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Lethbridge-Stewart #2.2
Lethbridge-Stewart: The Showstoppers
‘Nuzzink in ze vorld can schtop me now!’
There’s a new TV show about to hit the airwaves, but Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart won’t be tuning in. With the future of the Fifth Operational Corps in doubt he’s got enough to worry about, but a plea from an old friend soon finds Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers embroiled in a plot far more fantastical than anything on the small screen.
Can charismatic star Aubrey Mondegreene really be in two places at the same time? What lengths will ailing entertainment mogul Billy Lovac go to in order to reach his audience? And is luckless journalist Harold Chorley really so desperate that he’ll buy into a story about Nazi conspiracies from a tramp wearing a tin foil hat?
There’s something very rotten at the heart of weekend television, and it isn’t all due to shoddy scripts and bad special effects.
There’s a new TV show about to hit the airwaves, but Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart won’t be tuning in. With the future of the Fifth Operational Corps in doubt he’s got enough to worry about, but a plea from an old friend soon finds Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers embroiled in a plot far more fantastical than anything on the small screen.
Can charismatic star Aubrey Mondegreene really be in two places at the same time? What lengths will ailing entertainment mogul Billy Lovac go to in order to reach his audience? And is luckless journalist Harold Chorley really so desperate that he’ll buy into a story about Nazi conspiracies from a tramp wearing a tin foil hat?
There’s something very rotten at the heart of weekend television, and it isn’t all due to shoddy scripts and bad special effects.
- GenresDoctor Who
276 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2016
3 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 14, 2020
Another brilliant instalment in the Lethbridge Stewart series, this time the colonel is asked to investigate a new spy tv show called BLIMEY - where the lead actor Philip Mondegreene appears to be playing all the roles.
There's a nice blend of humour and mystery as this novel plays with all the television tropes of the 1960's.
The future Brigadier is such a popular character in Doctor Who and this series really excels in telling really story engrossing stories that honor the classic series but with an added mythology and character development.
This Sixth entry is so much more enjoyable providing you've read the previous five.
With an added oddball quirk to this adventure, the series continues to grow from strength to strength.
There's a nice blend of humour and mystery as this novel plays with all the television tropes of the 1960's.
The future Brigadier is such a popular character in Doctor Who and this series really excels in telling really story engrossing stories that honor the classic series but with an added mythology and character development.
This Sixth entry is so much more enjoyable providing you've read the previous five.
With an added oddball quirk to this adventure, the series continues to grow from strength to strength.
August 19, 2016
This sixth Lethbridge-Stewart book again feels different to the previous books in the series. The team commissioning these book is doing a fantastic job at finding great authors and ensuring we get a range of stories.
This time Jonathan Cooper gives us a tale which focuses on the world of spy-fi TV shows, which were of course massive at the time and many fans of classic Doctor Who loved. Journalist Harold Chorley meets a tramp wearing a tinfoil hat and somehow manages to persuade Lethbridge-Stewart to investigate the making of a new TV show called BLIMEY. It's star, Philip Mondegreene, is playing all the main characters and is nearly single-handedly running the show. But he seems to get into character in an extreme way and people are convinced he seems to be in more than one place at once.
The actual plot isn't revealed to the closing stages of the book which means this is largely about the mystery. It's great because as a reader I had little idea in what was going on and frankly when all was revealed I realised I never would have guessed.
My favorite part of this book was where Anne Travers and new character Samson Ware find themselves trapped by one of Mondegreen's characters, an over-the-top German scientist. Such a ridiculous character was common in the sort of TV shows that BLIMEY is representing but they rarely work as a proper character. Thanks to the context though we can have a ridiculous German scientist and Cooper even manages to give him that brilliant accented quote from The Underwater Menace, "Nothing in ze vorld can stop me now".
Cooper does a great job at ensuring all the main characters are properly involved with the story and represents them all well- even Harold Chorley, who fits into this book so well. This book also had my favorite epilogue of the series so far for reasons I won't spoil.
