I love cats too! I'll be sure to avoid this book!
Yeah - avoid like the plague. Heart-breaking. Bloody Doctor may save the galaxy every time, but he was TOTALLY USELESS when it came to poor darling Chick.
I did notice a few things that would put this story in the near future (smart guns, a King in England, etc.), but it's really hard to reconcile this with the ultra-polluted Earth of "Warhead."
You weren't exaggerating about the Doctor doing very little. With a bit more editing, this could have been "Creed McIlvheen: The New Adventures."
What happened to Dieter? The Doctor made a lot of very dire threats to this scumbag and then....nothing.
Bloody Doctor may save the galaxy every time, but he was TOTALLY USELESS when it came to poor darling Chick.
Except that didn't an EDA have an amnesiac Eighth Doctor kidnap/rescue a cat without knowing why...before said Precious got tortured to death? Which would render Warlock entirely pointless but hey, I could live with that.
Warlock prelude in DWM:
Why the hell are people in Russia calling each other 'Comrade' in this near-future?
'My orders are to burn the laboratory to the ground...Perhaps the specialists feel some things are too dangerous to remain in existence.' 'At least let me take a few things from the laboratory.' 'Help yourself' - sorry, in what way does this exchange make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER??
Except that didn't an EDA have an amnesiac Eighth Doctor kidnap/rescue a cat without knowing why...before said Precious got tortured to death? Which would render Warlock entirely pointless but hey, I could live with that.
Ah, yes.
The City of the Dead, p122-3:
'The TARDIS has landed for no discernible reason in Kent in the early nineties...a small yellow* cat suddenly appeared between his ankles, rubbing and purring....the Doctor had...been hit, like an electric shock, with such a sensation of fear and grief that tears started in his eyes. Before he quite realised what he was doing, he had picked up the cat and carried it into the TARDIS, which then transported him to a farm in South Wales...he had a feeling of rightness and contentment, of a deed well done - at the same time that he sensed he had somehow cheated.'
It's gratifying that Sexy had such consideration for the oochie...and that the NAs and EDAs might actually co-exist in the same universe...and that the love of a good feline should be stronger than the Doctor's amnesia...but if the TARDIS has got THAT much self-determination, couldn't she also have popped up, doors-to-the-swimming-pool open, under a certain radio telescope in Logopolis??
*Alright, so Chick was described as 'ginger' in Warlock, but never mind.
but if the TARDIS has got THAT much self-determination, couldn't she also have popped up, doors-to-the-swimming-pool open, under a certain radio telescope in Logopolis??
She was tired of the Tom Baker version and wanted a change. Plus, the Tom Baker version himself appeared tired of the Tom Baker version at that point and looking for a change too.
She was tired of the Tom Baker version and wanted a change.
BURN THE BLASPHEMER! BURN HIM, BURN HIM!!!
NO ONE could EVER be tired of our beloved Tom!
And Doctor's Wife proved that the TARDIS could SEE the future - and even if some sick-minded pervert WAS tired of the Greatest Doctor Ever*, it couldn't POSSIBLY want to replace him with the boring cricket-obsessed 'look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable!' version...
Plus, the Tom Baker version himself appeared tired of the Tom Baker version at that point and looking for a change too.
OK, so he was tired and depressed and hearts-broken at losing Romana! That doesn't mean that he WANTED TO DIE! (Though admittedly the fact he let go of that bloody radio telescope is a slight clue.) He just needed a good holiday or something!
*Bar Eccy n'Tennant, obviously...
"She was tired of the Tom Baker version and wanted a change.
"BURN THE BLASPHEMER! BURN HIM, BURN HIM!!!
"NO ONE could EVER be tired of our beloved Tom!"
He had just tried to drown her...
Oh. Yeah. What the hell was THAT all about?
Still, she wouldn't have been TIRED of him. REALLY REALLY PISSED OFF, on the other hand...
The drug 'resists analysis and synthesis, which does be the question of how there's so much of it about' - oh. Yeah. Good point.
'Lots of people take warlock during the novel, but, for the most part, it's hard to see why they would...It doesn't appear to be a relaxant, like alcohol or cannabis; it doesn't appear to be a hallucinogen, like ecstasy or LSD...There isn't even a confirmation anywhere that warlock is addictive...this is a drug that, to all intents and purposes, plays with body language, drives you mad or traps your consciousness in a passing tabby...it doesn't make sense as a drug at all' - I never thought of that, probably because - trapping your consciousness in a passing tabby? What's not to love!
'The Doctor's cat has kittens, and he psychologically profiles all the potential owners, often illegally breaking into computer databases to be absolutely sure that they're good enough...looking at the writing, it seems that we're supposed to approve of these actions' - well, DUH.
The drug 'resists analysis and synthesis, which does be the question of how there's so much of it about' - oh. Yeah. Good point.
There could be an easy to grow living organism that supplies it, like cocaine or nicotine.
I don't remember there being cultivated plants *double-checks Reference Guide*, yeah, 'warlock is revealed to be an alien intelligence which crashed on Earth long ago, and which has been roaming the world in drug form'...
Did they handle the drug issue any better than Nightmare Of Eden did?
I have the feeling no, it was one of those blink-and-you-miss-it resolutions. Mind you, Warlock was torturing a cat to death at the time so I could hardly be expected to concentrate.
What's wrong with darling Nightmare of Eden!
Where do I begin!?
See! You can't think of a single word to say against that joyous Tom romp with the Important Moral Message.
That made Ronald Reagan shed a tear of submission...
I'm sure nothing but Margaret Thatcher ever made Ronald Reagan shed a tear of submission.
And I'm sure he never saw Who cos wouldn't the world be such a better place if US Presidents were Who Fans?
wouldn't the world be such a better place if US Presidents were Who Fans?
I can't see Orange Hitler being a Who fan.
Exactly! If he was he wouldn't be Orange Hitler! He'd just be Orange...Tommy-pre-crystal-transformation!