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Past Doctor Adventures #33
Doctor Who: Prime Time
Detecting a mysterious sub-space signal in the Time Vortex, the Doctor and Ace land on the planet Blinni-Gaar. They soon discover that the native population are little more than zombies, addicted to the programs of the dangerously powerful Channel 400. As the Doctor investigates, he finds that the television company has a sinister agenda that has nothing to do with entertainment.
As the Doctor is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of intrigue and deceit he discovers that he has an unexpected ally of the most dangerous kind.
234 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 3, 2001
1 person is currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Mike Tucker
106 books46 followersMike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a number of original tv tie-in Doctor Who novels (some co-written with Robert Perry), and three books based on episodes of the television series Merlin. He co-wrote the factual books Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era with Sophie Aldred in 1996, and BBC VFX - The Story of the BBC Visual Effects Department with Mat Irvine in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 8, 2022
I love the sub-series of continuing adventures with Seven and Ace during the Past Doctor Adventures range.
It really feels like an alternative Season 27.
I recall particularly enjoying this one on my original read and it still holds up today.
This time Mike Tucker goes it alone as the solo writer.
With this being published in 2000 during the initial hight of reality TV, it's fun to see the Timelord being the star attraction.
The McCoy era always felt like a bridge between Classic and New Who - this adventure is very much Vengeance on Varos meets Bad Wolf.
Being a tie-in novel it's chock full of continuity references to the old series anyone who enjoyed this TARDIS team will certainly enjoy this title.
It really feels like an alternative Season 27.
I recall particularly enjoying this one on my original read and it still holds up today.
This time Mike Tucker goes it alone as the solo writer.
With this being published in 2000 during the initial hight of reality TV, it's fun to see the Timelord being the star attraction.
The McCoy era always felt like a bridge between Classic and New Who - this adventure is very much Vengeance on Varos meets Bad Wolf.
Being a tie-in novel it's chock full of continuity references to the old series anyone who enjoyed this TARDIS team will certainly enjoy this title.
July 21, 2023
A fantastic novel, certainly one of the best in the PDA series. The conceptualization of a TV addicted populace was quite intriguing and that they'd given up their jobs to become couch potato zombies. Though not actually zombies lol. Channel 400 are manipulating the Doctor and his companion Ace for their own nefarious ends, and yes the revolution was televised. Creating a deadly scenario for them both The Fleshsmiths are something to behold indeed, creatures that mold flesh to carry on surviving through a grotesque harvesting of others. The Zinbriizi were formidable to, and another know adversary played their part too in the proceedings. Loved the resolution and some stunning twists. Ace gets really put through a bad time here . Would highly recommend it to all fans 5 stars
June 22, 2012
What happens when The Doctor and Ace are drawn to the planet Blinni-Gaar by a television transmission beamed into the Tardis? They arrive on a world obsessed with television and under the control of the sinister Channel 400. What follows is a cross between Max Headroom and the Running Man. As The Doctor and Ace face various dangers, all of their exploits in this world are televised for the viewing pleasure of the planet.
This book features a variety of sinister characters, including corupt network officials and a deadly race of aliens known as the fleshsmiths. Creatures capable of grafting together a grotesque army of freaks. They reminded me of the Cybermen, only not as clinical and detached, or as neat. The plot of the book reminded me of the TV episode "Vengance on Varos", epecially with the comentary from various characters reacting to The Doctor and Ace and their televised adventure. I also enjoyed the inclussion of The Master and the banter between The Master and The Doctor.
This book features a variety of sinister characters, including corupt network officials and a deadly race of aliens known as the fleshsmiths. Creatures capable of grafting together a grotesque army of freaks. They reminded me of the Cybermen, only not as clinical and detached, or as neat. The plot of the book reminded me of the TV episode "Vengance on Varos", epecially with the comentary from various characters reacting to The Doctor and Ace and their televised adventure. I also enjoyed the inclussion of The Master and the banter between The Master and The Doctor.
September 22, 2025
3.5
Mike Tucker’s first solo novel isn’t a huge diversion from his work with Robert Perry: again there are fannish touches, monsters, there’s plenty of post-watershed violence.
