Doctor Who Literature – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to an extra long episode of Doctor Who Literature, but one of the deepest and most rewarding ones we've ever produced.

The subject is the February 1966 Doctor Who episode The Massacre, a troubled production where the original author tried to disclaim credit, the video is lost and only a few publicity photos survived, and the surviving audio is hard to untangle as William Hartnell only appears in a small handful of scenes.

We have three guests this week to help unravel the story:

--Repeat DWLit guest Denise Sutton joins Jason for a specially-recorded live introduction in Central London.

--Repeat DWLit guest Ian Potter, a Black Archives writer, helps Jason try to unravel the troubled production (and troubled production team!) at the heart of the TV serial.

--The Rev. Jerrod Hugenot, an American Baptist minister and Doctor Who fan, whose surname ties into this story, helps us understand the historical and religious context of August 1572.

And although he doesn't appear in this episode, we could not have produced this week without James Cooray Smith, who ⁠literally wrote the book on The Massacre⁠.

We'll be back next week to cover another William Hartnell adventure, with a much shorter episode!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe, and rate us!

Watch this episode and all previous episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drwhonovels.

"Doctor Who – The Massacre" features cover art by Tony Masero.

Doctor Who Literature is a member of the ⁠Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network⁠.

Please e-mail the pod at ⁠DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com⁠.

You can catch all past episodes at ⁠https://⁠⁠podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/⁠⁠doctorwholit⁠.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe, and rate us! Watch this episode and all previous episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drwhonovels "Doctor Who – The Macra Terror" features cover art by Tony Masero. Doctor Who Literature is a member of the https://directionpoint.org/. Please e-mail the pod at mailto:DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com. You can catch all past episodes at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholithttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholithttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit.

The Mind Robber is one of Jason's Top 60 Doctor Who episodes, and the 1987 novelization by Peter Ling more than does it justice. This week Jason is joined on Doctor Who Literature by Adam Clegg from The Real McCoy podcast to discuss the TV story, the novelization, the two New Adventures sequel novels involving the Land of Fiction... and brief discussions of the new Celestial Toymaker animation, and (as of this release date), Doctor Who's most recent TV broadcast, The Legend of Ruby Sunday.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, subscribe, and rate us!

Watch this episode and all previous episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drwhonovels

"Doctor Who – The Mind Robber" features cover art by David McAllister.

Doctor Who Literature is a member of the Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network.

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.

You can catch all past episodes at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/doctorwholit

Several program notes this week. We're a big hit in France. The fabulous novelization cover by Roy Knipe generates much talk on Twitter. A major change to the show coming next week -- tune in and find out --

-- but before you do that, stick around this week. The always funny and ever-unpredictable Bill Evenson (of The Frankenstein Minute Podcast and Reality Bomb!) is back. We discuss Frankenstein, his Doctor Who humor book (co-written with repeat Doctor Who Literature guest Stacey Smith?), which is the better show: Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, and... occasionally, just very occasionally, we talk about "Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment".

Bill has a memorably rough time with "20 Questions". Will he finish? Will he be the first person in the history of the show to NOT get the answer?

Jason breaks down what CultBox calls his "forensic look" at the text. Who's the better narrator -- Jason, or Jon Culshaw?

Links this week:
We're thrilled to make CultBox's September podcast roundup.
Bill and Stacey Smith? wrote a very funny book.
Jason previously interviewed Bill and Stacey about it on Trap One.
Jason returns to Trap One to discuss The Celestial Toymaker this week.
And Bill can be  heard weekly on The Frankenstein Minute.

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

There comes a time in every Doctor Who podcast's life -- and I'm sure I'll have plenty of them -- where the episode under discussion just isn't that good. This is one of those weeks, but it's a tribute to Doctor Who in general that it took 44 weeks' worth of books to get to this point.

Jason opens up with several anecdotes meant to delay the inevitable. Talking about dorm room decorations, Brooklyn geography, Winona Ryder, off-Broadway musicals, and knitting.

A mystery guest speaks to us, via an excerpt from a forthcoming Doctor Who Literature episode, about "The Android Invasion" on TV. Listen on to find out who!

Ross Aitken (@traitken) from Gallifrey's Most Wanted (@GallifreysMWPod) joins Jason this week for an all-encompassing and unpredictable discussion about the entirety of Doctor Who -- we literally chat about 1963 and 2022 and most stops in between -- while taking a few minutes to scowl at the TV episode and book in question this week.

Jason then reads a more sarcastic than usual breakdown of the Terrance Dicks novelization -- but Terrance himself has some thoughts on this story, it seems, and they're not too dissimilar to Jason's and Ross's.

