Prime Time (Doctor Who)

Rating:
Summary: Tune into Channel 400 for the new adventures of the Doctor
Review: Picking up a broadcast from Channel 400, the Doctor and Ace head to Blinni-Gaar to investigate how they received it. The natives of Blinni-Gaar are TV-addicted zombies, but the TV company has a very hidden agenda. As they investigate, Channel 400 announces its latest star - the Doctor himself!

Treading well-trodden ground ('Vengeance on Varos' is the best-known, but the novel 'Time of Your Life' is also up there), the novel takes a leaf out of the books of both 'The Truman Show' and 'Edtv', in the story it depicts.

Having said that, the book is a Doctor Who story, so there are alien menaces to be considered, threats to the lives and welfare of the inhabitants of Blinni-Gaar is a substantial consideration in the Doctor's plans.

This is Mike Tucker's first solo novel (his previous have been with co-author Robert Perry), and his style is confident. I would like to read another solo novel by him as I think this one lacked some of the zing the writing partnership had, but whether it is simply the nature of the story or Mr. Perry's absence remains to be seen.