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Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #55
Doctor Who: Damaged Goods
"Wherever this cocaine has travelled, it hasn't gone alone. Death has been its attendant. Death in a remarkably violent and inelegant form."
The Seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz, arrive at the Quadrant, a troubled council block in Thatcher's Britain. There's a new drug on the streets, a drug that's killing to a plan. Somehow, the very ordinary people of the Quadrant are involved. And so, amidst the growing chaos, a bizarre trio moves into number 43.
The year is 1987: a dead drug dealer has risen from the grave, and an ancient weapon is concealed beneath human tragedy. But the Doctor soon discovers that the things people do for their children can be every bit as deadly as any alien menace - as he uncovers the link between a special child, an obsessive woman, and a desperate bargain made one dark Christmas Eve.
The Seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz, arrive at the Quadrant, a troubled council block in Thatcher's Britain. There's a new drug on the streets, a drug that's killing to a plan. Somehow, the very ordinary people of the Quadrant are involved. And so, amidst the growing chaos, a bizarre trio moves into number 43.
The year is 1987: a dead drug dealer has risen from the grave, and an ancient weapon is concealed beneath human tragedy. But the Doctor soon discovers that the things people do for their children can be every bit as deadly as any alien menace - as he uncovers the link between a special child, an obsessive woman, and a desperate bargain made one dark Christmas Eve.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 1996
8 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Russell T. Davies
24 books386 followersRussell T Davies, OBE, is a Welsh television producer and writer. He is a prolific writer, best known for controversial drama serials such as Queer as Folk and The Second Coming, and for spearheading the revival of the popular science-fiction television series Doctor Who, and creating its spin-off series Torchwood. Both are largely filmed in Cardiff and the latter is set there.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 20, 2015
Almost twenty years years ago, and nearly a decade before he became the man who regenerated Doctor Who on TV for a new century, Russell T Davies made his first contribution to the series in an entirely different medium. At a time when Doctor Who was off the air and being continued via the Virgin book ranges, a then up-and-coming Davies would write what is still his only novel for the New Adventures. With it having been recently adapted as an audio drama by Big Finish, now seemed an opportune moment to finally take it off the shelf and read what is often regarded as one of the best books to come out of the Virgin New Adventures.
The thing that struck me most while reading this is the same thing that struck me while watching the Davies era of New Who: The man can write great characters. There simply isn't a single badly written character in the whole book and Davies proves his ability to get a character across so simply and effectively on TV is there on the printed page as well. There's Rita, the cocaine addicted waitress we meet in chapter two for example, who appears for that single chapter but is so well defined that you almost feel like you know her by the time it's over. With his ability to do that, Davies really fleshes out the full supporting cast once the story shifts to its main setting as we're introduced to the troubled Tyler family, the ruthless and resurrected drug dealer the Capper, the old woman Mrs. Hearn who holds many secrets and the upper-class Eve Jericho who are just some of the characters we meet in the space of 263 pages. Each and every one of them is fleshed out, explored and delved into as we discover just who they are and the role they have to play in the events unfolding. The results are at times remarkable with the cliche of “characters that leap off the page” being more than applicable under the circumstances.
Then there's the setting: the Quadrant housing estate in London, 1987. It's hard not to think of it as a predecessor of sorts to the Powell Estate but it's far more than that. The Quadrant is almost a character in its own right: the seemingly ordinary hiding something extraordinary underneath. It's a place full of secrets with people almost hidden away, tension hanging in the air almost continuously. The Doctor at one point sums up each of the flats found in the Quadrant as being like a fortress, an apt description of perhaps the most down to earth setting you'll ever encounter in a Doctor Who book. Yet, like he would do nearly a decade later, Davies proves that the extraordinary often lies just beneath the surface if we're willing to look for it.
What really separates Damaged Goods from the rest of Davies' Who writing (and why he stopped it being reprinted ahead of the show's return in 2005) is just how adult and dark it is. While the council estate setting and character situations are definitely familiar to those of us who came to know Rose Tyler and the Powell Estate, Davies handling of those familiar elements is anything but. The story revolves around drugs, something that would be a major taboo even now for the New Series, with emphasis placed on the less than sunny lives and times of those in the Quadrant with sex, expletives and violence all being front and center. While t he social issues being explored here are familiar Davies territory, the tone of the novel isn't so much Doctor Who but that of Torchwood (especially the bleak but brilliant Children Of Earth). This is Davies doing what he never did on TV and what some are still crying out for even now: a non-family friendly Doctor Who.
Yet while Davies is famous for his characters and characterizations and he creates a good sense of atmosphere, there is one fault of his that is here. The man is infamous for his plots, lack thereof and infuriating endings. The plot is an ultra-slow burner even at 263 pages with it being at times almost more of a portrait of life on a housing estate than a science fiction novel. Then suddenly, with fifty or so pages left, the plot explodes and begins to rush by at an incredible pace and with elements that firmly remind us that this is in fact a Doctor Who story. Yet by then it's almost too late to salvage the plot as the finale turns into something of an precursor to that of The Next Doctor thirteen years later. If you're looking for Davies to do a good plot to go with his characters, this isn't the place to go at all.
There's another side-effect of that focus as well. The three “main” characters of the book (the seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz) seem like supporting characters at times as the book seems to focus more on Davies' own creations. It's almost like reading a Doctor-lite story at times as, until those last fifty pages or so, the Doctor and companions seem to wander about almost aimlessly inside the novel. Yet once again Davies proves his ability to right strong characters, especially in his capturing of the seventh Doctor who comes across incredibly well when he does appear. Indeed, reading Damaged Goods felt less at times like reading a Doctor Who novel then reading that very thing Davies is often accused of turning the New Series into: a soap opera with Davies often seems swept up in his characters and their back stories at expense of anything else.