Yet another hugely enjoyable book in the Lethbridge-Stewart series and I look forward to reading the next one.
This time Jonathan Cooper gives us a tale which focuses on the world of spy-fi TV shows, which were of course massive at the time and many fans of classic Doctor Who loved. Journalist Harold Chorley meets a tramp wearing a tinfoil hat and somehow manages to persuade Lethbridge-Stewart to investigate the making of a new TV show called BLIMEY. It's star, Philip Mondegreene, is playing all the main characters and is nearly single-handedly running the show. But he seems to get into character in an extreme way and people are convinced he seems to be in more than one place at once.
The actual plot isn't revealed to the closing stages of the book which means this is largely about the mystery. It's great because as a reader I had little idea in what was going on and frankly when all was revealed I realised I never would have guessed.
My favorite part of this book was where Anne Travers and new character Samson Ware find themselves trapped by one of Mondegreen's characters, an over-the-top German scientist. Such a ridiculous character was common in the sort of TV shows that BLIMEY is representing but they rarely work as a proper character. Thanks to the context though we can have a ridiculous German scientist and Cooper even manages to give him that brilliant accented quote from The Underwater Menace, "Nothing in ze vorld can stop me now".
Cooper does a great job at ensuring all the main characters are properly involved with the story and represents them all well- even Harold Chorley, who fits into this book so well. This book also had my favorite epilogue of the series so far for reasons I won't spoil.
Yet another hugely enjoyable book in the Lethbridge-Stewart series and I look forward to reading the next one.
July 19, 2016
My ONLY complaint with the story was the cheesy German accent writing got a little thick at times. Here's the thing though....it was supposed to! I really enjoyed this one.
April 18, 2021
Thanks to Shaun, Will and Keren at Candy Jar for a review copy.
‘The Showstoppers’ is the second novel in season two of the Lethbridge-Stewart novels and clearly is an affectionate pastiche of Dr Strangelove although there is no need to be familiar with that novel to enjoy this tale. The story begins almost immediately after the events of the preceding story, ‘Moon Blink’. Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart has returned temporarily to London to continue work on preparations for the new Dolerite Base and Anne Travers has now left The Vault and is back alongside the Colonel in Chelsea Barracks. The action begins with a former colleague of Lethbridge-Stewart’s, now working as a stuntman, arriving to tell a tale to the Colonel about strange happenings occurring at the TV show on which he is working. Anne, bored of hanging around with little to do, heads off to investigate and events soon spiral out of control. Before long Harold Chorley also arrives on the scene, sniffing around as ever for a story. He is also trying to understand what happened to him at the Dominex plant, an event for which he blames Lethbridge-Stewart, which has left him even more broken than before.
This story is much more traditional in tone than the preceding novel. Whilst we see some nice character development the plot develops quickly and the emphasis is much more on the action. It is easy to imagine how this could have been developed into a TV script had we been fortunate enough to have a Lethbridge-Stewart spin off show.
The series regulars all have their part to play, with Anne’s role as scientific advisor becoming more firmly established within the core team now that she is back with them full time. Harold Chorley is as loathsome as ever but one has to feel some sympathy for him as he is still reeling from his earlier brainwashing and has no frame of reference to understand what he has gone through. As there are no Dominators to blame it is hardly surprising that Chorley holds Lethbridge-Stewart as responsible for his plight. Meanwhile Lethbridge-Stewart does his best to try and support Chorley whilst shamelessly using his journalistic skills when needed.
There are some nice cold war references in the book with the CIA being cast as a villainous organisation who will stop at nothing to further their dubious goals. In a nod to the TV series UNIT’s CIA contact is named as Bill Filer who appears in the TV story ‘The Claws of Axos’ starring Jon Pertwee.
Although the villain of the story is, in some ways, quite superficial, I found the ending and the ‘reveal’ to be quite poignant and unexpected with the subsequent scenes showing a sensitivity that is often lacking in this type of novel. The very end of the book also sees Lethbridge-Stewart getting his unexpected but thoroughly deserved promotion to the rank of Brigadier which he held for the rest of his life.
