good@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (08/18/84)
Here is an answer to article 432...
4. No, the Logopolitans didn't create E-Space; they just opened up gate-
ways from here (N, or Normal Space) to there. The said gateways were
known as Charged Vacuum Emboitements--at least that's what the Doctor and
Romana called them. E-Space always existed, presumably; we just couldn't
get there before.
My experience with "Logopolis" was also a case of being totally confused
the first time and liking it a lot the second time around. My main problem
first time around was that it was only the third "Doctor Who" serial I'd
ever seen! (the first was "State of Decay"--a lovely atmospheric introduction)
So anyway, I was utterly confused--didn't know who Nyssa was, for example.
But then I read the book, and was VERY impressed with that; Christopher Bidmead
(who also wrote the screenplay) is a very polished author. I like him best
of all the Target writers because he a.is about the only one who doesn't write
on a third-grade level (except Ian Marter) and b. also really seems to enjoy
and take a real pride in the writing (except, again, Ian Marter. You can feel
the care he takes in every sentence--no last-minute job here!)
So, then when I saw "Logopolis" again, I really knew what was going on and
could just sit back and enjoy it.
By the way, whoever said "City of Death" was great is absolutely right!!!
It is really classy and clever; also I notice that it's one of the few Doctor
Who serials I've seen with really beautiful, interesting and well-developed
music. Dare I say that in that department, "Star Trek" was sometimes a bit
more enjoyable? ("Metamorphosis," for example, or "The Doomsday Machine")
"The Hand of Fear" was quite memorable, though--sort of "bionic"-sounding!
Julia Lawrence
p.s. since there are so many Doctor Who novelisations on the market it would be nice to hear what other people think of them. Do you have
any favorite authors or books to recommend? Someone on the Trek net is
doing a survey/poll to see which Star Trek books are preferred by the
net people; and since the Who novels do vary in many ways from author to
author (even more than the Trek ones perhaps) it would probably be a good
idea to get some opinions on the net...