THE GIANT ROBOT

[Tony]

Here we are discussing Terrance Dicks' novelization of THE GIANT ROBOT! If you want to hear your review of or comments on this book read on the air, or you have a specific question about the book, please post it here by no later than 5pm CST on Saturday, August 15!

[T.E.]

A workman-like adaption that is a little bit bland, and... the title change doesn't so much "give away the twist" but more "falsely advertise exactly how much of the time is going to be spent with a robot of unusual size."

The battle scene is suitably epic, with out the distraction of Action Man (GI Joe) toys being destroyed.

The Tom Baker narrated audiobook benefits from his enthusiasm, but is distinctly average otherwise. 2/5

[Bart]

@tony any plans to glance at the kiddie version

[Tony]

Bart: If we can find a PDF version of it, yes.

[Dave]

I've been a little generous whenever I've remembered to give a score, doubtless nostalgia covers many flaws. That's largely true of this book, and there are some improvements. The robot in it's giant form doesn't have large chunks missing from crappy CSO for starters, and the toy tank has an extended scene, possibly one that was in the script, truncated on screen to minimise embarrassment. We're spared the spectacle of the rag doll Sarah as well. The fourth Doctor is easy to mistake for the third, as I think the original script was written before Tom Baker was cast, so the character was written as bland (spoiler, that word will come up in a later book!), to be filled in by the actor, and Dicks was probably working from his script.
Unfortunately, Terrance Dicks has introduced a huge character flaw that undermines all the improvements for me - he has Sarah faint! It's only the one time, when Sarah first meets the robot, but once I'd read it I kept anticipating it happening again, which took a little of the shine off the rest of the book. I mean, Victoria might have fainted, if it was her first story, and she was still wearing a corset which was too tight (which is purported to be the main reason there's so much "swooning" in 19thC literature) but Sarah Jane Smith recently endured having her mind taken over by a giant spider, shortly after being wrapped in webs in the spiders' larder, and didn't have so much as a dizzy spell, scared though she was. If she was prone to having a fit of the vapours, surely a damn big dinosaur would have brought them on more quickly than a robot.
I can understand him including sexism in books based on earlier stories that he had no part in, and just wanting to reflect the attitudes that were contemporary then (his avowed male chauvinism notwithstanding), but Sarah Jane was introduced during his tenure as Script Editor, and he knew the character well.
And it's his own script!


(I don't remember noticing this flaw when I first read the book, shortly after publication. It may be that I'm more attuned to spotting them after listening to many podcast episodes. Some might see this as a negative, "ruining" their childhood, but I see it as an extra layer of entertainment. I may never have even read these books again, except sporadically, if I hadn't found you!)

[James]

2.5/5 - One saving grace for this story is it's seemingly written with good humour by Uncle Terry.

The introduction of Harry Sullivan (although mentioned at the end of PotS) and his rather wonderful two-play with the newly regenerated Doctor doesn't quote come across on the page as well as screen; although he'll be served better in the following stories.

There's also a definite softening of the Brigadier's character with his interaction with the new Doctor.

The character of Kettlewell seems inconsistent (Perhaps I'm asking too much!?) The reveal that he is behind the plot is underwhelmed by the character's lack of motive. He is rather obviously used by Mrs Winters...

Meh moment: False flag ending. Think Tank are defeated by the Doctor then we have the King Kong Giant Robot pastiche.

p.s. The plastic tank never bothered me...

[Michael]

When I first got into Doctor Who, my local WaldenBooks had a large selection of Target novels for me to pick from. I recall the price range was $2.50 to $3.50 and I'd scour the selection to find two novels at the $2.50 price point so I could get two for five bucks (plus tax).

Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was one of the first I purchased and I recall loving it. When I eventually saw the story, it paled a bit in the effects department and I've always found the portion where the robot actually grows to feel like it's padding out the story to its proper running time.

The plastic tank is silly, yes. The CSO is terrible. And yet, I still kind of like this one

[Michael]

Listening to the episode and the conversation about Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. My memory may be cheating here, but I think she features in Moffat's Target adaptation of Day of the Doctor.