At the end of the day, Damaged Goods features all the hallmarks of Davies later writing for when the show came back both for the good and bad. Good in the form of characterizations but bad in that the plot is slow to unfold and then is over with in a flash. Yet it's also far darker than virtually anything Davies gave his in his nearly five years as show runner on the New Series. While I can't quite sing its praises as others have done both here and elsewhere, I can recommend it at the very least as a curiosity and at best as Davies only novel.
The thing that struck me most while reading this is the same thing that struck me while watching the Davies era of New Who: The man can write great characters. There simply isn't a single badly written character in the whole book and Davies proves his ability to get a character across so simply and effectively on TV is there on the printed page as well. There's Rita, the cocaine addicted waitress we meet in chapter two for example, who appears for that single chapter but is so well defined that you almost feel like you know her by the time it's over. With his ability to do that, Davies really fleshes out the full supporting cast once the story shifts to its main setting as we're introduced to the troubled Tyler family, the ruthless and resurrected drug dealer the Capper, the old woman Mrs. Hearn who holds many secrets and the upper-class Eve Jericho who are just some of the characters we meet in the space of 263 pages. Each and every one of them is fleshed out, explored and delved into as we discover just who they are and the role they have to play in the events unfolding. The results are at times remarkable with the cliche of “characters that leap off the page” being more than applicable under the circumstances.
Then there's the setting: the Quadrant housing estate in London, 1987. It's hard not to think of it as a predecessor of sorts to the Powell Estate but it's far more than that. The Quadrant is almost a character in its own right: the seemingly ordinary hiding something extraordinary underneath. It's a place full of secrets with people almost hidden away, tension hanging in the air almost continuously. The Doctor at one point sums up each of the flats found in the Quadrant as being like a fortress, an apt description of perhaps the most down to earth setting you'll ever encounter in a Doctor Who book. Yet, like he would do nearly a decade later, Davies proves that the extraordinary often lies just beneath the surface if we're willing to look for it.
What really separates Damaged Goods from the rest of Davies' Who writing (and why he stopped it being reprinted ahead of the show's return in 2005) is just how adult and dark it is. While the council estate setting and character situations are definitely familiar to those of us who came to know Rose Tyler and the Powell Estate, Davies handling of those familiar elements is anything but. The story revolves around drugs, something that would be a major taboo even now for the New Series, with emphasis placed on the less than sunny lives and times of those in the Quadrant with sex, expletives and violence all being front and center. While t he social issues being explored here are familiar Davies territory, the tone of the novel isn't so much Doctor Who but that of Torchwood (especially the bleak but brilliant Children Of Earth). This is Davies doing what he never did on TV and what some are still crying out for even now: a non-family friendly Doctor Who.
Yet while Davies is famous for his characters and characterizations and he creates a good sense of atmosphere, there is one fault of his that is here. The man is infamous for his plots, lack thereof and infuriating endings. The plot is an ultra-slow burner even at 263 pages with it being at times almost more of a portrait of life on a housing estate than a science fiction novel. Then suddenly, with fifty or so pages left, the plot explodes and begins to rush by at an incredible pace and with elements that firmly remind us that this is in fact a Doctor Who story. Yet by then it's almost too late to salvage the plot as the finale turns into something of an precursor to that of The Next Doctor thirteen years later. If you're looking for Davies to do a good plot to go with his characters, this isn't the place to go at all.
There's another side-effect of that focus as well. The three “main” characters of the book (the seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz) seem like supporting characters at times as the book seems to focus more on Davies' own creations. It's almost like reading a Doctor-lite story at times as, until those last fifty pages or so, the Doctor and companions seem to wander about almost aimlessly inside the novel. Yet once again Davies proves his ability to right strong characters, especially in his capturing of the seventh Doctor who comes across incredibly well when he does appear. Indeed, reading Damaged Goods felt less at times like reading a Doctor Who novel then reading that very thing Davies is often accused of turning the New Series into: a soap opera with Davies often seems swept up in his characters and their back stories at expense of anything else.
At the end of the day, Damaged Goods features all the hallmarks of Davies later writing for when the show came back both for the good and bad. Good in the form of characterizations but bad in that the plot is slow to unfold and then is over with in a flash. Yet it's also far darker than virtually anything Davies gave his in his nearly five years as show runner on the New Series. While I can't quite sing its praises as others have done both here and elsewhere, I can recommend it at the very least as a curiosity and at best as Davies only novel.
November 15, 2021
This era of doctor who (the virgin new adventures) are known for being “Adult” and more dark, and this book truly embodies those themes the line is remembered for, this book is dark and violent. But despite not fitting the typical bill for doctor who (especially classic who) it’s definitely a stand out for a reason, not only as Russell T Davis first outing for doctor who, but for how intricately written it is, the characters are interesting and the plot is VERY science fiction. I really enjoy being able to see a lot of 90s/80s “gayness” put into a doctor who story, and this cast of interesting characters and topics are super solid on their own (and at times when the story felt doctor-lite it still held up as it’s own sci-fi story) overall this is a very good book and the only reason it’s not rated higher is because of the last 4 or so chapters that I wasn’t super enthused about, but still didn’t really bring down the goodness of the story itself.
Note: this book already was a little expensive and rare, but now with Russell returning to the show it’s had a spike in price which is super annoying, if this book was easily found at a low price I would 100% tell anyone who would like to read about a dark and cold side of doctor who to go out and read it, but please don’t spend more than $30 on this book… the price will go down again probably😭
EDIT: this book was almost ranked a 5 star and at the 4.5/5 level, the only thing that knocked it down (to a 4.5/4) was the one major "action" end chapter that I really didn't love, but after sleeping on it, I really don't hate it that bad, the only problem was I felt like I really couldn't picture what was going on, the rest of the book I could clearly see and understand what things looked like and what was happening, but for that last chapter I couldn't really get a clear image in my head of exactly what was going on, which took it down a peg, but honestly as I sit on it I like it a little more and more.
Note: this book already was a little expensive and rare, but now with Russell returning to the show it’s had a spike in price which is super annoying, if this book was easily found at a low price I would 100% tell anyone who would like to read about a dark and cold side of doctor who to go out and read it, but please don’t spend more than $30 on this book… the price will go down again probably😭
EDIT: this book was almost ranked a 5 star and at the 4.5/5 level, the only thing that knocked it down (to a 4.5/4) was the one major "action" end chapter that I really didn't love, but after sleeping on it, I really don't hate it that bad, the only problem was I felt like I really couldn't picture what was going on, the rest of the book I could clearly see and understand what things looked like and what was happening, but for that last chapter I couldn't really get a clear image in my head of exactly what was going on, which took it down a peg, but honestly as I sit on it I like it a little more and more.
January 5, 2011
Before Russell T. Davies resurrected Doctor Who for the 21st century television universe, his love for the show lead him to a darker literary contribution to the longest running TV series. "Damaged Goods" is uncompromising in its violence, unremitting in its bleak depiction of a low rent estate at the height of Thatcherite Britain, and unafraid of exposing the terrifying power behind the clownish mask of the 7th Doctor. It's not a book for the timid -- and not to be taken as the template for Davies' TV scripts. But it remains one of the most shocking, disturbing, fascinating, pulse-pounding novels in the Doctor Who canon.
July 4, 2021
-1 star for the Doctor using a gun
-1 star gross medical stuff
-1 star gross medical stuff
November 24, 2021
As if the previous book I read (Moments Asunder ) wasn't depressing enough I got to read this, the darkest and most draining Dr. Who novel I've had the chance to read. The darkest depiction of Thatcher's Britain - a clear social commentary on the neoliberal horror she brought to the UK alongside a terrifying opponent the Doctor has to face. This is not a book for the average fan. It deals with themes many would shy away from and all the better that it does. This is a Dr. who book that is so striking every fan SHOULD read it. Honestly I'm still reeling from what I've read here and am having trouble putting this into a coherent review.
Let's just leave it at this. This is both one of the best yet most depressing books - especially for Dr. Who - I've ever read and I'd read it again and gladly read another Davies Who novel that is as different as this one.
Let's just leave it at this. This is both one of the best yet most depressing books - especially for Dr. Who - I've ever read and I'd read it again and gladly read another Davies Who novel that is as different as this one.
April 26, 2017
A reread after many years. I listen to a podcast that discusses Doctor Who spin off media like the novels and audios. They are up to this one next and i thought I'd reread along. Next I need a relisten to the Big Finish adaption before the podcast episode drops. Such a hardship.
March 12, 2009
Awesome. Darker than most of the other Dr. Who books I've read and a lot more interesting.
February 21, 2013
This review will be some what chaotic, but it is what it is. I hope you're able to follow it.
July 4, 2021
Damaged Goods is by far one of the most popular and arguably controversial books in the Virgin New Adventure range. I haven't read a Doctor Who book in a long while due to my interest not really being there but I decided to finally pick this up having enjoyed the audio immensely and whilst I'm glad I did it's also made me very depressed!
Now before I start this is not a novel for the faint of heart it's a gory, violent story that would frighten the very soul of man himself but it is however very well written. It's a story with a very realistic and soap opera-like setting with it being set in a London Tower Block and how an alien incursion connects to the very lives of the smallest of people. The characterization is impressive and the atmosphere is dire and bleak. The Doctor and his companions are very much a part of the puzzle as well and The Doctor is definitely not a part of the general plan which means we see a very troubled and disturbing characterization in this story of his 7th incarnation.
I like how small family drama connects to the grand scheme of events making it seem a very real situation that's quite close to home in some respects. The N-Form is a fantastic idea and a terrifying one at that and just shows how merciless and cruel The Timelords can be during the state of wartime.
Overall: Whilst this is an incredible story that has impressed me to no end it has also made me very depressed and even though it certainly has his key tropes it's hard to realize that this was actually written by Russell who is very well known for writing dark material but this is a whole other level. If you like a gritty tale with a very bleak ending I would highly recommend you give this a go but if you want a more happier ending I'd say the audio adaptation is the way to go! 10/10
Now before I start this is not a novel for the faint of heart it's a gory, violent story that would frighten the very soul of man himself but it is however very well written. It's a story with a very realistic and soap opera-like setting with it being set in a London Tower Block and how an alien incursion connects to the very lives of the smallest of people. The characterization is impressive and the atmosphere is dire and bleak. The Doctor and his companions are very much a part of the puzzle as well and The Doctor is definitely not a part of the general plan which means we see a very troubled and disturbing characterization in this story of his 7th incarnation.
I like how small family drama connects to the grand scheme of events making it seem a very real situation that's quite close to home in some respects. The N-Form is a fantastic idea and a terrifying one at that and just shows how merciless and cruel The Timelords can be during the state of wartime.
