Doctor Who: Logopolis

Christopher H. Bidmead reads his own thrilling novelisation of the last adventure for the Fourth Doctor.

Bidmead's voice is crisp, his enunciation and pronunciation cultured, a combination of authority and intelligence that wins over the listener

Christopher Hamilton Bidmead was born in 1941. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and subsequently played leading roles on the West End stage and television. For several years he was a regular voice on radio as a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company. 
 
He began scriptwriting while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and by the early Seventies was writing television scripts for the Thames TV serials Harriet's Back in Town and Rooms. At the same time a long-standing interest in science drew him towards technical journalism. His articles in the New Scientist prompted BBC producer Robert Banks Stewart to recommend him for the post of script editor on Doctor Who when it was vacated by Douglas Adams at the beginning of the '80s. 
 
After a year in that role he signed off on the job by delivering two stories, Logopolis and Castrovalva, and returned to freelance projects - including a third Doctor Who story, Frontios, and novelisations of all three for the Target range of books. 
 
His stint on Doctor Who introduced him to the use of personal computers, and for the past quarter century he has continued to work as an IT journalist, writing for a range of publications including Wired magazine and The Daily Telegraph. Over the last decade he has been a regular columnist on PCPlus magazine. 
 
(Author biography by David J. Howe, author of The Target Book, the complete illustrated guide to the Target Doctor Who novelisations.)

In theory the TARDIS should be able to change its appearance to blend in unobtrusively wherever it happens to materialise. In practice, however, because of a fault in the chameleon circuit, it always looks like a police box – a minor inconvenience the Doctor hopes to correct.   Fixing the mechanism involves a visit to Earth and a trip to the planet Logopolis – normally a quiet little place that keeps itself to itself. But on this occasion the meddling presence of the Doctor’s arch-enemy, the Master, ensures the disruption of normality. And even the Master is horrified by the threat of total chaos he unintentionally precipitates – until he finds a way to turn the imminent destruction of the universe to his own advantage...   Christopher H. Bidmead reads his own thrilling novelisation of the last adventure for the Fourth Doctor.   ‘BBC Audiobooks has chosen well with its books and has taken the right approach with its readers... they benefit from new music and sound effects’ - Doctor Who Magazine.

Christopher H Bidmead

Peter Davison

Still weak and confused after his fourth regeneration, the Doctor retreats to Castrovalva to recuperate.   But Castrovalva is not the haven of peace and tranquility the Doctor and his companions are seeking. Far from being able to rest quietly, the unsuspecting time-travellers are caught up once again in the evil machinations of the Master.   Only an act of supreme self-sacrifice will enable them to escape the maniacal lunacy of the renegade Time Lord.   Peter Davison reads Christopher H. Bidmead’s complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1983.   ‘BBC Audiobooks has chosen well with its books and has taken the right approach with its readers... they benefit from new music and sound effects’ - Doctor Who Magazine.

Christopher H Bidmead

Books by Christopher H Bidmead

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter