Warmonger

"I'm not sure what I'd do with an army..."

I've just finished Warmonger. It’s an interesting idea, but I don’t buy Peri as a guerilla leader. Peri is the archetypal DW companion. She’s very nice, but not too smart, and very good at being kidnapped and screaming a lot. Even out of the ankle-twisters, she’s one of the more useless ones. Now there are some companions which this would be an even weirder development for - Jo Grant is one, so is K-9.
Peri gives the impression she can take care of herself, but she's not this gung ho. Although I did amuse myself by thinking of her in short-cut commando gear, as the production company would inevitably put her into. Think of it in canonical terms - this is still pre-Caves, remember, in which she's back in "being rescued" mode. She shows some military kno-how in Mindwarp, but only because her cohorts are so useless; and she still thinks heels are the best footwear for alien planets. I think it would have been interesting for Nyssa - I could buy her as a great military tactician and capable young woman, despite her youth and innocence (Ace could have too, but she's a bit obvious - I wouldn't be surprised if there was something of this sort in a NA I haven't got around to; Leela too could have had a good go, but then 4 and 7 would have made less interesting Supremos - see below) At least the book stays true to Peri's most endearing characteristic, both of them - she still gets dribbled on by everyone in the galaxy :/

But pre-Caves is also the redeeming feature from the Doctor's point of view, because it makes sense in the character shift I've noticed between it and Planet of Fire. That episode has him on the verge of a moral breakdown -in Caves, he's scarily efficient. Peri comments that he's changed during Warmonger - its a change I buy in light of those two episodes. It fills that canonical gap quite nicely. And plus, giving the Doctor an army makes a mockery of his claim to Davros that he wouldn't know what to do with one; nicely in keeping with Tegan saying she couldn't kill anyone, then trying to knife the Master two episodes later, or the Master claiming the Doc's moral scruples would prevent him from using the TCE before he uses it on Kamelion. Other than that idea, his character isn't particularly well caught, but it is nice that some authors will let 5 command an army instead of assuming he's too wet. Yes, it's far easier to imagine pretty much any other Doctor as a military genius, but that doesn't mean this is an impossible scenario. This is a brilliant explanation of how the guy responsible for all those well meant season 21 botch ups can become the rather more efficient and pragmatic Sixth (not to mention egotistical). Apparently, this was meant to be 6 and Peri. If it had been, I would have liked it far less - because Peri's character would still have annoyed me, and a belligerent 6 would have been tediously conventional instead of an interesting attempt.

I think it's adorable that heading an army for a whole year is the Doctor's idea of "I'm not going to get involved". However, I still think its irresponsible for him to abandon the army like that at the end - he has the chance to unite the races, and keep them out of trouble - at least for a bit. Instead, commanderless, they'll fall to fighting each other immediately, and go back to conquering the universe. A bit like 6 turning down the presidency at the end of Trial - there's liking your freedom, and then there's just being daft. After the full extent of Gallifreyan corruption has been revealed and with the system on the verge of civil war and collapse, why not make good on his statement that to fight evil "all he had to do was stay here". Some strong leadership at that point could turn the planet around, and influence it for good. He's got no reason not to.

Onto the continuity. I liked the Brain of Morbius stuff, mostly because I didn't like the episode. Or rather, I didn't think it was great as most people seem to. A lot of running about, and the Sisterhood of Karn (particularly Ohica) are just too silly for words. I liked this look at an older Karn, where the dynamic was different, and the Sisterhood were more convincing on paper. I liked them bridging the gap and explaining just how Solon ended up with a brain in his basement. The early scenes between the Doctor and the "General" are priceless, as is the moment when he realises who he is - now I think about it, it's basically a retread of the end of Utopia, which is why I like it, but it's still priceless. I've never met Ogrons or Draconians on TV, but I didn't buy the Cybermen getting involved. It seemed consistant for the Sontarans, but the Cybermen have their own agenda - what happened to those human idiots who thought they could be reasoned with in Tomb of the Cybermen? Oh. Yes. I don't think the Doctor would countenance it, not for a threat as small as Morbius. It'd have to be something like Sutekh or bigger. I'm glad he avoided letting the Daleks join in, that would have been even sillier. I liked seeing a young Borusa. And the image of the Doc deliberately undermining his own victory by making sure Morbius makes it out alive is brilliant, absolutely brilliant, not to mentioning hiding his name throughout for the sake of preserving time.

Original stuff? Hawken was a sweetie. That's pretty much it. It could have been a bit less nasty - just because you have the freedom to explore things not mentioned on screen, doesn't mean you necesarily should.

I picked up the book on the strength of two words ("fifth" and "peri"), and it was only when I was on the bus I thought "Warmonger". Terrible reputation. Not entirely deserved, it could have been so much worse. It makes for an enjoyable read, and I zipped through at an enjoyable pace. But it was nothing special. I think it's a particularly interesting book from a Doctor note - the fact he ends up in a position that puts him so out of character makes far more sense than the bizzare leap from moral quandry to uber-efficiency after Planet of Fire. But seriously, Peri? What was that?!