Overall: Whilst this is an incredible story that has impressed me to no end it has also made me very depressed and even though it certainly has his key tropes it's hard to realize that this was actually written by Russell who is very well known for writing dark material but this is a whole other level. If you like a gritty tale with a very bleak ending I would highly recommend you give this a go but if you want a more happier ending I'd say the audio adaptation is the way to go! 10/10
September 27, 2020
Wow...
I knew something of Damaged Goods’ reputation already, and had actually listened to the audio adaptation years back, but wowee, it doesn’t prepare for actually sitting down and reading it.
There’s a certain expectation going into it, obviously. Russell T Davies is the man who brought Doctor Who back for a whole new generation. And going into Damaged Goods it’s almost like a blueprint for what will one day be the RTD era of Who. A council estate setting, a family of Tylers, an honest and sometimes painful focus on the real world and the lives of the people that live in it, and the Doctor as a stranger in a strange land, completely out of his comfort zone in this new ‘real’ world.
I’m actually kind of struggling to articulate my thoughts on this exactly, if I’m honest. It’s brilliant - like, that’s the easiest thing I can say to sum up my feelings on it, but weirdly I found myself thinking of Jim Mortimore’s Parasite. Like that book, it feels like we’ve entered a previously unexplored realm for Doctor Who, even all these years later after its release. Oh, and also there’s a fair share of horrifying death and destruction! Normally - as I think I’ve mentioned before - I’m super against it when Who stories go down this route (throwing the tiniest silver lining doesn’t always redeem it) and I do have to knock a star off on that count, but there’s still a huuuge amount of things to love about this book.
Things are coming to a head, and I’m excited to see where this arc concludes itself.
I knew something of Damaged Goods’ reputation already, and had actually listened to the audio adaptation years back, but wowee, it doesn’t prepare for actually sitting down and reading it.
There’s a certain expectation going into it, obviously. Russell T Davies is the man who brought Doctor Who back for a whole new generation. And going into Damaged Goods it’s almost like a blueprint for what will one day be the RTD era of Who. A council estate setting, a family of Tylers, an honest and sometimes painful focus on the real world and the lives of the people that live in it, and the Doctor as a stranger in a strange land, completely out of his comfort zone in this new ‘real’ world.
I’m actually kind of struggling to articulate my thoughts on this exactly, if I’m honest. It’s brilliant - like, that’s the easiest thing I can say to sum up my feelings on it, but weirdly I found myself thinking of Jim Mortimore’s Parasite. Like that book, it feels like we’ve entered a previously unexplored realm for Doctor Who, even all these years later after its release. Oh, and also there’s a fair share of horrifying death and destruction! Normally - as I think I’ve mentioned before - I’m super against it when Who stories go down this route (throwing the tiniest silver lining doesn’t always redeem it) and I do have to knock a star off on that count, but there’s still a huuuge amount of things to love about this book.
Things are coming to a head, and I’m excited to see where this arc concludes itself.
September 14, 2023
Ahhh, the 90s... (Mild spoilers follow. For the book, not the decade.)
I started this book 10 years ago (ish, probably closer to 11 or 12 years now), and after many years, I've finally finished it. It's odd because it stayed with me in that time - the opening scene on Christmas Eve, the revelation of what that means, and yet... I just sort of stopped reading after that revelation, and never finished it. I'm not sure what made me come back to it now. I'd been a bit obsessed with the New Adventures series in my late teens - of a darker version of Doctor Who - and had particularly wanted to get hold of this one because Russell T Davies wrote it. But I think finishing the book now has given me a much broader understanding of his work, and though it's a very, very difficult book to give a rating to, I've got lots of observations!
There are so many Russell T Davies ideas in here, as some of the other reviewers have already pointed out. This book essentially mixes the CyberKing from The Next Doctor, the Toclafane from RTD's third series, the narration style of The End of Time, and even I guess aspects of the rumoured "leaked" plot of the forthcoming 2023 "festive special". There's a reference to Marcie Hatter from RTD's kids' series Dark Season in here, one scene is soundtracked by the Pet Shop Boys' 'It's a Sin', and our main family are the Tylers, who live on a council estate. The book is also very reminiscent of Davies's novelisation of Rose - the sheer scale of violence and destruction wrought is insane. This book has an incredibly high body count - which, to be fair, the prose does tell us is going to happen.
It's fascinating to see what Davies's depiction of Doctor Who in prose is like - most notably, there is no budget. It's easy to see why he moved the series on TV towards big-scale invasions and worldwide storytelling, because there is so much of that here. But, as always, this pairs down to ordinary human lives, and in this book, usually very human sadness! It's a very dark read, incredibly adult (are adult books even usually this adult?!) It's unflinching in its depiction of the darker sides of working-class life in Thatcher's Britain, drug culture, and even gay culture. However, on that note, it is also incredibly positive for the gay characters, and flips the script on a lot of the usual gay tropes. In the final chapter, Davies uses sci-fi to predict a very optimistic gay future, even if I don't really know how I feel about it.
But this book is very heavy on the sci-fi, and it fits in well. The descriptions of the N-form and its pocket universe are complex, and its history is steeped in (very well-written) Gallifreyan lore. What's so fascinating about this book is what Davies omits when he writes the show for TV. A lot of the lore isn't there, and certainly a lot of the violence and (some of) the destruction is absent. It's like seeing the different versions of the show that exist in the imagination of the man who has basically made it what it is now.
