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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #152
Doctor Who: Battlefield
The Doctor and Ace receive a mysterious distress signal and land in the Earth village of Carbury, where a nuclear convoy has halted. The Doctor's concern is heightened when knights from another dimension begin to land in the area. Nearby is Lake Voortigen, the mythical resting-place of Excalibur, King Arthur's mystical sword...
But the lake holds a more sinister secret. A spaceship from the same alien dimension lurks under the lake - but does it really contain Arthur's corpse? And what is it that the Witch Queen, Morgaine, is really after?
The Doctor's old friend the Brigadier is sent in to investigate, but the Doctor's happiness is short-lived. It seems his friend must take on the might of the deadly Destroyer, a horned demon intent on bringing about the end of the world...
But the lake holds a more sinister secret. A spaceship from the same alien dimension lurks under the lake - but does it really contain Arthur's corpse? And what is it that the Witch Queen, Morgaine, is really after?
The Doctor's old friend the Brigadier is sent in to investigate, but the Doctor's happiness is short-lived. It seems his friend must take on the might of the deadly Destroyer, a horned demon intent on bringing about the end of the world...
172 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 1991
About the author
Marc Platt
109 books48 followersMarc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.
After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC. He wrote the Doctor Who serial Ghost Light based on two proposals, one of which later became the novel Lungbarrow. That novel was greatly anticipated by fans as it was the culmination of the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan", revealing details of the Doctor's background and family.
After the original series' cancellation Platt wrote the script for the audio Doctor Who drama Spare Parts. The script was the inspiration for the 2006 Doctor Who television story "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel", for which Platt received a screen credit and a fee.
He lives in London.
After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC. He wrote the Doctor Who serial Ghost Light based on two proposals, one of which later became the novel Lungbarrow. That novel was greatly anticipated by fans as it was the culmination of the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan", revealing details of the Doctor's background and family.
After the original series' cancellation Platt wrote the script for the audio Doctor Who drama Spare Parts. The script was the inspiration for the 2006 Doctor Who television story "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel", for which Platt received a screen credit and a fee.
He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 29, 2016
Magnificent. Doctor Who does masculine 80s fantasy, cleverly, playfully, and with a theme of the Doctor running into his own future that is 20 years ahead of its time. If this was the version we'd got on telly (and there are lots of reasons, good and bad, we didn't), Battlefield would be remembered as one of the best Doctor Who stories ever.
September 6, 2021
A fitting end to my goal of 50 books this year! For a Target novel this is packed full of action in it's pages and my appreciation of the 7th Doctor continues to grow! (He may be in competition for my favorite at this point!)
That said, anyone who knows me well enough knows I enjoy British history and myth like King Arthur (see my review of Bernard Cromwell's first Arthur book or his The Last Kingdom books). This story was exciting and fitting as it turned that original myth on its head. Of course it's no surprise who Merlin is/was/will be, who else would it be? Special shoutout to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who apparently does not believe in retirement.
Seriously this Target novel has everything you need and is likely one of the most exciting I have had the chance to read.
That said, anyone who knows me well enough knows I enjoy British history and myth like King Arthur (see my review of Bernard Cromwell's first Arthur book or his The Last Kingdom books). This story was exciting and fitting as it turned that original myth on its head. Of course it's no surprise who Merlin is/was/will be, who else would it be? Special shoutout to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who apparently does not believe in retirement.
Seriously this Target novel has everything you need and is likely one of the most exciting I have had the chance to read.
January 12, 2026
The on-screen version is flawed but fabulous. This is just fabulous. The characterisations are wonderful, the setting around the story is filled out beautifully, and it does this amazing thing where the tv story is basically unchanged but made heaps better. It does that annoying cyberpunk thing where it rattles off heaps of technological information about something that felt totally on the cutting edge when it was written but is horribly dated almost before you’ve finished the book. And everything else sets up and foreshadows a heroic end to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart-Stewart… but it bottles it and lets him live (I will admit, I’m kind of glad). Aside from that, this is a marvel.
August 24, 2023
The Seventh Doctor and Ace are a lot of fun. The return of Brigadier Letbridge-Stewart from retirement is great. I also like his replacement, Brigadier Bambera. And Bessie is delightful. Unfortunately, I find all the Arthurian Legend stuff a bit of a drag. Even with the fun parallel-universe twist, I just can't get into King Arthur stuff. There's also this really weird bit where the villain makes Ace turn racist for a second?! I know it's the villain's mind control or something but, like, why did that need to be in there? It really threw me out of the story.
