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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #9
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters
While caving in Derbyshire, two pot-holers are attacked by a huge creature and one is killed. At the nearby Wenley Moor nuclear research centre, which is built into the same caves, there are strange power losses threatening the reactor. Not only is everyone at a loss to explain these incidents but there is also a high number of breakdowns involving staff members.
Now exiled to Earth and working for UNIT, the Doctor and his assistant Liz are sent for. As the surviving pot-holer begins to make cave-paintings in his ward the Doctor discovers not only a Tyrannosaurus Rex but a colony of Silurians - intelligent, walking lizards who have been dormant for millions of years. Now they have awoken to find that mankind has replaced them as the rulers of Earth - and they want it back.
Can the Doctor find a way of thwarting their plans or will humanity be wiped out to usher in a new Age of the Lizards?
Now exiled to Earth and working for UNIT, the Doctor and his assistant Liz are sent for. As the surviving pot-holer begins to make cave-paintings in his ward the Doctor discovers not only a Tyrannosaurus Rex but a colony of Silurians - intelligent, walking lizards who have been dormant for millions of years. Now they have awoken to find that mankind has replaced them as the rulers of Earth - and they want it back.
Can the Doctor find a way of thwarting their plans or will humanity be wiped out to usher in a new Age of the Lizards?
158 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 1974
13 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Hulke
46 books23 followersMalcolm Hulke was a British science fiction writer best known for his tenure as a writer on the popular series Doctor Who. He is credited with writing eight stories for Doctor Who, mostly featuring the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee. With Terrance Dicks, he wrote the final serial of Patrick Troughton's run as the Doctor, the epic ten-part story "The War Games." Hulke may be best known for writing "The Silurians," the story that created the titular race that is still featured in Doctor Who. Hulke's stories were well-known for writing characters that were not black and white in terms of morality: there was never a clear good guy vs. bad guy bent to his story.
Hulke joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1945 and worked briefly as a typist in the party's headquarters. He left the party in 1951, objecting to the Soviet Union's hostility to Yugoslavia and its line on the Korean War, but soon rejoined, and appears to have remained a member of the party, on until the early 1960s. His politics remained firmly on the left, and this was reflected in his writings, which often explored anti-authoritarian, environmental, and humanist themes.
In addition to his television writing, Hulke wrote the novelizations of seven television Doctor Who stories, each of which had written for the screen. He died at the age of fifty-four, shortly before his novelization of "The War Games" would be published.
Hulke joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1945 and worked briefly as a typist in the party's headquarters. He left the party in 1951, objecting to the Soviet Union's hostility to Yugoslavia and its line on the Korean War, but soon rejoined, and appears to have remained a member of the party, on until the early 1960s. His politics remained firmly on the left, and this was reflected in his writings, which often explored anti-authoritarian, environmental, and humanist themes.
In addition to his television writing, Hulke wrote the novelizations of seven television Doctor Who stories, each of which had written for the screen. He died at the age of fifty-four, shortly before his novelization of "The War Games" would be published.
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March 28, 2017
Enter the Sirulians!
This is a novelization of the TV serial titled “Doctor Who and the Sirulians”, which was the second story of the Season 7 in the classic era of “Doctor Who”.
WHO
The Doctor:
The Third Doctor
Companion:
Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Shaw
Ally:
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
WHERE & WHEN
Wenley Moor, Derbyshire. England (Earth). 1970.
WHAT
The Doctor still is stranded at Earth in 1970, without chance to travel to other worlds or time periods, so since his TARDIS had been imposed with transporting limitations by the powerful Time Lords, he needed a new way of transportation…
ENTER: Bessie.
That’s Doctor’s car! A canary-yellow Edwardian roadster with its own customized license plate: “WHO 1”. Beware the roads! Here comes The Doctor!
UNIT is asked to investigate some odd events in a nuclear plant at Wenley Moor, so The Brigadier, The Doctor and Liz, go there to find answer for some unexplainable loses of nuclear power and mental breakdowns of some of the nuclear plant’s personnel.
Soo enough, they’ll meet the first indigenous intelligent life form of Earth! Which certainly weren’t the humans!
An intelligent reptilian-like species is rising again from an hibernation of millions of years and they have a claim about the planet since they existed way, way, WAY, before of the appearance of the humans here.
The Doctor and Liz are battling a two-way front since both, the Sirulians, as the UNIT command, aren’t eager to make any peaceful contact with each other, and too close-minded about that Earth is too small to be shared by two different intelligent life forms, where the sad losing of lives will be unavoidable.
This is a novelization of the TV serial titled “Doctor Who and the Sirulians”, which was the second story of the Season 7 in the classic era of “Doctor Who”.
WHO
The Doctor:
The Third Doctor
Companion:
Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Shaw
Ally:
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
WHERE & WHEN
Wenley Moor, Derbyshire. England (Earth). 1970.
WHAT
The Doctor still is stranded at Earth in 1970, without chance to travel to other worlds or time periods, so since his TARDIS had been imposed with transporting limitations by the powerful Time Lords, he needed a new way of transportation…
ENTER: Bessie.
That’s Doctor’s car! A canary-yellow Edwardian roadster with its own customized license plate: “WHO 1”. Beware the roads! Here comes The Doctor!
UNIT is asked to investigate some odd events in a nuclear plant at Wenley Moor, so The Brigadier, The Doctor and Liz, go there to find answer for some unexplainable loses of nuclear power and mental breakdowns of some of the nuclear plant’s personnel.
Soo enough, they’ll meet the first indigenous intelligent life form of Earth! Which certainly weren’t the humans!
An intelligent reptilian-like species is rising again from an hibernation of millions of years and they have a claim about the planet since they existed way, way, WAY, before of the appearance of the humans here.
The Doctor and Liz are battling a two-way front since both, the Sirulians, as the UNIT command, aren’t eager to make any peaceful contact with each other, and too close-minded about that Earth is too small to be shared by two different intelligent life forms, where the sad losing of lives will be unavoidable.
