The Indestructible Man (novel)

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The Indestructible Man
Indestructible Man.jpg
AuthorSimon Messingham
Series Doctor Who book:
Past Doctor Adventures
Release number
69
SubjectFeaturing:
Second Doctor
Jamie and Zoe
Publisher BBC Books
Publication date
November 2004
Pages283
ISBN 0-563-48623-6
Preceded by The Algebra of Ice  
Followed by Match of the Day  

The Indestructible Man is a BBC Books original novel written by Simon Messingham and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who . The novel features the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe.

Contents

It depicts a world modelled on television programmes created by Gerry Anderson, in particular Stingray , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (e.g. the indestructible man of the novel's title, the flying base of operations and the alien threat) and UFO (carried over to the cover in which Zoe's purple wig echoes that of the female Moonbase personnel in UFO). However, The Indestructible Man depicts a dystopian future in contrast to the more utopian style of Anderson's earlier work.

Plot

Captain Karl Taylor is sent to investigate mysterious alien signals from the Moon, but the sights and sounds of the alien “city” he encounters are entirely incomprehensible to human perceptions. Taylor thus orders his people to open fire, apparently fearing that they are under attack. This is the start of a war between the alien Myloki and PRISM, the secret organisation created to fight the invaders. The Myloki attack by transforming ordinary human beings into their puppets; most are merely drone-like zombies known as Shiners, but two are different. One is Captain Taylor, who is sent back to Earth as a walking, indestructible, reanimated corpse, an emotionless killing machine. The other is Captain Grant Matthews, who is killed and duplicated while on a routine escort mission; however, his duplicate is caught and deprogrammed of his Myloki conditioning, and, like Taylor, is found to be literally indestructible.

The Doctor and Storm trace Verdana to a private hospice in Barbados, where his body is slowly wasting away, perhaps due to the hours he spent monitoring the Myloki's unfathomably alien signals during the war. He is bitter that he's been condemned to this slow death while Matthews, a jumped-up clerk and chauffeur, became immortal; this is why he wrote the book exposing PRISM. He refuses to help track down Matthews, but when he makes a snide comment about Matthews’ rich friends, Storm deduces where Matthews must be. Storm offers to put Verdana out of his misery, but Verdana refuses, determined to cling on to life until the bitter end. As the Doctor and Storm leave the hospice, Storm admits to the Doctor that he was a mercenary for hire before the war; Bishop freed him from a Polish prison and gave him the authority to kill whoever he had to defeat the Myloki.

John Sharon, once the wild child of the Sharon family, is now working as a doctor for an isolated tribe in a tropical rainforest. A nearby village was recently struck by a blast from the Myloki grid, and the Doctor chips in to help John tend to those affected by the blast; like everything else touched by the Myloki, however, their bodies have been warped by contact with the alien energy, and the Doctor knows that he can do nothing to save the victims’ lives. John eventually explains to the Doctor that the people of the world turned on Matthews, fearing what he had become, after Verdana's exposé revealed his secret; Matthews turned to Buck for help, and he agreed to let Matthews hide out on the Sharons’ private island. As far as John knows, Matthews is still there. However, John is torn by conflicting emotions regarding his family and his inability to live up to their shining example, and when the Doctor sees that the photographs of John's beloved family members have been repeatedly defaced, he realises there's nothing he can do to help the unfortunate man.

Specific references in the novel

Stingray

Thunderbirds

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

UFO

The Myloki are described as never having a physical form. This is the same in UFO, where the unnamed aliens are only ever seen physically when possessing the body of a human. The Mysterions, which were seen on-screen as a series of flashing lights, were also capable of taking over bodies as well as producing replicas (Captain Scarlet, Captain Black). They would usually announce their intentions to SPECTRUM in the same creepy voices that Neville describes early on in his book at the start of every episode.

Other notes/references

Reception

Richard McGinlay of sci-fi-online.com gives The Indestructible Man a mixed review, calling it "an intriguing book, but sadly not tremendously riveting. The narrative reads like a sequence of events that are not strung together very tightly by the slender plot. Still, it should help you to destroy a few long winter evenings, especially if you're an Anderson fan." [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons</i> British TV sci-fi puppet series (1967–1968)

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often shortened to Captain Scarlet, is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company Century 21 Productions for distributor ITC Entertainment. It is one of several Anderson series that were filmed using a form of electronic marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects sequences. Running to thirty-two 25-minute episodes, it was first broadcast on ITV regional franchises between 1967 and 1968 and has since been transmitted in more than 40 other countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

<i>UFO</i> (British TV series) British TV science fiction series (1970–1971)

UFO is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of an international defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.