April 20, 2021
I thought this novelization was general decent. Based off of the second best cereal from the 26th season this story was pretty well rounded. What I most liked about this novelization was how it expended and explained some of the unexplained things in the episode. For example, the novelization explained who Ancelyn was and where he came from. In the episode, he just lands from the sky answering his quest to help save the day. The characters were all decent and basically the same as in the episode. Though I also liked how the novelization expanded on Ancelyn and Bambera's relationship. However, one thing that I disliked about this novelization was the addition of a stupid dog character. Thankfully, it showed up about three times and did nothing. The action was good and I liked how the story wasn't afraid to be violet unlike Matt Smith novels. In the end, this was a good read I would suggest to any Doctor Who fan.
May 8, 2019
I think I'd read too much of the hype for this, so I was expecting a masterpiece rather than the slightly above-average Dr Who story I got. The beginning is excellent, the sections from the perpective of the TARDIS and describing King Arthur's death were particular highlights, sadly the book goes downhill a bit after this, the structure of the story revealed as the excerise in running in place until the final quarter that it tends towards.
July 14, 2023
The transport of a nuclear weapon through the south of England becomes a focus for an ancient enemy to return and threaten the Doctor's very existence.
Platt's novelisation develops the woefully underused Brigadier Bambera and the story is, while easy to read, quite complex in terms if the time travel ideas used: a future Doctor starts a chain of events only a past version of himself can resolve.
Platt's novelisation develops the woefully underused Brigadier Bambera and the story is, while easy to read, quite complex in terms if the time travel ideas used: a future Doctor starts a chain of events only a past version of himself can resolve.
April 12, 2026
An absorbing and exciting tale that greatly expands on the fun TV story. The action set pieces work better on the page and, of course, we learn a lot more about the background to the events and the characters’ motivations. I believe this is an essential companion to the televised episodes, if you really want to get full enjoyment of Battlefield.
May 11, 2021
I think that this novelization was just as good as the others that I have read. Even though the writer of Battlefield, Ben Aronovitch, was not the author I think that Marc Platt still did a good job. He made a few changes from the original story though most of these were good. The book explained so much more than the episodes did. It said where the knights actually came from and gave a lot more insight to what was happening, where the story of King Arthur came from, where the character King Arthur came from, as well as Morgaine and the other knights and lots more. The story made a much better effort to explain that The Doctor would be Merlin in the future and put everything in place then. The episodes did not make that very clear. Though the story was still good and the characters were welly developed. The relationship between Ancelyn and Winifred was much better paced and done in the book as well. The story was still really good though and it had a very hard message that hit you at the end. I think that the message was done and delivered perfectly as well. Things to change would have been the dog. Every story has to have an animal character I know this. Though Doctor Who already has an animal character. Oh well, the mutt did nothing anyways and the story would not be at all different if it was not in it either. So in the end I think that Battlefield was another great novelization that I would suggest to anyone who enjoys Doctor Who.
Plot, where is that plot? Oh here it is. The world is currently in danger. The Doctor and Ace must join forces with UNIT in order to stop evil from another dimension. Morgaine and her son Mordred have been the rulers of the world opposite to Earth for hundreds of years and now that the call of Excalibur has been herd they are once again out to get to sword and continue their rule over their world. So The Doctor and Ace must help UNIT with the help of a knight Ancelyn, once a knight of Morgaine though he betrayed her, to stop Morgaine and her forces before she gets her hands on a nuclear missile, Excalibur, releases the Destroyer, and in tern destroys the world. Though they will need help from an old friend to be able to do so.
Plot, where is that plot? Oh here it is. The world is currently in danger. The Doctor and Ace must join forces with UNIT in order to stop evil from another dimension. Morgaine and her son Mordred have been the rulers of the world opposite to Earth for hundreds of years and now that the call of Excalibur has been herd they are once again out to get to sword and continue their rule over their world. So The Doctor and Ace must help UNIT with the help of a knight Ancelyn, once a knight of Morgaine though he betrayed her, to stop Morgaine and her forces before she gets her hands on a nuclear missile, Excalibur, releases the Destroyer, and in tern destroys the world. Though they will need help from an old friend to be able to do so.
May 19, 2024
A fresh take on one of my favourite adventures. Lots of extra details that definitely influenced the New Adventures a few years later. Excellent stuff!
March 14, 2022
This has always been one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who. I loved the combination of the 7th Doctor and Ace plus add in Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart along with characters from Arthurian legend and I am in heaven. I have always thought this was one of the 7th's Doctors better episodes and it is even better in book form. We get more scenes that are not in the original episodes, and we get long scenes for the ones that were. Awesome all the way around.
