Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon by: Malcolm Hulke

 

Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon was written by Malcolm Hulke, based on his story, Colony in Space.  It was the 6^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

This one is an interesting adaptation to look at.  Since it is only the 6^th novel to be published, and only the 3^rd formally commissioned by Target Books, it serves as an anomaly.  There were no plans to ever novelize every Doctor Who serial, only the first four of Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters, Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, and Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks were considered for publication.  Because of this in adapting Colony in Space into Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, Malcolm Hulke was tasked with introducing the companion of Jo Grant to an audience that may not have ever seen Terror of the Autons, would potentially never see it due to a lack of rebroadcasts, and there was no guarantee it would ever be novelized.  This introduction is one that I actually find a bit more interesting than what was presented on television, certainly it gives Jo Grant a bit more agency in wanting to work for UNIT.  There is something romantic about Jo convincing her uncle to allow her to become a spy, being annoyed with how boring the job is, and then begging him a second time to get her hired at UNIT.  This surprisingly goes a long way to compensate that this book is being written from a perspective that Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, and The Claws of Axos would never have happened.  This also allows Jo to really serve as an audience surrogate as this is her first adventure, while Colony in Space has already begun to develop her further while still putting her as a damsel in distress at multiple points in the serial.

 

Hulke’s prose is also magnificent.  Okay, it’s simple and written for children, but there is this magical wonder about the TARDIS taking off and landing on a mysterious planet for the first time in a very long time for the Doctor.  The television serial’s exterior scenes were in a quarry that honestly was a detriment, but here the rocky and near desolate planet of Uxareius feels genuinely threatening making the colony’s plight all the more harrowing.  There’s also somehow more emphasis placed on the capitalist system that allowed IMC to thrive in this environment, describing the control corporations have over their employees.  Those under IMC control are given benefits and luxury, including their own selected wives and better housing, as long as they are willing to go out and rob other planets of their precious minerals and resources.  It makes Dent’s already ruthless character somehow the more ruthless as there are pieces from his perspective.  Caldwell is also more explicitly an innocent duped by the system, perhaps not the best message for advocating against capitalism, but certainly an intriguing one.  Parallel this to the Master “impersonating” the Adjudicator Martin Jurgens, you have a recipe to bring out a lot more of the social commentary that Hulke excels at.  Hulke also just makes several of the lengthier sequences go by much quicker to allow for more worldbuilding with the inhabitants, the Primitives, who are much more alien and allowed to speak telepathically more often here.  There are these sequences made more explicit meaning that Hulke’s themes are brought to the forefront which is perfect.

 

Overall, Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon is certainly a more interesting and in depth way to experience the plot and themes of Colony in Space.  Malcolm Hulke’s second novelization continues to explore generally anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian themes through the lens of the 1970s, commenting quite a bit on the oppression most obvious to him.  By no means is that oppression explored completely or even expanding out of small glimpses, it’s still makes this book just work on a deeper level than others. 9/10.