Broadly it feels like Classic era story Vengeance On Varos rewritten for the 90s, but Tucker’s knack for writing the Seventh Doctor and Ace marks it out as its own thing. He engages with previous novels (including, yes, his own) in interesting ways and sets up an intriguing problem for a future book. It’s a grisly, fast-moving video nasty with some surprisingly well-aged satire about people being glued to their screens.
Mike Tucker’s first solo novel isn’t a huge diversion from his work with Robert Perry: again there are fannish touches, monsters, there’s plenty of post-watershed violence.
Broadly it feels like Classic era story Vengeance On Varos rewritten for the 90s, but Tucker’s knack for writing the Seventh Doctor and Ace marks it out as its own thing. He engages with previous novels (including, yes, his own) in interesting ways and sets up an intriguing problem for a future book. It’s a grisly, fast-moving video nasty with some surprisingly well-aged satire about people being glued to their screens.
August 4, 2018
Excellent original Doctor Who novel featuring Doctor No. 7 and Ace, dealing with a mysterious transmission that lures the Doctor to a planet obsessed with television and dominated by a network named Channel 400. If course it is a plot by the network to lure in the Doctor and use him in a reality series where he is pitted against one of his oldest enemies in a survival test with werewolf-like creatures.
To say anymore would be giving away prime elements of the story, but I can say that the book would make a great multipart serial of the classic Doctor Who as the characterizations of the Doctor and Ace are spot on and there is plenty of action and, of course, running. I can say that the very last chapter, or I guess you could call it the epilogue, is very touching and shows one of the many facets of the Doctor's personality that humanized him.
Highly recommended for Who fans, both of the classic and new series.
To say anymore would be giving away prime elements of the story, but I can say that the book would make a great multipart serial of the classic Doctor Who as the characterizations of the Doctor and Ace are spot on and there is plenty of action and, of course, running. I can say that the very last chapter, or I guess you could call it the epilogue, is very touching and shows one of the many facets of the Doctor's personality that humanized him.
Highly recommended for Who fans, both of the classic and new series.
April 17, 2016
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2643460.html
I'm realising that Mike Tucker is one of the unsung talents of Who spinoff fiction. He has specialised in the Seventh Doctor/Ace period immediately between Survival and the New Adventures; here he brings them to a satire on reality television secretly controlled by aliens which is reminiscent of both Vengeance on Varos and Bad Wolf, but frankly hits the target rather better than either, and also brings in a body-horror Master who is still infected with the cheetah virus from Survival. It's true to the spirit of late-1980s Who, and well-paced and characterised. Great stuff.
I'm realising that Mike Tucker is one of the unsung talents of Who spinoff fiction. He has specialised in the Seventh Doctor/Ace period immediately between Survival and the New Adventures; here he brings them to a satire on reality television secretly controlled by aliens which is reminiscent of both Vengeance on Varos and Bad Wolf, but frankly hits the target rather better than either, and also brings in a body-horror Master who is still infected with the cheetah virus from Survival. It's true to the spirit of late-1980s Who, and well-paced and characterised. Great stuff.
October 5, 2014
Up to this poing in the BBC Books Past Doctor line, the Mike Tucker/Robert Perry books have been anywhere from unremarkable to pleasant distractions. However, in his first solo outing, Mike Tucker goes to town with a breezy 7th Doctor adventure that manages to be both a hommage to the late 1980s style and an engaging story in its own right. Plus points for being one of the few occasions to see the return of the Anthony Ainely incarnation of the Master...and he's on top form.
October 18, 2008
The Doctor and Ace trace a mysterious signal to the planet Blinni Gaar. It's not long before the Doctor and Ace are fighting for their lives as part of a sinister tv programme. Adding to the plot is the Doctors arch-nemesis the Master, who claims to be a victim of the plot as well.
An excellent portrayol of the Doctor, especially the air of mystery surrounding the character.
An excellent portrayol of the Doctor, especially the air of mystery surrounding the character.
