Good news! Michael Scott actually gets the Doctor he is writing for. There isn't a lot of the cosmic clownery, to be fair, as he pushes the character swiftly and solidly into his secondary mode; fearful, blustering and yet unbowed as a trap set by the enigmatic - assuming you've not seen The Time Monster - Professor Thascalos plants The Necronomicon aboard the TARDIS and sends it hurtling into the domain of the hate-maddened Archons, last of the Old Ones.
And it's actually pretty good, if not flawless. Scott describes the Necronomicon as 'older than the universe', showing more familiarity with derivative mythos fiction than the motherlode, but hey, it's not Lovecraft's anniversary. There is also always something a trifle Seventh Doctorish about these cosmic encounters, but on the other hand the First Doctor encountered the appalling whimsy of the Celestial Toymaker and the Second himself fell foul of the vicissitudes of the Land of Fiction.
The main thing is that Scott has taken the time to get the Doctor right, and not only the Doctor; Jamie McCrimmon is spot on, from his incomprehension to his unquestionable and unquestioning valour and courage. The humour is there too, sparking occasionally against the dark background.
A good recovery after a bad start, but will the pace be maintained?
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