Written by Malcolm Hulke, based on his scripts for the 1973 TV serial Frontier in Space.

James Bond meets Star Trek, with a sinister third party manipulating two galactic superpowers into initiating interplanetary war. Very You Only Live Twice. Hulke seems to enjoy the political aspects of the story, with plenty of background detail on the Earth’s president (not the first woman in charge, he has us know) having been elected on a ticket of conciliation with Draconia while her opponent General Williams was much more hawkish – and remains so, even though he’s now her military aide. Their current relationship has many layers: the President disapproves of his casually racist use of the term “Dragons” , but tolerates his idiosyncrasies as they were lovers in their youth.

WIlliams remains convinced the last Earth-Draconian War, which his actions provoked, was justified. In this, he’s egged on by members of the Senate include Congressman (not Senator?) Brook, who thirst for a rematch. In an eleventh-hour twist it turns out he misread the honoured presence of a Draconian battle cruiser as a threat – the ship was unarmed, and his pre-emptive strike led to millions of unnecessary deaths. This is a flaw in the story, as it seems that this explanation could have been provided much sooner and prevented much subsequent wrangling given as soon as he is presented with the truth, Williams is thoroughly repentant and instantly on board with a last-ditch peace effort.

But this would work against Hulke’s trademark narrative of intransigence and entrenched positions working to the detriment of the interests of both sides. Like UNIT and the Silurians, neither Earth nor Draconia is entirely in the right. Both cultures contain their share of narrow-minded bigots and repressive elements. On Earth, this includes imprisoning dissidents on the Moon. On Draconia, in the way women are treated with contempt (which Jo, seeming to speak Hulke’s mind, abhors and disregards). The final embrace between the Earth President and the Draconian Prince, as comrades rather than enemies, does therefore read as a key turning point.

Other Hulke hallmarks on display include a couple of unjust tribunals which ignore the Doctor’s arguments as they steamroller towards a predetermined outcome (very much as in The War Games or The Doomsday Weapon), and the reimagining of the Ogron Eater as a vast T-Rex beast with fearsome claws – Hulke seems to be as kinky for dinosaurs as Eric Saward was (at least according to Terrance Dicks) for Cybermen.

In his final match with Doctor Jon, the Master is almost ebullient, and seems to greatly enjoying swanning round cosplaying a star cop – Hulke has him “particularly pleased how well the simple tunic of metallic orange fitted his athletic figure.” He cherishes a copy of The War of the Worlds and, in a surprise-killing moment, idly daydreams about his Dalek allies’ reaction to him handing over the Doctor – a reveal that might have been better saved for later in the story. It’s a shame he doesn’t get more time working with the Daleks, as a team up between the show’s two Big Bads.

Instead, he spends most of his time working with the Ogrons, which generates some great ‘why am I surrounded by fools?’ type comedy. I adore Hulke’s Ogrons, constantly belittled but possessed of some great cunning and their own peculiar culture (like the offerings to a mural of the Ogron Eater, and their awe of the Daleks). The best moment is when one tells a captive Jo, “You eat good, get big, become Ogron wife” and it’s not entirely clear if he is making a threat or a joke.

I don’t think this is Hulke’s finest novel, any more than I think the TV serial is his best script. There are a few too many similar scenes of the Doctor vainly trying to make authority figures see sense, and some annoyingly stupid moments (why does the Doctor need to take a captured Ogron to Earth to prove his story? Couldn’t some sort of video link have done the trick?). But it’s got Hulke’s usual deft characterisation and some of his funniest passages, so it’s still a winner. Grade 3.

Next Time: Doctor Who And… The Planet of the Daleks.