June 24, 2015
The Doctor and Ace arrive on a planet where TV rules, and the ruling company want to use them for a TV show. I really enjoyed it, particularly the character of one of the bad guys. It was so like the TV version, I could hear their voice. It would have been a great TV show, can't really say much more without spoiling it. A very good read.
August 6, 2021
Prime Time is an incredibly weird book. It’s the first solo book by one Mike Tucker, taking the form of a three part story, like the rest of his stories reflecting the McCoy television era. The splits make sense, but unlike his work with Robert Perry, Prime Time is more of a meta commentary and analysis on Doctor Who as a whole. The setting is the planet Blinni-Gaar which has become enthralled to television. Every person on this planet is essentially glued to their set with over 400 channels and the economy has become completely based on television. People appear on gameshows in an attempt to earn money and any work is done for television. This premise is actually quite derivative of the Virgin Missing Adventure, Time of Your Life, which was an exploration of the Sixth Doctor in the immediate aftermath of The Trial of a Time Lord, and honestly that premise is explored better and far more thoroughly there. The television stuff is really there so the Doctor’s involvement here can become the premise for a television show, with the producers of Channel 400 essentially manipulating things so the Doctor essentially has to appear on camera. Tucker does an interesting trick in not having the Doctor have some plan, eventually leading to the end of this book where a tag scene is included implying that the events here start a chain reaction that leads to a destructive event. It’s essentially setting up where the Seventh Doctor’s Past Doctor Adventures will be going in the future books.
This is a book with a twist villain, revealed near the end of “Part One”, which I sadly have to spoil here. The villain behind everything is the Master which makes for a very interesting novel as for much of it the Master ends up being an ally of the Doctor, implying that after the events of Survival he has been captured by the people of Blinni-Gaar and the Fleshsmiths, the alien race secretly on the planet and harvesting bodies. They both get trapped in an almost Star Trek like setting and have to fight their way out, and Tucker writes their interactions with relish, however, the Master is portrayed more like the over the top version Ainley played before Survival which is a shame as the Survival/Logopolis portrayal is where Ainley was best in the rolse. The Master feels less like a threat while the Fleshsmiths provide more body horror with their quest to keep augmenting themselves through surgery, implementing other species’ best evolved traits into themselves. Of course they promise the Master another body and that’s something where he is going to be betrayed in the end. The Fleshsmiths have this homogenous identity which almost thrives in how utterly odd it is. They are portrayed on the cover of the book in a designed costume looking very much like something Tucker would have worked with on the show, and modeled by editor Stephen Cole which also adds something quite interesting to the events.
Tucker is also excellent at portraying Ace at this point in her life, as this is kind of the first time there’s a reflection to what Ace has been doing post-Survival, ignoring the Virgin New Adventures as the Past Doctor Adventures have been known to do. While this does contradict continuity which is something Tucker even lampshades here, Ace has a lot to do. She has kind of a romance with the character Gatti and has some recent experiences, some in books, some in audios, makes for a place for her to have her moment. Sadly by the end of the book Tucker seems to run out of steam in giving her things to do as the focus shifts onto the Doctor and the Master which is a great relationship, if a bit camp, but is detracting from Ace. The best bits of the book for Ace are near the beginning where she is able to have her own motivations, being the explosives expert and reflecting on how she has grown up while travelling with the Doctor. There’s also hints that she could be leaving soon, which makes for the tag scene work really well. A lot of the interludes, labeled commercial breaks, Tucker includes to provide some interesting pieces of levity which works really well for the book and gives the reader some idea of where things are going, adding to a lot of the metatext.
Overall, Prime Time while definitely a solid book is a book which suffers from being derivative of another book which did the same premise but better. It does have the plus of doing different enough things with the premise in the end, even if the first third or so is essentially Time of Your Life, but with the Seventh Doctor and Ace which is good. 7/10.
This is a book with a twist villain, revealed near the end of “Part One”, which I sadly have to spoil here. The villain behind everything is the Master which makes for a very interesting novel as for much of it the Master ends up being an ally of the Doctor, implying that after the events of Survival he has been captured by the people of Blinni-Gaar and the Fleshsmiths, the alien race secretly on the planet and harvesting bodies. They both get trapped in an almost Star Trek like setting and have to fight their way out, and Tucker writes their interactions with relish, however, the Master is portrayed more like the over the top version Ainley played before Survival which is a shame as the Survival/Logopolis portrayal is where Ainley was best in the rolse. The Master feels less like a threat while the Fleshsmiths provide more body horror with their quest to keep augmenting themselves through surgery, implementing other species’ best evolved traits into themselves. Of course they promise the Master another body and that’s something where he is going to be betrayed in the end. The Fleshsmiths have this homogenous identity which almost thrives in how utterly odd it is. They are portrayed on the cover of the book in a designed costume looking very much like something Tucker would have worked with on the show, and modeled by editor Stephen Cole which also adds something quite interesting to the events.
Tucker is also excellent at portraying Ace at this point in her life, as this is kind of the first time there’s a reflection to what Ace has been doing post-Survival, ignoring the Virgin New Adventures as the Past Doctor Adventures have been known to do. While this does contradict continuity which is something Tucker even lampshades here, Ace has a lot to do. She has kind of a romance with the character Gatti and has some recent experiences, some in books, some in audios, makes for a place for her to have her moment. Sadly by the end of the book Tucker seems to run out of steam in giving her things to do as the focus shifts onto the Doctor and the Master which is a great relationship, if a bit camp, but is detracting from Ace. The best bits of the book for Ace are near the beginning where she is able to have her own motivations, being the explosives expert and reflecting on how she has grown up while travelling with the Doctor. There’s also hints that she could be leaving soon, which makes for the tag scene work really well. A lot of the interludes, labeled commercial breaks, Tucker includes to provide some interesting pieces of levity which works really well for the book and gives the reader some idea of where things are going, adding to a lot of the metatext.
Overall, Prime Time while definitely a solid book is a book which suffers from being derivative of another book which did the same premise but better. It does have the plus of doing different enough things with the premise in the end, even if the first third or so is essentially Time of Your Life, but with the Seventh Doctor and Ace which is good. 7/10.
September 15, 2021
BBC effects designer, Doctor Who fan, and frequent co-author with Robert Perry of Doctor 7 fiction Mike Tucker goes solo this time. He lets his inner fan run rampant in "Prime Time," a novel that seems mainly to be a vehicle for him to let out his anger at the BBC for cancelling Doctor Who. Doctor 7 pursues a mysterious "signal" to planet Blinni-Gaar, a once agrarian society now completely enthralled to the massive television corporation Channel 400, run by the slick, merciless, tasteless, and generally odious Vogol Lukos (sounds just a bit too much like a James Bond villain name?). Lukos has one interest only, to capture the attention of the entire galaxy through his programming, and so programs only the lowest grade forms of "entertainment," which have already mesmerized the entire population of Blinni-Gaar into bland capitulation to endless TV wherever they go. Now, Lukos has made some kind of arrangement to fulfill his dreams by using The Doctor as his newest star attraction, without The Doctor even knowing it. The novel is another entry in the wink and nod to as many Doctor Who references as you possibly can kind of story. Everyone in the universe, apparently, knows who The Doctor is, the Time Lords, the TARDIS, and the whole of all of Doctor Who. This sort of thing changes The Doctor from "just a traveler," which is what he should be, to "world-famous crime fighter" of the kind in 1930s movies and comics made for boys. The resolution of the plot rests on magic again. Can one really create a fully functioning clone copy down the clothes in just a couple of hours? The novel is not irredeemable. Tucker paces the story well, with plenty of exciting and desperate actions to keep it going. He ties up the story well, so that there are no obvious loose ends. Still, it is just too much in the Pip and Jane Baker variety of Doctor Who for me find it enjoyable.
