Doctor Who: Enlightenment

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #85

by Barbara Clegg

In response to a warning of great danger given by the White Guardian, the Fifth Doctor sets new co-ordinates and the TARDIS materialises on the heaving deck of an Edwardian racing yacht.

But the Doctor soon discovers that this is no ordinary yacht-and no ordinary race. Captain Striker is competing for an unusual prize-"Enlightenment."

The crew will be lucky to reach port safely-but with such a prize would they be lucky to win?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel, Fantasy, Ebooks

127 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 24, 1984

About the author

Barbara Diana Clegg was a British actress and scriptwriter for television and radio.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novelization of the fifth serial of the twentieth season of Doctor Who, which featured the fifth version of The Doctor along with companions Tegan and Turlough. It was broadcast in March of 1983. Barbara Clegg wrote the book, which is an adaptation of her own teleplay, and is most especially notable for being the first Doctor Who novelization written by a woman, not to mention that it was also the first episode of the show to have been written by a woman. The story is also the conclusion of a three-story arc within the series, and Clegg did a good job of summarizing the players and positions. The story sees the TARDIS team involved in a race of space yachts, the prize being the titular Enlightenment. The Black and White Guardians are once again manipulating much of the action, and while that was never one of favorites plot devices, I thought Clegg carried it off well. Too, the show as broadcast had rather sub-standard effects (you'll see that the book cover has a clipper sailing ship in deep space wearing a giant chandelier), and reading her well-delivered descriptions enhanced the original. It's a rather fun story, and though Tegan doesn't accomplish much, it may well be Turlogh's finest hour.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Superior beings do not punish inferiors...we use them...kindly."

5th Doctor, Tegan, Turlough

The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough land on what they thought was an Edwardian ship. But in fact turned out to be a spaceship, which is taking part in a boat race organised by The Eternals.

This is the last of the Black Guardian trilogy, where we see that both the black and white guardians have been manipulating throughout. Affecting Turlough and his internal battle he has been having within the last three stories. I thought it was written well and Clegg only added a couple of subtle extra changes to the story but mainly stuck to what was actually seen in the tv episode.

[Lissibith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightenment -- a tale where The Doctor has to stop the participants in a space race from winning the ultimate prize -- is one of my favorite sets of episodes in classic Doctor Who. It's not because it's objectively good, but I just love the concept here. I love the idea of these timeless gods holding ridiculous races in space just because it beats the endless nothingness of their existence. I love the restrictions they put on that race. I like the idea of the Doctor being there on orders and having a good idea at the beginning of what outcome he needs, but not really being sure how to get there. I like the sense that the prize makes. The script let the idea down, but the actors and the production team did the best they could, and I just really enjoy it.

So while my ultimate grade here is 2.5 stars, it's rounding up to 3 because of all that.

As an adaptation, this is fairly thorough. In fact, it's almost a transliteration of the events of the episodes themselves. And while in a way that's good, it's also a big part of the problem.

Doing a novelization of something from an audio or video source gives you a unique opportunity. While you can do internal monologues in audio or video, it's something you have to set up, and it's something you have to sacrifice some of your runtime to. But a novel adaptation of such a thing doesn't face that same limitation. You can really get into the headspaces of characters. Examine motivations. Even if you want to go beat for beat along the thing you're adapting, you can flesh these things out. And it's a real shame that mostly, this one just ... doesn't most of the time.

Still, as an adaptation, I would probably have been tempted to give it like 3.5 stars if it were better written. Or ... better edited maybe? I wonder if there was some sort of length limit they had. That would actually make a lot of sense. Like, there are weird things where multiple characters are talking and acting in the same paragraph. The narrative skips from brain to brain in a third-person omniscient whirlwind that on more than one occasion left me confused about who was saying or doing things. There are also times when it felt like the narrative kind of got bored with parts of scenes and just sort of shouldered past them to get on to the next thing -- which again makes me wonder if there was some sort of length limit.

For all of this, I did enjoy the read and the book has a place on my shelf. Like I said, this is a story that I enjoyed in live action despite its issues. And the book didn't get quite there for me, but I've got a soft spot for the attempt. :)

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

WRITTEN BY A WOMAN WOOOOO CLAPPING & CHEERING !! actually i really like this episode & the novelization was nice & i like how tegan is just so done with it the entire time and wow turlough really is gay for the doctor. like damn. okay buddy. but yeagh i really like this one its nice :)





like i really cannot understate how much gayer turlough is in the book he's all like. begrudgingly admitting he does actually like the doctor & want to be around him. like in the episode you cant tell as much. anyways. vislor turlough he/they bi icon i guess

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of chapter three bought back vivid memories of the episode one cliffhanger, which blew my tiny mind back when I was a boy.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1060883.html#cutid6[return][return]I had been looking forward to this, having enjoyed the original version very much, and for most of the book I appreciated the little extra bits of detail Clegg brought to the narrative - it's a story where both companions do unusually well in terms of characterisation. Oddly at the very end it completely ran out of steam. The broadcast version's studied but attractive ambiguities over who has actually been thrown off Wrack's ship, and what Turlough's choice actually is, completely fail to transfer to the printed page. There are ways of doing this, but Clegg was obviously unable to do more than transcribe what was on the screen. A disappointing end to what had been a promising book.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightenment (1984) by Barbara Clegg is the novelisation of the final of three Doctor Who serials with Turlough being impelled by the Black Guardian to kill the Doctor.

The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough land on a ship which is racing against other sailing ships. The officers are Eternals, beings that are immortal but that can only do things by looking at the minds of others. To pass their time and to try and win enlightenment various Eternals race ships against each other. It’s an amusing concept and nicely bonkers.

Enlightenment is regarded as one of the best serials of the Peter Davison era. The book works reasonably well and it’s fairly entertaining.

[Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Who – Enlightenment, by Barbara Clegg. Target, 1984. Number 85 in the Doctor Who Library. 127 pages, paperback. ISBN: 0-426-19537-X. Original script by Barbara Clegg, BBC 1983.

This adventure features the 5th Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough. It is the final chapter of the Black Guardian Trilogy.

The crew of the TARDIS attempt to answer what appears to be a message. Only the Doctor seems to know who the messenger is. The find themselves on, what by all appearances seems to be, an Edwardian yacht in a race against other ships outfitted to resemble ships from different eras. Even the officers and crew are costumed in period clothes.

Of course, things are not as they appear. To their collective horror, they discover that the ships are in space, and that each of the ships and respective crew have been plucked out of time. Only the offices aren't human. They are Eternals, beings who exist in the wastes of eternity. The race is a diversion for them, something to use to fill the emptiness inside them. The prize? Enlightenment.

But there is another element involved. The Black Guardian has an Eternal ally. And Turlough, as his agent, has a decision to make: destroy the Doctor or die.

Enlightenment is one of my favorites from the 5th Doctor's era. The repeated Edwardian theme works well for this Doctor, of course. I think Clegg's retelling of her own script in novel form didn't miss a beat. She keeps the pace fairly even throughout and kicks it up where she needs to. The cliffhangers work well. Her characterizations remain true and consistent.

I thought Turlough's dilemma and slow realization that he actually likes the Doctor and can't bring himself to kill him is portrayed well in the novelization. To me, First Mate Mariner doesn't come off as quite as creepy in the book but Captain Wrack is just as much the larger-than-life character in the book as she is on screen.

Doctor Who - Enlightenment is a good novelization of a good story. Highly recommend.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between a 4 and a 5 for me - quite a fun read this one, seems quite a different tale, with the Eternals being quite a different species for the Doctor to encounter and deal with, coming across as very alien as such. The circumstances of the story add to that as well, being an interesting and fun scenario, with some quite good scenes interspersed throughout.
While the Doctor is in good form as usual here, this is quite a strong one for Turlough and Tegan as well I think - giving the resolution to this Black Guardian arc and character development for Turlough, while giving Tegan quite a different situation to deal with as well - in some respects this is more a Turlough and Tegan story than a Doctor story, but has been build up to well throughout this Black Guardian arc.
The various one off and returning characters are good as well, adding nicely to the plot and to the various interactions, building to an overall pretty good story.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 2 out of 5]

These older Doctor Who books are a hard read at times because they can get pretty weird or pretty hokey. This story was super weird and I can only wonder what the TV show writers were thinking when they brought this story into being. I'm not fully versed on the whole Turlough story, but it's clear he doesn't start out as one of the Doctor's better companions. At the very least, this book is a key moment for him - maybe even a turning point.