July 16, 2021
This is a novelization of a Doctor Who story from the 1970 season, the seventh year of the show, which featured the third iteration of The Doctor. It was broadcast in seven episodes under the title of Doctor Who and the Silurians. I wonder why they changed the name for the book? The Doctor was joined by his companion Liz Shaw, who was a brilliant scientist for UNIT, and UNIT chief Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Malcolm Hulke adapted his own script, but there were several big changes from the script in the novel. The story is set in an underground atomic power research station where mysterious goings-on have recently occurred. UNIT is called in to investigate and it is discovered that a race of reptilian Silurians are in hibernation deep below the Earth's surface. The Silurians were the original rulers of the planet, and feel as if it should still belong to them. The Doctor has to play diplomat between them and the humans, while both sides feel they're the rightful rulers. (There's also a Tyrannosaurus rex, which the back cover of the novel tells us is "...the biggest, most savage mammal which ever trod the earth!") Hulke's novelization eliminates much of the running around and dashing back and forth of the teleplay, and gives a much deeper insight into the Silurian race and beliefs. They're even viewpoint-characters some of the time. It's one of the better Doctor novels I've read, and Hulke's creations were to be revisited many times in years to come. This paperback edition from 1974 also includes several very nice illustrations by Chris Achilleos.
November 12, 2021
Although I don't enjoy Doctor Who as much as I used to I still tune into the current TV series. When I was young, back in the 1970s, Jon Pertwee was the incarnation of the Time Lord that I grew up with & I still have a soft spot for that era of the series.
This novel is based on The Silurians, whihc was a seven part adventure first shown on TV in early 1970. It was one of my earliest memories of the series & I still have a copy on DVD which I bought a few years ago.
The Silurians are intelligent reptiles who inhabited Earth in prehistoric times & have now come out of hybernation to discover mankind has taken over their planet.
Malcolm Hulke does a sound job of novelising his original screenplay & successfully expands the Silurians as well as other characters. He makes quite a lot of changes to the screenplay & it's good to read a novel that isn't just a rewrite of the original TV version, but a different & improved story. The team of the Doctor, scientist Liz Shaw & Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart make this a nice nostalgic adventure, so perhaps it's time to dust off my DVD & watch it again.
This novel is based on The Silurians, whihc was a seven part adventure first shown on TV in early 1970. It was one of my earliest memories of the series & I still have a copy on DVD which I bought a few years ago.
The Silurians are intelligent reptiles who inhabited Earth in prehistoric times & have now come out of hybernation to discover mankind has taken over their planet.
Malcolm Hulke does a sound job of novelising his original screenplay & successfully expands the Silurians as well as other characters. He makes quite a lot of changes to the screenplay & it's good to read a novel that isn't just a rewrite of the original TV version, but a different & improved story. The team of the Doctor, scientist Liz Shaw & Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart make this a nice nostalgic adventure, so perhaps it's time to dust off my DVD & watch it again.
April 24, 2019
Malcolm Hulke drew the short end of the stick when it came to the sheer number of episodes he was asked to compress into the page count for the Target novels. In his run of Target novels, he adapted multiple six part stories, one ten part story and this seven part story into novel form. And while "The War Games" feels like a bit of a Cliffs Notes version of what actually happens on-screen, "The Cave Monsters" is a bit more successful in compressing this seven-part Jon Pertwee story down into the allotted page count.
Hulke's adaptation tells essentially the same story as "Doctor Who and the Silurians" but it does it in a bit of a different way. Hulke gives the creatures in the caves names and delves a bit more into their history and motivation. Listening to the audio version of this story, I found myself curious to know how fans raised on this novel might have reacted when they first saw the complete serial years later. In this story, the Silurians have eye lids and they even shed tears at certain points of the story. Sadly, the limitations of the rubber suits don't allow for this in the television version.
Hulke does eliminate a bit of the running back and forth between the underground base and the center in the story. The Silurians themselves are front and center from the opening of the novel and not held off-stage for much of the first three episodes as we see on TV. (Again, it just shows how you can tell the same story but in a different way based on the medium). He also tries to close some of the loopholes from the televised versions as well as offering some character depth to the supporting cast and crew.
And yet for all that, I can't say this is the most successful of Hulke's "Who" novelizations. It's certainly superior to "The War Games" but it's not quite as masterful as "The Doomsday Weapon." It's odd that one of Hulke's strongest television scripts is one of his weaker adaptations for the printed page.
Part of that could be that the audio version of this book isn't up to the usual standards of this range either. Caroline John isn't in the same league as William Russell or Geoffrey Beavers, but she's done some solid work on two other Pertwee era stories. In this case, her reading is competent but not great. Especially bad is her attempted Scottish accent for Dr. Lawrence. It ends up sounding like a bad SNL impression of Scotty from "Star Trek."
Hulke's adaptation tells essentially the same story as "Doctor Who and the Silurians" but it does it in a bit of a different way. Hulke gives the creatures in the caves names and delves a bit more into their history and motivation. Listening to the audio version of this story, I found myself curious to know how fans raised on this novel might have reacted when they first saw the complete serial years later. In this story, the Silurians have eye lids and they even shed tears at certain points of the story. Sadly, the limitations of the rubber suits don't allow for this in the television version.
Hulke does eliminate a bit of the running back and forth between the underground base and the center in the story. The Silurians themselves are front and center from the opening of the novel and not held off-stage for much of the first three episodes as we see on TV. (Again, it just shows how you can tell the same story but in a different way based on the medium). He also tries to close some of the loopholes from the televised versions as well as offering some character depth to the supporting cast and crew.
And yet for all that, I can't say this is the most successful of Hulke's "Who" novelizations. It's certainly superior to "The War Games" but it's not quite as masterful as "The Doomsday Weapon." It's odd that one of Hulke's strongest television scripts is one of his weaker adaptations for the printed page.
Part of that could be that the audio version of this book isn't up to the usual standards of this range either. Caroline John isn't in the same league as William Russell or Geoffrey Beavers, but she's done some solid work on two other Pertwee era stories. In this case, her reading is competent but not great. Especially bad is her attempted Scottish accent for Dr. Lawrence. It ends up sounding like a bad SNL impression of Scotty from "Star Trek."
July 9, 2011
This was one of the earliest Target books I ever read back in the early 1970s. At the time I'd never seen the serial it was based on. I loved it. The cover promised great things for my young mind. Doctor Who - of course, strange green monsters, a volcano spewing lava (not in the story but volcanoes and dinosaurs equals Doug McClure fun to most kids of that era), and a Tyrannosaurus Rex - the gold standard in the children's league of dinosaur.
