BBC New Series Adventures

#036. The Krillitane Storm ~ 9/10

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◆ An Introduction

‘School Reunion’ was one of the most impactful stories of RTD’s first era.

It saw the return of the most beloved companion from Classic Who, and practically revitalised Lis Sladen’s career – exposing her to a brand new audience, and allowing CBBC to create The Sarah Jane Adventures.

It also featured the return – and death – of my personal favourite companion. I really don’t mind admitting that I start crying uncontrollably whenever I re-watch the scene where K9 sacrifices himself to blow up the Krillitane. And just as I’ve managed to compose myself again, the Doctor replaces him with a brand new model and – oh dear – I’m sobbing uncontrollably again.

Whithouse crammed so much content into one story. The spotlight inevitably had to be turned away from something, and the Krillitane sadly drew the short straw. A composite race that could take physical features from races they conquered. They would “cherry-pick” the best bits from the people they destroyed. The concept alone is absolutely brilliant, but elevated by their horrifying gargoyle-like features.

Three years after their television debut, and the Krillitane returned… in what appears to be a Gothic adventure typical of the Hinchcliffe era. I’m intrigued and excited for this book, so let’s cut the chit-chat and dive right in!

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◆ Publisher’s Summary

When the TARDIS materialises in medieval Worcester, the Tenth Doctor finds the city seemingly deserted. He soon discovers its population are living in a state of terror, afraid to leave their homes after dark, for fear of meeting their doom at the hands of the legendary Devil's Huntsman.

For months, people have been disappearing, and the Sheriff has imposed a strict curfew across the city, his militia maintaining control over the superstitious populace with a firm hand, closing the city to outsiders. Is it fear of attack from beyond the city walls that drives him or the threat closer to home? Or does the Sheriff have something to hide?

After a terrifying encounter with a deadly Krillitane, the Doctor realises the city has good reason to be scared.

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◆ The Tenth Doctor

Christopher Cooper had the daunting task of writing the last full-length book with this incarnation, and I can only imagine the pressure he was under to get the characterisation right.

The mannerisms are pitch perfect Tennant. The main antagonist of this book actually sums up the Tenth Doctor pretty well, by describing him as being a combination of both genius and lunatic. Superbly well-written.

He believed that there was nothing quite like pre-industrial, unrecycled fresh air. There was something irresistibly charming about this period in English history, thought the Doctor as he strolled along. Day-to-day life was undeniably hard, the political situation was all over the place, what with the Empress Matilda forcibly attempting to swipe the throne from under King Stephen, and there was a good chance you might be accused of witchcraft at the drop of a hat (pointy or otherwise), but people soldiered on regardless, indomitably, and the Doctor found this heady mix quite thrilling. There were no high-tech lifestyle solutions here, no celebrity-obsessed mass media, not even those little bite-sized packets of exotic cheeses that the future held for the descendants of these people. This was the real deal. Life without the custard. The Doctor liked places that were supposed to be busy, and if they weren’t then there was a good chance something was up. Still, if something was up, then he quite liked that too. The Doctor felt obligated to defend the honour of Earth; it was like a second home to him. The Doctor informed Darke that the impossible is usually just a possible you hadn’t thought of before. He knew someone once who tried to do twelve impossible things before breakfast. Always ended up burning his toast.

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◆ Emily Parr

This book takes place during the 2009 Specials, which means the writer gets to have some fun creating single-adventure companions. The first of these in ‘The Krillitane Storm’ is a bounty hunter seeking to avenge the death of her father.

Emily is a decently written character, just not a terribly interesting one. I honestly wish that we could’ve spent more time with the other interloper companion in this book, because he was leaps and bounds more interesting.

Emily had been in Worcester long enough. First rule of survival – always know where your exits are. Why do you think she would choose to take rooms near a city gate? Thinking about her father was something she’d been avoiding, the shock of his death too recent, too painful to face.

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◆ Captain Darke

Historical companions have always been some of the most interesting. They give the audience a completely different perspective, because they’re unfamiliar with things like mobile phones and teleportation. Erimem is the best example of such a companion: her unique ties to royalty and her relationship with religion bled into 90% of her adventures.

Captain Darke is the second interloper companion in this book, and I absolutely adored getting to know the fella. This is someone clearly weary from a lifetime of bloody conflicts, someone who just wants a quiet position patrolling his home town. Unfortunately, the Krillitane are on the prowl! Cooper does an excellent job at making Darke a believable character, and really gives the audience a chance to connect with him throughout the story.