The New Adventures were kind of designed as, or at least evolved into being, the place to push Doctor Who as far as the concept could stretch. Maybe this book stretches it too far. It's not really a book about the Doctor, or Roz and Chris (both of whom I really liked in this), but there are some lovely observations about the Doctor in it. A lot of those have carried forward to TV too. The book's body count is so high that I feel some of the character arcs aren't quite concluded in as much depth as the rest of the book allows them - and this is a book pretty much entirely about those ordinary characters. The extent of the destruction is so wide that it's almost odd for the book to end with the usual 'right, moving on!' vibe that Doctor Who often closes its stories with. But the last chapter is a really lovely conclusion, and it's all done through official reports and documents, which I love anyway.
I'm trying to imagine any other Doctor but the 7th in this, and it's difficult. It's so suited to his style, and the way his character had developed (I believe, I should really go back and read some other New Adventures now...) There are elements of the 10th Doctor's characterisation in the way other characters talk about who the Doctor is, but it's very rooted in personality of the 7th, more so than any who have come before or since. You could, oddly, imagine the 13th Doctor navigating some elements of a human story like this - perhaps with the notable difference that she'd have stayed at the end for the (many, many) funerals. Ironically, the Doctor here notes that he has no time for 'human tragedies', and that's kind of his mistake, and one other incarnations might not make. The book is very good at acknowledging the flaws this version of the character has.
I also just love the way this book is written. Davies's style is so unique; talkative, very omniscient, but also very limited. The prose has such confidence about it and such insight into the lives of the characters - and humanity in general - that it's so engaging to read. Sometimes, the voice is a little too overpowering! But it's so good. I'm not sure I'll read another book like it, but I do hope that one day, when RTD is done with the TV show again, we'll get another book from him.
I'm not sure I love all of this book, but it's been a ride I won't forget. The last 100 pages are so exciting and unexpected - and though some of it feels too quick, some of it too hard to follow, it's just such an exciting journey to be on. Doctor Who could definitely never be like this in published media now - it's very much a product of the books written in the 90s - but Damaged Goods shows the strength of the voice writing it, and the strength of the concept of the show. You really can do basically anything with Doctor Who - and probably Russell T Davies can too.
I started this book 10 years ago (ish, probably closer to 11 or 12 years now), and after many years, I've finally finished it. It's odd because it stayed with me in that time - the opening scene on Christmas Eve, the revelation of what that means, and yet... I just sort of stopped reading after that revelation, and never finished it. I'm not sure what made me come back to it now. I'd been a bit obsessed with the New Adventures series in my late teens - of a darker version of Doctor Who - and had particularly wanted to get hold of this one because Russell T Davies wrote it. But I think finishing the book now has given me a much broader understanding of his work, and though it's a very, very difficult book to give a rating to, I've got lots of observations!
There are so many Russell T Davies ideas in here, as some of the other reviewers have already pointed out. This book essentially mixes the CyberKing from The Next Doctor, the Toclafane from RTD's third series, the narration style of The End of Time, and even I guess aspects of the rumoured "leaked" plot of the forthcoming 2023 "festive special". There's a reference to Marcie Hatter from RTD's kids' series Dark Season in here, one scene is soundtracked by the Pet Shop Boys' 'It's a Sin', and our main family are the Tylers, who live on a council estate. The book is also very reminiscent of Davies's novelisation of Rose - the sheer scale of violence and destruction wrought is insane. This book has an incredibly high body count - which, to be fair, the prose does tell us is going to happen.
It's fascinating to see what Davies's depiction of Doctor Who in prose is like - most notably, there is no budget. It's easy to see why he moved the series on TV towards big-scale invasions and worldwide storytelling, because there is so much of that here. But, as always, this pairs down to ordinary human lives, and in this book, usually very human sadness! It's a very dark read, incredibly adult (are adult books even usually this adult?!) It's unflinching in its depiction of the darker sides of working-class life in Thatcher's Britain, drug culture, and even gay culture. However, on that note, it is also incredibly positive for the gay characters, and flips the script on a lot of the usual gay tropes. In the final chapter, Davies uses sci-fi to predict a very optimistic gay future, even if I don't really know how I feel about it.
But this book is very heavy on the sci-fi, and it fits in well. The descriptions of the N-form and its pocket universe are complex, and its history is steeped in (very well-written) Gallifreyan lore. What's so fascinating about this book is what Davies omits when he writes the show for TV. A lot of the lore isn't there, and certainly a lot of the violence and (some of) the destruction is absent. It's like seeing the different versions of the show that exist in the imagination of the man who has basically made it what it is now.
The New Adventures were kind of designed as, or at least evolved into being, the place to push Doctor Who as far as the concept could stretch. Maybe this book stretches it too far. It's not really a book about the Doctor, or Roz and Chris (both of whom I really liked in this), but there are some lovely observations about the Doctor in it. A lot of those have carried forward to TV too. The book's body count is so high that I feel some of the character arcs aren't quite concluded in as much depth as the rest of the book allows them - and this is a book pretty much entirely about those ordinary characters. The extent of the destruction is so wide that it's almost odd for the book to end with the usual 'right, moving on!' vibe that Doctor Who often closes its stories with. But the last chapter is a really lovely conclusion, and it's all done through official reports and documents, which I love anyway.
I'm trying to imagine any other Doctor but the 7th in this, and it's difficult. It's so suited to his style, and the way his character had developed (I believe, I should really go back and read some other New Adventures now...) There are elements of the 10th Doctor's characterisation in the way other characters talk about who the Doctor is, but it's very rooted in personality of the 7th, more so than any who have come before or since. You could, oddly, imagine the 13th Doctor navigating some elements of a human story like this - perhaps with the notable difference that she'd have stayed at the end for the (many, many) funerals. Ironically, the Doctor here notes that he has no time for 'human tragedies', and that's kind of his mistake, and one other incarnations might not make. The book is very good at acknowledging the flaws this version of the character has.