January 10, 2021
best novelisation so far!!! adds a lot of context to the world of avallion and has all the special edition scenes included. love it
May 7, 2021
The second Doctor Who script from Ben Aaronovitch was a disappointment after the well designed "Remembrance of the Daleks." In rough outline, "Battlefield" is quite similar. It has two contending alien factions (in this case from a parallel universe) that should not be on Earth fighting a battle on Earth to capture an object of great power. It also has The Doctor as somehow guardian or otherwise responsible for this artifact. Unfortunately, the formula was not as effective the second time. One reason is that the motives of the factions, and who is on whose side, are not always clear. This had been a problem in "Remembrance," but becomes a major problem in "Battlefield." More importantly, the background is not as carefully worked out, creating huge gaps in the plot, leaving the viewer wondering just why things are happening in the way they are happening. Plus, the issue on which the plot hangs, that of world-destroying power (nuclear weapons) being carelessly managed for the personal gain of the powerful, arrives late in this script; whereas, the issue in "Remembrance" of racism is clear throughout. The biggest problem, though, is the attempt to recreate the King Arthur legends in Doctor Who terms. While it had been long a fan wet-dream to have The Doctor as Merlin, when it came to actually making that connection, it came across as artificial, forced, and too tiresomely obvious to bother with.
Marc Platt's novelization of the script goes a long way to fixing some of the most troublesome problems of the script. Most importantly, many of the missing explanations that would have made the TV version less of a muddied mess are in the novel. Thus, the reader finally understands that clearly the Arthur-related characters come from a parallel universe in which there is a strange mix of technology and magic, that Morgaine's magic is not as effective in our dimension than in hers, that Excalibur is more than just a sword, how the future Doctor/Merlin may have escaped being frozen by Morgaine, and more. It also explains why The Doctor is so interested in names, such as Winifred and Ancelyn. Still, Platt loves revealing things obscurely (a trait common in his scripts for Big Finish audios), and so the reader gets information through point of view of such things as the TARDIS and the sword, or through what appear to be throwaway bits of dialogue.
In the end, "Battlefield" as a novel is still a flawed story, but is much more enjoyable and sensible than the TV original.
Marc Platt's novelization of the script goes a long way to fixing some of the most troublesome problems of the script. Most importantly, many of the missing explanations that would have made the TV version less of a muddied mess are in the novel. Thus, the reader finally understands that clearly the Arthur-related characters come from a parallel universe in which there is a strange mix of technology and magic, that Morgaine's magic is not as effective in our dimension than in hers, that Excalibur is more than just a sword, how the future Doctor/Merlin may have escaped being frozen by Morgaine, and more. It also explains why The Doctor is so interested in names, such as Winifred and Ancelyn. Still, Platt loves revealing things obscurely (a trait common in his scripts for Big Finish audios), and so the reader gets information through point of view of such things as the TARDIS and the sword, or through what appear to be throwaway bits of dialogue.
In the end, "Battlefield" as a novel is still a flawed story, but is much more enjoyable and sensible than the TV original.
September 30, 2026
Well sir, that old Seventh Doctor and his gal Ace catch wind of a mighty strange distress call and go ahead and plop the TARDIS right down in the middle of the English countryside over by Lake Vortigern in the late 1990s. Next thing you know, they stumble clean into a whole convoy of UNIT soldiers trying to haul a live nuclear missile down the road. But shoot, before you can even holler "King Arthur," the peace and quiet of them woods gets blown straight to kingdom come! A whole mess of knights dressed up in high-tech, space-age armor come pouring out of a hole in another dimension. Now, in their neck of the woods, magic and technology live side-by-side, and them old British fairy tales are cold, hard facts. That no-good, sinister knight Mordred is fixing to wage war against his rival Ancelyn. Mordred goes and hollers across that big old dimensional void to call up his mama, Morgaine—a ruthlessly powerful sorceress who don't take no mess. And here is the wildest part of the whole shebang: when them knights lay eyes on the Doctor, they don't see some funny little fella wearing a Panama hat. No sir, they drop right to their knees and call him Merlin! Turns out, this here is a big old brawl the Doctor hasn't even fought yet in his own personal timeline. Mixing up that medieval witchy magic with a live nuclear bomb is a terrifying recipe, plain and simple—like throwing a lit match into a powder keg. Now, that lady Morgaine is a villain with a mighty twisted sense of honor, but don't let that fool you. When push comes to shove, she's entirely willing to vaporize this whole green Earth to smithereens just to win her little war.
July 18, 2021
A solid 3 for me this one. Brings the Brigadier back, which is always great, and an interesting story based around the Arthurian legends, but has some negatives that pull it back to a 3.
