Doctor Who Literature

Welcome to an extra long episode of Doctor Who Literature, but one of the deepest and most rewarding ones we've ever produced.

The subject is the February 1966 Doctor Who episode The Massacre, a troubled production where the original author tried to disclaim credit, the video is lost and only a few publicity photos survived, and the surviving audio is hard to untangle as William Hartnell only appears in a small handful of scenes.

We have three guests this week to help unravel the story:

--Repeat DWLit guest Denise Sutton joins Jason for a specially-recorded live introduction in Central London.

--Repeat DWLit guest Ian Potter, a Black Archives writer, helps Jason try to unravel the troubled production (and troubled production team!) at the heart of the TV serial.

--The Rev. Jerrod Hugenot, an American Baptist minister and Doctor Who fan, whose surname ties into this story, helps us understand the historical and religious context of August 1572.

And although he doesn't appear in this episode, we could not have produced this week without James Cooray Smith, who ⁠literally wrote the book on The Massacre⁠.

We'll be back next week to cover another William Hartnell adventure, with a much shorter episode!

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Watch this episode and all previous episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@drwhonovels.

"Doctor Who – The Massacre" features cover art by Tony Masero.

Doctor Who Literature is a member of the ⁠Direction Point Doctor Who podcast network⁠.

Please e-mail the pod at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

You can catch all past episodes at ⁠https://⁠⁠podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/⁠⁠doctorwholit⁠.

"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is still, by popular acclaim, one of the greatest "Doctor Who" stories of all time. It's still in the top-10 -- out of both Classic and New series -- in the year-2014 DWM survey, and is even top-5 among Classic stories on that list.
"Talons" however also has major problems. One is the language; words that may (or may not) have been acceptable in 1977, are certainly not acceptable here in 2022. Two is the story's world-view, in which the immigrants (the Chinese, and other groups to be found in London's East End in the 1890s) are Other, alien, here solely to cause trouble -- described by various English characters within the story as "inscrutable", "pixilated", and "bloodsucker". "Doctor Who" -- both the TV show and the character -- has spent the better part of 60 years sticking up for the underdog, empowering the powerless and defending the oppressed. But for six weeks in the winter and early spring of 1977, the show took a break from that, and told a story instead about defending the Crown from... those other people.
Of course, "Talons" is NOT the only "Doctor Who" story with indefensible language and beliefs -- not the only Classic Series story to do that, and certainly there are New Series stories which also have problems. Does loving "Doctor Who" mean we have to accept its baggage?
Over the next two hours, join Jason -- and our first tandem guests, long-time Doctor Who novelists Kate Orman and Jon Blum -- as we take an unflinching look at this story, and then try to see if it's still possible to love this story in spite of its flaws, its many flaws.
Please e-mail the pod at [email protected].
You can catch all past episodes at https://anchor.fm/doctorwholit.

Delighted to have Sadie Miller on as my first guest this week to discuss her Big Finish audios, her Doctor Who legacy, and this week's episode, Pyramids of Mars.
Joining me on the second half of the program is my good friend Mark from the Trap One Podcast as we discuss the TV story's December 1976 novelization, Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars. What's changed in the book from the TV episodes? How's Jason's grasp of Egyptian geography? How much did it cost Sutekh to ship the Osirian rocket parts from Valley of the Kings to Mick Jagger's estate, using 1911 freight charges? And will Mark be able to break the all-time "20 Questions" show record?
Jason then reviews the Pyramids novelization, and surveys his favorite shows about TV lawyer and judges.
It's Doctor Who Literature's biggest episode yet!
You can also catch Jason on the most recent episode of the Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast. So much fun to record with Tony and Dalton and discussing another epic Terrance Dicks novelization of a Tom Baker classic.

We're up to the 1975 Target Doctor Who novelization releases. Up first, the first novelization (of two) by Brian Hayles, featuring the first novelization (of four) to feature the Ice Warriors.
Stand by... for news. A lot happened in the Doctor Who universe this week. We learned the identity of the next five Target novelizations: three New Series adventures, and new takes on two Classic Series tales. We learned which Classic Series season is getting the Blu-ray treatment, via another canon-worthy Pete McTighe-scripted trailer, and with a tantalizing set of new Chris Chapman documentaries, Matthew Sweet interviews, and all the other usual Behind the Sofa-type goodness. And, lastly, happy birthday to Doctor Who's reigning elder statesman.

Once we get to the book, the first half of the episode is Jason and his trademark breakdown Brian Hayles' prose style and narrative choices.
In the last half of the episode, I'm delighted to be joined by Ross from Gallifrey's Most Wanted, who provides a different take on Hayles' prose style. We thoroughly explore the politics of this story, and what those politics look like today, both in the UK, where the Peladon adventures were written, and here in the States, where similar issues continue to drive the political narrative. This is a can't-miss conversation.

Coming soon, the History of Doctor Who Literature podcast, a book by book examination of the Target novelizations, in publication order.