I also just love the way this book is written. Davies's style is so unique; talkative, very omniscient, but also very limited. The prose has such confidence about it and such insight into the lives of the characters - and humanity in general - that it's so engaging to read. Sometimes, the voice is a little too overpowering! But it's so good. I'm not sure I'll read another book like it, but I do hope that one day, when RTD is done with the TV show again, we'll get another book from him.
I'm not sure I love all of this book, but it's been a ride I won't forget. The last 100 pages are so exciting and unexpected - and though some of it feels too quick, some of it too hard to follow, it's just such an exciting journey to be on. Doctor Who could definitely never be like this in published media now - it's very much a product of the books written in the 90s - but Damaged Goods shows the strength of the voice writing it, and the strength of the concept of the show. You really can do basically anything with Doctor Who - and probably Russell T Davies can too.
November 15, 2009
The Seventh Doctor, Roz and Chris are on the trail of an alien drug and find themselves in a lower income apartment block. The Doctor finds himself out of his depth, dealing with 'normal' people, while Chris and Roz, two policemen from the future are able to blend in enough to gather info.
There's some nice bits of Who history to keep the dark tone of this story from getting too heavy and a nice bit where you realize the desperate lengths people will go to can make them every bit as scary as an alien menace.
There's some nice bits of Who history to keep the dark tone of this story from getting too heavy and a nice bit where you realize the desperate lengths people will go to can make them every bit as scary as an alien menace.
May 25, 2022
Fantastic! This is Russell T Davies writing Doctor Who as he should do, it's dark and nasty and violent and depressing and it's just completely perfect. It's telling to note how many elements of the 2005 series are already there (I'm looking at you, Tyler family, but also the council estate setting, real life minutiae and even the cylindrical bins!) yet how much more this is how the show should be; there's a real depth to this, which is sadly lacking in RTD's soap opera fluff Doctor Who for TV.
February 17, 2018
Never has Doctor Who been so grim and depressing. Good book!
September 30, 2022
感想を消してしまった😅
うろ覚えの記憶では7thがめちゃくちゃかっこよくセクシーだった印象。ローズとジャッキーの元になったのではと思われる普通の主婦の女性が最終的にモンスターを命と引き替えに倒して世界を救うーみたいな流れだったような気が。
旅友もたしかめちゃくちゃ美形な男子という設定な人がいたような。
また読み直したら書きます。
うろ覚えの記憶では7thがめちゃくちゃかっこよくセクシーだった印象。ローズとジャッキーの元になったのではと思われる普通の主婦の女性が最終的にモンスターを命と引き替えに倒して世界を救うーみたいな流れだったような気が。
旅友もたしかめちゃくちゃ美形な男子という設定な人がいたような。
また読み直したら書きます。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2024
To begin my deep dive into the doctor who knew adventures I managed to pick up a copy of Russel T Davies’ first doctor who story “Damaged Goods”.
I’m a big fan of RTD’s style of writing with the show and it was interesting to see how this has evolved since writing this novel.
We follow the Seventh Doctor and his companions Chris and Roz as they deal with a deadly strain of cocaine, all the while they have to contend with a council estate family, a rich mother and the events surrounding a young child one Christmas Eve.
This was my first exposure to Chris and roz and I thought as companions they were serviceable. I wasn’t as impressed with their appearance as I was reading “human nature” after this with Bernice Summerfield in but I didn’t mind them.
However, I adored the way RTD writes the seventh doctor. He captures that dark trickster aspect of the character but balances this well with his more caring and compassionate side.
In terms of the side characters these were very strong and reminded me of characters in RTD’s later work such as his writing on doctor who and queer as folk.
The Tyler family is written with a lot of depth and they’re characters, who despite not always being likeable, you are deeply invested in.
I also appreciated the body horror of this story, specifically in the form of the villain “the capper”. The descriptions of various metals and tentacles shooting out of various areas on his body was really vivid and added a lot to the story.
Overall, this was a really dark story and it’s one I can see myself going back to frequently.
Strong characters and a dark plot, damaged goods is a fantastic story.
I’m a big fan of RTD’s style of writing with the show and it was interesting to see how this has evolved since writing this novel.
We follow the Seventh Doctor and his companions Chris and Roz as they deal with a deadly strain of cocaine, all the while they have to contend with a council estate family, a rich mother and the events surrounding a young child one Christmas Eve.
This was my first exposure to Chris and roz and I thought as companions they were serviceable. I wasn’t as impressed with their appearance as I was reading “human nature” after this with Bernice Summerfield in but I didn’t mind them.
However, I adored the way RTD writes the seventh doctor. He captures that dark trickster aspect of the character but balances this well with his more caring and compassionate side.
In terms of the side characters these were very strong and reminded me of characters in RTD’s later work such as his writing on doctor who and queer as folk.
The Tyler family is written with a lot of depth and they’re characters, who despite not always being likeable, you are deeply invested in.
I also appreciated the body horror of this story, specifically in the form of the villain “the capper”. The descriptions of various metals and tentacles shooting out of various areas on his body was really vivid and added a lot to the story.
Overall, this was a really dark story and it’s one I can see myself going back to frequently.
Strong characters and a dark plot, damaged goods is a fantastic story.
