Damaged Goods by Russell T. Davies
Yes, *that* Russell T. Davies
In Brief: The Doctor, Chris and Roz travel to a council estate known as The Quadrant in Summer 1987 trying to track down a dangerous alien being contained within a batch of cocaine. Meanwhile, the secrets of local resident Winnie Tyler and her family threaten to destroy the world.
Damaged Goods is the book I've most been looking forward to revisiting since I started the re-read of the New Adventures. The reasons are fairly obvious reasons considering Russell T. Davies is the man who did the impossible and brought Doctor Who back from the dead. With some striking similarities between the novels of other post-2005 writers such as Paul Cornell and Mark Gatiss and their respective TV-episodes (oh, and Gareth Roberts, although I've not really found a lot to link together his books with his TV-episodes) what connections would I find in the only novel written by Mr. Davies?
The answer is "quite a lot", although not in the way one would initially think. Although the council-estate setting and use a family of Tylers would be a huge part of the revived show the difference in tone are striking. The Quadrant, and in fact the book itself, is as bleak as bleak can be, where the poor and hopeless live out their lives in a depressing housing project. Drugs, crime and prostitution are a part of every day life, far removed from the rather idealised version seen in the TV-series proper. It's striking to see this dark version of Doctor Who come from Davies after the optimism of what was to come, although it does fit well with the more adult aims of the New Adventures. Damaged Goods is definitely more Transit than "Aliens of London".
So while Damaged Goods isn't really a sign of what was almost to come there are still huge similarities to Davies future input. In particular in how he'd end up doing almost a cut-and-paste of several parts of this book into future episodes. The structure of the plot is strikingly similar to "Army of Ghosts" and "The End of Time", with the initial menace being pushed aside by a truly apocalyptic threat that wants to pull itself to Earth from another dimension. The show-down between The Doctor and the insane Mrs. Jericho, who through her strength of will gains control of the multi-dimensional N-Form is ported (complete with some of the dialogue) into the climax of "The Next Doctor". There are also disembodied heads killing with metal spikes and characters driven mad by a constant drumming in the head. Even Chris, 30th-century pretty boy of action, ends up rather more pan-sexual than of late and becomes a proto-Jack Harkness.
While it's true I'm not commenting on Damaged Goods purely on its own merits, which are many, it's almost impossible to do so. While the tone is much darker than anything on the show proper, the juxtaposition of the mundane with the extraordinary seen here is what would become (and remains) the key-stone of the show itself. The comparisons really are unavoidable. Also I don't tend to review media as much as comment on my reaction to it, although what critic doesn't?
So what we have in Damaged Goods is a potential alternative to what appeared on-air in 2005. It's close enough to be recognisable as what was to come, but in many ways shares more in tone and execution with the better bits of Torchwood. This is Davies allowing his darker impulses to flourish, as in "Torchwood: Children of Earth" (another story where secrets of the past come back to exact a toll on the present).
But, I should try to discuss the novel itself somewhat. Even if Russell T. Davies had had no further connection to the world of Doctor Who this book would still stand out. His writing skill is intense and unforgettable. His characters are memorable (and memorably flawed) and he doesn't pull his punches. People suffer horrifically in this book, including children. It's a book about how secrets, when kept too long, will always damage a person.
Also notable is the book's use of gay characters. While some could complain that having a closeted-gay homophobe isn't the most positive of images to present, and that gay life as seen in the book is rather depressing, it rings true to what was reality in Thatcher's Britain. While accusations can be made that Davies is ironically incapable of developing a well-adjusted gay character the truth is that *everyone* in his writing is equally messed up. I suspect that it's his reaction to the "angelic sexless gay" stereotype that was (and still is) so prevalent in the media. It's the same warts and all view that would give the world Queer As Folk 3 years later (the good one, not that American rubbish).
Even without the thematic and situational links to post-2005 Doctor Who this is an entry in the New Adventures that is like no other. It's adult in a way that televised Doctor Who never is, with The Doctor being truly out of his element in the "real world". He's a character used to dealing with kings and emperors, not families on the benefit. It's this aspect of bringing the character "down to earth" that is most notable.
