Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast

By Tony Whitt

What's Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast about?

Welcome to the DOCTOR WHO TARGET BOOK CLUB PODCAST, the podcast in which we undertake the [insert adjective here] project of discussing, in story order, all of the DOCTOR WHO novelizations!

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Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast episodes:

06.16.2024
EP 155: ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN
Cybermen, Cryons, and cops – oh my! Add to all of that enough fanwank that the story should come with its own box of Kleenex, and you’ve got a recipe for a bad novelization. So how is it so...
06.02.2024
EP 154: THE TWIN DILEMMA
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Eric Saward’s books are a bit…much. So what is a band of jaded reviewers to do when Saward takes a turd like THE TWIN DILEMMA and polishes it until it’s…well, less of...
05.19.2024
EP 153: THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI
It’s considered not only one of the best but THE best story of the classic series. But can even Terrance Dicks translate the greatness that is THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI to the printed page? Come join Tony Whitt,...
04.28.2024
EP 152: TURLOUGH AND THE EARTHLINK DILEMMA
What do you think happened to Turlough and his brother Malcon went they went back to Trion after the events of PLANET OF FIRE? Well, whatever you guessed, you’re likely to be wrong – especially if you said anything...
04.07.2024
EP 151: PLANET OF FIRE
While we could have done an entire episode full of jokes about how the producer, the writer, and two stars in this story were “flamers,” we didn’t. (Besides, our host has no room to talk.) Instead, we came to have...
03.24.2024
EP 150: RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS
Eric Saward’s novelization of his 1984 was almost 40 years in the making. Was it worth the wait? …Seriously, we’re asking. Oh, and we read a much better version by Paul Scoones, too. Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes,...
03.09.2024
EP 149: PAUL SCOONES INTERVIEW
Why are there two novelizations of RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS – and why is only one of them any good? This time we discuss the fan version of the novelization with its author, Paul Scoones, to find out what led...
02.19.2024
EP 148: FRONTIOS
What could be worse than being sucked through the earth? Having our panelists make dirty jokes about it. (Heh. “Dirty” jokes.) Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and special guest J.G. McQuarrie as they discuss Christopher...
02.04.2024
EP 147: THE AWAKENING
What does Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel about a woman cheating on her husband before drowning herself have to do with a two-part DOCTOR WHO story from 1984? Absolutely f*ck all. Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and...
01.15.2024
EP 146: WARRIORS OF THE DEEP
Come on in, the water’s fine! Mind you, it’s infested with Sea Bases, Silurians, and Sea Devils, with the occasional foreign saboteur thrown in, but it’s still warmer than being on dry land in Chicago right now! Come join...
12.18.2023
EP 145: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD REDUX
It’s (still, barely) the 60th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO, and to celebrate, we’ve decided to take a little trip back in time ourselves, to discuss the novelization of the very first story of the series, AN UNEARTHLY CHILD! Come join...
12.03.2023
EP 144: (NEARLY) 60 YEARS OFF TARGET
It’s the 60th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO, and the moment has been prepared for! Well, mostly, if you consider a PowerPoint presented at Chicago TARDIS “preparing for” anything. Come join Tony Whitt and special guest Larry VanMersbergen as they...
11.23.2023
EP 143: HARRY SULLIVAN'S WAR
We’re back from hiatus, and it’s about time! Actually, this time it isn’t about time, for once. It’s about James Bond pastiches, mid-life crises, and both Freudian and Jungian interpretations of a plot that really makes no damn sense....
08.26.2023
EP 142: THE FIVE DOCTORS
One day we shall come back. Yes, we shall come back. But we’re going on hiatus until November, so you’ll just have to wait. Till then, there must be no tears, no regrets. Just join Tony Whitt,...
08.26.2023
EP 141: THE KING'S DEMONS
How did the Master seduce a young fan to the Dark Side using only a cricket ball? And why are the Doctor and Tegan suddenly so bitchy with each other? Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and special...
07.23.2023
EP 140: ENLIGHTENMENT
Ahoy there, landlubbers! Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and Alyson Fitch-Safreed as we discuss Barbara Clegg’s novelization of ENLIGHTENMENT, leading to questions about what Eternals actually do when they’re not existing, whether Turlough is really a developed character...
07.09.2023
EP 139: TERMINUS
Space pirates who look like gay 80s glam rockers! Shambling walking undead zombies! Exposition Patient Zero! Oh, and Nyssa leaves, too. Sounds like a hot mess, and on TV, it is. On the printed page…it’s something entirely different. Join...
06.25.2023
EP 138: MAWDRYN UNDEAD
When is a Time Lord not a Time Lord? When is an English schoolboy not an English schoolboy? And for the love of all that’s holy, when, oh when, were the UNIT stories actually set?! Come join Tony...
06.11.2023
EP 137: SNAKEDANCE
We can dance, we can dance, everybody’s taking the chance, it’s the Snakeydance! Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and Alyson Fitch-Safreed as we discuss the sequel no one was really asking for and how, just sometimes, the...
05.28.2023
EP 136: ARC OF INFINITY
Omega’s back, and it’s about…something or other in Amsterdam, apparently. What is the Arc, and why is it infinite? Does it have f**k all to do with the plot? And who thought that giant pile of chicken bones...
05.14.2023
EP 135: TIME - FLIGHT
It’s often been said that the main reason that TIME-FLIGHT is considered such a poor story is its utter lack of budget. But the wonderful thing about novelizations is that budget is no longer a consideration, and when a writer...
04.30.2023
EP 134: EARTHSHOCK
It’s the end of an era. Never again will we be able to make jokes about Matthew Waterhouse – at least, not any good ones, anyway. Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and special guest Jim...
04.16.2023
EP 133: BLACK ORCHID
In our newest episode, Tony gets lost in the walls of a stately manor, Dalton gets lost in the labrynthine rules of cricket, and special guest Jason Miller gets lost in showing us just how much his podcast and ours...
04.02.2023
EP 132: THE VISITATION
It’s the very first Peter Davison novelization, the very first novel by Eric Saward, and the very first photo cover that doesn’t suck. It’s also the very first appearance on our show of special guest Jim Sangster, as he, Tony...
03.19.2023
EP 131: KINDA
And you think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed... When Tegan takes a nap on an alien planet and wakes up in a bad mood, everyone has to deal with the consequences. Oh, and Matthew Waterhouse...