While it is nice having the Brigadier back, his chauvinist tendencies come to the fore here, something that hasn't really been that strong in the past, but quite strong here, and brings out the worst in the Brigadier and Ace - the latter having some justification, but goes too far in response, so doesn't treat two companions I quite like that well here, though outside of their bickering they are both pretty good, both playing the hero at different times with some nice action for the Brigadier.
The other one off characters seem a bit more one dimensional, and the relationship between Bambera and Ancelyn isn't well portrayed here - is fleshed out from the TV story, but somehow makes it feel less likely, and more contrived than on the TV - one part sticking out - Ancelyn laughing at the thrill of battle, and in response Bambera thinking he could teach her how to cry, which seems somewhat dissonant.
Beyond that, the writing seemed quite dry, making it a longer read than normal, making it hard to want to keep picking it up to read, but got there eventually.
The Doctor is in good form here, and for a change isn't manipulating the situation, but being manipulated by a future incarnation of the Doctor instead, which makes for a nice turnabout.
So overall an interesting story, but with some drawbacks.
While it is nice having the Brigadier back, his chauvinist tendencies come to the fore here, something that hasn't really been that strong in the past, but quite strong here, and brings out the worst in the Brigadier and Ace - the latter having some justification, but goes too far in response, so doesn't treat two companions I quite like that well here, though outside of their bickering they are both pretty good, both playing the hero at different times with some nice action for the Brigadier.
The other one off characters seem a bit more one dimensional, and the relationship between Bambera and Ancelyn isn't well portrayed here - is fleshed out from the TV story, but somehow makes it feel less likely, and more contrived than on the TV - one part sticking out - Ancelyn laughing at the thrill of battle, and in response Bambera thinking he could teach her how to cry, which seems somewhat dissonant.
Beyond that, the writing seemed quite dry, making it a longer read than normal, making it hard to want to keep picking it up to read, but got there eventually.
The Doctor is in good form here, and for a change isn't manipulating the situation, but being manipulated by a future incarnation of the Doctor instead, which makes for a nice turnabout.
So overall an interesting story, but with some drawbacks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2021
Battlefield was the first story of Season 26 with a script by Ben Aaronovitch. This is the target novelization written by Marc Platt, who wrote Ghost Light, the second story in Season 26. This was a fun book. It followed the story closely, there may have been slight additions, but not enough to notice at a glace. The plot sees the Seventh Doctor and Ace stumble into a UNIT story where Arthurian Legend from a parallel world comes into our world. We get Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, UNIT, a new Brigadier in Bambera who I wish we'd seen more of. The Arthurian Legend is handled well and it all makes for an enjoyable Doctor Who story. The writing style is good, and makes an already enjoyable story better. If you liked Battlefield on TV, you'll like this. And if you didn't care for the TV version, this may change your mind.
August 7, 2026
Ben Aaronovitch's second dr Who story to be produced, written by fellow newly Dr Who screen writer, Marc Platt. an excellent pedigree. I haven't read this since it was originally published and while I recall it doesn't add as much to the original story as with remembrance, it does add depth and fill in some of the continuity gaps that arose during shooting (I recall it lengthened or shortened by 1 episode as a late change).
A nice straight forward book, well written and easy to read. There's nice back ground to explain the setting added (the TV show version would have benefited from more of that).
On the whole, its perhaps a little too short and lacks some moments of heightened suspense and intrigue to have become a real classic Who episode, but it is easily one of the better stories.
A nice straight forward book, well written and easy to read. There's nice back ground to explain the setting added (the TV show version would have benefited from more of that).
On the whole, its perhaps a little too short and lacks some moments of heightened suspense and intrigue to have become a real classic Who episode, but it is easily one of the better stories.
March 24, 2018
This was a great story. I've never seen the show series, so I can't compare it to this novelization. This was great though.
The imagery of the characters and the settings really popped from the words on the page. The mixed elements of SciFi, magic, and the King Arthur legends were great.
The thought that the knights of Arthur's court were actually warriors from a parallel universe with advanced, computerized battle armor suits and technorganic technology is cool. The parallel universe thing opens up the real possibility that Morgaine can open portals to other places and bring beings from there to Earth (like the destroyer of earths demon).
The imagery of the characters and the settings really popped from the words on the page. The mixed elements of SciFi, magic, and the King Arthur legends were great.
The thought that the knights of Arthur's court were actually warriors from a parallel universe with advanced, computerized battle armor suits and technorganic technology is cool. The parallel universe thing opens up the real possibility that Morgaine can open portals to other places and bring beings from there to Earth (like the destroyer of earths demon).