The story is largely exactly the same as the serial though the dialogue is completely different. I get the feeling that Malcolm Hulke wasn't really expanding on the tv script but rather going back to one of his earlier drafts before it was pummelled into shape by the script editor of the time Terrance Dicks. Whatever the case it seems to be a complete rewrite. There is no attempt at all to conceal the Silurians or generate suspense by making them half glimpsed creatures, Hulke introduces them on the first page with a prologue describing how they first entered their hibernation to survive the drawing off of Earth's atmosphere by a small rogue planet. We get backgrounds to many of the main support characters, Dr Quinn, Major Barker, Miss Dawson, Dr Lawrence etc. It's noticeable that most of them are even pottier than their tv counterparts in particular Major Barker/Baker - his military obsessions and his desire to restore the British Empire as he fights to stop the Silurians from regaining their own lost mastery rather hammers the irony onto the pages. In contrast Dr Lawrence is level-headed and reasonable and displays none of the histrionics that made his eventual wig-out and downfall so entertaining on screen. Here he's a sad career minded victim of circumstance. In retrospect the dialogue is sometimes a bit woolly and none too naturalistic but I never noticed it at the time. Despite that it's still a stonkingly good read and I'm sure it would thrill the kids of today just as much as it did for me all those decades ago.
This new edition features an introduction by Terrance Dicks, a spotlight of author Malcolm Hulke, Chris Achilleos illustrations and a between the lines article about the tv to novelisation process of this story.
The story is largely exactly the same as the serial though the dialogue is completely different. I get the feeling that Malcolm Hulke wasn't really expanding on the tv script but rather going back to one of his earlier drafts before it was pummelled into shape by the script editor of the time Terrance Dicks. Whatever the case it seems to be a complete rewrite. There is no attempt at all to conceal the Silurians or generate suspense by making them half glimpsed creatures, Hulke introduces them on the first page with a prologue describing how they first entered their hibernation to survive the drawing off of Earth's atmosphere by a small rogue planet. We get backgrounds to many of the main support characters, Dr Quinn, Major Barker, Miss Dawson, Dr Lawrence etc. It's noticeable that most of them are even pottier than their tv counterparts in particular Major Barker/Baker - his military obsessions and his desire to restore the British Empire as he fights to stop the Silurians from regaining their own lost mastery rather hammers the irony onto the pages. In contrast Dr Lawrence is level-headed and reasonable and displays none of the histrionics that made his eventual wig-out and downfall so entertaining on screen. Here he's a sad career minded victim of circumstance. In retrospect the dialogue is sometimes a bit woolly and none too naturalistic but I never noticed it at the time. Despite that it's still a stonkingly good read and I'm sure it would thrill the kids of today just as much as it did for me all those decades ago.
This new edition features an introduction by Terrance Dicks, a spotlight of author Malcolm Hulke, Chris Achilleos illustrations and a between the lines article about the tv to novelisation process of this story.
March 9, 2025
One would be hard pressed to have a target novel this short and make it much better. Hulke manages to pack in some heavy themes for the target novelization of this set of episodes. Hulke's political tendencies are very obviously applied throughout and I greatly appreciated it. Top marks from me for this one.
January 14, 2018
Before iPlayer and DVDs the only way to enjoy a previous Doctor Who story was through these novelizations.
In Jon Pertwee's second story as the recently exiled to earth Third Doctor is now settled with UNIT (a secret organization that tackles all unexplained happenings).
They are called to a secret research center in Wenley Moor where it's soon discovered they have awoken a group of prehistoric creatures know as the Silurian's.
I've always had a soft spot for this having first seen a repeat showing in BBC2 during 1999/2000.
With the original serial spanning seven episodes it was always going to be a tough ask to novelize this story.
Hulke perfectly captures the essence of the story and all the basic elements are here.
I genuinely think this is an ideal story for someone who's interested in the Classic series, the fact that this includes a familiar monster first appearance in the shows history is an added bonus.
In Jon Pertwee's second story as the recently exiled to earth Third Doctor is now settled with UNIT (a secret organization that tackles all unexplained happenings).
They are called to a secret research center in Wenley Moor where it's soon discovered they have awoken a group of prehistoric creatures know as the Silurian's.
I've always had a soft spot for this having first seen a repeat showing in BBC2 during 1999/2000.
With the original serial spanning seven episodes it was always going to be a tough ask to novelize this story.
Hulke perfectly captures the essence of the story and all the basic elements are here.
I genuinely think this is an ideal story for someone who's interested in the Classic series, the fact that this includes a familiar monster first appearance in the shows history is an added bonus.
January 13, 2022
One of my favourite Doctor Who books picked up for a light read. From the Pertwee era when the Doc was stranded on Earth and sees him heading off to Derbyshire with Liz Shaw and UNIT in tow to investigate accidents, deaths and power outages that lead to the Silurians, a lizard like race that ruled the planet long before mankind and are now waking up and want it back.
July 11, 2022
All in all, an excellent novelisation, with a great deal of information and detail crammed into a relatively small page count. However, the fact that this is adapting a seven episode story means that naturally some parts fall by the wayside, and given the small number of her TV stories anyway I'm irritated that this happened to be a lot of the stuff Liz did on-screen. I'm not sure you'd even realise she was a scientist in this, and that's frustrating in what's otherwise an excellent novelisation.
July 16, 2017
Very very good. I'm liking these earth bound stories!
July 28, 2023
The first appearance of the Silurians. A rather good and multifaceted story. Hulke's writing style basically the same as Terrance Dicks.
December 2, 2022
3.5/5
Malcolm Hulke has proven himself to be a random interesting man. Here he was tasked with fitting over two-and-a-half hour's worth of television into a 158 page novel (less if you count illustrations), and what did he do? Did he pull the Terrance Dicks maneuver and give us the digestible cliff-notes? No, he decided that he'd write a new prologue, give previously underdeveloped side characters their own sub-adventures, and flesh out the villains with names and personality. The miracle is that it worked! The prologue informs the story and gives veteran viewers a good reason to pick up the book, characters like Dawson and Quinn go from your standard Who side-fare to believable leading characters, and even the most evil of the Silurians become sympathetic. Indeed, this is the first Doctor Who novelisation I've read that feels like a novel in its own right and not just an adaptation. (It helps that The Silurians is a childhood favourite, of course.)
