Reviews

"One thing it is any writer's job to do in a book is to give characters background...but also a motivation. There is no indication in the TV version of Invasion of the Dinosaurs of why Butler is a baddy (his character in the book is a great deal stronger) but here he is given a brief moment of pathos that at least gives him a history: towards the end of the book, Sarah suggests, rather unkindly, that Butler could almost be good-looking if it wasn't for the jagged scar down his face, suggesting that he must like it because it makes him look tough. She asks if he got it fighting and he says that in fact he was a London Fire-fighter and in rescuing a little girl from a blazing house he fell thirty feet through a plate glass window. In an instant the author has given us an insight into Butler and whilst you can't condone his actions with Operation Golden Age, it is possible to feel a slight sympathy with him."
- "On Target", 'The Official Doctor Who Magazine' (number 91), August 1984

Miscellaneous

Malcolm Hulke

MALCOLM HULKE

Malcolm Hulke has written for the 'Doctor Who' television series since 1965. As well as seven 'Doctor Who' books, he has written several adult novels based on the television series 'Crossroads', and has recently completed Cassell's Parliamentary Dictionary, a new analytical guide.
The author lectures frequently at schools and professional gatherings on the subject of writing. He enjoys travelling abroad as a relaxation from writing, when time allows it.

Malcolm Hulke's first script contribution to Doctor Who was The Faceless Ones for Patrick Troughton's Doctor. This was followed by the epic The War Games (co-writen with Terrance Dicks), leading into a prolific run of adventures for Jon Pertwee's Doctor. He adapted all of his own scripts (with the exception of The Faceless Ones) and even adapted a script by Robert Sloman (The Green Death).

Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters
Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon
Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils
Doctor Who and the Green Death
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
Doctor Who and the Space War
Doctor Who and the War Games

Before he began his run of Who adaptations, he wrote, assisted by Terrance Dicks, The Making of Doctor Who for Pan books. It contained imaginative first person re-tellings of the Doctor's adventures from various "official" perspectives. The book was later rewritten and updated by Dicks for Target.
He was a prolific script writer, contributing tales to Danger Man, The Avengers (co-written with Terrance Dicks), Ghost Squad, Gideon's Way, Crossroads (the original series), The Protectors (1964), and Sergeant Cork as well as Doctor Who. He co-created (with Eric Paice) the science-fiction serials Target Luna, Pathfinders in Space, Pathfinders to Mars and Pathfinders to Venus. Also with Paice, he wrote the 1960 British black and white film, The Man in the Back Seat, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Derren (Tegana) Nesbitt and Keith Faulkner.

As well as adapting his Who serials, Hulke was also busy in the mid-70s adapting stories from the long-running British soap opera Crossroads. The books were A New Beginning (1974), A Warm Breeze (1975), Something Old, Something New (1976) and A Time for Living (1976), all Everest. The books were also published in hardback by White Lion, who, around the same time, had reprinted the original Frederick Muller Doctor Who novelisations with new Fourth Doctor covers.

Non-fiction included compiling Cassell's Parliamentary Dictionary and then in 1974, Hulke wrote Writing for Televison in the 70s, an indispensable handbook for those seeking to write successfully for the medium. This was reprinted in 1976 and reissued in 1980 as Writing for Television. Of particular interest to Doctor Who fans is the section on the making of Carnival of Monsters, and the contributions from Barry Letts, Robert Holmes, Terrance Dicks, Dennis Spooner and Peter Ling (there's also a retelling of the "real"-exploding-church-in-The-Daemons story).
He also devised and edited The Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine and Self-Help, published by Rider and Company in 1978.

In 1976 he spent six months in the USA researching a novel about an airship.

In 1977, Alpine Books released a series of six children's adventure books called Roger Moore and the Crime Fighters (yes, that Roger Moore - in 1977 he was at the height of his Bond acclaim). Alpine was an imprint of Everest Books Ltd line (who also published Hulke's Crossroads novelisations). The authors were Hulke, Robin Smyth, Fielden Hughes, Dulcie Gray, Deben Holt and Anthony Wall. The books were illustrated by Ray Mutimer. Hulke's contribution was The Siege, which was the first in the series. It tells how youngsters Bill, Bonnie and Darren foil an embassy siege and get invited by Roger Moore to form a crimefighters club. Of much interest (and fun) are the book's references to Doctor Who. Firstly, Darren's scruffy dog is called Dalek because his bark sounds like a Dalek saying "Exterminate", only worse. At the book's climax, the villain Grimwood goes to Studio 3 of the BBC Television Centre, where they just happen to be recording a certain SF show. Grimwood has gone to steal a policeman's uniform but he bumps into Roger Moore (!) who's suspicions are aroused when he reasons that Doctor Who probably doesn't require any policemen. The paperback edition had ISBN 0905018 354 and cost 50p.

In 1980 (after Hulke's death), UK publishers Purnell released Purnell's Book of Adventures in Space (SBN 461 044070, 1980), a large format hardback anthology of SF short stories. The contributors on the writing side were Hulke, Fred Baker, David Meredith, John Grant, William Hall, Sydney Bounds, George Beal and Jim Storrie. The book was richly illustrated by several artists including Target cover artist Andrew Skilleter. Hulke wrote six of the short stories and Skilleter illustrated six also, but a story called Mutiny was the only joint collaboration. The book was also released in America as Galactic Adventures, published by Rand McNally. It had SBN 528 82374 4 and was released in 1980. The cover was painted by by Brian Edwards.
(Cover scan of Purnell's Book of Adventures in Space courtesy of Jon Preddle)
Malcolm Hulke died on the 6th of July 1979.

---

Countries

USA

The American Pinnacle edition was number 3 in the series and incorrectly identifies the Doctor as being in his fourth incarnation in its introduction. It was first printed in May 1979. It was reprinted right up until 1989 with minor alterations to the cover throughout the run. The books featured an introduction by SF author Harlan Ellison.

Number 4 in the series was Genesis of the Daleks.

Cover artist: David Mann
1979 Pinnacle edition