While Damaged Goods is a great book I'm glad that it's tone wasn't the way forward for the show when it came back. It proved even to be a one-off in the book series itself as even at the end we're heading back into the future as The Doctor returns Chris and Roz to the 30th-century to chase down the reason for the N-Form's appearance. If there's a complaint it's that the story is perhaps almost *too* bleak and depressing. This is not what Doctor Who should be on a permanent basis, and thankfully Davies was smart enough to realise that fact when it mattered most. However, that doesn't detract that Damaged Goods is one of the must-reads of the New Adventures.
The Death of Art by Simon Bucher-Jones
In Brief: The only book from the series I gave up on back in the day.
More Descriptive Brief: Strange things are afoot in late 19th-century Paris. Or something.
More specifically involving intelligent bacteria and a doll's house of unimaginable power.
And mutants in sewers.
Yes, of the 62 books in the run of The New Adventures, The Death of Art is the one that back when it first came out I gave up on part-way through. I can't recall the exact reason I had back in 1996/97, but I think it was just the feeling of being absolutely uninvolved and wanting to move on to something better. So I was curious this time around to see if I was justified in skipping much of the book or if it would turn out to be a neglected gem.
The verdict: It's not the worst book in the series (I think at this point that "honour" still belongs to either Shadowmind (sentient carbon, psychic squirrels) or First Frontier (Aliens in New Mexico, The Master)) but it's definitely a contender.
So this time I triumphed and managed to finish the thing. But it's proved to be a hollow victory since the book just isn't very good. The frustrating thing is that Bucher-Jones has a decent prose-style and is very good with his description of events and the setting. The problem is that his plotting and grasp of character (in regards to having that are in any way memorable, or even really rememberable (shut up, it's a word)) needs a lot of work. Earlier in the series, when new authors to the range were common and the overall quality was more variable, this was less noticeable. However with the standard of the books being high for a long while (basically since before Ace left around 15 entries ago) having a mess like this sticks out like a sore thumb.
He'd probably work better co-authoring a book with someone who is better with plot and character.
Although the strange thing is that the book is no worse than the recent GodEngine with it's tales of Ice Warrior romance. But that book got away with being sub-par through being a fast-paced action romp. The Death of Art desperately wants to be gothic horror (what with passages devoted to torture and body mutilation) but completely fails. While I'm often able to appreciate lofty ambitions here I just don't have the patience. The whole thing feels lazy.
So, about the book itself: "The story" deals with The Doctor, Roz and Chris receiving a message from Dorothée (sorry, I mean Ace) that something is terribly wrong with time in late 19th-century Paris. Once there the three manage to ingratiate themselves with various goings-on which involve a mysterious Family with strange powers fighting a powerful figure known as Montague who wants...um...I can't actually remember (power or something, or the desire to recreate mankind and stuff). And that's the big problem, while Bucher-Jones is able to describe Paris and discuss various news stories and politics from the period he can't get away from weak central story and forgettable characters.
The whole plot (involving all of the powers of the Family and Montague stemming from lost atom-sized aliens the Quoth, or something) ends up being wrapped up with a paragraph-long conversation. With not much of a plot to speak of (or read about rather) the gap is filled with page after page of random happenings as various characters interact with each other without really saying or doing anything of note or interest. Chris spends most of his time being somewhat useless as a fake policeman (and what is with the authors and their vivid description of how muscular he is? It's like a gay porn star has entered the Tardis. And not in a good way.), The Doctor is a *smidge* more proactive but disappears for long stretches and Roz spends most of the middle part of the book tied up while being whipped.
But what's frustrating is that the book's not *completely* awful. Maybe, with a really huge edit it could have been made into something good. But what we have is a lot of set-up with very little pay-off. There are too many characters with too many sub-plots that end up having not much to do with anything at all. While this can work when the author involved has a great prose-style and can keep the reader's interest here it just all falls flat.