The major failings of the book, consequent of its nature, mostly lie in its source material. The weakest part of the original serial, unfortunately magnified by real world events recent to this review, doesn't get much improvement. Hulke did the story a favour by embellishing the story around it and not giving it much focus, but that just leads to it being a sort of afternote. What can't be blamed on its origins, though, is its treatment of Liz Shaw. For whatever reason Hulke decided that she should be stripped of her agency and made into the barebones definition of a Doctor Who companion. Perhaps he felt that in the tight page length constraints that Dawson was all the independent female scientist needed, or (more favourably to his character) he wanted to make it flow better with other Third Doctor stories which, for the most part, featured the less mature Jo Grant.
Flaws aside, this is the ideal adaptation. The experience of reading it is fresh to a fan much like David Whittaker's adaptation of The Daleks, but it also resembles its TV equivalent close enough to feel like a rewatch to returnees and operate as a correct representation to newcomers. It doesn't feel like a children's novel but it remains accessible to them nonetheless. It stands not in comparison to the serial but as a companion piece, the annotated script in narrative form. Whittaker and Dicks have entertained me with their Who novels, but if anyone has captivated me yet, it's Hulke.
Malcolm Hulke has proven himself to be a random interesting man. Here he was tasked with fitting over two-and-a-half hour's worth of television into a 158 page novel (less if you count illustrations), and what did he do? Did he pull the Terrance Dicks maneuver and give us the digestible cliff-notes? No, he decided that he'd write a new prologue, give previously underdeveloped side characters their own sub-adventures, and flesh out the villains with names and personality. The miracle is that it worked! The prologue informs the story and gives veteran viewers a good reason to pick up the book, characters like Dawson and Quinn go from your standard Who side-fare to believable leading characters, and even the most evil of the Silurians become sympathetic. Indeed, this is the first Doctor Who novelisation I've read that feels like a novel in its own right and not just an adaptation. (It helps that The Silurians is a childhood favourite, of course.)
The major failings of the book, consequent of its nature, mostly lie in its source material. The weakest part of the original serial, unfortunately magnified by real world events recent to this review, doesn't get much improvement. Hulke did the story a favour by embellishing the story around it and not giving it much focus, but that just leads to it being a sort of afternote. What can't be blamed on its origins, though, is its treatment of Liz Shaw. For whatever reason Hulke decided that she should be stripped of her agency and made into the barebones definition of a Doctor Who companion. Perhaps he felt that in the tight page length constraints that Dawson was all the independent female scientist needed, or (more favourably to his character) he wanted to make it flow better with other Third Doctor stories which, for the most part, featured the less mature Jo Grant.
Flaws aside, this is the ideal adaptation. The experience of reading it is fresh to a fan much like David Whittaker's adaptation of The Daleks, but it also resembles its TV equivalent close enough to feel like a rewatch to returnees and operate as a correct representation to newcomers. It doesn't feel like a children's novel but it remains accessible to them nonetheless. It stands not in comparison to the serial but as a companion piece, the annotated script in narrative form. Whittaker and Dicks have entertained me with their Who novels, but if anyone has captivated me yet, it's Hulke.
January 12, 2022
As I am reading the Dr Who novelisations in broadcast order ( what else?) this is probably the best one I've read so far. Despite having 7 episodes to fit into 158 pages he still manages to embellish things - the prologue alone is excellent. I'm sure he skipped some scenes, but there are obvious gaps if so. It's a shame all the adaptations weren't this good.
September 11, 2023
enjoyable scifi cheese
January 29, 2011
I find "The Silurians" to be a bit long on TV, for all it's epic goodness. However, Malcom Hulke's novelization as "The Caves Monsters" turns the TV series into something of a literary triumph. Very few novelizations expand and enhance characters with such razor-sharp precision, or expand on an alien p.o.v. with such amazing complexity. One of the best of all the Target novelizations...if not THE best.
June 9, 2015
A progressive Doctor Who story from the early 70s as we're invited to understand that the lizard people, the Silurians, were Earth's original inhabitants, and that we should strive to peacefully coexist with them.
September 9, 2021
When a reptilian race tries to retake the Earth by eradicating the primate invaders, the Doctor must try to broker a peace.
Hulke's story is well written and although it is clearly different from his teleplay, it is similar in theme.
Hulke's story is well written and although it is clearly different from his teleplay, it is similar in theme.
April 13, 2021
Target novelizations provide an interesting opportunity for authors to expand their serials and in Malcolm Hulke’s novelization of Doctor Who and the Silurians, Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters somehow adapts a seven episode serial into the standard Target novelization length while expanding many of the elements. Hulke’s structure of the book spends nearly a third on the first episode meaning that the majority of the story doesn’t actually have a lot of page space, yet manages to pace out the story wonderfully. There is some brilliant tension as the mystery of the Silurians and what exactly they are and are attempting to do. The plot doesn’t actually deviate from the televised version much, the plague is released and the interactions between Quin and Dawson are still there, Masters is still irresponsible in releasing the plague, and Major Baker (here Major Barker) is still killed. The political undertones of this story are built up even more, with Major Barker being more of a nationalist throughout, out and out advocating Britain for the British and power for the British Empire. Hulke clearly wants to make the audience hate the character and it’s something that really works. The relationship between Quinn and Dawson is also fleshed out incredibly well as Quinn is motivated by a desire to be known for unravelling the past while Dawson has unrequited love for her coworker. There’s also a lot about their personal pasts which wasn’t necessary, but was a welcome edition as it made all of the characters feel like well-rounded people. There is also an incredibly important sequence where the Silurian culture is fleshed out with each getting names. This is where fandom got Morka and Okdel as characters which would be used in Blood Heat and other VNAs involving the Silurians.
Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters manages to somehow improve on the already classic television story by bringing the reader some more depth to an already deep story. Hulke is unrestrained by television and allows his political messaging to excel further in book form. The audiobook read by Caroline John is also an excellent performance. 10/10.
Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters manages to somehow improve on the already classic television story by bringing the reader some more depth to an already deep story. Hulke is unrestrained by television and allows his political messaging to excel further in book form. The audiobook read by Caroline John is also an excellent performance. 10/10.
September 22, 2024
3.5
‘The Cave-Monsters’ is based on the 1970 Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story ‘Doctor Who And The Silurians.’ The Doctor and his assistant Liz Shaw are called in to investigate the reason for power drains at a nuclear powered cyclotron facility. During the investigation they come upon an ancient race of reptiles that walk on two feet who possess the same emotional strengths and weaknesses of their fellow humans.
