Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time (novelisation)
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Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time was a novelisation based on the 1978 television serial The Invasion of Time.
Publisher's summary
A traitor to the Time Lords?
Can the Doctor really be in league with the evil Vardans, spearheading a treacherous invasion of his home planet, Gallifrey?
Or is he playing a deadly double game, saving the Time Lords by appearing to betray them?
But the Vardans themselves are only pawns in the game, and the Doctor faces an old and deadly enemy, as he battles to foil the Invasion of Time.
'Terrance Dicks is a skilful professional storyteller... He has deftly recaptured the programme's popular blend of hectic menace and humorous self-mockery.' BRITISH BOOK NEWS
Chapter titles
- Treaty for Treason
- The President-Elect
- Attack from the Matrix
- The Fugitive
- The Betrayal
- The Invasion
- The Outcasts
- The Assassin
- The Vardans
- False Victory
- The Sontarans
- The Key of Rassilon
- Failsafe
- The Chase
- The Wisdom of Rassilon
Deviations from televised story
- Leela still has brown eyes despite her eyes having been changed blue in Horror of Fang Rock.
- It's clarified that the Doctor first learnt of the Vardans' attempted invasion of Gallifrey through a telepathic warning from the Matrix.
- The exterior of the Capitol is described by sheer white walls and gleaming towers that can be seen from far within the cragged moorlands. Airlocks separate the marbled interior from the exterior atmosphere.
- No other Time Lord has attempted to run for the position of President since the Doctor's declaration of candidacy in The Deadly Assassin. With no other candidate brought forward, the position automatically fell to the Doctor as outlined in the Constitution of Gallifrey.
- In Leela's quarters, Andred returns her knife in exchange for her presence at the induction ceremony.
- During the induction ceremony, the search for the Great Key is a modified version of a preexisting element of the event. The artefact was believed to be stolen by the Master when he fled Gallifrey, so the candidate touches the empty pillow instead as a purely ceremonial gesture. In reality, the Great Key he found in the museum was simply a facsimile. The genuine article still lies in Borusa's keeping. His attempt to give the Doctor the incorrect key is omitted.
- Castellan Kelner has succeeded the retired Spandrell due to a combination of good birth and political intrigue. His office is described as "an elaborate affair of transparent plastic and gleaming metals with complex control consoles and brightly flickering vision screens everywhere." It's gaudy, even by Time Lord standards, but helps to maintain his image. He's noted to have cultivated the Bodyguard Squad for similar purposes. Following his capture by Leela in the TARDIS, he goes unmentioned.
- Stor has a lipless mouth with blazing red eyes. He removes his helmet after arriving on Gallifrey, rather than later within the TARDIS. According to the Doctor, the fusion grenade he uses in the Panopticon will not only trigger the black hole beneath the planet, but also likely wipe out the Sontaran battle fleet as well.
- The Outsider leader, Nesbin, is less sceptical about the possibility of an invasion. Likewise, only some of the community are mentioned to be Time Lords and Rodan explains to Leela that rebels and criminals can be punished with expulsion, but voluntary exile isn't typically discussed. Nesbin himself was cast out of the Capitol for assaulting a rival Time Lord, an offence almost unheard of in Gallifreyan society. After parting company with Leela at the start of the attack, he isn't seen again until the Doctor's final farewell. Presta is only seen at the camp.
- The TARDIS's interior is described as metallic, rather than the brickwork as seen in the televised story. Stor charges straight through the door in the sickbay, rather than shattering the window panel, shooting Andred while giving chase to the Doctor and Borusa.
- Alone in the TARDIS conservatory, the Doctor notes that the stabiliser field only covers the control room. Stor's gun is perfectly functional within the rest of the ship. Even if it wasn't, the Time Lord is still at risk of being throttled or beaten to death regardless.
- Jasko and Ablif are merged into Jablif. Curiously though, both Jasko and Ablif appear as separate characters in earlier scenes.
- Leela's departure is more abrupt than in the televised story.
- There are many minor dialogue changes. Among the more significant is the Doctor's order for Leela to shut up. Rather than relaying it to K9 thoughtlessly, she repeats it in outrage and K9 only complies as she gave the order. Andred vows to strike back at the Lord President in front of Leela, rather than after she's gone on ahead with Rodan.
- The bodyguard Kelner assigns to the Doctor is named as Varn, a man "very big, very brave and very stupid" with a singleminded devotion to the Castellan.
- The hole the Doctor created in the transduction barriers begins to regenerate itself after the Vardans' expulsion, explaining the Sontarans' continued need to shut it down.
- The guards attempt to break into the Doctor's office with axes typically used for ceremonial parades. They were never designed for practical use.
- Some of Andred's loyal guards accompany the Doctor's group to meet Borusa and are killed with Jablif in a skirmish with the Sontarans.
Writing and publishing notes
- to be added
Additional cover images
1980 Hardback edition
British publication history
First publication:
- Hardback
- W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd. UK
- Paperback
- Target
Audiobook
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 1 September 2016 complete and unabridged by BBC Physical Audio and read by John Leeson.
The cover blurb and thumbnail illustrations were retained in the accompanying booklet with sleevenotes by David J. Howe. Music and sound effects by Simon Power.
Audiobook cover
