Once again, we land on one of the Virgin Missing Adventures, and the title of the range is, in this instance, quite apt. This feels a bit like a season finale for Season Seven which we never got, most prominently for the reason that it features Liz Shaw's actual departure from UNIT. This is much needed, because the impression that we got of Liz in the TV series, of a scientifically curious woman ill at ease with military hierarchy, all but demands that we get something out of her eventual exit. There's just too much potential here to leave squandered.
As far as the "Liz leaves" plot goes, The Scales of Injustice handles it expertly. The character is handled with obvious love, and written with plenty of wit. Her own bemusement with herself over her fondness for her pet guinea pig is really funny, as is the moment where she thinks to herself that she has the Brig "trained" about sexism in the workplace. She's also just as clever and resourceful as she was on the TV show, if not more so. She certainly doesn't leave it to the Doctor to decide what she should be doing during this story, since she strikes off on her own to investigate the mystery surrounding the return of the Silurians.
Oh yeah, those things are back. This story makes one important retcon to Doctor Who and the Silurians, namely clarifying that, oopsie, Lethbridge-Stewart did not do a war crime, and in fact the Silurian bunker under Wenley Moor is just sealed off, not destroyed. This is a little jarring, but probably necessary for the viability of the UNIT formula at large. I made much of the fact that the ending of Doctor Who and the Silurians was a sort of wound to the Doctor's ability to work with UNIT that was never adequately addressed on the screen. Now, it seems, it's mended. If I sound less than convinced, it's maybe because I'd prefer to see the Doctor-UNIT relationship be strengthened onscreen. Perhaps there's something that will help with that in the upcoming seasons?
Anyway, as welcome as it is to get another dose of the Silurians and Sea Devils - and we do get several fascinating hints of their wider culture - they are simply not the focus of the book so much as scene dressing. The book spends far more time navigating the twists and turns of a labyrinthine plot involving a "conspiracy reaching deep into the heart of the British government". It turns out that someone has been naughty and has been hoarding alien technology from all the previous alien invasions of Earth. Amusingly, in their Vault there are (even more) pieces of WOTAN about, as well as a Dalek casing from Remembrance of the Daleks, though the Third Doctor is understandably mystified when he sees it. Detailing the bad behavior of this rogue group takes up most of this story, and to be honest, I didn't enjoy it best. Like with Wonderland, this feels like an unwelcome intrusion of the X-Files milieu into Doctor Who, and despite doing my best to read carefully, I mostly just come away confused about how the Vault, the Glasshouse, C19, UNIT, and the British government are all connected.
That isn't to say the conspiracy plot is a complete failure, though. It's at the very least extremely exciting, with loads of action. As is typical for this period, the action is rather nasty and crude, but such is the Virgin house style. I was also delighted to finally twig onto who the Pale Man's boss actually was. Albeit not spelled outright, the hints were enough to tip me off.
It's a heartfelt moment when the Doctor reflects on the fact that he doesn't really know Liz all that well, and his admission to her later that he'd really like to get to know her properly, that really gets to me. A word must also go to the revelatory treatment of the Brigadier in this story, as his failing marriage due to the secrecy of his all-consuming job is sketched out in heartbreaking detail. There is a very strong emotional core to this story, despite its flaws. For fans of the era, I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.
The Terror of the Autons will start us off on Season Eight next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 25 March 2021)
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