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labingiScratchman is a novelization by Tom Baker and James Goss of the screenplay of the same name, which was written during Baker's run as the Fourth Doctor but never produced. My spoiler-free takeaways: It starts strong, ends weaker, doesn't quite fulfill the blurb's promise, but if you love you some Fourth Doctor, especially with Sarah Jane and Harry, it will probably please, like a comfy old blanket with a pleasantly new embroidery.
Very Light Spoilery Review Follows
The Good
* It feels very authentically "Fourth Doctor." I suspect the combination of Baker's hand and the original screenplay's age work to put us right back in the 1970s Who era with all the dialogue and cultural touchstones exactly what you'd expect and no anachronism. Spot-on writing of the Doctor and Sarah Jane. I don't know Harry well enough to judge, but he seems fine (and as the late Ian Marter, who played Harry, co-created the screenplay, I expect Harry is well represented). The core team's affection for each other and commitment to looking out for each other comes through very well.
* The first half or so of the story plays like a well-executed Doctor Who adventure with mystery, scares, wit, great rising tension and ominous tone, and good agency for all the principals, as well as some guest characters.
* The narrative is from the Doctor's first-person POV, which seemed an odd choice in my head but plays very well. Baker knows his Doctor and both the dialogue and thought process feel spot on.
* I expect whether this is a "good" will vary by taste, but there's a strain of meta in the Doctor's psychological self-analysis, which reads quite a lot like Baker ruminating on his own feelings about being launched into stardom with Doctor Who. Some might find that self-indulgent or a break in suspension of disbelief. I thought it was really interesting. For me, it added to the depth of the experience.
* Speaking of Baker, the book features some good ancillary material at the back, including quite an insightful, recent interview with Baker.
* Pretty decent use of the Cybermen, though they are not a focus.
The Something of a Let Down
* The blurb advertises that the Doctor will have to face his fears in this story. Yeah, he really doesn't. Or it would be more accurate to say this is an example of "telling" not "showing." We are told what the Doctor's deep fears are, but we don't really see him grapple with them. Rather, we see him almost immediately turn those fears into a way to fight the Big Bad, which is fine as an upshot but feels unearned without seeing Doctor have to struggle himself first. The closest we get to real struggle is one scene where he is plainly nonplused and put out—and it's a good scene, but it feels like the beginning of a descent into having to grapple with hard truths when, in fact, it's all we get. (To some degree, I think the story suffers in comparison to New Who here. New Who is so much about the Doctor's post-Time War traumas that to go back to having only the sum of One through Four's more-or-less canonical experiences to examine is bound to feel a bit anticlimactic.)
* The character of Scratchman himself is disappointing. At times, he is enjoyably droll, the kind of bad guy who seems genuinely confident and fairly unflappable, but he's basically a boring and obvious evil. This makes his trying to tempt the Doctor feel like a waste of pages; it's obvious from instant one that it's not going to work because Scratchman is shallow and morally stupid.
* The second half of the book contains a lot of action that might have played well on screen, especially with rather more money than Old Who typically had. But in a novel, giant chess pieces aren't terribly compelling, and I felt like these repeated rounds of daring do just took up pages that would have been better spent actually exploring the Doctor's psyche.
Overall, the book was worth reading and first half very enjoyable indeed. I do recommend it to fans of Four. It's fun to get a new adventure after all these years.
Very Light Spoilery Review Follows
The Good
* It feels very authentically "Fourth Doctor." I suspect the combination of Baker's hand and the original screenplay's age work to put us right back in the 1970s Who era with all the dialogue and cultural touchstones exactly what you'd expect and no anachronism. Spot-on writing of the Doctor and Sarah Jane. I don't know Harry well enough to judge, but he seems fine (and as the late Ian Marter, who played Harry, co-created the screenplay, I expect Harry is well represented). The core team's affection for each other and commitment to looking out for each other comes through very well.
* The first half or so of the story plays like a well-executed Doctor Who adventure with mystery, scares, wit, great rising tension and ominous tone, and good agency for all the principals, as well as some guest characters.
* The narrative is from the Doctor's first-person POV, which seemed an odd choice in my head but plays very well. Baker knows his Doctor and both the dialogue and thought process feel spot on.
* I expect whether this is a "good" will vary by taste, but there's a strain of meta in the Doctor's psychological self-analysis, which reads quite a lot like Baker ruminating on his own feelings about being launched into stardom with Doctor Who. Some might find that self-indulgent or a break in suspension of disbelief. I thought it was really interesting. For me, it added to the depth of the experience.
* Speaking of Baker, the book features some good ancillary material at the back, including quite an insightful, recent interview with Baker.
* Pretty decent use of the Cybermen, though they are not a focus.
The Something of a Let Down
* The blurb advertises that the Doctor will have to face his fears in this story. Yeah, he really doesn't. Or it would be more accurate to say this is an example of "telling" not "showing." We are told what the Doctor's deep fears are, but we don't really see him grapple with them. Rather, we see him almost immediately turn those fears into a way to fight the Big Bad, which is fine as an upshot but feels unearned without seeing Doctor have to struggle himself first. The closest we get to real struggle is one scene where he is plainly nonplused and put out—and it's a good scene, but it feels like the beginning of a descent into having to grapple with hard truths when, in fact, it's all we get. (To some degree, I think the story suffers in comparison to New Who here. New Who is so much about the Doctor's post-Time War traumas that to go back to having only the sum of One through Four's more-or-less canonical experiences to examine is bound to feel a bit anticlimactic.)
* The character of Scratchman himself is disappointing. At times, he is enjoyably droll, the kind of bad guy who seems genuinely confident and fairly unflappable, but he's basically a boring and obvious evil. This makes his trying to tempt the Doctor feel like a waste of pages; it's obvious from instant one that it's not going to work because Scratchman is shallow and morally stupid.
* The second half of the book contains a lot of action that might have played well on screen, especially with rather more money than Old Who typically had. But in a novel, giant chess pieces aren't terribly compelling, and I felt like these repeated rounds of daring do just took up pages that would have been better spent actually exploring the Doctor's psyche.
Overall, the book was worth reading and first half very enjoyable indeed. I do recommend it to fans of Four. It's fun to get a new adventure after all these years.
