***
The 1970s Power Records LP/comic sets are one of the more obscure continuities out there, but conceivably one of the most nostalgic for those born in a certain time and space. The ubiquitous Alan Dean Foster keeps things on brand with brief adventures that manage a mini message and even make use of the audio medium on occasion. I don't know how well they work as comics, since I only glanced at those for the hilarious ethnic mixups.
Fave: 'The Crier in Emptiness'
Al Ewing, Rob Williams, Simon Fraser, Boo Cook and Warren Pleece, Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor – The Complete Year One
****
A decent stab at an intermediate era, coming out just after the real run ended means they can be retrospective about character and style while still being caught up in that zeitgeist. Along with the plot's characteristic mild non-linear tomfoolery, this makes it a more satisfying answer for what fans would be specifically searching for than the usual franchise blandness, with a David Bowie stand-in absorbing much of the compulsory quirk to take the pressure off our hero.
1988 / Egamebook / 144 pages / UK
***
For the first and possibly only time in the series, the novella's the more engaging, uneven half, a chronicle of bloody vengeance that only remembers it's supposed to be for children as it goes along. The cramped gamebook has one too many unnecessarily harsh mechanics to make it worth the constant restarts. Nasty!
James Roberts, John Barber, Nick Roche and Alex Milne, The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye
***
Fortunately for my parents' bank account, I was born slightly too late for the most egregious toy advert cartoon of them all to really be part of my nostalgia (or I was just watching the wrong channel). Not really knowing what the hell was going on didn't hinder my enjoyment of this subversive mutilation of the premise into downbeat space survival sitcom, but it does mean there isn't sufficient motivation to continue, even with the side quest of spotting all the Red Dwarf references.
1998 / Ebook / 56 pages / UK
***
Scanning along with the episode, it was interesting to see how minimal the alterations were from script to screen. Not as interesting as if it had gone the other way, of course. Maybe one day he'll publish his Doctor Who scripts.
