The Waters of Mars is one of Modern Who's most overlooked gems, I always gets praised certainly but I feel it deserves so much more attention. It speaks volumes that I can give the Target novel a perfect 5*s and yet I still think the episode is better! More or less following the same plotline as the episode, the book offers more insight and depth into members of the crew and their stories, but also including some lore into the Flood, how they came to be on Mars and even their history with the Ice Warriors. We get a full sequence dedicated to Adelaide's childhood, the longest chapter of the book, and the fateful day she lost her parents, which I'll admit was a bit over the top and contrived (they just walked from the countryside to London and luckily got a lift from a flower delivery man!) but again it's sequences like this that really give more life to Modern Who stories that had the disadvantage of not having enough time to flesh out certain areas. One thing I definitely felt it did better than the episode was the ending with the Doctor's brief god complex, it details very well Adelaide's shock of how the man she previously trusted became someone she was utterly repulsed by and the Doctor's shift in behaviour that she soon snaps him out of. The ending of The Waters of Mars is one of the show's best and I wholeheartedly believe the credit for that goes to Phil Ford and not Russell, I don't believe for a second Russell would ever script a gutpunch ending like that! The book in a lot of ways is the definitive version of The Waters of Mars, even incorporating deleted scenes and elements from every version of the draft scripts, but it still falls short compared to the original which is a mark of one of Modern Who's best stories.

A Target book that is absolutely the best version of the story. It goes much deeper into Adelaide and the Doctor's inner thoughts and feelings, and why they end up as polar opposites on whether the fate of Bowie Base One should be changed.

We also get a really neat glimpse into young Adelaide during The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, whereas in the episode we only see one Dalek fly by her bedroom window, and some nice details about the aftermath of Adelaide's suicide. Definitely one of the best in the Target range.

Phil Ford is the man behind some of the very best The Sarah Jane Adventures scripts, including an all time favourite of mine The Lost Boy. It was only right that, at the tail end of RTD’s original tenure, he was asked to write for Doctor Who. The Waters of Mars is one of David Tennant’s most iconic and very best stories. It is certainly amongst the most chilling. We can now also count it amongst the best Target books ever written.

For me, the core appeal of The Waters of Mars is the catharsis you feel following a talented team of experts who’s certain fait it is to fail despite their every effort. It is so perfectly written that even though I knew how it ends I still felt, this time through, that there was some way the team would be able to escape Bowie Base One without massive casualties. The suicide of the main guest character at the end of the story is possibly the bravest move Doctor Who has ever made.

The first and last third of this book follow most of the television story beats with little additions here and there. The major difference of being able to be in the character’s heads which allows Ford to build out motivations and backstories. Most successfully it more convincingly details Adelaide’s journey from admiring to detesting The Doctor and The Doctor’s temporary dive into becoming the Time Lord Victorious - which felt all too brief in the televised episode.

The middle third of the book is home to a newly introduced story which massively expands Adelaide Brooke’s backstory, explaining more thoroughly what happened in her childhood to make her into the pioneer she became. It is a gripping read for those who are already very familiar with the source material.

Some Target books are “nice to haves”, this one is essential reading. Given that you can get through these books in a day or two there’s nothing to lose!