The premis is that there are a couple of million shape-shifting aliens living amongst us, peacefully co-existing, their true forms locked out of sight. Only now the fragile alliance holding the peace is tottering, drunk, and about to collapse. Almost certainly plunging the world into a war it had believed itself to have avoided BBC books have done a lovely job as presenting this novelization as carrying on the look and feel of Taget books of old. And why not, those books sold millions back in the day. Right down to the energy thrown off by book cover designs that mirror those by Chris Acheleous back in the seventies, giving them a cosmic epic quality. Peter Harness adapts the script from this fondly recalled two-parter from Peter Capaldi's second season as The Doctor. Its a story now best remembered for the "war speech", or perhaps more accurately his "anti-war-speech"which was powerfully deivered by Peter Capaldi and stands as one of his tenures defining moments. The set must have felt electrified the day he delivered that speech. Actors love moments like that, it demonstrates their super powers as performers and love to lean into them.Its not all apocalyptic covert alien invasions, theres some cracking humour here such as Capaldi's iteration revealed his first name is actually Basil. The Doctor's sense of humour warmed throughout Capaldi's time. His reflexive stabs at humour came across cold and even alien, which off course he is. I think it took a while for the actor to look in the mirror and see The Doctor looking back. Well, thats how Peter Capaldi put it in an interview. An interview with a Time-lord. He did get there and that journey enriched his time, to the point where when the Doctor fell we felt the pain off it. His final season proving his performance was mesmerising and haunting. I enjoyed Peter Harness fleshing out of his own script. Actually wish he had a broader template to show us what he can do. As Peter Capaldi demonstrated so admirably in Twice Upon A Time. But thats a story for another day. .