Back to my childhood for this one; it may well have been written for the teenage market but I have to say I very much enjoyed it. The writer of the original 1970 TV script (Malcolm Hulke) wrote this novelisation in 1974, which was one of the earliest Target volumes based on the original television series. He doesn’t slavishly follow the script, but enhances it from the very beginning by giving The Silurians a back story, gives them names and has them converse, and allows us to see the situation from their own differing viewpoints – which we get less of in the TV version.
The novel races along with very little extraneous information. I read the book and re-watched the serial simultaneously and loved both. Whereas the book brings added depth to the story, the serial has the added plus of some very entertaining character actors bringing the parts to life.
This is from the days when Doctor Who was good. Cheap, yes; but where it relied upon storytelling, character, and oodles of atmosphere, and not the current preachy wokery or soppy soap opera storytelling that has dwindled audiences to the point where they are barely registering.
It’s an easy and undemanding read, but so thoroughly enjoyable that it won’t be long before I read another…
‘The Cave-Monsters’ is based on the 1970 Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story ‘Doctor Who And The Silurians.’ The Doctor and his assistant Liz Shaw are called in to investigate the reason for power drains at a nuclear powered cyclotron facility. During the investigation they come upon an ancient race of reptiles that walk on two feet who possess the same emotional strengths and weaknesses of their fellow humans.
Back to my childhood for this one; it may well have been written for the teenage market but I have to say I very much enjoyed it. The writer of the original 1970 TV script (Malcolm Hulke) wrote this novelisation in 1974, which was one of the earliest Target volumes based on the original television series. He doesn’t slavishly follow the script, but enhances it from the very beginning by giving The Silurians a back story, gives them names and has them converse, and allows us to see the situation from their own differing viewpoints – which we get less of in the TV version.
The novel races along with very little extraneous information. I read the book and re-watched the serial simultaneously and loved both. Whereas the book brings added depth to the story, the serial has the added plus of some very entertaining character actors bringing the parts to life.
This is from the days when Doctor Who was good. Cheap, yes; but where it relied upon storytelling, character, and oodles of atmosphere, and not the current preachy wokery or soppy soap opera storytelling that has dwindled audiences to the point where they are barely registering.
It’s an easy and undemanding read, but so thoroughly enjoyable that it won’t be long before I read another…
January 28, 2025
Based on his own script this is number 9 in the Target catalogue. The first cover is by Chris Achilleos and the second by Alister Pearson. Being one of the early Targets it also has interior art which was done be Chris. And a cut away map. Without googling I’d say this is the only Target with a map.
I’m not sure what to make of this book. All the events from the broadcast version are there but they are so different it’s almost a different story. All of the guest characters are completely different to how they are in the TV version. I’m referring to Dr Quinn, Dr Lawerence, Mr Barker, Mr Masters, and Miss Dawson. Also what happens to them is a lot different. Dr Lawerence is killed by a Silurian instead of dying by the plague. Miss Dawson is attacked by a Silurian and ends up drawing cave sketches. Barker kills Roberts in cyclotron room during a power drain. And there’s many others where the event is there, but totally rewritten.
I like some of the additions, particularly the more detailed sections of the Silurians interacting amongst themselves, and the backstory of them going into the caves prologue. But some of the changes don’t seem as logical as what occurred in the TV episodes. The motivations for Dr Lawerence in particular just didn’t seem right for the story. And right at the end, page 144
Then Liz started to scream
The Brigadier was the first to get there. ‘What the devil is going on?’
Liz fell into the Brigadier’s arms, her body quivering.
No, no, no, no, no. That is so not Liz Shaw.
So I have a very mixed feelings about this book. It’s brilliant and awful in equal measure.
I’m not sure what to make of this book. All the events from the broadcast version are there but they are so different it’s almost a different story. All of the guest characters are completely different to how they are in the TV version. I’m referring to Dr Quinn, Dr Lawerence, Mr Barker, Mr Masters, and Miss Dawson. Also what happens to them is a lot different. Dr Lawerence is killed by a Silurian instead of dying by the plague. Miss Dawson is attacked by a Silurian and ends up drawing cave sketches. Barker kills Roberts in cyclotron room during a power drain. And there’s many others where the event is there, but totally rewritten.
I like some of the additions, particularly the more detailed sections of the Silurians interacting amongst themselves, and the backstory of them going into the caves prologue. But some of the changes don’t seem as logical as what occurred in the TV episodes. The motivations for Dr Lawerence in particular just didn’t seem right for the story. And right at the end, page 144
Then Liz started to scream
The Brigadier was the first to get there. ‘What the devil is going on?’
Liz fell into the Brigadier’s arms, her body quivering.
No, no, no, no, no. That is so not Liz Shaw.
So I have a very mixed feelings about this book. It’s brilliant and awful in equal measure.
January 7, 2015
It should perhaps be noted that the original 1974 print is titled Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters. This difference is actually more relevant than the casual observer might think (though besides a few typos nothing in the text has been changed from the original print). As fans might know, the Silurians were Doctor Who monsters whose name was constantly in dispute. Barry Letts thought that technically they should be called the Eocenes. In this novelisation of his excellent script Doctor Who and the Silurians, Hulke never calls the antagonists “Silurians”, but simply “reptile men”, though the word does sneak in there somewhere. This is all reminisced in this edition by Terrance Dicks, who wrote the introduction, and was good friends with Hulke. While Dicks may be the go-to face for Target novelisations, they spawned out of Hulke’s and Dick’s collaborations. At first they had worked together on The Making of Doctor Who, the first book of its kind, before Dicks was asked about the novelisations. It was between these two that Target first started on its novelisations, after they reprinted the novelisations that had come before. Both Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion (Spearhead from Space) by Dicks, and Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters coming out on the same day (17 Jan 1974). It was in this way that Hulke and Dicks birthed the true Target novelisations as we know them today.
"The Doctor hoped that if he did not move, the monster, in its stupid way, might not realise that living flesh was but a jaw-snap away."
This particular reprint is very good, and might be preferable to the original printing because of just how nicely its framed. Terrance Dicks’ introduction is charming and loving, where he expands on more detail about the novel than his comments on it in On Target — Malcolm Hulke. This introduction is then followed by Justin Richards’ The Changing Faces of Doctor Who, which explains succinctly and clearly the continuity behind the Third Doctor, UNIT, and Liz Shaw. Then there’s the text itself. Then there’s the About the Author by Justin Richards again, who really emphasises the great contributions Hulke made to the programme. Finally, rendering this whole write-up by me fairly useless, is Between the Lines by Steve Tribe, which is a fairly short discussion on the early history of the Target novelisations, and on how Cave Monsters differs from Silurians.