03.05.2023
EP 130: FOUR TO DOOMSDAY
Alyson claims she’s never heard Tony sputter with rage before this episode. (She has, but that’s beside the point.) Come join them and Dalton as the three discuss the sheer stupidity that is FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, made only nominally better...
02.19.2023
EP 129: CASTROVALVA
It’s the beginning, and the moment…ah, you get it. Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and special guest J.G. McQuarrie as we discuss Christopher H. Bidmead’s introduction to the Fifth Doctor, CASTROVALVA, and try to figure out...
12.23.2022
EP 128: K-9 AND COMPANY
It’s wintertime, when all of our fancies turn to snowmen, gifts under the tree, and sacrificing virgin boys to Hecate. OK, maybe not everyone does that last one, but “religious freedom,” right? Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton...
12.09.2022
EP 127: LOGOPOLIS
It’s Chicago TARDIS weekend (or rather, it was), and so it’s time for a special live recording to mark a special occasion in our podcast…the debut of the Cloister Bell! (JK, LOL, as the kids say.) Come join the discussion...
11.24.2022
EP 126: THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN
What exactly is it with the effed up society that Nyssa of Traken comes from? Maybe that weird figure in the Grove is doing us all a favor by getting rid of them all – but only if he also...
11.14.2022
EP 125: WARRIORS' GATE
What is going on in this story? If that’s something you’ve always wondered…well, the book will make it clearer, and maybe the discussion by Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and special guest Jennifer Picker might help. Might. ...
10.29.2022
EP 124: STATE OF DECAY
Get out your tourniquets and your butterfly syringes, and put those pesky crosses away – it’s time for the blood letting to commence! Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes try their damnedest to celebrate Halloween as they discuss Terrance...
10.02.2022
EP 123: FULL CIRCLE
EPISODE 123: FULL CIRCLE If Limahl had been cast as Adric, we could’ve made endless jokes about FULL CIRCLE being a Never-Ending Story. Instead, we get Matthew Waterhouse. F*ck. On the other hand, we also get Andrew Smith’s surprising novelization! Come...
09.18.2022
EP 122: MEGLOS
Can the puny minds of Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and Alyson Fitch-Safreed even conceive the power of Terrance Dicks’ novelization of MEGLOS? Make sure to bring your towel and some Band-aids (sticking plasters if you’re in the UK), because this...
09.05.2022
EP 121: THE LEISURE HIVE
We finally, and I mean FINALLY, begin looking at Tom Baker’s final season as the Doctor, as Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and special guest Jennifer Picker talk about the very last (and possibly very best) David Fisher novelization...
08.21.2022
EP 120: THE ANDROIDS OF TARA (NEW)
We join the Fourth Doctor on a fishing trip (a Fisher trip?) as Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and special guest Erik Gulbrandsen talk about the BBC Books Target release of David Fisher’s THE ANDROIDS OF TARA! Thrill to swashbuckling sword...
08.07.2022
EP 119: THE STONES OF BLOOD (NEW)
Was it really worth it for David Fisher to demonstrate how much he hated Terrance Dicks’ novelization of THE STONES OF BLOOD by going and writing his own? The only way you’re going to know (except by going out and...
07.21.2022
EP 118: PAUL SCOONES INTERVIEW
EPISODE 118: PAUL SCOONES INTERVIEW It’s rare that we ever get to talk to an author about a DOCTOR WHO novelization – it’s only happened once before – and now we get to do it again! This week, as a special...
07.03.2022
EP 117: SHADA
Why is it so much easier to successfully emulate Terrance Dicks than it is to emulate Douglas Adams? Maybe it’s easier to do when it’s a better Douglas Adams script, and SHADA…well… Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and special...
05.15.2022
EP 116: THE HORNS OF NIMON
There are times when a novelization can just about rehab even the most reviled story, and this is…almost one of those times. Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and guest panelist Jason Miller discuss the general horniness of the Nimon and why...
05.01.2022
EP 115: THE NIGHTMARE OF EDEN
After a long series of mishaps keeping us from recording, we finally get to the one story we’ve been looking forward to for months now. Just kidding – we’re discussing THE NIGHTMARE OF EDEN, a story that lives up...
04.10.2022
EP 114: DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS
In a new installment of TECHNICALLY TARGET, we tackle a book that’s neither a Target book nor a novelization of a televised story. Instead, we look at the novelization of the movie DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS by Alan...
03.22.2022
EP 113: CREATURE FROM THE PIT
EPISODE 113: CREATURE FROM THE PIT The cast is great, the writing is clever, the creature is…turgid. What’s not to like about CREATURE FROM THE PIT? Just about everything, really, even in book form. Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed,...
03.06.2022
EP 112: CITY OF DEATH
Or should that be CITIES OF DEATH? A TALE OF TWO CITIES OF DEATH? TWO CITIES, ONE CUP? Whatever it should be called, this is our long-awaited and much-delayed discussion of the two different novelizations of Douglas Adams’ acclaimed story....
02.06.2022
EP 111: DESTINY OF THE DALEKS
Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes start a new season of the podcast by talking about how awesome Lalla Ward is, how much the post-Davros Daleks suck, and whether there’s anything that screams 1979 more than Movellans do. Now...
01.23.2022
EP 110: THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR.
Can we please stop talking about the Key to Time now? Join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes as they discuss just how tired they are of segments, tracers, and shadows, and why Mary Tamm deserved so much better....
12.23.2021
EP 109: HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2021
Our usual gang of Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and Jenny Ingersoll decides to take a holiday break from the Target books to look at three short stories from the DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1980 – you know, the one with Romana...
12.19.2021
EP 108: THE POWER OF KROLL.
We resume our regular programming with a discussion of colonialism, Dalek p*rn, and Aunt Jemima syrup. Oh, and a giant squid god named Nick Kroll or something. Come join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and Jenny Ingersoll as we try to...
11.26.2021
EP 107: JUNIOR DOCTOR WHO AND...
Remember going to your elementary school’s book fair and seeing such exciting books as GOOSEBUMPS, NANCY DREW, VALLEY HIGH, and…JUNIOR DOCTOR WHO? Yeah, we don’t either. (The last one, we mean – those others were awesome!) Turns out...
11.14.2021
EP 106: THE ANDROIDS OF TARA
THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, with some androids thrown in? Yep, that’s about it, really – but can Terrance Dicks make a silk purse of a derivative sow’s ear? (Spoiler alert: No.) Join Tony Whitt, Dalton Hughes, and special guest, host...

