Doctor Who: The Nameless City Review

Irish author Michael Scott brings us a Second Doctor 50th Anniversary eBook- does it do Pat Troughton justice?
Last month's A Big Hand For The Doctor from Eoin Colfer was an intriguing première to the BBC's official range of 50th Anniversary eBooks with its new take on the First Doctor. This time around, it's Michael Scott's job to bring us a rendition of Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor in The Nameless City. Scott is a fairly little-known Irish author, yet he has at least a great stab at the mythology of the 1966-1968 version of the character.

There's mythology such as Gallifrey, the Time Lords and the development of TARDISes dealt with here, so fans aren't going to be for want of pure nostalgia. Nevertheless, the core tale of this short story is a little weak. The premise focuses on the Doctor and Jamie investigating a mysterious book that foretells the return of an ancient race called the Aecons to the known galaxies. It sounds like gripping, classic Troughton stuff, but in the end the narrative amounts to little, with very few memorable characters created here and the climax feeling like a rushed TV Comics edition.

It's certainly a shame as last month's Big Hand carried an impressive level of gravitas and anniversary nostalgia for fans everywhere. Another gripe in addition is Scott's portrayal of the Second Doctor- while it's possible to envision Patrick Troughton speaking some of this Doctor's lines, often they ring more true of the First, Seventh and Tenth Doctors. Perhaps it's inevitable with these characters ultimately being eleven incarnations of the same man that there's some continuity between portrayals, yet there's certainly a distinction between the eleven Doctors in their casting, and it's something that you would have thought that the author would take into consideration when the eleven writers chosen are meant to have a passion for each incarnation of the Time Lord.

Altogether, though, fans will have a good time reading Doctor Who: The Nameless City. It's not the best entry in BBC Books' roster for the science-fiction novel series, and won't be the best offering this 50th Anniversary range provides by a long way, but the heart's still there and the short story does the show justice. Doctor Who: The Nameless City is a fast-paced and whimsical adventure that will entice fans of the Second Doctor, though it's probably only for hardcore fans of Who this time around at its £2 price point.
3/5