"Rather than attempt to pack all seven episodes into a 45,000 word novel, Hulke opts to rewrite his story from scratch, even rewording the majority of the dialogue." — Steve Tribe
In many ways Cave Monsters is a supplement to Silurians, and an excellent one at that. Hulke takes advantage of the medium or prose wherever he can, frequently diving into the heads of characters and adding so much depth it’s like the Wenley Moor Institute itself. Dr. Lawrence becomes much more sympathetic than the cartoonish oaf shown in the serial. Major Barker (Baker in the serial) is as paranoid, deranged, and jingoistic as ever, but the reader is given much more of a chance to pity him and to understand what drives him, the narration staying close to him at some points and even delving a bit more into his back story. Miss Travis is also a small, new character with a nice little arc. The book is packed with things like this. Best of all are the “reptile men” themselves, no longer nameless “Silurians”, but Okdel, Morka, and K’To. Simply naming them makes them much more relatable, but there’s a new prologue to the story from the Silurian leader Okdel’s point of view. And a chapter from Morka’s point of view, which in the serial was just shots of a confused Silurian running about on some fields (if I remember correctly). It adds a whole new level to a story that is very much rooted in character drama. I’ve not seen Warriors of the Deep, but apparently these names are mentioned in that TV serial, which is really quite nice. The Doctor himself is as dry and witty as ever, but seems a little bit less rude than he did originally (Silurians being his second serial). This Doctor seems closer to how he was later on, which makes sense with the years in between the broadcast of Silurians in 1970, and this novel being written in 1974.
"They’re not aliens! They’re… Earth-liens! Once known as the Silurian race or, some would argue, Eocenes, or homo reptilia." — The Eleventh Doctor
But don’t think all this depth bloats the story. Instead it streamlines it. The story from Silurians is re-jigged enough so that different characters have character moments at different points, making it all flow a lot more nicely. Some scenes are omitted when characters are doing other things, so that the story is pleasingly linear. For instance, the early scene where the Doctor discovers some logs are missing is omitted, simply having him catch up with Liz to tell her he did that later. Maybe it sounds lame, but it isn’t. It stops it feeling like the slog Silurians can sometimes feel like. It’s one of my favourite Doctor Who stories ever, but 7 parts is just a little too long.
"‘Quite honestly,’ said Masters, ‘I’m trying to do my best to cope with what you are saying, but I find it impossible to imagine a lizard armed with a sub-machine gun!’
‘So do I,’ said the Doctor. ‘They are far too advanced for that sort of thing.’"
This book is really good. I’d say it’s the Target novelisation to read if you want to dip in. With that said, there are a few detractors. In prose some of the back and forth between the caves and the base can seem a little repetitive. Also, as prose is often slower paced to just read than on the screen, the whole business with everyone ignoring the Doctor’s pleas for quarantine are obviously ridiculous. I also don’t really buy Frederick Master’s character, which sticks out a little to me as everyone else is just so rich in this novelisation.
Overall though this book is totally rad. If you’ve not read a Target novelisation before, just get this one. The reprint is super cheap and it’s really nice having it presented like this. If you’ve loved Silurians and not read this, then I think you owe it to yourself. Silurians is a fantastic Doctor Who story that epitomises everything I love about Doctor Who. It’s a really heartfelt tragedy in places, but of the most alien kind. Perhaps some of the best Earth-bound Doctor Who has to offer.
This review can also be found on my blog with pictures~ http://oscartk.co.uk/2014/08/doctor-c...
"The Doctor hoped that if he did not move, the monster, in its stupid way, might not realise that living flesh was but a jaw-snap away."
This particular reprint is very good, and might be preferable to the original printing because of just how nicely its framed. Terrance Dicks’ introduction is charming and loving, where he expands on more detail about the novel than his comments on it in On Target — Malcolm Hulke. This introduction is then followed by Justin Richards’ The Changing Faces of Doctor Who, which explains succinctly and clearly the continuity behind the Third Doctor, UNIT, and Liz Shaw. Then there’s the text itself. Then there’s the About the Author by Justin Richards again, who really emphasises the great contributions Hulke made to the programme. Finally, rendering this whole write-up by me fairly useless, is Between the Lines by Steve Tribe, which is a fairly short discussion on the early history of the Target novelisations, and on how Cave Monsters differs from Silurians.
"Rather than attempt to pack all seven episodes into a 45,000 word novel, Hulke opts to rewrite his story from scratch, even rewording the majority of the dialogue." — Steve Tribe
In many ways Cave Monsters is a supplement to Silurians, and an excellent one at that. Hulke takes advantage of the medium or prose wherever he can, frequently diving into the heads of characters and adding so much depth it’s like the Wenley Moor Institute itself. Dr. Lawrence becomes much more sympathetic than the cartoonish oaf shown in the serial. Major Barker (Baker in the serial) is as paranoid, deranged, and jingoistic as ever, but the reader is given much more of a chance to pity him and to understand what drives him, the narration staying close to him at some points and even delving a bit more into his back story. Miss Travis is also a small, new character with a nice little arc. The book is packed with things like this. Best of all are the “reptile men” themselves, no longer nameless “Silurians”, but Okdel, Morka, and K’To. Simply naming them makes them much more relatable, but there’s a new prologue to the story from the Silurian leader Okdel’s point of view. And a chapter from Morka’s point of view, which in the serial was just shots of a confused Silurian running about on some fields (if I remember correctly). It adds a whole new level to a story that is very much rooted in character drama. I’ve not seen Warriors of the Deep, but apparently these names are mentioned in that TV serial, which is really quite nice. The Doctor himself is as dry and witty as ever, but seems a little bit less rude than he did originally (Silurians being his second serial). This Doctor seems closer to how he was later on, which makes sense with the years in between the broadcast of Silurians in 1970, and this novel being written in 1974.
