Revenge of the Judoon

The Quick Reads, as I understand it, were published as part of a wider range to encourage adult literacy.  I say this because the other non-Doctor Who titles listed in the book don’t strike me as children’s books.  Consequently, Revenge of the Judoon (and the other titles that I’ve read – I am a Dalek and Magic of the Angels) seem a little out of kilter being rather simplistic and child-like in their approach.

That’s not to say they are bad (although Revenge of the Judoon isn’t great – but I’ll get to that later) just that I’m not sure many reluctant adult readers would pick one up and feel they weren’t being a little bit patronised by the style.

Revenge of the Judoon is written by the elder statesman of Doctor Who prose – Mr Terrance Dicks.  It’s a simple tale riffing on Smith and Jones where the Judoon transplant Balmoral Castle to the desert at the behest of an alien who wants to use time weapons to wipe out the major cities around the world.  Quite why he wants to do this is a little vague and quite why the Judoon are helping him is a bit confusing.

There’s a bit about them being lied to in regards as to the nature of Earth which leads to their ‘revenge’ but overall I was a little befuddled by the whole plot line which didn’t seem to make a huge amount of sense.

For a book whose appeal supposedly hinges on the Judoon (each of the Quick Reads is based around a recognisable monster – Daleks, Cybermen, Angels, Silurians, Krillitanes (!) etc) there isn’t actually a lot of Judoon action.  They don’t really feature until the last third of the book at which point they get cross they’ve been lied to by the real villain of the piece – Challoner – and then beggar off in their spaceships to leave the Doctor to clear up the mess.  There wasn’t even one little bit of ‘Blo, mo, fo, ko sto’ dialogue which was disappointing.

Terrance Dicks just about manages to get a hint of Tennant into his 10th Doctor (although Dicks’s idea that the Doctor, in whatever incarnation, is basically the same character does shine through) but his Martha is terribly generic.  Martha could easily be replaced by any female companion – classic or modern – with very little changing in the script.  She wears uncomfortable Edwardian clothers; changes into men’s clothing; gets lippy with the villain and banters with the Doctor.

Historically, there’s quite a bit of interest.  The setting of Balmoral castle has echoes of Tooth and Claw – even more so with the Doctor meeting yet another monarch – Queen Victoria’s son, Edward VII.  Unlike Victoria’s appearance in Tooth and Claw, Edward doesn’t have a lot of action being held prisoner in one room of the castle for the majority of the story.  He is personable and matter-of-fact about the situation but there’s isn’t much we find out about this king.

The other historical figure is Arthur Conan Doyle.  His inclusion is all a bit weird.  He’s a friend of the main guest character, Harry Carruthers (an aide to the King).  Previous to the story, he has given Harry a strange globe given to him by the alien villain.  It is this globe which will bring about the alien’s ultimate plan.  Martha and Harry visit him to find out where it came from and this leads them to the villain’s lair.  Bizarrely, Doyle’s memory is then wiped by the villain and when he next meets Harry and Martha he remembers nothing, dashing off into the London crowds never to be seen again in the story.  There’s no real reason for him to be Doyle aside from the villain going by the fake name of ‘Challoner’ which sounds a bit like Doyle’s creation, Professor Challenger.  Very odd.

Aside from this the 1902 setting is a little perfunctory mainly revolving around Harry Carruthers and not extending much further than Harry hunting a stag and being awkward about Martha being seen a) in his apartments and b) in men’s clothes.  There’s also a bit of local colour when Harry and Martha track down the villain’s lair but that’s about it.
The story has a very weird ending too.  The Doctor and Martha head off to prevent Challoner from achieving his plan leaving Harry and the King at Balmoral and the Judoon heading off in their spaceships.  They defeat him and then hop off in the TARDIS to find other temporal globes deposited around the world in 1902.  The way they leave the story without so much as a by your leave to the characters their strange world collided with just feels unfinished.  It’s as if Dicks was limited in his page count (which may well be the case).

Revenge of the Judoon isn’t bad, but it isn’t great.  It’s disposable in a way that reminds me of my feelings towards the Doctor Who Adventures comic strips.  Inoffensive but a little disappointing.