Doctor Who and the War Games (novelisation)

Novelisation

 * This novelisation is based on the original television serial DW:  The War Games  which was shown from 19th April 1969 and written by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks
 * The cover and information shown on the right is for the original Target novel and featured the artwork of John Geary. (See below for information on other UK and international editions which published with a different cover).
 * Hulke was allowed only 143 pages in which to adapt a 10-episode story. By comparison, the later novelisation of The King's Demons, a two-episode story, runs 10 pages longer than this book.

1979 edition
Mud, barbed wire, the smell of death… The year is 1917 and the TARDIS had materialised on the Western Front during the First World War. Or had it? For very soon the Doctor found himself pursued by the soldiers of Ancient Rome; and then he and his companions were reliving the American Civil War of 1863. And was this really Earth, or just a mock-up created by the War Lords? As Doctor Who solves the mystery, he has to admit he is faced with an evil of such magnitude that he cannot combat it on his own - he has to call for the help of his own people, the Time Lords. So, for the first time, it is revealed who is Doctor Who - a maverick Time Lord who `borrowed’ the TARDIS without permission. By appealing to the Time Lords he gives away his position in Time and Space. Thus comes about the Trial of Doctor Who…

1990 edition
I think we have arrived in one of the most terrible times in the history of the Earth... Mud. Barbed wire. The smell of death. The year is 1917 and the TARDIS has materialized on the Western Front during the First World War. Or has it? Escaping from execution by firing squad, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe meet charioteers from Ancient Rome, Georgian Redcoats, and Confederates from the American Civil War. Someone - someone as knowledgeable as the Doctor himself - has created a simalcrum of Earth, and has gathered soldiers from every era of the planet's bloody history. And someone is playing war games. This adventure was first broadcast on television in 1969. It marked the end of Patrick Troughton's tenure of the role of the Doctor, and it revealed for the first time something of the Doctor's past and of his fellow Time Lords. This novelization, first published in 1979, is by Malcolm Hulke, one of the writers of the original television script. Doctor Who - The War Games is available as a BBC Video and will be broadcast on BSB television during 1990.

Book Chapters
01 - Sentence of Death 02 - Escape 03 - The Time Mist 04 - Back to the Chateau 05 - The War Room 06 - The Process 07 - The Security Chief 08 - Battle for the Chateau 09 - The Trap 10 - Fall of the War Chief 11 - The Trial of Doctor Who

Illustrations

 * Contains no illustrated pages

Deviations from the Televised Story

 * The crude space-time machines have a name: SIDRAT's. This name was actually used in the production material for the serial (a blueprint identified as a SIDRAT is included as a DVD-ROM bonus feature on the DVD release) and even appeared in dialogue on one occasion. The novelisation reveals the word is an acronym for Space and Inter-time Directional Robot All-purpose Transporter.
 * Given that Hulke had only 144 pages to cover 10 episodes, much of the original story has been condensed.

Author, Writing and Publishing Notes

 * This was the final novelisation written by Malcolm Hulke. It was not published until October 1979, three months after his death.

Publishing History (UK)
To be added

First Publication:
 * Hardback
 * W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK


 * Paperback
 * Target

Re-issues:
 * 1990 Virgin Publishing with a new cover by Alistair Pearson priced £2.99 (UK)

International Editions
To be added

External Sources

 * The Target Book by David J Howe (Telos Publishing 2007)
 * On Target a comprehensive guide to the Target novelisations by Tim Neal