"They’re not aliens! They’re… Earth-liens! Once known as the Silurian race or, some would argue, Eocenes, or homo reptilia." — The Eleventh Doctor
But don’t think all this depth bloats the story. Instead it streamlines it. The story from Silurians is re-jigged enough so that different characters have character moments at different points, making it all flow a lot more nicely. Some scenes are omitted when characters are doing other things, so that the story is pleasingly linear. For instance, the early scene where the Doctor discovers some logs are missing is omitted, simply having him catch up with Liz to tell her he did that later. Maybe it sounds lame, but it isn’t. It stops it feeling like the slog Silurians can sometimes feel like. It’s one of my favourite Doctor Who stories ever, but 7 parts is just a little too long.
"‘Quite honestly,’ said Masters, ‘I’m trying to do my best to cope with what you are saying, but I find it impossible to imagine a lizard armed with a sub-machine gun!’
‘So do I,’ said the Doctor. ‘They are far too advanced for that sort of thing.’"
This book is really good. I’d say it’s the Target novelisation to read if you want to dip in. With that said, there are a few detractors. In prose some of the back and forth between the caves and the base can seem a little repetitive. Also, as prose is often slower paced to just read than on the screen, the whole business with everyone ignoring the Doctor’s pleas for quarantine are obviously ridiculous. I also don’t really buy Frederick Master’s character, which sticks out a little to me as everyone else is just so rich in this novelisation.
Overall though this book is totally rad. If you’ve not read a Target novelisation before, just get this one. The reprint is super cheap and it’s really nice having it presented like this. If you’ve loved Silurians and not read this, then I think you owe it to yourself. Silurians is a fantastic Doctor Who story that epitomises everything I love about Doctor Who. It’s a really heartfelt tragedy in places, but of the most alien kind. Perhaps some of the best Earth-bound Doctor Who has to offer.
This review can also be found on my blog with pictures~ http://oscartk.co.uk/2014/08/doctor-c...
March 8, 2021
Between a 2 and a 3 for me. Not sure if I'm just struggling with Malcolm Hulke's prose here, whether issues due to Target page count, and how much due to just the science of the time, but I struggle with this book.
It's premise is interesting, with the Silurians (a painful name in some respects, like Homo Reptilia as well, science wise) also native to the planet, and not intrinsically evil, but let down by what seems a lot of one dimensional characters on both sides, making the conflict feel somewhat forced as more natural characters likely wouldn't have led the plot to such an outcome.
I also didn't enjoy the friction between the Doctor and the Brigadier here, probably the nadir of their relationship - though that is more a personal perspective, not necessarily an actual story issue as such, in some respects is a nice actual character path for them. Shows a difference between the Second Doctor and the Third Doctor, the latter more willing it seems to try to make peace, compared to the Second Doctor seeming to be a bit more ruthless with the likes of the Ice Warriors, Cybermen, Yeti etc. though the nature of the threats were a bit different.
Overall though, was a bit of a struggle to read.
It's premise is interesting, with the Silurians (a painful name in some respects, like Homo Reptilia as well, science wise) also native to the planet, and not intrinsically evil, but let down by what seems a lot of one dimensional characters on both sides, making the conflict feel somewhat forced as more natural characters likely wouldn't have led the plot to such an outcome.
I also didn't enjoy the friction between the Doctor and the Brigadier here, probably the nadir of their relationship - though that is more a personal perspective, not necessarily an actual story issue as such, in some respects is a nice actual character path for them. Shows a difference between the Second Doctor and the Third Doctor, the latter more willing it seems to try to make peace, compared to the Second Doctor seeming to be a bit more ruthless with the likes of the Ice Warriors, Cybermen, Yeti etc. though the nature of the threats were a bit different.
Overall though, was a bit of a struggle to read.
March 26, 2024
Malcolm Hulke didn't write many Doctor Who novelisations but his are among the best. He's one of those writers than extends the story, gives characters more depth whilst writing straightforward unpretentious prose.
This is my favourite of the three I've read so far because you feel you're getting something more from it than you would do from the previous two books. There's more info. The prologue in particular helps set up what happened to the Silurians long before the story starts.
The only thing the book can't do is give us something as impressive as the scenes in London as the Silurian created plague spreads. It's set up differently here, but that sequence is so effective in the TV programme.
But in terms of expanding characters and their motivations it is rather fine. We even get a chapter from the point of view of one of the Silurians, which builds on the sequence in the TV series. My favourite thing is how Hulke makes Major Baker a properly three-dimensional character. The expanded section on why he was booted out of the army, which see him shooting an IRA sniper in anger. The fact that the IRA are even in this book at all, even briefly is astonishing.
Rather good.
This is my favourite of the three I've read so far because you feel you're getting something more from it than you would do from the previous two books. There's more info. The prologue in particular helps set up what happened to the Silurians long before the story starts.
The only thing the book can't do is give us something as impressive as the scenes in London as the Silurian created plague spreads. It's set up differently here, but that sequence is so effective in the TV programme.
But in terms of expanding characters and their motivations it is rather fine. We even get a chapter from the point of view of one of the Silurians, which builds on the sequence in the TV series. My favourite thing is how Hulke makes Major Baker a properly three-dimensional character. The expanded section on why he was booted out of the army, which see him shooting an IRA sniper in anger. The fact that the IRA are even in this book at all, even briefly is astonishing.
Rather good.
May 31, 2025
Who at Target Books thought Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters was more enticing than Doctor Who and the Silurians?! One of two flaws in what is otherwise a great reimagining of the Third Doctor's second serial. The other is Malcolm Hulke's declawed ending. But it's easy to see why "Cave-Monsters" is one of the best-regarded Target novelisations. Today, the serial already provides the frisson with its pandemic scenes, and Hulke's anti-war stance will never go out of date. In the book, by getting us into the heads of a number of cretins (sorry, Brigadier, you too), he also opposes the Silurians' genocidal species-ism with Britain's imperial/colonial history. The phrase "make Britain great again" is even used... brrr. (As is "homo reptilia", decades before if would be on the show.) Hulke gives us a lot more on Silurian culture - including a prologue set before they went to sleep - and isn't shy about changing events to create different moments. All in all, a much richer story (nice illustrations, too), which is perhaps why I resent the last page so much. It's the one place where TV did it better.
June 19, 2018
This was a story from early in the Jon Pertwee stories, and as such, I think that the show was adjusting to both the new Doctor and the new series of Earthbound stories. Thus, this was an interesting adventure, but a couple of the characters were remarkably difficult to believe. The crazy Major, the mad scientist and his assistant/girlfriend were all hard to take as characters. Also, the portrayal of the Brigadier was just a little off, in that he came across as stuffy for the sake of being stuffy.
