Doctor Who And The Terror Of The Autons
Doctor Who And The Terror Of The Autons – Written by Terrance Dicks & Read by Geoffrey Beevers – 4xCD (BBC Audiobooks)
I’ve always thought that there was something wonderful about Jon Pertwee’s time as the Third Doctor, and that it was during this period that Doctor Who really came into it’s own and found it’s stride, and developed it’s own identity, which in turn led to the seventies (comprising the entirety of Pertwee’s, and ninety five percent of Bakers, time in the role) becoming the shows definitive period. This defining era also crept into the Target novels that were based on the Third and Fourth Doctor’s adventures, and ‘The Terror Of The Autons’ has always been a personal favourite for a number of different reasons. It’s a great story, it’s the first appearance of Jo Grant as the Doctor’s assistant and the first appearance of the Master, it features one of the best monsters to have sprung fully formed from the Whoniverse, The Autons (dummies that come to life with inbuilt weapons controlled by an emotionless alien intelligence whose physical resembles a giant octopus, that’s the stuff that nightmares are made from) and UNIT are blazing away, following The Doctor’s lead. Sure, on the surface, it’s another tale of alien invasion that’s thwarted just in the nick of time by The Doctor, but there’s so much more to this story, and to have it finally delivered on audio book by The Master (Geoffrey Beevers played The Master in ‘The Keeper Of Traken’), well, that’s just the icing on the Sci-Fi cake, a Who fans dream made reality. Beevers delivery is spot on, capturing al the characters and the drama and adventure that are integral to the story perfectly, bringing a long cherished novel to glorious, vibrant life. The Target adaptations just keep getting better and better. Absolutely essential (and guaranteed) to chase away the misery of the so-called British Summer… Tim Mass Movement