January 29, 2020
So I was told this was an "R-rated" Doctor Who novel, which peaked my interest. I was certainly excited about an Eighth Doctor book, though disappointed it was with unfamiliar companions -- there are several allusions to ongoing stories, but since I haven't read any of The New Adventures, I was lost and just ignored it (and had to pretend to know these "new" companions of Chris and Roz). RTD certainly creates some intriguing characters but -- without spoiling anything -- certainly not many satisfying conclusions for those characters. I did get a little confused in the last third with the N-whatever alien dimensions and the robot thing it created. And I think the R-rating (whilst sex and drugs are mentioned) is more to do with the death toll, which obviously is more gruesome than satisfying. I would say I was ultimately forcing myself to finish the book. I can see how it would be more interesting in an age when Who was off the screen, but I'm sure there are better ones out there.
December 31, 2022
Sometimes when the VNAs are miserable and kill lots of people it feels entirely gratuitous, the sort of shallow grittiness that comes from getting a bunch of nerds to write published fanfiction from a children's show. That wasn't the case here; while I'd've liked some more characters to survive, I think the tragedy is as much about the consistent failure of systems and people, the sort of broad-reaching sociological issues that a character like the Doctor isn't necessarily equipped to handle. All in all a very interesting book that I'll have to return to, but it does frustrate me that between Eva and the Master RTD seems to associate violence with auditory hallucinations. I can only hope he's ditched that kind of thinking for his return to the series.
July 30, 2023
Видно зачатки многого, что РТД сделал в перезапуске сериала потом. В частности события происходят в бедном квартале Лондона, с фокусом на условия жизни и быт семей там. И фамилия Тайлер играет большую роль.
Но это все еще New Adventures, и один из более успешных примеров "взрослости" линейки. Хотя количество смертей под конец крышесносящее даже по меркам NA.
Я отдельно умилен тем, как для Седьмого Доктора работают фразы типа "Chris, get me some cocaine".
Но это все еще New Adventures, и один из более успешных примеров "взрослости" линейки. Хотя количество смертей под конец крышесносящее даже по меркам NA.
Я отдельно умилен тем, как для Седьмого Доктора работают фразы типа "Chris, get me some cocaine".
October 15, 2023
Way before he successfully helmed the 2005 return of Doctor Who to television screens, RTD wrote this enormously enjoyable novel concerning the Seventh Doctor, and his companions of the time, Kris and Roz. It has all the hallmarks of an RTD-penned production - the characterisations of the main protagonists are spot on, and the well-conceived family ties of "guest" characters are razor sharp.
September 26, 2025
Better than anything RTD wrote for the TV show, and he wrote some bloody excellent stuff for it. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
September 21, 2025
drugs are bad mkay
Read
July 27, 2017In the mid 80s, Doctor Who's script editor Eric Saward came under a fair bit of criticism for his predilection for gratuitous violence and the way he allowed characters to be pointlessly killed apparently for the sheer titillating hell of it, such as an episode where three characters went on an arduous journey to hijack a Cyber-spaceship only to be unceremoniously electrocuted at the end of it all.
Well, Saward's got nothing on Russell T. Davies. 'Damaged Goods' sees a veritable plethora of characters, all given a backstory (albeit usually a rather superficial one), who Davies takes great pleasure in picking off in a variety of gory ways as the story progresses. This may surprise fans of the series of Doctor Who he eventually ended up running, but this book has more in common with his recent series 'Cucumber': a vast cast of characters, all of them flawed, nearly all of them deeply unpleasant, treated as cannon fodder (literally or otherwise) (in this case, mostly literally). It's a relentlessly grim depiction of a relentlessly grim world, with even his trademark sarcastic humour largely absent.
Somewhere in there is the Doctor himself, though amidst all the characters he struggles to make his presence felt, and doesn't even really feature in the story much. (His companions get even shorter shrift - Roz is a shouty, embittered black woman and Chris is a different type of cannon fodder, this time to the inevitable gay subplot.) Unusually, the seventh Doctor is not a master manipulator, but spends the whole story playing catch-up - one suspects he needn't have bothered turning up at all. (It's no surprise to learn that Granada thought about commissioning it as a Doctorless drama.)
It's just as well that the mix of drugs, prostitution, dogging, self-harm and assorted gynaecological problems didn't form the backbone of Doctor Who when Russell T. Davies brought it back to TV (though it would have been a more interesting series and in fact the gay sex element makes much more sense in the council estate setting than it did when Davies eventually introduced it to the TARDIS itself). As such, this is rather a curious footnote to the series: an arrogant and occasionally brilliant youthful work which somehow fails to capture any of the essence of the programme that inspired it. It's a pity, because he writes extremely well for the seventh Doctor, allowing him to be both mysterious and whimsical but avoiding the stock mannerisms that make so many of the New Adventures' depictions a little stilted.
Indeed, the whole thing is nicely written, with fluid, creative prose and sparkling dialogue. The essential plot is extremely strong and has a powerful emotional centre, and the central character of Mrs Jericho is very well drawn indeed. Until the final act when the whole thing goes into the realm of undisciplined fantasy (i.e. it suddenly gets really wanky) it's a really easy read.
Just never a very enjoyable one.
Well, Saward's got nothing on Russell T. Davies. 'Damaged Goods' sees a veritable plethora of characters, all given a backstory (albeit usually a rather superficial one), who Davies takes great pleasure in picking off in a variety of gory ways as the story progresses. This may surprise fans of the series of Doctor Who he eventually ended up running, but this book has more in common with his recent series 'Cucumber': a vast cast of characters, all of them flawed, nearly all of them deeply unpleasant, treated as cannon fodder (literally or otherwise) (in this case, mostly literally). It's a relentlessly grim depiction of a relentlessly grim world, with even his trademark sarcastic humour largely absent.
Somewhere in there is the Doctor himself, though amidst all the characters he struggles to make his presence felt, and doesn't even really feature in the story much. (His companions get even shorter shrift - Roz is a shouty, embittered black woman and Chris is a different type of cannon fodder, this time to the inevitable gay subplot.) Unusually, the seventh Doctor is not a master manipulator, but spends the whole story playing catch-up - one suspects he needn't have bothered turning up at all. (It's no surprise to learn that Granada thought about commissioning it as a Doctorless drama.)
It's just as well that the mix of drugs, prostitution, dogging, self-harm and assorted gynaecological problems didn't form the backbone of Doctor Who when Russell T. Davies brought it back to TV (though it would have been a more interesting series and in fact the gay sex element makes much more sense in the council estate setting than it did when Davies eventually introduced it to the TARDIS itself). As such, this is rather a curious footnote to the series: an arrogant and occasionally brilliant youthful work which somehow fails to capture any of the essence of the programme that inspired it. It's a pity, because he writes extremely well for the seventh Doctor, allowing him to be both mysterious and whimsical but avoiding the stock mannerisms that make so many of the New Adventures' depictions a little stilted.
Indeed, the whole thing is nicely written, with fluid, creative prose and sparkling dialogue. The essential plot is extremely strong and has a powerful emotional centre, and the central character of Mrs Jericho is very well drawn indeed. Until the final act when the whole thing goes into the realm of undisciplined fantasy (i.e. it suddenly gets really wanky) it's a really easy read.
Just never a very enjoyable one.
July 20, 2014
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2310165.html[return][return]I think Russell T. Davies is the only Who showrunner to have written a novel set in the Whoniverse before he took over, and this is it: published in 1996, set in 1987, and a really important taproot text for New Who and particularly for Rose, its very first episode. The number of common elements is pretty remarkable:[return] [return] The first character we encounter in the story is the daughter of Mrs Tyler, who is a single mother [return] She says to the Doctor at one point, "You think you're so funny", a line almost echoed by Rose Tyler a decade later [return] The Tylers live on a council estate where strange things are happening [return] The strange things include (but are not restricted to) a doppelganger of a black neighbour created by an evil alien intelligence [return] The Doctor's female companion is Roz [return] At the very end the Doctor goes back in time to meet the young Tyler girl before the adventure started in her time line [return] As the alien invasion fully manifests lots of people die horribly and swiftly [return] There are several pretty mosntrous middle-aged women characters for whom motherhood is a driving motivation [return] [return]All of this is not to say that Rose, let alone New Who as a whole, is "just" a rewrite of Damaged Goods; there's a lot of bloke-on-bloke sex and cocaine in this novel, which I think even RTD might have been prevented from bringing to the small screen by the BBC higher-ups, and it's also tied rather more directly into the mythos of Gallifrey than any New Who until (and possibly including) The End of Time. [return][return]Having said all that, I thought this was a cracking good book of the New Adventures series, taking the Doctor Who framework and fitting it to an unexpected setting, a gritty council estate. It's a complex plot with lots of elements, and Davies keeps all the balls in the air, juggling furiously. Even his monstrous maternal characters are a bit more sympathetic than they somehow ever came across on screen. I'm surprised that this isn't better known among fans; a lot of the elements that brought the show back are here, and also we can see some ways in which it might have gone differently. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in how New Who came to be the way it was in 2005.
August 25, 2011
A book written by Russell T Davies, the man who would eventually bring Doctor Who back to television. You can see the seeds of Davies' vision for Doctor Who in this book. The contemporary setting, with an alien influence lurking in the shadows. Even some of the characters found on the local council block called the Quadrant seem to be prototypes for Rose Tyler and her family. It's interesting that this book was written in 1996, long before Doctor Who made it back to TV screens. Look forward to finishing this book.
July 13, 2024
This book, in many ways, represents my feelings about Russell's work in general. You can tell he is an accomplished writer with a lot of knowledge behind him. He knows some great tricks (incredible wordplay on display) and he is full of righteous fury that comes out on the page.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come together at the end as well as might be hoped and feels both too grim and muddled for my tastes.
A good four stars but just misses out the fifth one at the top.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come together at the end as well as might be hoped and feels both too grim and muddled for my tastes.
A good four stars but just misses out the fifth one at the top.
November 25, 2008
A continuity laden and slightly flawed book, but enjoyable if not entirely remarkable. Having not read these New Adventures novels as they came out, I find myself quite lost in the overarching metaplot, but RTD's version of the Seventh Doctor rings true as ever and provides a reliable center to a dark, despairing read.
May 28, 2023
Finally got around of reading the entirety of this book and oh my goodness, now I see how this considering this being a very Dark Doctor Who novel, brutal moments very graphical details and probably a Doctor Who novel with an heavy use of drugs.
Not gonna lie, this book did put me in despair at one time from how bleak it is.
Not gonna lie, this book did put me in despair at one time from how bleak it is.
March 19, 2010
Was good in a crazy, manic, spastic kinda way LOL What I learned... Don't use cocaine or your head will explode into a ginormous metal object and then go on a massive killing spree! And Lithopaedians are creepy!
September 4, 2015
RTD's first official Doctor Who work, a Seventh Doctor novel. Well-written and compelling, but the setting is so gritty that it's hard to really enjoy. (Still, it is interesting to see lots of precursors to ideas he used in the New Series...)
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