What I'm reminded most of (especially since I just got the DVD) is of the TV serial The Android Invasion. It's not a good story, but neither is it a total failure. However in fandom and polls (and other useless things) it consistently is ranked as one of the "worst ever stories" due to the fact that it's a poor story during an era of the show widely seen as the Golden Age (1975-1977). The Death of Art feels similar. It's definitely a weak entry in the series, but one which commits the sin of being Not Very Good during a period of greatness.
So overall The Death of Art, while not the worst in the series, hasn't improved much in my estimation. It all just felt like filler not worth the time or effort.
Return of the Living Dad by Kate Orman
In Brief: Bernice contacts The Doctor to help locate her long lost father. He turns up in 1983 rural England running a coffee-shop/half-way house for lost aliens.
If there can be a criticism made of Return of the Living Dad (cute pun but terrible title) it's that the book feels somewhat anti-climactic, both after the past few novels but as well in regards to how the story plays out of Bernice finding her Dad. However, I think it's fairly clear from early on that this sense of mild disappointment is intentional, Orman is a better writer than to just do the obvious for this sort of story. The reader expects, from the initial set-up as Benny and Jason discover clues to her father's whereabouts (which turn out to be 1983 England), for the climax to be his discovery and a grand emotional reunion to result. Instead he's found by somewhere around page 70 and the rest of the book deals with the after-math.
It turns out that rather than fleeing from a space-battle as thought his ship was caught in a temporal-storm and ended up on Earth in 1963. So for the past 20 years Isaac Summerfield and his remaining crew have been helping various stranded aliens to return home, many times after their planned invasion of the Earth has been thwarted by The Doctor. What is amusing is that while in 1996 this was an amusing idea, reading it 15 years later is seeing a Torchwood or The Sarah Jane Adventures in protoplasmic form. I have to wonder if Russell T Davies read Return of the Living Dad back in the day and the idea germinated in his head until he had to think of a format for a Doctor Who spin-off.
The book does a surprising thing in having Benny (with Jason) come back for a "cameo" so soon after her grand departure. While the same was done with Ace earlier in the series (which IMHO was a bad decision) here it's done in a much subtler way, with Bernice having no ulterior motives or desire to continue her travels. In fact she realises that she's moved on from her "adventuring" days as she wants to have enough stability to start a family, yet at the same time still be in touch with The Doctor. In 1996 this was a departure from anything before, as "companions" (terrible term) just never came back once they left. Of course now we're in the days of regular reappearances from Rose/Martha/Donna/Jack and most recently The Ponds, but prior having past characters reappear (other than for anniversary specials or if they're a Brigadier) was unheard of.
I felt that this book is what Happy Endings should have been, a summation of where the New Adventures has come over 5 years while at the same time looking forward but without the indulgence. The earlier book was too wrapped up in being too silly and frothy, which made it rather an unsatisfying read. Orman does a better job here of mixing the comedy with the drama, while also setting up the rest of the series as we head towards the 7th Doctor's trip to San Francisco (here he is beginning to realise that he can't thwart death forever).
It's impressive to look back over the 50+ books and really see how the book series is the bridge between the show as it was from the 60-80s and what we have today. Doctor Who can't get away with *just* being a programme about seeing strange places, it needs to show how these places impact them. This is reinforced in Return of the Living Dad as Bernice has to cope with some harsh truths about her father, and also as Roz and Chris realise their feelings for one another.
Yes, there's more to the book than just people wandering around being introspective, various bits of plot involve a military base kidnapping aliens, secret codes to nuclear missiles and a time-ghost. But the book is really *about* these stories, but instead on how the regular characters react to them. And that's probably the biggest impact that the New Adventures had to the world of Doctor Who, they demonstrated that you *can* have you cake and eat it in combining voyages to distant lands with proper drama and character arcs as we'd see 9 years later.
So overall Return of the Living Dad is a good book, although one which is better for what it does in regards to the continuing narrative rather than on its own. It's a little too loose and meandering to be called great, but as a "small" story that exists to increase character development (and also to set-up the eventual run of Doctor-Less Benny-centred New Adventures) it's very good.
Although it does get a few demerits for the meta-textual jokes (including Simpsons references and Internet humour), but then it was the 1990s...
