The 1990s novelisations

[shaqui]

The Mysterons, Lunarville 7, Noose Of Ice and The Launching, all written by Dave Morris.

Was wondering what anyone though of them? Obviously written for the younger reader, but any good or redeeming points?

[Kambei]

Quite enjoyed them both, but I feel the second one, the Silent Saboteur is better written. The Angel novel had an interesting premise.

[shaqui]

Ah, no... These were novelisations of episodes, written in 1993. You're thinking of the original novels from 1967.

[Marion]

We have the novelisations from the 90s - with all the line-drawings neatly coloured in by my daughter....
Actually, I thought they were pretty good for what they are - Young Corgi easy readers - there's some quite sophisticated vocabulary and an attempt at basic characterisation, rather than purely a reliance on the reader having seen the TV series. The stories stick closely to the TV episodes and don't add anything to what we already knew though - which is to be expected given the target audience.
(Takes off Librarian's hat and goes to make a cup of coffee... ).

[shaqui]

They may not add anything to what we know, but the adaptations (presumably from videos as I doubt scripts were available) have some interesting takes on events:

From The Mysterons

After the Mysteron city reforms:
'They can reverse time... ' Black realized. 'Energy transformed into matter: entropy reduced to order! But... that would make them unbeatable.'
'And you may just have started a war with them,' said the radio operator. As an aftethought, he added ironically: 'Sir.'

The Mysterons add, in their initial warning:
'We do not view this as war: humanity is like a dangerous virus, and like a virus it must be eradicated.'

Instead of implying that Brown himself exploded (possibly too horrifying for younger readers?):
The President's question went unanswered, but he noticed that the Spectrum agent's jacket was starting to smoulder. There was the distinctive smell of Maltex fumes - a deadly plastic explosive. Captain Brown had ignited the fuse of a bomb!

The events of the chase by Blue and the Angels after Scarlet are said to occur very early in the morning, explaining the lack of traffic when Destiny destroys the bridge.

After Helicopter A-42 attacks Blue:
Blue's eyes widened in shock as he saw now that the helicopter definitely had no pilot. There was just a shimmering rainbow-coloured light inside the cockpit.

Scarlet's recovery is also given some measure:
Dr Fawn led them through into the next room, where a bandaged Captain Scarlet lay surrounded by instruments. 'When the Spectrum ambulance found him, every bone in his body was shattered and there were no vital signs,' the doctor explained, As they put him on the stretcher, one of the orderlies detected a faint pulse. By the time they were approaching central London, brain activity was restored and his heartbeat was stable. I had him flown here to Cloudbase. I know it's incredible, but by the time he got here all the bones had reknit and the worst injuries I could find were bruises. Even they've mostly gone by now.'

[Marion]

It is Rhapsody who blows up the road bridge - as in the TV episode...
Dipping her plane towards the road, she began her attack run. This was exhilerating. There was no denying the fun in blowing up a section of motorway. Even though they were on a serious mission, these were moments she enjoyed most. Of course, Spectrum would have to pay for repairs later, but this was the kind of bold action Rhapsody loved. 'It's a good thing its so early in the morning,' she radioed to Destiny as she released her missile. 'I could never make this shot without blowing up at least one motorist otherwise.'

See what I mean about vocabulary and basic characterisation? Plus - a social conscience... I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else that Spectrum paid for repairs...

[shaqui]

It is Rhapsody who blows up the road bridge - as in the TV episode...

Sorry, my mistake - was typing in a hurry.

[shaqui]

It is Rhapsody who blows up the road bridge - as in the TV episode...
There was no denying the fun in blowing up a section of motorway. Even though they were on a serious mission, these were moments she enjoyed most. Of course, Spectrum would have to pay for repairs later, but this was the kind of bold action Rhapsody loved. 'It's a good thing its so early in the morning,' she radioed to Destiny as she released her missile. 'I could never make this shot without blowing up at least one motorist otherwise.'

Commuting to work in the 21st century must be hell! Can you imagine the traffic reports?

"Oh, and we've just had a report of congestion on the M21. Seems a bridge has collapsed... no, sorry... seems it was destroyed by Spectrum. Could cause a lot of delays so if you don't have to travel that way - don't. Parking in London is apparently pretty badly hit too, as the Car-Vu has just collapsed too... so, um, if you haven't already left for work... forget it! There's a monorail hanging perilously off the end of its track to the north but I gather International Rescue are on their way so hopefully that'll be cleared by lunchtime."

"But meanwhile, here's some music from our eye-in-the-sky Bob Lynn on TVR17. Over to you, Bob... "

"Bob? You still there, Bob... ?"

[Scarlet Lady]

Love it, Shaqui! Lol!

[thunderbirds_r_go]

I had "The Launching" book - still have it now, so it'll be interesting to see how much it would sell.

I use to like the books, and the magazines.