Two Envelopes And A Phone’s Reviews > Doctor Who: The Turing Test > Status Update

Paul McGann debuted as the 8th Doctor in a 1996 TV movie that was supposed to launch a new Doctor Who series, but didn't. I remember thinking, as a sequence of 5 novels came out that covered 100 years of the 8th Dr's life, "oh, this will explain - if McGann ever comes back to play his Doctor any time later - why he looks somewhat older, if we assume the Doctor looks only slightly older after 100 years.". My theory.

When I decided to read 4 Doctor Who novels for Rocket Summer, each to feature a different Doctor in a different decade, if at all possible, I knew one had to be a 7th Doctor book, since he’s my fave. And First Frontier was almost going to be locked in, cuz I really want to re-read it (next!). Once that was decided, long story short, certain tempting books could not be slotted in, but I’m happy with what did fit.

The scene where Turing and the Doctor first meet is one of my favourites. The Doctor is talking to a stone griffin adorning a chapel wall, and when Turing makes a reference Timothy liking a nice rub between the ears, “try that”, the Doctor misunderstands, thinks Timothy is the griffin, and leaps up the side of the building to rub the griffin. Turing explains that Timothy is his cat, and was making a joke.

I’m bettin’ I’m gonna appreciate this one more on a re-read, and up the rating. We’ll see. For some reason this highly-regarded book in the series didn’t resonate with me the first time around. Anyway, this is the second book for me when it comes to my Doctor Who version of the Rocket Summer reading event; I move now to the 1940s, and the next will be in the 1950s, and finally one set in the 1960s.