Bizarre Who
Written: Mar 18 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderful comedy that doesn't take Dr. Who seriously
Cons: flimsy characters, thin plot. But does that really matter?
The Bottom Line: Only avoid this book if you are allergic to camp. If you are a Who fan who doesn't mind laughing at your favourite show, definitely pick it up.
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| hist's Full Review: Paul Magrs - Doctor Who Mad Dogs and Englishmen |
Mad Dogs and Englishmen is a Doctor Who adventure, involving the Eighth Doctor, Fitz, and Anji.
First of all, let me describe the cover, since it doesn’t appear on the site. It is bright pink, with a pink poodle lounging on a divan. The poodle has human-like hands, and is holding a ray-gun out of a 50’s sci-fi movie in one hand, and a cigarette holder with a smoking cigarette in the other. If that doesn’t indicate the tone of the book to follow, I’ll eat a horse.
Yes, camp is the word of the day to describe this one. Reginald Tyler (J.R.R. Tolkein, very obviously) has devoted his life to the writing of his master work, The True History of Planets. It is a large story about elves, trolls, goblins, etc. At least, that’s the book that the Doctor has always known. However, after arriving at a science-fiction convention in the early 21st century, he discovers that the book is no longer about such fantastical creatures, but instead it’s a book about the true events on Dogworld, where the Queen is overthrown and a new Emperor has taken over. A movie has been made of the book, which will make the situation on Dogworld even worse. Thus, the Doctor, Anji and Fitz have to figure out what’s going on and how to stop it. They pick up some friends along the way and separate into the time stream in order to do this. The Doctor and one poodle go to the 1940’s and infiltrate the Smudgelings, Tyler’s elite Cambridge writing group. Fitz and Flossie (another acquisition) go to the 1960’s and fall in with the flamboyant torch singer, Brenda Soobie, who’s also more than what she seems. Finally, Anji and another poodle go to the 1970’s, where work on the film is beginning. What follows is truly, truly…well, bizarre is probably the best way to describe it.
However, this is bizarre in a good way, rather than the weird events of Henrietta Street, the previous book. Paul Magrs has written a very broad comedy, with wonderful parodies of Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, and even George Lucas in a very over the top manner (he acts out his scenes by playing with his toys). There’s even a comment on the decline of stop-motion animation and the rise of computer graphics in movies. In fact, that’s a major plot point. And you’ll never look at Noel Coward the same way again after reading this book.
But is it any good? Oh yeah, it’s good. The plot is a bit too thin for this to be a 5-star book and the characters are fairly two-dimensional, but it is definitely up there. The Eighth Doctor series really needed this break in tone after Henrietta Street. It’s funny, makes a couple of interesting points and fulfills the promise of the cover. The comedy is so broad that the characters can’t help but be two-dimensional. There are no deep thoughts, the regulars don’t develop at all, and the plot is flimsy. But that’s hardly the point in this book. This is Dr. Who that doesn’t take itself seriously, and where’s the problem with that once in awhile?
Paul Magrs has written three other Dr. Who books, and each one has been infested (yes, that’s the right word) with his character, Iris Wildthyme. This one has her too, but she’s not that intrusive or annoying in this book. Thus, it’s Magrs’ best book of the lot. She’s very subdued, or at least she is once you find out who she is. Magrs has also avoided doing some of his literary tricks that he did with his previous books that annoyed me. This book has an ending, for one thing. He has played with the English language, how it’s used, and how literature is written in his previous ones, and they’ve left me cold in the process. However, this time he plays with tone instead, and he’s much better for it.
You will laugh at this book. You will laugh *with* this book. You will glory in the wonders of Dogworld, sympathize with some of the poodles, while cursing at the other poodles. You will laugh at an aphid named Professor Alid Jag, who is involved in a wonderful gag right at the beginning of the book. I hope you won’t be embarrassed by the cover as you read it on the bus to work. I wasn’t. But I’m not easily embarrassed. It is, shall we say, garish. But that’s ok. It’s well worth it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: David Roy
Location: Vancouver, BC
Reviews written: 723
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