Doctor Who: Rose review (Target novelization)

Very recently, brand new novelizations of major Doctor Who stories have been released. This week, we’re reviewing the novelization of the first story of the New Series, Rose.

Target was once a much loved brand. Novelizing exclusively Doctor Who stories, these books were hugely popular for fans back in the Seventies and Eighties. This wasn’t just because this was one of the only ways for fans to enjoy Doctor Who stories that they had missed in a pre-video age.

These novelizations also provided different or alternative versions to the original stories. Sometimes, this would be a simple expansion of the plot, fleshing out characters and key details better. Other times, it would almost be a completely different take on it altogether.

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Out of these two approaches, Russell T Davies went with the former when he wrote the novelization of his own episode, Rose. It’s not surprising, either. Rose is a pretty good introduction to Doctor Who, and it got the revival off to a good start. It may not be the best story compared to what came later, but it did the job well. And it was hugely exciting to watch as a Whovian back in 2005.

New Series tribute

Reading the novelization brings some of that excitement back. It makes Rose feel completely new all over again. As previously mentioned, it doesn’t change the story in major ways. But Russell T Davies does a great job of adding to it. Not just by expanding the story, but by adding in nice little touches from all over the New Series.

For example, characters and events from later eras are referenced throughout. Little nods and jokes are made to major arcs. Not just from Davies’s era, but to Moffat’s too.

Perhaps the biggest example is the chapter focused on conspiracy theorist Clive and his shed. Without giving too much away, Russell T Davies focuses on a lot of mythology in this chapter. Not just established mythology, but also possible glimpses of what’s to come. (And how bad the JFK photoshop was gets acknowledged, too. Seriously, even thirteen years ago, it was clearly awful.)

Russell does a great job of including many references, and making Rose feel like the perfect tribute to everything the New Series has achieved. But he also does a great job of avoiding to overload the story with them and changing the original story too much. They enhance Rose rather than take anything away from it.

Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC Image obtained from www.doctorwho.tv

Expanding the story

One other key thing Russell does is to flesh out and develop a lot of the story of Rose itself. He does this by exploring many, many characters across the novelization. You realize how much Russell is fleshing out when you see who the very first character is in the book.

Whether they featured in the original episode, or even if they’re completely new, Russell explores the lives and thoughts of many characters spread across Rose, both major and minor. It adds a lot to the story. His exploration of both Clive and his family add a lot of emotional depth, especially.

There’s one other way Rose is different to the original TV episode. It’s a lot more violent. Surprisingly so, actually. There are some incredibly graphic deaths, particularly during the Auton invasion. It’s quite surprising, especially when the rest of the book is so family friendly.

Target tribute

However, considering that some Target novelizations were guilty of aiming for more graphic violence than the television stories could get away with, it’s very possible that this is simply a nice tribute to those original books.

And that’s something else Rose is. It’s not just a great tribute to the New Series, but also to Target books. Russell T Davies really does stick with the really basic format and storytelling of many of those original books. Throughout, the chapters are short, and the story is told in a simple and easy way. It’s an approach that works really well.

Overall, if you’re a fan of either the original episode, or of Target novelizations, then Rose is highly recommended. It gives a completely fresh perspective on a significant piece of Doctor Who history. And the writing makes it a really easy read. A great entry in the series of Target books.

Next: The Wrath of the Iceni review (Fourth Doctor audio)

Have you read Rose or other Doctor Who novelizations? Do you have fond memories of the original TV episode? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.