‘Doctor Who: Planet of the Ood’- Keith Temple (Target/BBC Books)

Page Count: 167 Pages

I’ve always had a soft spot for the old ‘Doctor Who’ Target novelizations, I’m pretty sure that most of them taught me to read, and this has inevitably transferred into the new range. I say ‘new’, you know what I mean… ;o) Anyway. The new range comes with absolutely gorgeous cover art and gives me a little nostalgia buzz, just like I’m reading the old Target books as a kid. I can’t really ask for any more than that. Okay, they could be a little cheaper, ten quid for a book that’s only just over a hundred and sixty pages long? Hmmmm…. That page count really worked for me this weekend though, with not a lot of time to read and a thick old cold to fight. ‘Planet of the Ood’ it was then :o) Quick thoughts are the order of the day today; I’m still full of cold and I’ve got a lot to catch up on at work…

"The Ood came from a distant world, they voyaged across the stars, all for one purpose... to serve."

The TARDIS lands on the Ood-Sphere in the year 4126. Here, human profiteers have subjugated the Ood: the gentle creatures are forced into servitude and sold across the galaxy as the perfect slaves. But now, some are fighting back. Their eyes turn red as they throw off their chains and kill their oppressors...

The Doctor and Donna soon learn that the planet of the Ood holds cruel and awesome secrets. As they battle for justice and survival, the fate of the entire Ood race hangs in the balance. Will the outcome be salvation - or extinction?

‘Planet of the Ood’ is the show essentially giving the Doctor a chance to right a wrong that he never really got to deal with in the episodes ‘The Impossible Planet’ and ‘The Satan Pit’. The Ood are a slave race and something like that is like a red rag to a bull as far as the Doctor is concerned. The Ood should have been freed by the end of the two episodes but the Doctor was faced with a lot and by the time it was all sorted, the remaining Ood on the planet were all dead. Enter ‘Planet of the Ood’ then and a chance for the Doctor to redeem himself, just a little.

What does that mean for the novelisation then? Well, ‘Planet of the Ood’ is just the kind of ‘Doctor Who’ novelisation that I like to read. A more or less faithful retelling of the TV episode but with little insights into characters that broaden the scope. There are some little tweaks and additions here and there but these enhance the tale (in particular how far reaching the Ood revolution is) rather than detract. The novelisation doesn’t do an awful lot, with the plot, that is new but (in my opinion) the plot doesn’t need too much messing around with. The TV episode was a good one so it doesn’t need fixing really. It’s those little character insights that I’m here for though; especially with it being Donna’s first trip to an alien world. Temple really draws those moments out nicely and I should also mention how he gives us even more context by letting into the heads of selected Ood, adding another layer to the plot.

‘Planet of the Ood’ was just what I needed to see me through the weekend. A few well placed tweaks to an already decent plot made for a better reading experience overall.