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!
