The nostalgia of Doctor Who

As a young science fiction fan growing up in the 80s I had two main obsessions - the big budget Star Wars films, which I’d seen many times in the cinema, and the decidedly lower budgeted Doctor Who TV series on the BBC. 

Despite the considerably more primitive special effects, I actually preferred Doctor Who. The show had already been on air for twenty years by the time I started watching during Peter Davison’s stint in the title role, its long history giving it a certain mystique.

This was a show my Dad had watched as a boy and his recollections of the earlier episodes made me quite keen to see them for myself. However, in that era before regular VHS releases or endless repeats on satellite television, it was almost impossible to watch vintage episodes of the show. The Target novelisations were the next best thing. 

From 1973 onwards, novelisations of old Doctor Who scripts had been published regularly by Target books. They were aimed at a young audience, with up to one hundred and fifty pages, and served their purpose well in being quick, and easy to read as the episodes had long since disappeared from television. Maybe I couldn’t watch the old adventures my Dad had told me about but I could certainly read them!  

The Target novelisations were quite popular at the time and most bookshops and libraries had a small section dedicated to them. I still remember my excitement as a child at finding several of these books in Finglas library, all of which I quickly devoured over the school holidays in 1987. Having exhausted the local supply, I moved on to the children’s section of the Central library where I found dozens more. 

When I began working for Dublin City Libraries, I was delighted to find that a few of these books were still on the shelves - ravaged by the passing of time but well-read, survivors nonetheless.  

The Target range would continue in print until 1994 and almost every Doctor Who story that had been broadcast on television would eventually be adapted as a book. There were a few exceptions to this, notably the scripts by Douglas Adams (they wouldn’t be serialised until several years after his death) but for the most part, the majority of The Doctor’s past adventures were there to be enjoyed in print. 

These novelisations were sometimes written by the original scriptwriters, who would often flesh out their ideas in the translation from television to the printed page - describing planetary landscapes and horrific monsters that the BBC special effects department never could have achieved on screen. Indeed, when I finally got to see some of the old episodes from the 60s and 70s a few years later they were almost disappointing in comparison to the books. 

The most prolific writer of the novelisations was Terrance Dicks (1935-2019) who wrote sixty-seven of the more than one hundred and fifty titles published. Terrance Dicks had been the script editor of the Doctor Who TV series from 1968 to 1974 and aside from adapting his own television scripts for the Target range, he’d also work on novelisations of other scriptwriter’s stories if they were either unavailable or unwilling to take on the task. 

Other major contributors to the range included Malcolm Hulke (1924-1979), Ian Marter (1944-1986), & Gerry Davis (1930-1991). Although many titles from the Target ‘Doctor Who’ range are long out of print, a select few are now available for loan online from BorrowBox and will be of interest to nostalgic adults or children recently introduced to Doctor Who via the adventures of the latest Doctor, Jodie Whittaker. 

Horror of Fang Rock by Terrance Dicks

In this story from 1977, the fourth Doctor (played by the indomitable Tom Baker on screen) faces strange alien goings on in a Victorian lighthouse. This audiobook is read by Louise Jameson, who played Leela in the televised story. 

Remembrance of the Daleks by Ben Aaronovitch  

Adapted from his own script by ‘Rivers of London’ author Ben Aaronovitch, this adventure from 1988 sees the seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy on screen) face up against the Daleks in 1960s London. 

The recently published Target Storybook, a selection of short stories written in tribute to the Doctor Who novelisations of old.

Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. Watch our how to video on Borrowbox. Members of other library authorities will need to log in using a different link.

 Submitted by Sean C. in Ballymun Library. The books featured in the photographs belong to the author.