Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles - 4.5 Ringpullworld (Dr Who)

So at the start of this story we find Turlough in the cockpit of a stolen shop relating his recent adventure to a five legged alien creature called Huxley. Although irritating Turlough seems to find this novelisor reassuringly tolerable to such a degree that he likens him to Ibbotson the bespectacled worried boy we see early in the TV story MAWDRYN UNDEAD. Therefore the name Huxley is largely dropped in favour of the schoolboy nickname of Hippo. Mark Strickson makes a brief stab at Tegan before guest vocalist Alex Lowe does a far better job of reading the occasional scripted lines for her and the Doctor. It is an intriguing notion to have the alien foe look like a cross between a hermit crab and a jackal. During the course of the story our trio are shrunk to microsize which offers a nice similarity to the three part Hartnell PLANET OF GIANTS TV story. Although twentyfive years on from his last TV appearance Mark Strickson conveys the same vocal inflection to that of Turlough making… more »

So at the start of this story we find Turlough in the cockpit of a stolen shop relating his recent adventure to a five legged alien creature called Huxley. Although irritating Turlough seems to find this novelisor reassuringly tolerable to such a degree that he likens him to Ibbotson the bespectacled worried boy we see early in the TV story MAWDRYN UNDEAD. Therefore the name Huxley is largely dropped in favour of the schoolboy nickname of Hippo. Mark Strickson makes a brief stab at Tegan before guest vocalist Alex Lowe does a far better job of reading the occasional scripted lines for her and the Doctor. It is an intriguing notion to have the alien foe look like a cross between a hermit crab and a jackal. During the course of the story our trio are shrunk to microsize which offers a nice similarity to the three part Hartnell PLANET OF GIANTS TV story. Although twentyfive years on from his last TV appearance Mark Strickson conveys the same vocal inflection to that of Turlough making this story a worthy addition to the Companion Chronicles range. Apart from the 60 min story I liked hearing about during the 14 min CD extras Marks work and life away from WHO down in New Zealand.