Last entry I lamented, "Next up are more of those Doctor Who Annual short stories. Ugh." Here we go...
So now I am back at the Doctor Who Annuals. I was hoping that the people behind its publication finally had the writers watch the show as it was at the time but, alas, my hopes were dashed. The Zoe and Jamie of the illustrations bear no resemblance to Wendy Padbury nor Frazer Hines and, although the Doctor looks like Patrick Troughton, he still talks like William Hartnell. E.g. - "We've done it at last, children." And, after realizing that the TARDIS has landed on Earth, he denies being an alien with "We've come home!"
Uff da.
The TARDIS lands on Earth long, long ago. It's so hot and humid that Zoe compares the weather to a Turkish Bath because, well, I guess they had one on the Wheel. It may be the time of the dinosaurs, but there are apemen who have motorized watercraft that look like Higgins boats and energy weapons. With such out of place, yet handy, tech, they capture our heroes who are brought back to their village. An attack by an enemy tribe sees each side riding airborne dinosaurs that they call dragons shooting at one another and this provides an opportunity for our heroes to make and escape and flee back to the TARDIS.
That there were technologically advanced apemen way back before the apemen that are our ancestors is a fun conceit but still hokey. Also, Zoe asks if there were humans at this point in history when, I would think, she would know the answer. Certainly not a strong enough tale for me to forgive or at least ignore that the Doctor is written like Hartnell. Just another ephemeral close call.
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