Publication Information
Author: Philip Hinchcliffe
Cover artist: Chris Achilleos / Chris Achilleos (Star) / David Mann (Pinnacle)
Publishing date: 17th February 1977 Episode Information
TV serial: The Seeds of Doom
Writer: Robert Banks Stewart
Transmission Dates: 31st January - 6th March 1976 (6 episodes) Fact and Findings
Hinchcliffe was producer for this particular story. This was his first novelisation, followed by Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora (which he also produced) and Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus.
Classic chapter title - Death Stalks the Camp (and, for a beginner, a satisfying 2/12 on the exclamatiometer!)
First edition cover price - 50p
The original Target edition was published by Tandem / Wyndham. It was reprinted in 1982. The ISBN throughout was 0 426 11658 5.
The Allan Wingate hardback edition followed in March the same year. The dustjacket featured the same Achilleos artwork, the spine and blank backcover were white. The ISBN was 85523 161 0 and the cost was £2.50. The inside leaf expands on the paperback's revelation that the KRYNOID is from an alien world, enticing readers in with the more lurid world where the plants eat the animals!
Later editions were numbered 55 in the Doctor Who library.
Paired with Doctor Who and the Deadly Assassin, this was released by Star Books as one of their Doctor Who Classics series in May 1989. Cover Data
The Target edition only ever had the one cover by Chris Achilleos. It features Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, cowering from the Krynoid. It was the last time Achilleos drew the fourth Doctor in black and white. Foreign Editions
Pinnacle Books released the novel in America in March 1980 as number 10 in their series. The second printing was in February 1981 (ISBN 0 523 41620 2). The sixth printing came in December 1989 (ISBN 1 55817 297 1, $3.50). Reviews
"There was quite a lot of detail missed out in this book, which was unfortunate but the book holds up nevertheless. What I thought was absolutely disastrous was the omission of Emilia Ducate (sic), possibly the best supporting character in a Doctor Who story for many years! One lousy mention, that's all. Sacrilege!"
- Keith Miller, 'Doctor Who Digest' (volume 1 number 5), May 1977UK Editions
The Target editions were published as follows:
1977, 17th February (first edition, Tandem, Achilleos cover, red curve logo, white spine, colour Target, Wyndham W on back, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, 50p)*
1979, 15th February (W. H. Allen, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, 60p)
1980 (W. H. Allen, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, 75p)
1982 (W. H. Allen, Achilleos cover, red curve logo, white spine, colour Target, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, £1.25)*
1984 (W. H. Allen, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, £1.35)
1987 (W. H. Allen, ISBN 0 426 11658 5, £1.95)
* copy in site owner's personal collectionMiscellaneous
Author
PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE
Philip Hinchcliffe was born in 1944, and educated at Slough Grammar School and Pembroke College, Cambridge.
After a short spell of teaching, the author entered television in 1968. There he worked in ITV as script editor, story editor and producer on a variety of programmes. Since 1974 he has been with the BBC, as a producer.
Philip Hinchcliffe is married with two young children and lives near Windsor.
Hinchcliffe produced seasons 12, 13 and 14 of Doctor Who, between 1974 and 1977 before moving on to Target, starring Patrick Mower. His three Doctor Who books were his only foray into the world of literature.
Doctor Who and the Seeds of Doom
Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora
Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus
He continued to oversee TV productions (Private Schultz, Strangers and Brothers, The Charmer, Bust, Downwardly Mobile) and produced the films An Awfully Big Adventure, starring Hugh Grant, and Total Eclipse, starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Recently he has acted as executive producer on a number of productions, including Taggart.
Hinchcliffe returned to the Doctor Who fold in 2000, since when he has provided audio commentaries for a number of Who DVD releases.
Star
Doctor Who and the Seeds of Doom was paired with Doctor Who and the Deadly Assassin and released as one of Star Books' Doctor Who Classics range in May 1989. It cost £2.95 and had ISBN 0 352 32416 3. The Classics series stretched over 12 months and saw releases for each of the first four Doctors. The books were made by fixing together two of the Target books with a new front page and wraparound cover.
Cover artist: Chris Achilleos
1989 Star Classics edition
Other Countries
USA
Pinnacle Books released the novel in America in March 1980 as number 10 in their series. The second printing was in February 1981 (ISBN 0 523 41620 2). The sixth printing came in December 1989 (ISBN 1 55817 297 1, $3.50). This was the final Pinnacle adaptation. In the early eighties, W. H. Allen had arranged for distribution of Target books in the USA and so there was no continuing need for these translations.
Cover artist: David Mann
1980 Pinnacle edition