August 1, 2024
Tucker shows that he's an adept author on his own, which is definitely a relief. Overall I enjoyed this tale, though I guess I was a little confused at the 'high concept.' Like, it seemed to want to be making some statements about television and the way that it affects people, but ... this is a book based on a (then) canceled TV show. Everything about that subtext just feels OFF somehow. It's like how in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the book) Mike Teevee is a metaphor for how people are DEVALUING READING; the focus isn't on television. Whereas it made sense in the movie to change that focus around. I'm pretty sure this is the case. God, it's been forever since I read the book. Vermicious knids. Heh.
Anyway.
Fun times with the Doctor, the Master, Ace - and, man, do these books make me miss Ace.
Anyway.
Fun times with the Doctor, the Master, Ace - and, man, do these books make me miss Ace.
May 5, 2025
"Doctor Who: Prime Time" is a very interesting and fun read. The story is a really cool concept and the personality and morals of the characters is captured very well. The only draw back I would say this book has is that there's a lot of swearing, which shocked me. I don't really care about swearing, but it didn't need to be put in the book and it just seemed out of character for people to start swearing suddenly.
August 30, 2020
An overly generous three stars. Authentically ft like a trite, preachy episode from the era, which is kind of fun. Some Bill and Ted-style time antics at the end, but nothing too severe.
May 15, 2009
Unlike most Mike Tucker books I can't really recommend this one. It's a very lightweight read that's more of a train journey time filler than a comfy armchair treat.
The book is already one of the slimmest volumes in this range and that doesn't even take into account all the blank pages slipped into the gaps between the television show style breaks and previews (rather like the way I used to try to pad out my school projects).
The similarity to Vengeance on Varos is so close that I'd be more inclined to believe that Tucker didn't know that Vengeance existed than castigate him for ripping from that TV story. I just keep hearing Martin Jarvis's voice directing the hidden cameras and seeing the man and the woman idly watching scenes of public torture on their tv screen. It's almost like watching one of those American adaptations of a previously classic British production. It's no fault of the author I think but it's hard for Tucker's shock tactics and attempt at satire to hit home with any force when most readers will have already been hit in the same place.
Characterisations are as good as ever as far as the Doctor and Ace are concerned, it's just a shame they don't have a fresh and exciting stage to perform on.
The book is already one of the slimmest volumes in this range and that doesn't even take into account all the blank pages slipped into the gaps between the television show style breaks and previews (rather like the way I used to try to pad out my school projects).
The similarity to Vengeance on Varos is so close that I'd be more inclined to believe that Tucker didn't know that Vengeance existed than castigate him for ripping from that TV story. I just keep hearing Martin Jarvis's voice directing the hidden cameras and seeing the man and the woman idly watching scenes of public torture on their tv screen. It's almost like watching one of those American adaptations of a previously classic British production. It's no fault of the author I think but it's hard for Tucker's shock tactics and attempt at satire to hit home with any force when most readers will have already been hit in the same place.
Characterisations are as good as ever as far as the Doctor and Ace are concerned, it's just a shame they don't have a fresh and exciting stage to perform on.
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September 21, 2012SUMMARY:
Detecting a mysterious sub-space signal in the Time Vortex, the Doctor and Ace land on the planet Blinni-Gaar. They soon discover that the native population are little more than zombies, addicted to the programs of the dangerously powerful Channel 400. As the Doctor investigates, he finds that the television company has a sinister agenda that has nothing to do with entertainment.As the Doctor is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of intrigue and deceit he discovers that he has an unexpected ally of the most dangerous kind.
February 8, 2011
Past Doctor Adventure (PDA) with the seventh Doctor and Ace. Written like a TV episode (and I don't mean just the gimmick with the section titles), unfortunately a bad TV episode. Unsophisticated, gets more and more simplistic as it goes, and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Very visual, and the characters are similar to how they were in the show, but they're treated like dolls. I could believe this story being submitted in Sylvester McCoy's day, but I'd be appalled if this was the final product.
September 27, 2012
An interesting foe in the Fleshsmiths and some nice action. Unfortunately, the book is badly plotted, we have to constantly close our eyes to fake-outs that the Doctor and Ace should see, there's pretty bad use of the [SPOILER], and then everything anti-climaxes on a deus ex machina.
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