Darke was a career soldier, and had fought in truly bloody battles on home soil and abroad, even as far away as the Holy Lands, yet nothing compared to the carnage before him now. He had seen death. He had seen the horrors that one man could unleash upon another, and he long ago abandoned superstition. He knows that darkness lies in the heart of men, and believes that the Doctor has the eyes of a killer. Darke took his current post because he wanted a quiet life. He was tired of war and fighting. But even here, it seemed, in the shire of his birth, he was unable to escape it. Darke had lost any faith in a benevolent God many battles ago, but had never discounted the existence of the Lord’s opposite number. He had never thought he might encounter the Devil face to face, however.

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◆ Story Recap

The people of medieval Worcester are terrified of leaving their homes after dark, lest they become the next victim of the dreaded Devil’s Huntsman. The city has been placed under curfew by the recently installed Sheriff, who seems to be hiding a few secrets from his private militia.

The Doctor arrives during one of these curfews, only to be mistaken for this mythical beast and arrested… though his innocence is quickly proven once the Krillitane make their presence known! During his brief confinement, he is introduced to an off-world bounty hunter who seems more than a little jumpy, and a guard captain who appears more than a little weary of the present situation.

A laboratory has been established in Worcester Cathedral, where an insane scientist and her financial benefactor have been attempting to breed Krillitanes. By using their own oil against them, they believe they can create huge, mutated variants of the bat-like creatures… ones which could be sold to the highest bidder as a weapon!

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◆ The Legendary Devil’s Huntsman

Folklore has often been used by writers to explain an alien presence in the distant past, and this story is no different. I couldn’t actually find anything online relating to the Devil’s Huntsman, but I did get redirected several times to a ghostly figure who shares a few similarities with him.

A demonic figure from Dark Age myth, Herne was the master of the Wild Hunt. He pursued lost souls through the night, and usually caught them. It is said that he wears horns, rattles chains, blasts trees, and can make cattle produce blood instead of milk. If the legend of Herne sounds familiar, that’s because he previously appeared in the excellent audio adventure ‘Leviathan’.

The Krillitane are fiercely intelligent, but driven by their hunting instincts and a desire to feed (which explains some early scenes in the book where bodies are found torn to shreds). Also, they only come out at night because of the curfew imposed by the mind-controlled Sheriff. It’s easy to draw parallels between Herne and the Krillitane.

The story attempts to be mysterious about the true identity of this supposedly mythical beast stalking Worcester, but it feels pretty pointless since the gargoyle-esque bats are plastered all over the cover art, and their name is literally in the title of the book.

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◆ Genetic Engineering

One of the more unique aspects of the Krillitanes is that they don’t have to wait thousands of generations to evolve. If they find a weakness in their physiology, they can change it. All they need to do is find another species with the attribute they need, and they take it. Bang. Next generation, problem solved. They’re a species that truly control their own destiny.

Everything the Krillitanes are is the result of an evolutionary quirk of fate. Just a few thousand years ago, a tiny gland that controlled their ancestors’ ageing process started producing a brand new chemical. Only, as vital as the oil is to them, it’s also lethal. A blessing and a curse. Safe enough when it’s tucked up inside their glands, but poison upon contact with their skin. They have to drain themselves every day. Very carefully.

The oil is what gives them their power, which sparked the interest of an amoral scientist hoping to exploit their unique biology for financial gain. Belima Febron not only identified an extremely unique enzyme within the oil, she managed to isolate the specific chemical and filter it out into a quantifiable commodity. She had quite literally bottled evolution, which is a horrifying thought. Imagine if a species like the Sontarans – reared for brutal battle and conquest – had the ability to force evolution within themselves. Imagine if they could take the shape-shifting ability of Zygons, or the hidden weaponry of Cell 114. They would become an unstoppable force.

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◆ Conclusion

“Rather impressive, don’t you think? How do you like my Krillitane farm?”

A laboratory has been established in Worcester Cathedral, where an insane scientist and her financial benefactor have been attempting to breed Krillitanes. By using their own oil against them, they believe they can create huge, mutated variants of the bat-like creatures… ones which could be sold to the highest bidder as a weapon!

Christopher Cooper had the daunting task of writing the last full-length book with this incarnation, and he doesn’t disappoint. The Doctor is superbly characterised, with the mannerisms being pitch perfect Tennant. The main antagonist actually sums up the Tenth Doctor pretty well, by describing him as being a combination of both genius and lunatic.

That being said, the interloper companions are something of a mixed bag. Emily is your generic bounty hunter, whilst Captain Darke is a masterclass in how to create a historical companion.

One of the more unique aspects of the Krillitanes is that they don’t have to wait thousands of generations to evolve, something Cooper decided to shine a spotlight on. The idea of a scientist being able to bottle evolution, selling it onto the highest bidder, is absolutely terrifying!

‘The Krillitane Storm’ is not without its problems – the major one being Emily’s lack of depth – but they are few and far between. I’ve wanted to read this book from the moment it got released, and it’s one I can wholeheartedly recommend.