There are no Doctor Who stories that tie into this novel at all so the casual reader can just enjoy the book and move on. Both ‘Spearhead from Space’ and ‘The Claws of Axos’ starring Jon Pertwee are obliquely referenced, these can be obtained on DVD, Blu Ray and the Target novelisations are available as a second hand paperbacks or audiobooks.
‘The Showstoppers’ is the second novel in season two of the Lethbridge-Stewart novels and clearly is an affectionate pastiche of Dr Strangelove although there is no need to be familiar with that novel to enjoy this tale. The story begins almost immediately after the events of the preceding story, ‘Moon Blink’. Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart has returned temporarily to London to continue work on preparations for the new Dolerite Base and Anne Travers has now left The Vault and is back alongside the Colonel in Chelsea Barracks. The action begins with a former colleague of Lethbridge-Stewart’s, now working as a stuntman, arriving to tell a tale to the Colonel about strange happenings occurring at the TV show on which he is working. Anne, bored of hanging around with little to do, heads off to investigate and events soon spiral out of control. Before long Harold Chorley also arrives on the scene, sniffing around as ever for a story. He is also trying to understand what happened to him at the Dominex plant, an event for which he blames Lethbridge-Stewart, which has left him even more broken than before.
This story is much more traditional in tone than the preceding novel. Whilst we see some nice character development the plot develops quickly and the emphasis is much more on the action. It is easy to imagine how this could have been developed into a TV script had we been fortunate enough to have a Lethbridge-Stewart spin off show.
The series regulars all have their part to play, with Anne’s role as scientific advisor becoming more firmly established within the core team now that she is back with them full time. Harold Chorley is as loathsome as ever but one has to feel some sympathy for him as he is still reeling from his earlier brainwashing and has no frame of reference to understand what he has gone through. As there are no Dominators to blame it is hardly surprising that Chorley holds Lethbridge-Stewart as responsible for his plight. Meanwhile Lethbridge-Stewart does his best to try and support Chorley whilst shamelessly using his journalistic skills when needed.
There are some nice cold war references in the book with the CIA being cast as a villainous organisation who will stop at nothing to further their dubious goals. In a nod to the TV series UNIT’s CIA contact is named as Bill Filer who appears in the TV story ‘The Claws of Axos’ starring Jon Pertwee.
Although the villain of the story is, in some ways, quite superficial, I found the ending and the ‘reveal’ to be quite poignant and unexpected with the subsequent scenes showing a sensitivity that is often lacking in this type of novel. The very end of the book also sees Lethbridge-Stewart getting his unexpected but thoroughly deserved promotion to the rank of Brigadier which he held for the rest of his life.
There are no Doctor Who stories that tie into this novel at all so the casual reader can just enjoy the book and move on. Both ‘Spearhead from Space’ and ‘The Claws of Axos’ starring Jon Pertwee are obliquely referenced, these can be obtained on DVD, Blu Ray and the Target novelisations are available as a second hand paperbacks or audiobooks.
August 27, 2019
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3236929.html
Sixth book in the Candy Jar Lethbridge-Stewart sequence, second of the second series, this sees the future Brigadier, Ann Travers and journalist Harold Chorley investigating a mysterious TV spy show in which almost all the characters are played by the same actor, who is also the show-runner - the concept of Dr Strangelove, but taken to a new extreme. I had not come across the author before, though he's written a couple of Space: 1889 books. It's very nicely done - a novel that is a spinoff from a TV series whose hero changes faces from time to time, about a TV series which features an actor of many faces; Cooper balances the absurdity of the set-up nicely with the tension of how-the-heck-will-they-get-out-of-this. There are a couple of lovely moments of fan-service, but nothing too intrusive. A new (and black) regular character is introduced to the Lethbridge-Stewart universe. Basically, I am enjoying this series.