<i>Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons</i> 1981 American television film

Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons is a 1981 television film based on the 1960s British puppet TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Produced by the New York office of the series' distributor, ITC Entertainment, the film is a compilation of the Captain Scarlet episodes "The Mysterons", "Winged Assassin", "Seek and Destroy" and "Attack on Cloudbase". It follows an earlier Captain Scarlet compilation, Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars.

Captain Scarlet is the fictional main character in Gerry Anderson's British Supermarionation science-fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its animated remake, New Captain Scarlet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Straker</span> Fictional character

Colonel Edward Straker, United States Air Force, Commander-in-Chief of SHADO, is the main character of British TV series UFO. He is one of the original promoters of Project Angel, an international organisation to found the Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organisation (SHADO), in order to fight incoming flying saucers carrying hostile extraterrestrials. He is portrayed by actor Ed Bishop.

"Lunarville 7" is the 15th episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company Century 21 Productions. Written by Tony Barwick and directed by Robert Lynn, it was first broadcast on 15 December 1967 on ATV Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Blue</span> Fictional character from Captain Scarlet

Captain Blue is a character in the British Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967–68) and its animated remake, New Captain Scarlet (2005). He is a senior officer in the Spectrum Organisation, which is committed to defending Earth against the Mysterons, and is the best friend of Captain Scarlet.

"Identified" is the pilot and first episode of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson and Tony Barwick; the director was Gerry Anderson. The episode was filmed between 28 April and 12 May 1969, and aired on ATV Midlands on 16 September 1970.

"Kill Straker!" is the seventh episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Donald James and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 5 November and 17 November 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 4 November 1970. Though shown as the seventh episode, it was actually the sixteenth to have been filmed. The episode was originally titled The Inside Man.

"The Cat with Ten Lives" is the third episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. David Tomblin wrote the screenplay and directed the episode. The episode was filmed between 22 May and 3 June 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 30 September 1970. Though shown as the third episode, it was actually the nineteenth to have been filmed.

"Conflict" is the fourth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. Ruric Powell wrote the screenplay and it was directed by Ken Turner. The episode, initially titled "Ambush", was filmed between 2 July and 14 July 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 7 October 1970. Though shown as the fourth episode, it was actually the sixth to have been filmed.

"A Question of Priorities" is the fifth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. Tony Barwick wrote the screenplay and it was directed by David Lane. The episode was filmed between 28 July and 7 August 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands network on 14 October 1970. Though shown as the fifth episode, it was actually the eighth to have been filmed.

"Destruction" is the ninth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Dennis Spooner and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed between 4 June and 16 June 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 2 December 1970. Though shown as the ninth episode, it was actually the twentieth to have been filmed.

"The Square Triangle" is the tenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Alan Pattillo and the director was David Lane. The episode was filmed between 3 September and 15 September 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 9 December 1970. Though shown as the ninth episode, it was actually the eleventh to have been filmed.

"Close Up" is the eleventh episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Tony Barwick and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 29 September to 9 October 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 16 December 1970. Though shown as the eleventh episode, it was actually the thirteenth to have been filmed.

"Survival" is the thirteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written Tony Barwick and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 30 June and 10 July 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 30 December 1970. Though shown as the thirteenth episode, it was actually the fourth to have been filmed.

"Mindbender" is the fourteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed from 30 June to 10 July 1970 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 13 January 1971. Though shown as the fourteenth episode, it was actually the twenty-fifth to have been filmed.

"Flight Path" is the fifteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay, originally entitled "The Sun Always Rises", was written by Ian Scott Stewart and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed between 26 May to 5 June 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 20 January 1971. Though shown as the fifteenth episode, it was actually the third to have been filmed.

"The Dalotek Affair" is the seventeenth episode aired of the first series of UFO - a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Ruric Powell and the director was Alan Perry. The episode was filmed between 15 July to 25 July 1969 and aired on the ATV Midlands on 10 February 1971. Though shown as the sixteenth episode, it was actually the seventh to have been filmed.

"Ordeal" is the nineteenth episode aired of the first series of UFO, a 1970 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth. The screenplay was written by Tony Barwick and the director was Ken Turner. The episode was filmed from 8 August to 20 August 1969, and aired on ATV Midlands on 14 April 1971. Though shown as the nineteenth episode, it was actually the ninth to have been filmed.

References

  1. McGinlay, Richard (2004). "Doctor Who: The Indestructible Man – Book Review". sci-fi-online.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2020.