Links to other podcasts mentioned in the episode:
Trap One: Galaxy 4
Gallifrey's Most Wanted: The 3rd Doctor
Gallifrey's Most Wanted: The 4th Doctor
Trap One: Doctor Who - Flux Trailer Breakdown

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

This week in September 2022 saw the announcement of the title of the next Doctor Who episode ("The Power of the Doctor"), although not the release date. This week also saw "Cobra Kai" Season 5 drop on Netflix, though that's of slightly less importance to fandom.

My guest this week is Paul Simpson (@scifibulletin), who has several terrific stories to tell about the early years of the Target Books publishing office and some amazing details about the early writers (Malcolm Hulke and his graph paper!). Paul is currently managing editor of Sci-Fi Bulletin.

Release information and a link to "Doctor Who and the Daleks: The Illustrated Edition" can be found here.

Stick around for the second half of the program, when Jason discusses the "Death to the Daleks" novelization -- a perfect example of how Terrance adds value and insight and depth to the TV serial even in a very short book. There's lots to break down today.

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

It's been a busy week in world news, especially in England, with the selection of a new Prime Minister, the passing of the Queen, and the accession of a new King.

Here on Doctor Who Literature, we tackle the novelization of "The Time Warrior", a book with sole writing credit to Terrance Dicks, but actually the work of two men: Terrance, and Robert Holmes.

We spend some considerable time on the book's Prologue, written by Holmes. This week's guest, Conrad (@HairOfTheHound_), lays down one of the great guest-readings of all time. Jason and Conrad have a long chat about the state of Doctor Who in 2022, "The Time Warrior" on TV, that prologue, and all the other wonderful material in the book.

Conrad takes a run at becoming Champion of "20 Questions". Will he succeed?

Finally, Jason goes through the rest of the book chapter by chapter. What happens to Eric the Squire in the book vs. on TV? Who is Professor Dingle? Who is Professor Crabshaw? Who has the upper hand in their alliance -- Linx, or Irongron? The answers to all these might surprise you...

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

Steven B. (@steedstylin) from the excellent New To Who podcast is a first-time guest this week. We have much to discuss about "Tomb of the Cybermen", which premiered 55 years ago this week. We take a look at some of the TV story's more questionable choices on race and ethnicity, and discuss what it was like to watch this story in 1967 when it first aired, versus 1992 when it was recovered after being thought lost, versus today. Steven also enthuses over the novel's cover art, and we discuss the great work of Jeff Cummins and other titans of the Target cover-painting range.

Here you can find New To Who's Ratings Matrix, a nifty way of ranking all the Doctor Who episodes from worst to best. What are some of our choices for best?

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

Jason is on vacation this week, so here is a pre-recorded episode. We did not discuss the book cover, but this is one of the all-time great Target covers, so take an extra minute to drink that in. Jeff Cummins, everyone. Such a haunting, moody painting.

Jason is joined this week by Steve Alexander (@stealexanderuk), a very familiar voice to listeners of the Trap One and the "Hamster with a Blunt Penknife" podcasts. Steve brings terrific intensity as we discuss not only "Horror of Fang Rock", both TV episode and novelization -- but also the long line of Target novelization audiobook adaptations. Steve brings with him a Top Ten list of audiobooks and his revelation of the top spot is not to be missed.

Jason then reviews the novelization, in terms so glowing that the review itself could serve as a lighthouse.

Also discussed this week is the fascinating 2018 Scottish film The Vanishing, based on the original Flannan Isle Lighthouse mystery.

And don't forget to read the Wilfrid Gibson poem based on the same subject.

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

In 2022, it may be mid-August, traditionally a slow season for media, but there's been a lot going on this week. Jason takes a look at the series finale of "Better Call Saul" -- is it the greatest US TV series finale ever? And there's a new trailer out for the Doctor Who Blu-ray Collection -- it's Season 2, and Maureen O'Brien is back on screen as Vicki! We also have listener mail, and a plug for two new Black Archives releases.

Back to January 1978, Jason is joined by Lelon Stoldt (@LelonStoldt), creator and co-host of the InDOCtrination podcast -- catch its latest episode, which dropped after we recorded.

There's much to discuss about the novelization of "The Face of Evil". How does Terrance handle the TV characters. Is Chris Boucher's script flawless, and, if not, what does Terrance do, or not do, to salvage some of the flaws? How do you introduce your young daughters to "Doctor Who"? We also look at "Better Call Sault", and the current Star Wars spinoffs -- the latest of which has a name very, very familiar to longtime fans of "The Face of Evil". And how will Lelon fare at a game of 20 Questions?

Please e-mail the pod at DrWhoLiterature@gmail.com.
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.