Sixth book in the Candy Jar Lethbridge-Stewart sequence, second of the second series, this sees the future Brigadier, Ann Travers and journalist Harold Chorley investigating a mysterious TV spy show in which almost all the characters are played by the same actor, who is also the show-runner - the concept of Dr Strangelove, but taken to a new extreme. I had not come across the author before, though he's written a couple of Space: 1889 books. It's very nicely done - a novel that is a spinoff from a TV series whose hero changes faces from time to time, about a TV series which features an actor of many faces; Cooper balances the absurdity of the set-up nicely with the tension of how-the-heck-will-they-get-out-of-this. There are a couple of lovely moments of fan-service, but nothing too intrusive. A new (and black) regular character is introduced to the Lethbridge-Stewart universe. Basically, I am enjoying this series.
November 2, 2019
Rating between 3 & 3.5
one of the better stories in this first half dozen I think. the writing was very easy to read and the plot moved along quickly.
the characters were well drawn and L-S was given more background that wasn't seen in the majority of Doctor Who stories, so that was good. the other main characters have slowly developed during the series and as i haven't read the later entries am wondering how this team will transition into the Doctor Who/UNIT outfit.
The story line involving ex-cia spies, nazi scientists and mind control is a story that could have got out of control but the writer corralled everything together well. the only real issue i had as the German accent (as written) for the nazi scientist. initially it was humorous but by the end was a bit tiring. The final battle seemed to arrive very quickly after 3/4 of the book going along steadily but i suppose the last minute save/fight/or whatever was okay for the overall mood or feel that the author was going for.
Overall then a recommendation.
one of the better stories in this first half dozen I think. the writing was very easy to read and the plot moved along quickly.
the characters were well drawn and L-S was given more background that wasn't seen in the majority of Doctor Who stories, so that was good. the other main characters have slowly developed during the series and as i haven't read the later entries am wondering how this team will transition into the Doctor Who/UNIT outfit.
The story line involving ex-cia spies, nazi scientists and mind control is a story that could have got out of control but the writer corralled everything together well. the only real issue i had as the German accent (as written) for the nazi scientist. initially it was humorous but by the end was a bit tiring. The final battle seemed to arrive very quickly after 3/4 of the book going along steadily but i suppose the last minute save/fight/or whatever was okay for the overall mood or feel that the author was going for.
Overall then a recommendation.
September 23, 2018
The Showstoppers ist ein solider Beitrag zur Lethbridge-Stewart Reihe. Ich hatte eigentlich etwas mehr Absurdität von einem Buch erwartet, welches Kapitel hat die z.B. "Revenge of the Nazi Jellyfish" heißen, aber insgesamt gesehen ist das Buch keine Enttäuschung. Eine solide Story, glaubwürdige Nebencharaktere und am Ende noch eine kleine Überraschung die ich so früh in der Reihe noch nicht erwartet hatte.
August 8, 2016
Full gushing review can be found at www.travelingthevortex.com
So far the Lethbridge-Stewart series has come in two varieties; good, and stellar. This is one of the later.
The plot is well written with a series of adventures that culminate quite satisfactorily, character development is top drawer, the action is well done, and above all else, it's a hell of a lot of fun to read. This book trucks from beginning to end without a lull in sight. If you've been following along with the Lethbridge-Stewart line, nudge this one higher on your to do list, you'll thank me for it.
So far the Lethbridge-Stewart series has come in two varieties; good, and stellar. This is one of the later.
The plot is well written with a series of adventures that culminate quite satisfactorily, character development is top drawer, the action is well done, and above all else, it's a hell of a lot of fun to read. This book trucks from beginning to end without a lull in sight. If you've been following along with the Lethbridge-Stewart line, nudge this one higher on your to do list, you'll thank me for it.
March 27, 2017
Yet another Lethbridge-Stewart book that had me turning pages at record speed. This book trucks along nicely, stays interesting, and also kept me guessing up until the end. I couldn't even begin to figure out why there were so many Aubrey Mondegreenes before it was revealed - but the resolution was satisfying and good and I could accept it.
On to the next one! :)
On to the next one! :)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews