Scratchman (2019) Review

Scratchman is a fever dream of the Hinchcliffe era, filled with absurdist fantasy and an infinitely irreverent attitude. You can't get more Fourth Doctor than this novel.

WRITTEN BY

The original film screenplay was penned by Baker and Ian Marter(who portrayed the Fourth Doctor's companion Harry Sullivan), which was then adapted into a novelisation by James Goss, with Tom Baker's consultation.

PLOT

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry find themselves on a remote island in Scotland, where the villagers live in fear and denial of a scarecrow infection - that is, ordinary people being transformed into obedient scarecrows for some master villain. The question is, who and why?

ANALYSIS

It's hard to know where to start with Scratchman, because it really is incredibly all over the place. The book is split into two parts, the first one being a familiar, but always welcome Hammer horror pastiche and the second being a kind of metafictional psychedelic trip based on the characters' thoughts, similar to The Mind Robber.

By far the book's strongest suit is its focus on the Doctor. Scratchman takes place entirely from his perspective even in scenes where he's not present, which really sells the idea that it's Tom Baker telling us all this. Goss, presumably as a result of spending many hours working alongside Baker for the novel, has perfectly captured his mannerisms and eloquent frivolity, and the book is full of personality as a result.

Imagination is another major point in its favor. Doctor Who can often get bogged down in formula, so it's always lovely to see something completely new and unrestrained. For much of Scratchman, the audience is kept in the dark about whether the increasingly insane things we're seeing are supernatural or not, and the answer was extremely satisfying.

I'd say the book's greatest weakness is its indulgence, especially towards the end. I'm not sure if this was Goss's addition or Baker's own choice, but for whatever reason, this novel is absolutely crammed to the brim with continuity references and it really bothered me. The Fourth Doctor era is known for not being too tied down in the past and to have this story feature such imaginative concepts and memorable moments and still feel the need to constantly be introspective seemed like a betrayal. And I do mean introspective - it's not just references, there are whole parts of the book that deal with regeneration and the Doctor's thoughts about it and why he does what he does the way he does it and all that melodramatic stuff that is utterly not the Fourth Doctor's forte.

I'm willing to cut Goss some slack and argue that this is the possible result of Tom Baker aging and wanting to give some kind of statement about his perspective of the part he played, but it was still intrusive and not really in the spirit of that particular era of Doctor Who. If it was Goss, then he seriously misjudged what this book was supposed to be. Nobody wants the Fourth Doctor to deliver Moffat-esque speeches about what it means to be the Doctor. At least, I sincerely hope not.

In addition, the constant barrage of quirky comedy and surrealism can often make it hard to keep track of what's going on, which is even commented on during the book's frame narrative.

CHARACTERS

The Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry all feel like they're born out of Tom Baker's perception of them - the Doctor is witty and wise and constantly childish, Harry is a loyal buffoon and Sarah Jane is a slightly acidic, but vivacious young lady.

Scratchman(Scratch to his friends), essentially a caricature of the Devil, makes for a fantastically flamboyant and likably approachable villain. I imagined him with the voice John Dearth(the BOSS in The Green Death).

At one point, Scratch conjures up fake versions of the first three Doctors, who, in the tradition of older Doctor Who fans, aren't given much depth. The First Doctor is the grumpy one, the Second Doctor is the messy one and the Third Doctor is the prissy one. That's really all there is to them.

On the contrary, the Thirteenth Doctor's appearance is written with much more enthusiasm. Her cameo was rather forced, but Goss managed to give her a wise beyond her years quality that she desperately needs on television.

The rest of the characters aren't really noteworthy, as they consist entirely of villagers(whose boring lives Goss and Baker go amusingly in-depth about) and Scratch's slaves, who are a quirky menagerie of oddballs that I'd much rather you just read about yourself.

NOTES

*The sequence where Harry's trying to obtain some sugar and constantly missing the Scarecrows trying to kill her was some hilarious oldfashioned slapstick.

*At one point, the Doctor theorises that the frequent invasions of Earth and mad scientist experiments might be the result of some higher cosmic force tugging at a "loose string in the universe, trying to figure out what makes a person a person".

*The TARDIS cloister bell is revealed to be a gramophone broadcasting the sound effect throughout the entire ship.

*It's revealed the Doctor has a malfunctioning "Jigsaw Room" in the TARDIS that enables him to peek forward in his own timeline at will, enabling him to predict and adapt for certain future events.

*Living amber from "Tarrant-9" is mentioned, presumably a reference to Blake's 7.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

Oh sweet Jesus, get ready for this...

1) At one point, Harry notices a boys' magazine called The Ensign, and is revealed to be a fan of Captain Jack Harkaway. It is a real magazine and the character is real, but in the context of the series, they were created by the Master of the Land Of Fiction from The Mind Robber.

2) Once again, the Doctor is put on trial by the Time Lords(The Trial Of A Time Lord having mentioned multiple previous trials, only one of which was depicted on television, in The War Games).

3) The Doctor encounters the Cybermen in Scotland, and we get a recap of their origins on Mondas(first revealed in The Tenth Planet) and their allergy to gold(introduced in Revenge Of The Cybermen). We also see the Cyberleader with his brain visible through his helmet, suggesting that this is the same type as the ones we saw in The Next Doctor.

4) The Doctor points out that the Time Lords themselves turned him into a hero, to stop the Master's Doomsday Weapon in Colony In Space.

5) The Doctor references his original characterisation when he points out that he left Gallifrey as a "Time Lord much like you"

6) Charon references driving the previous three Doctors to Scratchman. Supposedly the Third Doctor kept talking about daisies(a callback to the story he told Jo Grant in The Time Monster). The Second Doctor, ever the hands-on one, tried to repair his taxi. And the First Doctor asked for him to turn up the heating, a possible reference to his final line in The Tenth Planet - "keep warm". Charon also tells the Fourth Doctor that the new Doctor is "the head boy type", clearly referencing the Fifth Doctor.

7) Charon tells the Fourth Doctor that he was "always my Doctor, Doctor", a reference to the Tenth Doctor's description of the Fifth in Time Crash.

8) In Scratchman's party hall, the Fourth Doctor briefly notices Sarah and Harry running around with the Tenth Doctor, described as a young man in a hurry and a pinstripe suit.

9) The Thirteenth Doctor briefly travels to Scratchman's dimension to help out her fourth incarnation out of kindness. The two later reunite in Scotland to skip stones.

10) Scratchman's servant Mr Tembel possesses a stasis chair just like the one used by the First Doctor on Bret Vyon in The Daleks' Master Plan.

11) After Scratchman offers him a cigar, the Fourth Doctor comments that he hasn't smoked in years. On TV, the Doctor was only seen smoking in the show's very first serial, An Unearthly Child.

12) The Doctor confesses to Scratchman that his enemy the Master would probably die of jealousy if he learned of his literal deal with the Devil.

13) Sarah Jane is described as having run from Daleks(in Death To The Daleks), Sontarans(The Time Warrior and The Sontaran Experiment) and the Loch Ness Monster(Terror Of The Zygons). This also places this story during season 13, suggesting that Harry rejoined the time travellers at some point for a period of time.

14) A reference is made to Sarah Jane having survived "ancient cities trying to kill her", a likely callback to Exxilon from Death To The Daleks. It's also mentioned she survived "befriending alien squid", though I'm not sure if that is a reference to a TV story.

15) The Doctor tells both Scratchman and the Time Lords about his desire to remain the Fourth Doctor, reflecting the Tenth Doctor's opinions in The End Of Time, as well as the Twelfth Doctor's in Twice Upon A Time.

16) Scratchman sends many of the Doctor's old foes to attack him, including the Daleks(from a whole recreated metal city), the K1 robot(from Robot), giant brains in jars and wetsuits made of liver(from The Keys Of Marinus) and giant maggots(from The Green Death).

17) The Jigsaw Room in the TARDIS shows Sarah elements of her past, including Aunt Lavinia(seen in K-9 And Company), running through a space station(The Ark In Space and Revenge Of The Cybermen), across a minefield(Genesis Of The Daleks), being carried by a mummy(Pyramids Of Mars) and smashing her android duplicate(The Android Invasion). She also sees her future, clutching a stuffed owl(The Hand Of Fear), being in an exploding school(School Reunion), and holding a young boy's hand(The Sarah Jane Adventures).

BEST QUOTE

"Sarah once asked me why I was afraid of dying as I'd just wake up as someone else. It's the someone else bit that gets me. Being the Doctor suits me. And, it's selfish of me, I know, but I just can't stand the idea of someone else getting to do what I do. I'm a comfy pair of shoes - I fit the Doctor just right. The Doctor's had other shoes before, and will have many more - some brogues, some stilettoes, but like all shoes, they take a bit of wearing in, whereas, look at me. I'm sturdy and there's quite a bit of mileage left in me. See? Being the Doctor comes down to having a good sole. My fear of death is simply because I'd miss this life. Despite all your protestations to the contrary, despite it being irrational, the Time Lords of Gallifrey are afraid of death. Death is practically impossible for us, and yet that makes us fear it all the more. Isn't that curious?"

CONCLUSION

Scratchman's much like listening someone tell stories of his youth. Nostalgic, rambling and hazy, but filled with passion and an echo of days long past.