saoki's review
2.0
This is a very uneven book, possibly because it's a novelization. There is a distinct difference in tone between the classic UNIT-era story and the fragmented, too-intimate way it is told. Do I really need to know about a secondary character's childhood trauma in order to appreciate her actions in a fighting scene? I don't think so, but the author seemed to believe it was necessary.
There is nothing specially wrong with the story, but it also doesn't gets high marks for originality. It probably flowed better as a film.
There is nothing specially wrong with the story, but it also doesn't gets high marks for originality. It probably flowed better as a film.
nwhyte's review
"http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1265647.html[return][return]Some time ago I watched the Doctor Who spinoff video Downtime, written by Marc Platt and directed by Christopher Barry, which unites the Brigadier, Sarah Jane Smith, Victoria Waterfield and the Yeti. Platt's extended novelisation, published as one of the Virgin Missing Adventures, is much better, with lots more background of Victoria's life after leaving the Tardis and of the Brigadier's later experiences; it also includes K9 and a young Captain Bambera. It even has some photos taken from the video, so you can pretend it was better than it was. And of course, being on paper rather than on screen, the effects can be as good as Marc Platt's words make them, and Peter Silverleaf's dismally poor acting is no longer a problem.[return][return]It's still a somewhat confusing story, but it is well enough told, and apart from the many moments of continuity joy it also has interesting seeds of the later Sarah Jane audio and TV stories. So I think I can generally recommend it to Who fans. I was able to get it for
pers's review
4.0
Downtime was every bit as good as I remember - hooray for the old gang of The Brig and Sarah Jane, and for his daughter, and Captain Bamberra (who ended up a Brigadier herself in 'Battlefield').
More...