November 21, 2023
Doctor Who : Battlefield (1991) by Marc Platt is the novelisation of first serial of season twenty six of Doctor Who.
The book starts off with knights fighting and dying with an appearance by Merlin.
Then we move to Ace and the Doctor following a beacon to appear in a field in England where they soon meet a knight called Ancelyn who refers to the Doctor as Merlin. A magical scabbard is nearby. From there on the story mixes time travel, magic, Arthurian legends, Daemons, witches, nuclear weapons and the Brigadier.
It’s all really pretty amusing. This is a strong Doctor Who story.
The book starts off with knights fighting and dying with an appearance by Merlin.
Then we move to Ace and the Doctor following a beacon to appear in a field in England where they soon meet a knight called Ancelyn who refers to the Doctor as Merlin. A magical scabbard is nearby. From there on the story mixes time travel, magic, Arthurian legends, Daemons, witches, nuclear weapons and the Brigadier.
It’s all really pretty amusing. This is a strong Doctor Who story.
May 17, 2018
An excellent novelisation, pacy & dramatic, sadly everything the tv version lacked. It is sad to think what the prodution team of the time could have achieved if the BBC hadn't lost interest.
Marc Platt has done an excellent job novelising Ben Aaronovitch's script.
Marc Platt has done an excellent job novelising Ben Aaronovitch's script.
March 30, 2020
A very enjoyable Arthurian Adventure, and I found it more enjoyable as a novel than as an episode, although having seen the episode makes visualizing characters and scenes easier. And the additional insights to the story, particularly the Prologue, were greatly appreciated!
December 17, 2021
An interesting sci fi take on the Arthurian legend with the Doctor and Ace on top form
Highly entertaining
Highly entertaining
May 11, 2024
pdf 190 pages
Quite fun - retelling of Arthur, an actual figure in an alternate universe - or rather what happens long after the 'events' with which we are familiar when Morgaine crosses over to claim Excalibur and to finally defeat Arthur... The Doctor as Merlin, the Brig returns - and there's a new Brigadier in Winifred Bambera...
Quite fun - retelling of Arthur, an actual figure in an alternate universe - or rather what happens long after the 'events' with which we are familiar when Morgaine crosses over to claim Excalibur and to finally defeat Arthur... The Doctor as Merlin, the Brig returns - and there's a new Brigadier in Winifred Bambera...
December 1, 2008
In the fall of 1988, I somehow came into possession of an issue of Doctor Who Magazine celebrating the show’s twenty-fifth anniversary. The cover story featured an interview with Nicholas Courtney, reflecting on his tenure as the Brigadier for the last twenty years and teasing his return for the upcoming twenty-sixth season.
In the interview, it was heavily implied that this would be the Brigadier’s final appearance in Doctor Who and that, perhaps, the fan-favorite, long-running character might perish during the course of season 26’s first serials.
The interview, combined with the knowledge that the story was written by Ben Aaronovitch, only intensified my desire to watch the four-part serial as soon as it aired on my local PBS station. Finally, after months of waiting, it aired, and I sat down eagerly expecting a story that would be at least as good as “Remembrance of the Daleks” had been the year before.
If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you know that the serial is “Battlefield,” a story that mixes Arthurian legend with Doctor Who lore. On the surface, it feels like it should be an instant classic ala “Remembrance of the Daleks.” And while it’s a good story, I will admit that “Battlefield” never quite put me under its spell upon first viewing the way “Remembrance” or “Greatest Show in the Galaxy” had.
Of course, once the story was done airing, the wait for the Target novel began. And continued….for what felt like forever. “Battlefield” wasn’t a quick turnaround for the printed page, with Aaronovich eventually turning over adaptation duties to Marc Platt. The novel was one of the last in the Target range and was given a bit more leeway than other novels from the Sixth Doctor’s era to expand the story and characters a bit.
I collected “Battlefield” and have kept it with my small set of Seventh Doctor Target books over the years, if for nothing else than the cover art.* But, I’ll admit it’s been thirty-plus years since I’ve experienced “Battlefield” on the printed page.
*The Seventh Doctor has some really great cover art for his era.
It took the Target audiobook range, giving us the story in audio, to get me to jump back in. And to start kicking myself that I hadn’t enjoyed it again before now.
Listening to “Battlefield,” I kept asking myself why I didn’t cite this one in the same way I do “Remembrance of the Daleks,” “Curse of Fenric,” or “Day of the Daleks” as one of the prime examples of how good the Target range of novels could be. Starting with a prologue that establishes a future version of the Doctor (with red hair, mind you) serving as Merlin. The prologue alone is worth the price of admission for this one.
