Kerblam! (novelisation)

Kerblam! was a novelisation based on the 2018 television episode Kerblam!. It was written by the original writer Pete McTighe and released by Target Books on 13 July 2023.

	Kerblam!
	Thirteenth Doctor
	Yaz, Ryan, Graham
	Seventh Doctor, Ace
	Charlie Duffy
	Kerb!am, Kandoka's moon, +135
	Target Books
	Pete McTighe
	Julie Hesmondhalgh
	Anthony Dry
	13 July 2023
Target novelisations
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Next →	Planet of the Ood
TV series order
← Previous	Twice Upon a Time
Next →	The Witchfinders

Publisher's summary

Ding Dong!

The TARDIS is invaded. A plea for help delivered by robot summons the Doctor and her friends Yaz, Graham and Ryan to Kerb!am - the biggest retailer in the galaxy. Posing as new recruits among the thousands of human workers, the TARDIS crew uncover a deadly plot that threatens the life of every person in the warehouse - and beyond.

Who has sent for the Doctor? What is the dark secret at the heart of Kerblam's operations? And who will escape the merciless Postmen...?

Chapter titles

1. Happy Birthday
2. The Village
3. The Sickness
4. Welcome to Kerblam!
5. Undercover
6. Corruption
7. Phase Two
8. Slade's Secret
9. The March
10. Attacked!
11. Source Code
12. Desperate Measures
13. Hello, Twirly
14. The Message
15. Rollercoaster
16. The Darkest Depths
17. Dispatched to Danger
18. Death on Delivery
19. Square One
20. Here's to the Future

Deviations from televised story

• The Seventh Doctor and Ace make a brief appearance, neither of whom appear in the TV version.
• There are chapters detailing the characters' histories. Judy Maddox was the daughter of a postman who was made redundant when robots started doing the delivering, resulting in them losing their home, and witnessed the earliest anti-robot protests. Charlie Duffy was the one of two anti-robot activists who was orphaned when they died blowing up a factory.
• There is an extra introductory chapter to the guest characters showing Judy watching Kira helping Charlie aboard the staff transport.
• There are a number of chapters told from the point of view of the System, which has become self-aware and named itself "Max", including contacting the Doctor because of hearing stories of her. At the climax, the Doctor tells it that she needs to wipe its new consciousness to get rid of Charlie's influence.
• Instead of saying it came from Judy, Kira says the only present she ever received was left outside her cottage anonymously.
• There is an extra scene of Dan waking to find himself locked in a room and receiving a parcel.
• Charlie reacts with disdain on first seeing Twirly.
• Yaz, Ryan and Charlie discover Kira is missing by questioning the other staffmembers in Dispatch and have an encounter with a TeamMate who queries their presence.
• Slade is revealed to be a private investigator sent by the unions on Kandoka to make sure the workers are treated properly.
• Slade returns to Kandoka once everything is resolved, recommending Judy replaces him, and thus is not present when the TARDIS departs.
• Graham takes Twirly with him, hoping the Doctor can repair him.
• The ending of the televised serial, of the TARDIS crew looking at the bubble wrap uncertainly, is omitted. Instead, the Doctor leaves Judy a switch that will deactivate the System if she ever feels it necessary, and a skip forward of a few months shows Judy has employed more human administrators and assigned the manual jobs to the robots with humans being the new supervisors.

Writing and publishing notes

to be added

Continuity

to be added

Audiobook

This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 3 August 2023 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Julie Hesmondhalgh.

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  Audiobook cover

External links

• Official Kerblam! page at Penguin Books