That said, it was also a fun story about a truly alternate history of the Earth, one which was brought back later with much more believable makeup and costuming. The idea that a pre-human species had successfully reached a high level of civilization was interesting, although the reason why it all fell apart, as explained in this story, was pretty odd. If they were advanced enough to do all the stuff they did, how could they know so little about things like math and physics?
Still, like most Dr. Who novelizations, it was a fun, quick read, and a good reminder of the episodes.
That said, it was also a fun story about a truly alternate history of the Earth, one which was brought back later with much more believable makeup and costuming. The idea that a pre-human species had successfully reached a high level of civilization was interesting, although the reason why it all fell apart, as explained in this story, was pretty odd. If they were advanced enough to do all the stuff they did, how could they know so little about things like math and physics?
Still, like most Dr. Who novelizations, it was a fun, quick read, and a good reminder of the episodes.
May 22, 2022
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters is an adaptation of Doctor Who and the Silurians, an episode of the classic series from about 1970. It's also the first Doctor Who story I can definitely remember watching when it got re-run in the 90s. Being from the 70s, the effects were somewhat lacklustre (with distinctly wobbly monster heads) but it was a fairly solid story as I recall. So I thought I would give the book adaptation a go and see if the narrative holds up better in literary format.
Honestly? Not sure. The book adaptation is notably shorter than the tv version (which was 7 x 25 minute episodes), while various plot points have been excised and others have been expanded. As a result, it all runs along very quickly which seems to reduce some of the tension. I was a bit put out to see that Liz , the doctor's assistant who is a scientific genius in her own right, gets reduced to basically doing nothing.
It's still an enjoyable read, but I think the changes made to the narrative don't outweigh the wobbly rubber heads of the Silurians.
Honestly? Not sure. The book adaptation is notably shorter than the tv version (which was 7 x 25 minute episodes), while various plot points have been excised and others have been expanded. As a result, it all runs along very quickly which seems to reduce some of the tension. I was a bit put out to see that Liz , the doctor's assistant who is a scientific genius in her own right, gets reduced to basically doing nothing.
It's still an enjoyable read, but I think the changes made to the narrative don't outweigh the wobbly rubber heads of the Silurians.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2024
Generally enjoyable story but the Doctor does seem somewhat naive in assuming humans and reptile men will happily share the planet. A few of the characters seem obviously unhinged but other people don’t seem to notice. For example, Major Baker is a xenophobic lunatic… but nobody calls him out. Maybe xenophobic lunatics were more common in those days. Doctor Quinn is presented as trying to live up to his father’s reputation but just comes across as petty and deluded.
Main thing that annoyed me though was, we have global pandemic instituted by the reptile men. Thankfully though, the Doctor came up with a vaccine apparently within a few hours (or possibly a couple of days… I’m a bit vague on that point). So an existential threat to humankind is sorted by the Doctor, working on his own with an electron microscope. Where was he when covid was at its height? Also, Liz, who if I remember correctly is a medical doctor, as well as holding umpteen doctorates in other fields, didn’t seem to be involved in creating the vaccine at all.
Main thing that annoyed me though was, we have global pandemic instituted by the reptile men. Thankfully though, the Doctor came up with a vaccine apparently within a few hours (or possibly a couple of days… I’m a bit vague on that point). So an existential threat to humankind is sorted by the Doctor, working on his own with an electron microscope. Where was he when covid was at its height? Also, Liz, who if I remember correctly is a medical doctor, as well as holding umpteen doctorates in other fields, didn’t seem to be involved in creating the vaccine at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2020
This book is definitely a great example of the sort of peak Doctor Who writing that defined the Classic era. He didn't need complicated technology from the future or things like that. Instead, we mainly have the Doctor talking his way out of danger while facing a most unexpected threat that was alien to humans and yet not extraterrestrial.
Admittedly I wasn't quite sure how this story was going to go as I have yet to watch the corresponding Classic Who episode, so it made for a more enjoyable reading experience. We have that growing sense of dread of a conflict between humans and the Silurians being almost unavoidable but the final ending ...was very Doctor Who ending. And that's just amazing how these themes have rung true throughout his history.
Admittedly I wasn't quite sure how this story was going to go as I have yet to watch the corresponding Classic Who episode, so it made for a more enjoyable reading experience. We have that growing sense of dread of a conflict between humans and the Silurians being almost unavoidable but the final ending ...was very Doctor Who ending. And that's just amazing how these themes have rung true throughout his history.
April 18, 2023
When the publishers of the novelizations changed the titles of the stories, they often chose something oddly generic compared to the original. Even if "The Silurians" was a misnomer for the antagonists, it's still a more precise title than "Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters."
Jon Pertwee's first season was an uneven offering, and the stories tended to meander. The novels gave the writers the opportunity to tighten things up, but this book isn't necessarily all that brisk. The threats are introduced rather episodically. And, as with the TV serial, I'm not sure why the Doctor bothered to try to get any of the Silurians on his side. That was going to be an uphill clamber from any direction. Points for trying, though.
Jon Pertwee's first season was an uneven offering, and the stories tended to meander. The novels gave the writers the opportunity to tighten things up, but this book isn't necessarily all that brisk. The threats are introduced rather episodically. And, as with the TV serial, I'm not sure why the Doctor bothered to try to get any of the Silurians on his side. That was going to be an uphill clamber from any direction. Points for trying, though.
April 21, 2023
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters (1974) by Malcolm Hulke is the novelisation of the second serial of the seventh season of Doctor Who.
The third Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier head off to a nuclear research station that is working on methods of converting nuclear power directly into electricity. The facility is losing power at random. It is built into a mountain with a substantial cave network beneath it.
In the caves the Silurians, who now have a hypothesis named after them, have been awakened.
It’s odd that the novelisation has a different name from the TV serial which is known as the Silurians.
It’s not a bad story. The wise older Silurian leader is interesting.
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters is a pretty decent Doctor Who serial.
The third Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier head off to a nuclear research station that is working on methods of converting nuclear power directly into electricity. The facility is losing power at random. It is built into a mountain with a substantial cave network beneath it.
In the caves the Silurians, who now have a hypothesis named after them, have been awakened.
It’s odd that the novelisation has a different name from the TV serial which is known as the Silurians.
It’s not a bad story. The wise older Silurian leader is interesting.
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters is a pretty decent Doctor Who serial.
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