The rest of the novel is great as well. It’s a stepping stone to the eventual New Adventures series, though the Seventh Doctor isn’t quite the manipulator he becomes there – or later in season 26. Instead, this Doctor, who is usually three steps ahead of everyone, finds himself three steps behind a future version of himself, who has set up certain conflicts that play out during the course of the story. In many ways, it feels like a preview of ways Moffat will play with time travel during his tenure as showrunner.
Walking away from “Battlefield” then and now, I can’t help but feel fans were denied something special in seeing a new era of UNIT. While the Brigadier survives the story, this one does feel like a coda to his tenure as a leader and a passing of the baton to Bambera for future UNIT stories.
Aaronovich’s script walks a fine line between nostalgia and the need to push UNIT and the show forward into a new era. Platt’s novel drops in a ton of great Easter eggs to the past as well. I realize these are fan service at best and were targeted right at the type of obsessive fan I was and am. And yet, I don’t care. I ate it up with a spoon then and now.
The audiobook was just a reminder of how good the novelization is. And, as I’ve said for so many other Target novels, it makes me want to visit the televised version again. Which is coming up in my current Doctor Who pilgrimage. I can’t wait.
In the interview, it was heavily implied that this would be the Brigadier’s final appearance in Doctor Who and that, perhaps, the fan-favorite, long-running character might perish during the course of season 26’s first serials.
The interview, combined with the knowledge that the story was written by Ben Aaronovitch, only intensified my desire to watch the four-part serial as soon as it aired on my local PBS station. Finally, after months of waiting, it aired, and I sat down eagerly expecting a story that would be at least as good as “Remembrance of the Daleks” had been the year before.
If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you know that the serial is “Battlefield,” a story that mixes Arthurian legend with Doctor Who lore. On the surface, it feels like it should be an instant classic ala “Remembrance of the Daleks.” And while it’s a good story, I will admit that “Battlefield” never quite put me under its spell upon first viewing the way “Remembrance” or “Greatest Show in the Galaxy” had.
Of course, once the story was done airing, the wait for the Target novel began. And continued….for what felt like forever. “Battlefield” wasn’t a quick turnaround for the printed page, with Aaronovich eventually turning over adaptation duties to Marc Platt. The novel was one of the last in the Target range and was given a bit more leeway than other novels from the Sixth Doctor’s era to expand the story and characters a bit.
I collected “Battlefield” and have kept it with my small set of Seventh Doctor Target books over the years, if for nothing else than the cover art.* But, I’ll admit it’s been thirty-plus years since I’ve experienced “Battlefield” on the printed page.
*The Seventh Doctor has some really great cover art for his era.
It took the Target audiobook range, giving us the story in audio, to get me to jump back in. And to start kicking myself that I hadn’t enjoyed it again before now.
Listening to “Battlefield,” I kept asking myself why I didn’t cite this one in the same way I do “Remembrance of the Daleks,” “Curse of Fenric,” or “Day of the Daleks” as one of the prime examples of how good the Target range of novels could be. Starting with a prologue that establishes a future version of the Doctor (with red hair, mind you) serving as Merlin. The prologue alone is worth the price of admission for this one.
The rest of the novel is great as well. It’s a stepping stone to the eventual New Adventures series, though the Seventh Doctor isn’t quite the manipulator he becomes there – or later in season 26. Instead, this Doctor, who is usually three steps ahead of everyone, finds himself three steps behind a future version of himself, who has set up certain conflicts that play out during the course of the story. In many ways, it feels like a preview of ways Moffat will play with time travel during his tenure as showrunner.
Walking away from “Battlefield” then and now, I can’t help but feel fans were denied something special in seeing a new era of UNIT. While the Brigadier survives the story, this one does feel like a coda to his tenure as a leader and a passing of the baton to Bambera for future UNIT stories.
Aaronovich’s script walks a fine line between nostalgia and the need to push UNIT and the show forward into a new era. Platt’s novel drops in a ton of great Easter eggs to the past as well. I realize these are fan service at best and were targeted right at the type of obsessive fan I was and am. And yet, I don’t care. I ate it up with a spoon then and now.
The audiobook was just a reminder of how good the novelization is. And, as I’ve said for so many other Target novels, it makes me want to visit the televised version again. Which is coming up in my current Doctor Who pilgrimage. I can’t wait.
