David Banks, who played the Cyber Leader in the BBC science-fiction series ‘Doctor Who', reads Peter Grimwade's 1985 novelisation of his TV serial for a new audiobook.
The Target novelisations were, for many years before the proliferation of stories readily available on VHS cassette (kids these days don't know how lucky they are having access to streaming services), the best way to enjoy refreshing the memory. They were a chance to delve into stories from Doctors before your time or revisit the ones you remembered watching on TV. The striking Andrew Skilleter artwork, depicting the Master and Kamelion locked in a battle of wills among swirling, sinister green ether, is the perfect mood-setter for ‘Planet of Fire'.
The story had a certain meta quality for me. As a child, I enjoyed reading about the Doctor going on holiday while I was sitting in the shade on a beach, enjoying a vacation with my parents. That's why ‘Doctor Who: Planet of Fire' stuck in my mind's eye. I can still smell the sun lotion.
From that childhood holiday until now, I hadn't revisited Peter Grimwade's novelisation, though the paperback has been gathering dust on my bookcase, having survived a dozen house moves, from that day until this.
The new audiobook, narrated by David Banks (a familiar name to ‘Doctor Who' fans for his recurring role as the Cyber Leader throughout the 1980s) was a tempting offer to indulge in nostalgia and revisit the novelisation. Although there aren't any Cybermen in the story, Banks is a welcome and obvious choice for narrator. There's his close association with the era of the show as well as his considerable skill in voice work, which was largely the quality that won him the role of the Cyber Leader in the first place.
His voice has gravitas and nuance to keep you involved in the story, and his characterisations, especially of Turlough and the Master, are uncannily good impersonations. Supporting characters such as Professor Foster are reimagined by the narrator, in this case as a much more serious and academic step father than the louche on-screen portrayal by Dallas Adams. In fact, Banks' version of Professor Foster sounds a bit like Indiana Jones. Perhaps if he had been, his step-daughter might have been keener to stick around! Such novel takes help listeners to see characters in a whole new light and experience a familiar story afresh.
‘Doctor Who – Planet of Fire' finds the Fifth Doctor and Turlough alone aboard the TARDIS after Tegan's bad-tempered departure at the end of the previous story. A trip to Lanzarote might prove a tonic, except that meddling archeologist (is there any other sort?) Professor Howard Foster has dredged a relic from the sea bed. The wretched trinket causes all kinds of trouble. First, his petulant step-daughter Perpugilliam (Peri for short) thinks she might flog it to raise some cash to go sight-seeing with some nice young American men. But when she nearly drowns, and is rescued by a reluctant Turlough (whose moral compass is working that day), he recognises the mysterious treasure as belonging to his own people. Years earlier, his family had been exiled by the Trion civilisation. This leads them to the planet Sarn (which looks conveniently like Lanzarote in the television episodes) where a cargo cult has arisen around an active volcano. Despite the unease of the local worshippers, the Doctor and his friends must find out what's happening inside the volcano, and just why the Doctor's oldest enemy, the Master, is involved.
There's an awful lot going on in Peter Grimwade's story. As well as telling an original story he is writing out two established companions (Turlough and the barely-used Kamelion), introducing a new one (Peri) and bringing back an old villain (the Master). Yet his novelisation allows some welcome breathing space for character development and context. He seems to especially enjoy providing the new companion Peri with a bit more backstory than she was afforded on screen. Though she disappears for large parts of the narrative, it's a decent introduction and there's drama enough in her key moments to make an impression. Turlough emerges as the most interesting character, which makes it a shame that for the most part he was underwritten, but at least in ‘Planet of Fire', he goes out with a bang.
It has to be said that the story isn't the most original. Alien artefacts turning up and causing chaos, and frightened locals forming a cult around things they don't understand had been extensively covered before, and would be again. By this point in the Davison era, the Master turning up unexpectedly is about as surprising as rain on a bank holiday. On the plus side, the novel delves further into the psychological appeal of the religion of Sarn and their worship of the fire god Logar than would have been allowed in the television scripts. The intelligence behind Grimwade's ideas ultimately comes through more strongly on the page than on the screen. A notably fine director (he was behind the camera for ‘Earthshock' and ‘Full Circle' – both terrific), his legacy was less impressive as a script writer. ‘Planet of Fire' is a decent entry into the ‘Doctor Who' canon, but most fans can probably live without revisiting ‘Time-Flight' too often. Grimwade's early death in 1990, aged only 47, has sadly meant that his considerable contribution to 1980s ‘Doctor Who' remains somewhat enigmatic, and his story is largely told by those who worked with him.
If you're a fan of 1980s ‘Doctor Who' and the Peter Davison era in general, then revisiting ‘Doctor Who – Planet of Fire' will prove to be an enjoyable nostalgic treat. This audiobook benefits from sterling and assured delivery by David Banks, who enunciates every word perfectly and keeps listeners engaged from start to finish. See our interview with David Banks from last year in which he talks about the pleasure of narrating ‘Doctor Who' stories. The sound effects are excellent too. There is plenty of humming of machinery and rumbling from the volcano to embellish the audio experience. Listening to ‘Doctor Who – Planet of Fire' transported me back to that beach from my dim and distant childhood, and it has made me eager to delve into more of the BBC's audiobook recordings of the ‘Doctor Who' Target novelisations.
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK audio Publication date: 5th June 2025 Buy ‘Doctor Who – Planet of Fire'
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