first and foremost: enjoyable.