I generally only write one review for a novel unless I get carried away;
but author Gareth Roberts has structured his Missing Adventure as a
typical serial, with four individually-named parts. So, since I'm having
some trouble keeping up the pace, I thought I might as well divide up
the review accordingly, and provide five bite-sized chunks (four
individual episode ratings and an overview).
This one will probably be the least bite-sized, seeing as it takes up
the first third of the book. It's natural that it should be a bit
longer, as all the characters and locations need to be described when we
meet them (something that doesn't have to happen on TV); but this still
seems somewhat uneven. I'm not passing judgement yet, though!
So much for the width; what about the quality? The first thing to say is
that this feels very much like the novelisation of a televised episode -
in that the things that don't quite fit with a TV story are the sort of
changes that happen in novelisations. We have a limited number of sets:
the bulk of the action happens in three or four locations, and the rest
could easily be cut down or eliminated. The bear-baiting could be
described from the doorway of Mother Bunch's place, for instance, and I
can just picture the Doctor talking to the guard at the gates against a
painted backdrop of the palace!
The events are also TV-like, particularly now we've got to the point
where not every adventure has to start in the TARDIS. Various plots and
situations are set up, we get to know the guest cast a little, and
there's some humour and peril. The Doctor being interested in the
creation of the King James Bible amused me, remembering how he used that
as his guide when helping the translators of the first Greek version
(IIRC) in Byzantium!
One thing that feels out of place is the Doctor being focused on getting
Iananbarbara home when we first meet them - I thought they were all
past being so desperate about it. Still, the dialogue's spot on and the
regulars feel very much like themselves, so I'm not going to complain
too much.
Possibly the best thing I can say to emphasise how much it felt like an
episode from the period is that I pictured it in slightly fuzzy black
and white - even when they were talking about one character's scarlet
shirt. The only exceptions were the very first scene, before we'd seen
the travellers and it had linked up in my subconscious, and the face of
the Spaniard - because I was reminded so much of V from V for Vendetta (ironically originally a monochrome comic) that I pictured the colour from the cover of the graphic novel version...
Hm, almost a full-length review. Still, the next episode's only just over half as long, so that'll be smaller - won't it?
Rating:
8.5/10.
Next Time:
Holes in the Plot.
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