Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma

The Twin Dilemma adapts the 1984 Doctor Who television serial featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. The story begins shortly after the Doctor's regeneration, as he and companion Peri Brown find themselves drawn into a crisis involving kidnapped child prodigy mathematicians. The narrative follows the Doctor's struggle with his post-regeneration instability while investigating the disappearance of twins who possess extraordinary mathematical abilities. Their investigation leads them to multiple planets and brings them face-to-face with an alien threat targeting gifted children. The book expands on themes of identity and transformation, particularly through its portrayal of the Doctor's volatile new personality. The story raises questions about genius, responsibility, and the price of exceptional talent.

Readers found this novelization fails to improve upon the TV episode, which many consider one of Doctor Who's weaker stories. Multiple reviews note the book maintains the same plot and characterization issues as the source material. Readers appreciated: - Added background details about the planet Jaconda - More insight into the Doctor's post-regeneration crisis - Clearer explanation of the twins' motivations Main criticisms: - Confusing and disjointed narrative structure - Poor handling of companion Peri - Unresolved plot threads - Stilted dialogue From review sites: Goodreads: 2.89/5 (28 ratings) "The writing feels rushed and unfocused" - Goodreads reviewer "Even Saward's prose can't salvage this story" - Doctor Who Reviews blog Amazon UK: 2.5/5 (6 reviews) "Adds little to an already problematic television story" - Amazon reviewer The book remains one of the less popular Classic Doctor Who novelizations according to fan rankings and review aggregators.

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure by Terrance Dicks A novelization of the stage play follows the Doctor through a quest across time and space to prevent the alliance of his greatest enemies.

Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair by Graham Williams This unmade TV script turned novel features the Sixth Doctor facing the Celestial Toymaker in a sinister futuristic amusement park.

Doctor Who: Time's Champion by Craig Hinton The story links multiple timelines and incarnations of the Doctor in a complex temporal puzzle involving the planet Gallifrey.

Doctor Who: Business Unusual by Gary Russell The origin story describes how Mel Bush first met the Sixth Doctor while investigating mysterious corporate activities.

Doctor Who: Mission to Magnus by Philip Martin Another unproduced TV script adaptation pits the Sixth Doctor against the Ice Warriors on a planet of militant women.

🔷 "The Twin Dilemma" was the first story to feature Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor, and the novelization captures his controversial post-regeneration behavior, including attempting to strangle his companion Peri. 🔷 Author Eric Saward served as Doctor Who's script editor from 1982 to 1986, making him intimately familiar with the show's direction during this turbulent period. 🔷 The book was published in 1985 by Target Books, which was famous for adapting nearly every Doctor Who television story into novels during the classic series' run. 🔷 The story deals with mathematical child prodigies being exploited for evil purposes, reflecting a common 1980s cultural anxiety about gifted children and computer technology. 🔷 Despite the television episode being widely considered one of the weakest in Doctor Who history, Saward's novelization is generally regarded as an improvement on the source material, adding depth to the characters and their motivations.