What's Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast episodes:

EP 155: ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN

EP 154: THE TWIN DILEMMA

EP 153: THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI

EP 152: TURLOUGH AND THE EARTHLINK DILEMMA

EP 151: PLANET OF FIRE

EP 150: RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS

EP 149: PAUL SCOONES INTERVIEW

EP 148: FRONTIOS

EP 147: THE AWAKENING

EP 146: WARRIORS OF THE DEEP

EP 145: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD REDUX

EP 144: (NEARLY) 60 YEARS OFF TARGET

EP 143: HARRY SULLIVAN'S WAR

EP 142: THE FIVE DOCTORS

EP 141: THE KING'S DEMONS

EP 140: ENLIGHTENMENT

EP 139: TERMINUS

EP 138: MAWDRYN UNDEAD

EP 137: SNAKEDANCE

EP 136: ARC OF INFINITY

EP 135: TIME - FLIGHT

EP 134: EARTHSHOCK

EP 133: BLACK ORCHID

EP 132: THE VISITATION

EP 131: KINDA

EP 130: FOUR TO DOOMSDAY

EP 129: CASTROVALVA

EP 128: K-9 AND COMPANY

EP 127: LOGOPOLIS

EP 126: THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN

EP 125: WARRIORS' GATE

EP 124: STATE OF DECAY

EP 123: FULL CIRCLE

EP 122: MEGLOS

EP 121: THE LEISURE HIVE

EP 120: THE ANDROIDS OF TARA (NEW)

EP 119: THE STONES OF BLOOD (NEW)

EP 118: PAUL SCOONES INTERVIEW

EP 117: SHADA

EP 116: THE HORNS OF NIMON

EP 115: THE NIGHTMARE OF EDEN

EP 114: DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS

EP 113: CREATURE FROM THE PIT

EP 112: CITY OF DEATH

EP 111: DESTINY OF THE DALEKS

EP 110: THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR.

EP 109: HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2021

EP 108: THE POWER OF KROLL.

EP 107: JUNIOR DOCTOR WHO AND...

EP 106: THE ANDROIDS OF TARA

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