Scratchman by: Tom Baker and James Goss

When announced that Tom Baker had decided to release an adaptation of his aborted film script Doctor Who Meets Scratchman with James Goss, I became incredibly skeptical about the ability to make the project work.  Descriptions of the original script in places had an almost 1980s level reliance on continuity: it’s a story with Daleks, Time Lords, Cybermen ripoff’s called Cyberons, living scarecrows, and the Devil himself is almost too much to bare.  However, the sheer curiosity of reading a Doctor Who novel written by Tom Baker got the better of me.  While this book was only recently released, discretion is advised as this review will contain spoilers for the recently released Scratchman.  For quick thoughts, overall it’s a really good novel with amazing prose from Tom Baker and James Goss, terrifying imagery, and rich characters.  If you haven’t familiarized yourself with the classic series, this can serve as a pretty good introduction to the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan.

The best decision Tom Baker and James Goss made in adapting the script, probably due to the book rights to these characters always being difficult to get, is they cut the Daleks from proceedings.  The original descriptions of the script have the Daleks essentially be a cameo villain role near the end to have some last minute danger during the giant game of pinball (trust me it makes sense in context), and by taking them out the climax is allowed to run smoothly to the conclusion of the novel.  Baker and Goss also take advantage of the fact that they are writing a novel and not a film script by spending much of the book in the heads of the characters.  The novel is written in a first-person perspective from the perspective of the Doctor, with a framing story of the Doctor on trial by the Time Lords recounting events of the story.  This framing thematically links the story into the Last Great Time War, with the Doctor appealing to the Time Lords to allow him to interfere with other planets.  The interludes in the tale come at perfect moments for suspense and general explanation of some of the possible plot holes written into the script.  There’s even a potential reference to Lungbarrow hidden for that eagle eyed to find it.  The first-person perspective offers the audience a unique reading experience: the Doctor as written by Baker is truly alien and truly a portrayal of the Fourth Doctor.  You couldn’t really imagine any of the other Doctors in this role and the several mental tangents and divergences are just amazing to read.

The structure of the novel is split into two halves, the first being set in a Scottish village in 1960 terrorized by living scarecrows which have been converting the population into them.  Baker relishes the truly horrific prose of these segments, shifting the tone from a light and fluffy picnic to a battle for survival.  The villagers are led into a church which serves as a fortress while the Doctor attempts to figure out just what is behind these scarecrows.  Thematically fear and paranoia are essential for both parts of the novel to work overall and in both halves fear slowly mounts incredibly well.  From the light relief of Harry attempting to get sugar to help the Doctor and killing three scarecrows by accident in the process, to the chilling chase through the TARDIS with Sarah Jane, and finally one member of the village ruining it for everyone letting the scarecrows in literally dooming everyone, the first half just has an amazing buildup to conclusion.  The chase in the TARDIS includes perspectives from the scarecrow chasing Sarah Jane which humanizes an inhuman monster where it slowly remembers who it was.  It’s a truly emotional sequence and involves an interesting concept: there is this clock tower inside a clock and a room which shows your entire life all hidden away in the TARDIS, kept locked for safety.  The climax of this half see the two companions changed into scarecrows and the Doctor sent to hell which is an evocative end to the first half.  The second half of the novel takes place exclusively in hell, aka another dimension resided over by the titular Scratchman.  Baker and Goss follow the Doctor before introducing Scratchman, as he has his defenses slowly chipped away at so when we get to the deal with the Devil, there’s a real sense that the Doctor is willing to take it.  There are three ‘torture’ sequences which all have clever endings (one with a cameo from a certain northern woman in a long jacket).  Scratchman, himself, oozes charm as he pretty much wants the Doctor to allow him into our dimension to rule.  There’s a reason he was meant to be played by Master of Horror Vincent Price.  The novel culminates in a giant pinball game, chosen as their fate ala Ghostbusters because Harry Sullivan just couldn’t keep his mind clear.  The pinball game really shouldn’t work, but the prose really sells it to the reader and putting it in the mind of Harry Sullivan helps give it this sense of realism.  The outrageous statements in neon lights above the game come straight from lines Harry was famous for saying and the ending of the book is heartwarming.  Overall, Scratchman comes across as a love letter to Season 12 and 13 and is an excellent addition to anyone’s collection. 10/10.