Dr. First
by Adam Hargreaves (Puffin, 2017)
Doctor Who purists may not approve of this playful rewriting of the programme’s origin story. There’s no denying, however, that the characters are beautifully drawn – from Susan, to William Hartnell’s cantankerous purple and grey Doctor, to the jiving, sports mascot, continuity-defying Cybermen!
Dr. Sixth
by Adam Hargreaves (Puffin, 2018)
Poor Colin Baker. Hargreaves captures something of the Sixth Doctor’s voice, and also his rather planless propensity towards grandiloquent bluster as a means by which to defeat evil (in this case, the Rani). Unfortunately, the illustrations in this volume are rather bland.
Jago & Lightfoot & Strax: The Haunting
by Justin Richards (Big Finish, 2015)
A lightweight but very funny adventure. Just as they supported the Fourth Doctor in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, here Victorian pathologist Professor Lightfoot and theatre impresario Henry Gordon Jago afford Strax (the gung-ho, incomparably befuddled Moffat-era Sontaran) a lease on the limelight.
Dr. Tenth: Christmas Surprise!
by Adam Hargreaves (BBC, 2017)
Having misappropriated elements from the Ninth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor Christmas specials, Hargreaves then dresses the Tenth Doctor in nothing but sneakers and an unfortunately placed collar and tie, giving the distinct impression of David Tennant as a stripper. Ta-dah! Christmas surprise!
Jenny: The Doctor’s Daughter – Zero Space
by Adrian Poynton (Big Finish, 2018)
There are some nice SF ideas serving as backdrop, but again the mandate seems to be characterisation. All well and good; however, the plot progression of Jenny and Noah arriving, delivering an uplifting pep talk, then running away is already wearing thin.
Dr. Fifth
by Adam Hargreaves (Puffin, 2018)
In both illustration and storyline, Hargreaves gently sends up the school excursion bickering and pantomime villainy of the Fifth Doctor’s first season. Again, the text reads like a first draft, but in the Mr Men canon this seems par for the course.
Jenny – The Doctor’s Daughter: Neon Reign
by Christian Brassington (Big Finish, 2018)
Trite premise, clumsy exposition, heavy-handed on the agenda. The saving grace here is the characterisation of Jenny (who’s inherited some of the Tenth Doctor’s traits) and her companion Noah (who carries himself with a naïve sangfroid that curiously echoes Paul McGann’s Eighth).
Dr. Fourth
by Adam Hargreaves (BBC Children’s Books, 2017)
The Fourth Doctor is well drawn and characterised. Sarah Jane is less becoming (a generic pink ball) and the inclusion of a no-hoper Dalek is incongruous even within the unfolding romp. Still, this captures the frivolous sangfroid element of Tom Baker’s era.
Jenny: The Doctor’s Daughter – Prisoner of the Ood
by John Dorney (Big Finish, 2018)
John Dorney is perhaps the best of Big Finish’s regular writers. Prisoner of the Ood has a conspicuous Doctor Who vibe (Russell T Davies era) and an intelligent script, showcasing Georgia Tennant while using Jenny’s character newness to camouflage its in-premise artifice.
Dr. Third
by Adam Hargreaves (Penguin, 2018)
Doctor Who rendered in the distinctive Mr. Men style and with the same careless writing. Pertwee’s Doctor is well captured, as are the lighter aspects of the UNIT era more generally, but the text in no way does justice to the pictures.