‘12 million years ago… evolution went up a blind alley.’ Image of the Fendahl (1977) is a fusion of the Gothic Doctor Who story with the colder post-Gothic tradition of Nigel Kneale and HP Lovecraft. It builds on the success of Chris Boucher’s earlier scripts to create a classic of the series, and still works as an adventure drama for a modern audience. It functions as a human drama, a scientific puzzle, a horror story, and a masterpiece of unease. Simon Bucher-Jones has written or co-written five novels for Doctor Who and its spinoffs.