Doctor Who: The Myth Makers [Audio Download]

Pretend you're at the Siege of Troy right now. You have just seen Achilles slay Hector. You know that the subterfuge with the Trojan Horse is soon to follow. But there is a change. You suddenly hear a loud groaning hum. A small light appears. With it, a wooden blue police telephone box. You stare in amazement as it all appears before your eyes. The TARDIS has arrived.

Based on the television serial of the same name, Doctor Who: The Myth Makers sets the Doctor and his companions Steven and Vicki to one of the most infamous wars of ancient history. Unfortunately, none of this serial exists anymore, save for a few seconds of footage. The only way you're going to know the events at this point of time is to read this book. Anyway, the Doctor is the first to exit the TARDIS and is believed by the Greeks (most of them) to be Zeus, because of the way the TARDIS appeared. Steven goes out after him while Vicki remains behind. The TARDIS however is found by Paris and he orders his men to carry it into Troy. Vicki comes out and is assumed to be a priestess of power, much to the displeasure of the city's high priestess Cassandra.

At the Greek camp, the Doctor's disguise is soon foiled and he is forced by King Agammemnon and hero Odysseus to construct a means of ensuring their victory over the Trojans. King Priam expects a similar thing of Vicki by predicting what the Greeks are going to do, and renames her Cressida. Steven aims to rescue them both, with the the willing help of one Greek poet named Homer, the legendary author of epics The Illiad aoctornd The Odyssey. The heroes must now work on separate sides to rejoin one another and return to the TARDIS. It will not be easy, as one of them faces an agonising choice. And when that choice is made, it is the Doctor who pays the price.

Doctor Who: The Myth Makers. The television episodes that make up the story are a myth within themselves as with also being lost celluloid they are as per usual told from the points of view from the TARDIS crew members. With the book however it is told completely from the viewpoint of Homer as he is relaying it to an audience much later in his life. So are you willing to see the story of the fall of Troy in a new light, told by the man who wrote two great epics about it, with the characters we all know and love from a science fiction television program? Or are you afraid to have an adventure with a history you believe you already know? Well, this is my opinion. Always ready for a new adventure with... DOCTOR WHO!!!

This is another enjoyable release in the range of audiobook versions of the Target range of DOCTOR WHO novelisations first released in the 1970s and 1980s. THE MYTH MAKERS was one of the later entries in the range and is a rather loose adaptation, by the original author, of his own television episodes, but they are adapted in such a way that I think he in many ways manages to improve upon them. Whilst it is undoubtedly the early Target novelisations that were amongst the strongest in the entire range, this release certainly gives them a run for their money.

Basically, the story is told from the point of view of the aged and blind poet Homer, reworking parts of his works late in his life. In earlier versions of his tales, he realises that he completely failed to mention the part the occupants of a certain Blue Police Box played in the fall of Troy, and now he wants to set the record straight. Or maybe he's just decided to "reimagine" his early works to maximise his profits...? Whatever the reason, when The Doctor (in white-haired old man mode), Steven and Vicki emerge from one of Zeus's portable temples at a crucial moment in the battle between Hector and Achilles, events start to unfold at a rapid pace and (after the dismissal of other notable plans) a certain legendary horse tends to reluctantly become a racing certainty of playing a pivotal role in history.

You might have been led to believe that the early years of DOCTOR WHO are a little slow and humourless, but this version is far from either, as it positively rattles along over its 4 CD running time and Donald Cotton has fashioned an amusing and witty take on his original that in many ways surpasses it. At times this is just very, very funny, and any student of the classics would find a lot to enjoy in this jolly spin on the usual myths and legends with its knowing nods and winks towards other literary works and some of the most excruciating puns you're ever likely to come across.

Stephen Thorne narrates in a jaunty and avuncular manner and his various characterisations - with the occasional Somerset (?) burr - employed throughout are great fun. Actually it is his performance that really makes this release. His Doctor Who performances (Azal in "The Daemons; Omega in "The Three Doctors") tended towards the "booming evil villain" end of his range, so his approach here is a rather pleasing revelation.

By the way, if you do want to experience the original version of this story, the television version is probably lost forever, but the audio soundtrack CDs of the original episodes have been released by BBC Audio. However, that release also is rather unfortunately titled "Doctor Who - The Myth Makers", so you'd better be sure which version you're after when you order.

The prospect of spending an hour and a half with Doctor Who, especially the Hartnell black and white vintage, and not even on television, but some off-air recording of a 'junked' story, tarted up by a bit of narration, can't fill many people's hearts with excitement. So, I assume, this release is meant for the die-hard fans. The same people who dismiss this, and the writer's other contribution to the programme, The Gunfighters, as among the worst stories ever in the series, and you can imagine the stiff competition. So, who is this meant to appeal to? Anyone with a sense of fun and an appreciation of clever dialogue. Set during the Trojan War, the story rattles along with a casual disregard for historical, or literary, accuracy and is all the better for it. The events are restructured to fit the Doctor Who world in the same way that Shakespeare was more interested in telling a good story, than give a history lesson. Featuring a line up of stage and screen stars, notably Max Adrian as King Priam and Francis de Wolff as Agamemnon, this is still Hartnell's show. Seeming to delight in the freedom from technobabble and the historical stories usual forced gravitas, he puts in a comedy performance the right side of tongue-in-cheek and send-up, something that future Doctors could have done well to echo. The story is by no means light, especially the more down-beat final episode, and it contains a fair amount of Doctor Who 'business', namely the departure of a long-standing companion. Not being made for an audio-medium, however wordy the script, can make listening to an adaptation of this sort hard work. Although cleaned up magnificently, these amateur mono recordings are of poorer quality than would normally be expected of a professional product. Still, due praise should be given to the fan who had the foresight to record it way back in 1965. And boos and hisses to the BBC for not recognising the programmes significance. This is never going to appeal to anyone but a Who-fan or TV nostagist but it does deserve a better reputation even amongst that scene. And a wider appreciation too.