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Colony In Space

10TH APRIL 1971 - 15TH MAY 1971

(6 EPISODES)

It was only a matter of time before the production team had to free the Doctor from his exile. Script editor Terrance Dicks has always been perfectly open about his disdain for the

format that he inherited; his hilarious interview on the “Inferno” DVD release reveals that, back in the day, somebody pointed out to him that the format lent itself to only two types of story: “alien invasion and mad scientist.” How did Dicks respond? With “Oh f***! You’re right!” 

And so Malcolm Hulke’s “Colony In Space” would be the first of several stories that would see the Doctor and Jo manipulated by the Time Lords into carrying out some sort of task in which they themselves could not be seen to be act. From this serial until the start of the tenth season the third Doctor would enjoy a fairly even mix of Earthbound UNIT stories and these outer space adventures as an (often unknowing) puppet of the Time Lords that exiled him.

Now bearing in mind that “Colony In Space” was the third Doctor’s first real offworld venture in the TARDIS, I have to say that I was overwhelmingly disappointed with it. In lots of ways, it really hammered home the reasons why the decision was made to make Doctor Who an Earthbound show – the budget simply could not stretch to designing and building exotic and convincing alien environments week in, week out. Worse still, the switch to colour recording only seemed to highlight the shortcomings of the production.

“Don’t worry, Jim’ll fix it.”

That said, the story that many a young reader knew as “Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon” – incidentally, an infinitely superior title in my book – is not entirely without merit. The story itself is surprisingly thought provoking in concept and, even more importantly, it lays the cornerstones for the future history of the Doctor Who universe. For example, the Interplanetary Mining Corporation (IMC) and the Adjudicators both make their first appearances here. Additionally, the supporting cast is outstanding, if not by their performances then by repute. Soap fans will notice the now-infamous Helen Worth of Coronation Street fame playing Mary Ashe, as well as a young Tony Caunter (Roy off Eastenders) as Morgan.

“I’m offering you a half share in the universe!”

Above all else though, Hulke’s story is a triumph for the three regulars. Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado share some of their best scenes together in this serial. At one point they have to work together to escape from the Primitives, and it is just like they are friends again; they really seem to enjoy each other’s company despite the gulf in morality that separates them. Curiously, this ‘friendliness’ for want of a better word is more prevalent on the part of the Master - at one point he even asks the Doctor to join him. It is fascinating stuff.

Katy Manning also enjoys a good outing. Jo Grant’s first trip in the TARDIS is executed marvellously – her disbelief; her trepidation… it is wonderfully done. It is also unique in that

Jo had already been a companion for several stories before she even set foot in the

TARDIS – it kind of puts a whole new spin on the idea. And believe it or not, when the TARDIS doors open you can actually see out of the TARDIS onto the barren surface of Uxarieus. No expense spared…

However, despite the positive elements alluded to above, there is still something about “Colony In Space” that just cries out ‘crap’ to me. Perhaps it is the appalling pace - it is not just slow, it is wrong! By the end of episode three everything seems to be resolved… and then the Master shows up and for all intents and purposes the story starts again. Just what was the point of the first half of the serial? Hulke could have at least killed off all Colonists when their ship exploded and given the story a bit more gravitas. And as for the ancient Uxarians, do not even get me started on them!

“Doctor! Come back at once!”

However, I very much enjoyed the closing moments of the last episode (which really says a lot about the serial when you think about it). With the battle over and the Time Lords’ dirty work done, the Doctor and Jo return to UNIT headquarters to find the Brigadier stood

exactly where he was when they took over – they had been away for just a few seconds. I suppose it would not have felt like a season eight story without the Brigadier at least bookending it!

All told I would not recommend this story to anyone unless you are planning to watch it as part of the entire season and even then, it is hardly pivotal to the ‘Master’ story arc. Malcolm Hulke’s first foray into alien territories may have its moments, but it is not a patch on either of his ‘Earth Reptile’ stories or the superb “Frontier In Space.” Now that is what I call a proper space opera…

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2008

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Doctor Who

and the Doomsday Weapon

Hands up who secretly loves Target novelisations? Yeah, me too. I’m not even someone

who can claim to have grown up with them; they turn up in charity shops fairly often, and, well, they’re Doctor Who! Even so, they’re more often than not a load of old tosh; speed-written fluff to read in your lunch-break. Some of them, however, are really rather stunning. They’re generally the novelisations that were released fairly early in the range, or at the very end; the ones when the authors were given leave to expand the original scripts to fit their own vision.

Malcolm Hulke’s novelisation of his own serial, “Colony in Space”, is one such triumph. It’s not the greatest novelisation, but it’s rather impressive. The serial itself, transmitted in 1971, was dull and talky, and was realised on screen in a rather pedestrian fashion. With his imagination given free reign, unconstrained by production budget or serial structure, the story is far improved.

Firstly, looking at the product itself, it’s a very attractive package. Jeff Cummins’s classic cover illustration is used, with Delgado’s Master imposingly looking out from the centre. However, we’re given a choice  - Chris Achilleos’ original cover from the 1974 first edition is on the inside front, along with the US Pinnacle edition, and the Dutch, Japanese and Turkish editions (Doktor Kim ve Gizli Silah!) We also get Achilleos’ original internal illustrations reproduced in the CD booklet; though one small niggle is that these are very small – couldn’t we have had a few more pages in the booklet and given them the space they deserve?

Getting to the story itself, it’s very well told, a huge improvement on the televised version. Given room to flesh them out, dull characters such as Ash, the colonists’ leader, and

Captain Dent, the IMC CEO, become believable and interesting to hear about. We spend a long time getting to know both the colonists and the IMC crew  - and Dent’s a real bastard in this version! Still, we also hear about his life before captaining the ship, and get a taste of the corporate horror of IMC; hearing some of this, perhaps it’s no wonder he’s a bit twisted. There are some major differences to the transmitted version. For example, Jo Grant – who actually gets less characterisation than many guest characters – joins the Doctor at the beginning of the book. As this was the very first novel featuring her, Hulke made this her introductory adventure. Another alteration is the nature of the Exarian natives (slightly archaically referred to as primitives within). They’re described entirely differently to what we saw on screen – the general populace have bright yellow hair and painted bodies, there are otter-faced robed priests and a doll-like elder Guardian. We get a look at how Hulke originally saw his vision.

Geoffrey Beevers  gives a skilful reading of the text. His calm, measured delivery works well for a prose reading, and he gives a good variety of subtly different voices for the various characters; if there’s a complaint, it’s that his voice for the Doctor sounds too much like his general reading voice. What we’re waiting for, of course, is the Master. It’s a small age before he turns up, but when he does, he’s well portrayed. Beevers gives us the calm,

chilling version of the Master that we’ve gotten to hear in his occasional Big Finish outing. Although the Master is described as per his Delgado appearance, it’s broad enough to imagine that this is the Beevers incarnation, prior to any horrific immolation. He’s a creepy, threatening foe.

Altogether, this is a gripping novel. Unabridged, some may find it a little long, but otherwise, it’s a winner, reinventing a dreary six-parter as a thrilling drama.

Copyright © Daniel Tessier 2008

Daniel Tessier has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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