Dogs With Tiny Human Hands (like Yoda Dog?) (Doctor Who: Mad Dogs and Englishmen - Paul Magrs)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Doctor Who: Mad Dogs and Englishmen - Paul Magrs
Date:	23/04/07 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pink poodles, crazy cover

Disadvantages: Confused, not funny, forgettable

Comedy and Science Fiction are strange bedfellows. The high concepts that sci fi involve means that they are ripe for parody, but because so many TV shows, films and books in the genre are so cliché already, any attempt at humour could undermine them. There have been a few great successes in combining comedy with space adventures – ‘Red Dwarf’ and ‘Galaxy Quest’ for example. There have also been a few authors that have managed to pull off the mix e.g. Robert Rankin, Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt. However, just because a few successes have occurred does not mean that the job is easy, I would argue that the above are the exception that proves the rule and that the vast majority of attempts at humour science fiction fall flat such as in ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’.

Where to begin…… The Doctor and companions find that a very famous fantasy book has been altered beyond all recognition. Gone are the elves and goblins and instead the book has become about a group of freedom fighting poodles with human hands. If this was not bad enough a film version came out that should have been ‘Star Wars’. Has this bizarre change of events got anything to do with a planet populated by poodles and why does Noel Coward keep popping up? The Doctor and his companions must split up over three different time lines to try and unravel what is happening.

Once again the Doctor and his companions descend into an adventure of paradoxes and impossibilities, but this time it’s meant to be funny. The first thing that will strike you about this book is that it is far too confusing. I do not mind reading a complex book that deals with several storylines at once, as long as the narrative is well structured and makes sense. Unfortunately, Paul Magrs soon has the book descending into a confusing mess that is meant to be entertaining. By having several characters all in different places you soon lose track of what is going on. This confusion is made worse by the fact that for about 100 pages in the middle Magrs is doing a good job, but before and after this, it is poorly written. Also the fact that a lot of the characters in the book are based on real people, but for legal reason are changed, George Lucas, CS Lewis and Tolkien are all meant to be there. However, the references are a bit subtle and unless you knew that Lewis and Tolkien were contemporaries this part of the story will go right over your head.

The negatives do not stop here either. The character of the Doctor remains strong and the 8th Doctor’s more laid back and liberal approach to time travel is definitely my favourite. However, his companions are a series of no marks who I can not even remember. I am sure that fans of the series will have a deep understanding of their motives but as someone that dips in and out I found that they were underused and underdeveloped.

My final criticism is with the fact that the book is just not funny. Magrs has tried to make this novel a wacky celebration of 100 BBC Dr Who books. This means that the story is far stranger than usual and takes the Doctor in a completely different direction. However, for the most part Magrs fails as the book is confusing and just not funny. His complex interweaving of real life characters and events with fictional beings from another land falls flat. The only authors I have read that has successfully achieved a blend of science fiction and outlandish comedy are Rob Grant and Robert Rankin. In both these cases the authors’ books have variable quality and this is from people who thrive in the genre. My advice to Magrs would be to stay away in future.

Although the story was confused, the book was not really funny and there was far too much Noel Coward, it was not all redundant. I liked the idea of a planet inhabited by poodles and their obsession with Earth TV. I also loved the front cover that sees a bright pink poodle smoking a cigarette with its tiny human hands – that gained me a few strange looks! However, overall I find it hard to recommend this book to anyone but the most hardened of 8th Doctor fans. The plot, characters and setting will have the vast majority of people confused, even if you love watching David Tennant in the recent series. There are some good books in the 8th Doctor series including the excellent, ‘Year of the Intelligent Tigers’. It is a shame that the BBC decided to celebrate 100 books with this below par offering.

Author: Paul Magrs
Price: Have to find it 2nd Hand!

Summary: A missed opportunity for 100 BBC books