April 3, 2016
After the series low that was season 24 Doctor Who turned a bit of a corner and actually started to produce stories that would eventually be called classics. Battlefield wasn't one of them. It had too many production howlers to deserve the kind of regard stories like Curse of Fenric or Ghostlight engendered. But it could have been. Ben Aaronovitch turned in a brilliantly inventive script that revelled in the mythos of the show, the character, the legend of King Arthur and Merlin. In the previous season Aaronovitch's other script had been a roaring success as the Daleks fought a civil war in the heart of London and it had dragged me back in line with some alacrity. Years later Aaronovitch would prove his talents for imaginative intricate writing with the best selling, magic infused Peter Grant books.
Marc Platt stepped up to do the novelisation of Battlefield, a writer with a long and sometimes controversial history of writing Doctor Who. And he really gives it a go. The book shines in a way the televised version never could hobbled down by horrific music, wooden acting and the rest. Opening scenes should set the tone. Platt replaces the Brig and Doris pottering about at the garden centre joking about shouting at Sergeant Benton with a well written scene of a King's funeral overseen by three Queens. There's quite a lot of this type of thing in the early portion of the book, and sometimes it does seem a little overwritten in parts when explaining some bit of technobabble. Brigadier Bambera gets an interesting introduction as she's flown to Geneva and prepped for the mission, none of which was in the tv version. Unfortunately once we get to some of the script dialogue some of Angela Bruce's wooden delivery does still ring in my head... shame. One of the other highlights of Pratt's additions is a better understanding of Ancelyn's place and motivations in the story which had been not very cleanly set forth on the screen. Mordred didn't need much extra light shining on him. He's just a bit of a prat and that's all you need to know. Thankfully the scene where Mordred summons his mum and commences to laugh maniacally for what seems like a week doesn't even have a titter. Annotated it could have gone on for several pages. Aaronovitch's script reasserts itself in the second half. Between what both writers brought to the party the end result is a very enjoyable romp with of lot of little details that will delight the fans, some great lines, imagination and verve. Now if only Graeme Harper had been available to direct, perhaps this review would have been much shorter.
Marc Platt stepped up to do the novelisation of Battlefield, a writer with a long and sometimes controversial history of writing Doctor Who. And he really gives it a go. The book shines in a way the televised version never could hobbled down by horrific music, wooden acting and the rest. Opening scenes should set the tone. Platt replaces the Brig and Doris pottering about at the garden centre joking about shouting at Sergeant Benton with a well written scene of a King's funeral overseen by three Queens. There's quite a lot of this type of thing in the early portion of the book, and sometimes it does seem a little overwritten in parts when explaining some bit of technobabble. Brigadier Bambera gets an interesting introduction as she's flown to Geneva and prepped for the mission, none of which was in the tv version. Unfortunately once we get to some of the script dialogue some of Angela Bruce's wooden delivery does still ring in my head... shame. One of the other highlights of Pratt's additions is a better understanding of Ancelyn's place and motivations in the story which had been not very cleanly set forth on the screen. Mordred didn't need much extra light shining on him. He's just a bit of a prat and that's all you need to know. Thankfully the scene where Mordred summons his mum and commences to laugh maniacally for what seems like a week doesn't even have a titter. Annotated it could have gone on for several pages. Aaronovitch's script reasserts itself in the second half. Between what both writers brought to the party the end result is a very enjoyable romp with of lot of little details that will delight the fans, some great lines, imagination and verve. Now if only Graeme Harper had been available to direct, perhaps this review would have been much shorter.
August 11, 2019
Firstly, it is a shame that Ben Aaronovitch didn't novelise his own story as it would have been interesting to see how he saw the story before the BBC got to it. However, I think Marc Platt does a fine job.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
He does what I like about a lot of the later Target novelisations. He expands on parts of the story, filling in gaps and adding depth to it. For example, we get a description of the future incarnation of the Doctor that will be Merlin. Characters like Brigadier Bambera get better, more detailed introductions and still the story gets told.
Basically, Battlefield is the story of the final battle between Morgaine, her son Mordred and Merlin, who might be the Doctor. They've come to find Arthur, who legend tells us is resting until Britain's greatest need. Except these people come from a parallel world. Where, in the reverse of Clarke's law, a sufficiently advanced form of magic is indistinguishable from technology. It's a world of knights and honour. Of magic and demons. It is a bit of an odd fit for Doctor Who but it just about seems to work.
We get to see the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Alexander Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, who himself feels like a visitor from an older world. The Brigadier was always cannier than the Doctor thought. A bit smarter too and that Brigadier is the one that pops up in this book, which I like. He also gets his best moment in my opinion, when he takes on the Destroyer.
This is also a story about nuclear weapons. Both literally and figuratively. There is a real one, which UNIT are trying to deal with and the Destroyer. I suspect named because of Oppenheimer's famous quote at the first successful test of an atomic bomb: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds." It seems like a story of its time. Now perhaps climate change - which gets a nod in the novelisation - would be the more likely focus.
Oh, and the other thing I like is the way it makes UNIT seem like a proper massive military organisation.
Enjoyed that.
April 8, 2009
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1081346.html#cutid1
I'm not the greatest fan of Ben Aaronovitch, who wrote the original script, but Platt has taken the story and makes it work really well on paper. It makes you realise just how much of the TV version's problems were down to poor direction, bad music and lousy acting. We get some lovely back-story for the Brigadier and Doris; we get just enough explanation for the Doctor being Merlin to leave room for further speculation without just being stupid; we get the Bambera/Ancelyn relationship decently treated as well. Interestingly Platt has broken the story up into four parts which more or less coincide with the episodes as broadcast, the only novelisation where I remember this being done.
An easy pass for the Bechdel test, with Ace and Shou Youing defending each other against the forces of darkness (in the book, we are not distracted by their awful acting).
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/battlefield-by-philip-purser-hallard-and-ben-aaronovitch-and-marc-platt/
I still agree with all of that. The middle and end of the story still don’t make much sense, but the beginning is very well developed and that gives you enough momentum to keep going. Intriguingly, Platt’s future Doctor has red hair.
I'm not the greatest fan of Ben Aaronovitch, who wrote the original script, but Platt has taken the story and makes it work really well on paper. It makes you realise just how much of the TV version's problems were down to poor direction, bad music and lousy acting. We get some lovely back-story for the Brigadier and Doris; we get just enough explanation for the Doctor being Merlin to leave room for further speculation without just being stupid; we get the Bambera/Ancelyn relationship decently treated as well. Interestingly Platt has broken the story up into four parts which more or less coincide with the episodes as broadcast, the only novelisation where I remember this being done.
An easy pass for the Bechdel test, with Ace and Shou Youing defending each other against the forces of darkness (in the book, we are not distracted by their awful acting).
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/battlefield-by-philip-purser-hallard-and-ben-aaronovitch-and-marc-platt/
I still agree with all of that. The middle and end of the story still don’t make much sense, but the beginning is very well developed and that gives you enough momentum to keep going. Intriguingly, Platt’s future Doctor has red hair.
October 2, 2015
This is a terrific example of a novelization that is worth reading for the sake of improving the experience of what the story in original medium was. A lot of fun and plenty of great ideas settle in nicely next to a series of magnificent 7th Doctor and Ace stories from that 1989 season here. What brought it all down was a miserable production with miserable music, direction, editing, action, and some acting. Nice to let the writer bring it all back into the imagination.
The Doctor is not Merlin. Not yet. But that means he always will be. And he was. And that's wonderful.
The Arthurian stuff is nerdy fun, but the dramatic thematic heroic stuff of the Brigadier's potential last battle -- horrible on TV -- just about plays out on the page.
The Doctor is not Merlin. Not yet. But that means he always will be. And he was. And that's wonderful.
The Arthurian stuff is nerdy fun, but the dramatic thematic heroic stuff of the Brigadier's potential last battle -- horrible on TV -- just about plays out on the page.
March 20, 2020
I loved this episode when it first aired and I love it still. The novelization adds depth and background to the story: more about the place the aliens came from, more about their hardware (for instance, their body armor might look medieval but it's comparable to Fallout (video game) power armor), etc.
The plot includes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (one of my all-time favorite characters) and strong women and the men who love them (one of my favorite tropes). And ARTHURIAN LEGEND.
So you really can't go wrong.
The book also adds scenes that weren't in the episode as aired... and is it my imagination or at the end??!!
November 4, 2008
One of the best of the seventh Doctor stories, as UNit returns to deal with some aliens that are trying to steal some missiles. Turns out the aliens may be what inspired some of the legends of old England, including King Arthur.
Lots of fighting between UNIT soldiers and bad guys, several clever references to past Doctor bits, we learn the truth about who Merlin was and both the Brigader and Betsy return.
The story itself is a bit patchy and weak, but the nostalga factor helps gets you through that and there are some great character bits between the Doctor and the Brig. It's just a fun read.
Lots of fighting between UNIT soldiers and bad guys, several clever references to past Doctor bits, we learn the truth about who Merlin was and both the Brigader and Betsy return.
The story itself is a bit patchy and weak, but the nostalga factor helps gets you through that and there are some great character bits between the Doctor and the Brig. It's just a fun read.
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