The squabbles between the Black and White Guardians is also a weird recurring bit and one that I'm not sure I really like. Maybe it was a bigger deal during the year of its debut, but for now it's still more odd and a little disruptive of the larger Doctor Who story, if you get what I mean.

[David Rough · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those fans of the Classic series of Doctor Who, this sci-fi novelette will bring back memories. Based on an episode starring Peter Davidson as the Fifth Doctor, the doctor and his companions (Tegan and Turlough) find themselves on the deck of an Edwardian racing yacht. The race involves cosmic forces and fantastic rewards.

This work is not the best sci-fi I have ever read, not the most nail-biting adventure on the market, but it is entertaining. I have put some more Doctor Who paperbacks on my reading list.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always liked this episode of DW, so reading the book was a treat. There is something fun about the visual of sailing ships in space. Plus, I like the plot with the Eternals. I kind of wish DW would bring them back. I am also glad that this story marks the end of the Black Guardian and Turlough arc. I like Turlough but I find the plot arc to be tiresome. Tegan is one of my favorite companions and this story features her quite a bit which is also a bonus. All in all, it's a good story.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much akin to the novelization of its fellow 5th Doctor stablemate "The Awakening": an adaptation that is very faithful to its source, but given just enough enhancement by its original author to add some extra detail & satisfaction. It certainly makes one wish that Barbara Clegg had her name on even more episodes during the 1980s.

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clegg, the first woman to write for Who, produces a lovely blend of SF and Cosmic Fantasy here. Subtly arch, it uses the regulars in a way we don’t often see in these books, hinting at their past and inner lives more than usual. Unfortunately, the page constraints of the range at the time constrict what could have been a fantastic retelling, rendering it merely ‘quite good.’

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com...

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. I've always loved the Fifth Doctor and Tegan

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better than usual novelisation - that improves on the televised story.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, fast read, and a good interpretation of the shows! I really enjoyed it.

[Ivana Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable adaptation of a great Davison story. And the cover of the book is much better than a lot of the preceding 5th Doctor stories have been, too.

[David Layton · Rating 2 out of 5]

In its TV production, "Enlightenment" was like several other Davison-period serials, larger in conception than the BBC were capable of producing. At least in one respect it was very successful - namely in bringing the "Black Guardian" story arc to a close (we can all be thankful for that). This one is very much a Turlough-oriented story. Turlough was the first of the complex companions. Others may have provided some challenges for the Doctor, notably Leela and Romana, but Turlough was the first whose history and motivations allowed for writers to develop beyond one-dimensionality. This story is one of the better ones in this regard, bringing complexity to Turlough's character.

On the down side, Barbara Clegg, the original scriptwriter, has taken the Terrance Dicks approach to novelising the script. It is a brisk read through mostly dialogue, with only a few very basic descriptive and analytical passages. Clegg missed an opportunity here to fill in gaps left in the TV version. Thus, none of the descriptions has the grandeur or elegance or detail that can separate a novel from a TV production. It reads as if one is simply getting a description of what was on the TV screen.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big cosmic story, as the Tardis crew gets caught up in a race of ships all captained by a race of Eternals and crewed by human captives from other eras.
It also wraps the sub-plot involving the Black and White Guardians.
Some great scenes with Turlough and cute sub-plot when one of the Eternals gets a crush on Tegan.

Shame we never saw the Eternals again in a story. They were interesting and the lady Pirate would have made an interesting reoccurring bad guy.

[Sharon]

N

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3

An easy reading adaptation of the tv story.
Long since I saw this particular one but it didn’t feel like very was added to the plot by the author, could be wrong there though.

[Bryan Frazier]

I finished this book in a single day !! It is just that good !! The story was good , and the ending provides several tense moments !! The Doctor and his companions , Turlough and Tegan , try to keep a notorious Lady Captain named Captain Wrack from winning the race for enlightenment via mass murder !! I recommend this book !!