Written by Malcolm Hulke, based on his scripts for the 1971 TV serial Colony in Space.

All the Targets to date have opened with a scene-setting prologue. This is the most elaborate, introducing the Time Lords and their secret records; the enmity between the Doctor and the Master; the nature of TARDISes and a brief glimpse of what happened after the Doctor summoned the Time Lords at the end of The War Games. It’s much longer than the brief scene at the start of Colony in Space.

As well as the above, The Doomsday Weapon introduces Jo Grant – which makes total sense in context as up until now, in the books, the Doctor’s companion has been Liz Shaw. Unlike on TV, Jo apparently graduated with “top marks” from spy academy; but as on TV she is a nepo baby who got the cushy UNIT posting thanks to her uncle. After this introduction, it’s disappointing that she fades into the background for the bulk of the novel, contributing little of note.

Instead, Hulke’s interest seems to be in world building: his grim vision of 30th Century Earth, a three-day week version of Coruscant, is hugely memorable, and inspired a later generation of New Adventures authors. Similarly, the offhand (very new series) references to Monoids and Drahvins are utterly charming, helping to create some sense of a coherent future history that became core to the NAs’ brand.

The book suffers from a decidedly ‘let’s get this out of the way’ second half that could have benefited from entirely dropping some of the longueurs of the TV scripts (e.g., the bit about Jo getting strapped to a bomb) rather than adapt them in an increasingly cursory way. There’s one moment at the end – the planet bursting into fresh life – that could never have been done on TV and adds a lovely pay-off to the grimness of the earlier sections. But I think this one is notably weaker than The Cave Monsters, and the conclusion of the Doomsday Weapon plot itself is limp. It’s just OK: Grade 4.

Next Time: Doctor Who And… The Day of the Daleks