Doctor Who: A Big Hand For The Doctor Review

Our verdict on the first of the 50th Anniversary eBook series is here!
Doctor Who fans have always been spoilt for choice in terms of novelised versions of its fifty year history, and this year is no different, quite the opposite. We've got eleven 50th Anniversary eBook short stories from famed children's authors coming our way between now and November, with Artemis Fowl's Irish wright Eoin Colfer helming the First Doctor tale A Big Hand For The Doctor. So, just how does the 'season premiere' adventure fare?

At around forty pages in length, Big Hand certainly has a great sense of pace about it. Colfer understands well the format of Who, placing his emphasis of focus on the Doctor himself, and for the most part providing a realistic (if strengthened) version of William Hartnell's Time Lord. Elements of the programme such as Gallifrey, regeneration, future incarnations and the Doctor's family are mentioned in a manner that perhaps contradicts the secrecy of Who's early years, yet it works in terms of the original incarnation's perspective on his travels. This adventure takes place before the events of An Unearthly Child, which works well in terms of providing it with an effective standalone feel in what the Doctor and Susan get up to in 1900s London.

Colfer's opening instalment to this ambitious series isn't for want of strengths, featuring an intact version of the children's author's beloved humorous tone, with cult references to Harry Potter and even Peter Pan featuring in the core storyline. There are one or two shortcomings, though- the antagonistic Soul Pirates lack the iconic roots of past hit monsters like the Daleks and Cybermen, so their actual threat to the Time Lord and his first companion feels relatively minute, and in addition the ending's overall execution felt a little rushed. All the same, Doctor Who: A Big Hand For The Doctor is a lovely, nostalgic throwback to the Hartnell era from Eoin Colfer, setting a high precedent for the ten adventures that are follow, and making me wonder this- if BBC Worldwide can hire someone as famous in Britain as the author of Artemis Fowl for the first month in the series, who might we get down the line...? The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who has well and truly begun!
4/5