This is a candidate for my favourite Terrance Dicks Target - so it's odd to be reminded that it opens with a prologue which we now know to be by Robert Holmes, describing how Jingo Linx (full name) came to land on Sol 3 in the first place. His ship is incidentally only a scout ship, only a few steps better than a shuttle craft, which he took to as a desperate way of evading the pursuing Rutans.
Throughout the book there's a lot of bits from Linx's POV, about the logic of his plans and motivation. It reinforces the impression from the screen version that he's an unusually thoughtful DW villain. (How many other monsters put people down with remarks like 'The variety of sentient life-forms is infinite. Do you imagine that your appearance is pleasing to me?')
The 20th-century segment opens with the Brigadier's thoughts about how the Doctor has been very irritable since Jo left, refusing the offer of a new assistant. The Brig's almost pleased by the missing scientists mystery, as it'll give the Doctor something else to think about.
Rubeish is 'old' and his joke about his wife is accompanied by a 'malicious' smile - much harsher tone than his screen performance warrants. His chalking on the TARDIS prompts the Doctor to say that it's neither a blackboard nor a 'public convenience'.
We see the TARDIS trip from Sarah's POV, as she hides in the console room wardrobe. (I was disappointed by the lack of an interior TARDIS scene on first viewing, though it has the next best thing, a return to the ship for a piece of equipment. Cf Carnival). On arrival, she's stunned to find herself 'in a forest, at dawn on a summer morning.'
Sir Edward's ineffectuality is due to a fever he brought back from Crusading (probably dating the episode either c.1105 or 1200). Lady Eleanor comes down into the castle kitchens and surprises Hal flirting with the kitchen maid. This demonstration of his initiative gives her the idea to send him to assassinate Irongron.
Sarah's dawning realisation, as she talks to Irongron, that she's really in the past is well conveyed. Similarly when she sees Hal about to be executed - she still wants to believe that 'somewhere there was a hidden camera and they'd all pack up and have a cup of tea.' Delicious.
The Doctor goes back to the TARDIS to get some ingredients for his smoke bombs. Would Lady Eleanor have trusted him to come back at that early stage? He already has taken lessons from Rembrandt, it's not just a future plan. Sarah's wonderful interjection 'I could murder a cup of tea' is replaced by 'Could I do with a nice cup of tea', which isn't nearly as good. When the Doctor mentions Terra he makes it clear that it means the Earth.
At the attack on the castle, Irongron says that the messenger to Lord Salisbury 'lies in our dungeons' not 'died in our dungeon'. And indeed we're told that Hal visits the dungeon and sends him 'scurrying into the forest' on his way to disarm Irongron in the final minutes. I'm not so keen on this change, the death of the messenger was a symbolic indication that Irongron is enough of a genuine villain to make it 'fair' for him to get killed by Linx instead of escaping too.
When Linx throws Irongron, the results are much more spectacular - he goes over the table and slides down the wall, presumably because the shocked expression he does on screen wouldn't work on the page. Similarly, the 'towering intelligence' bit doesn't provoke a funny look from Irongron (this is transferred instead to the 'it puzzles me why you did not' line earlier).
The friars' robes worn by the Doctor and Sarah are obtained from two real friars in return for a handsome donation. We briefly see them walking back to their monastery.
Rubeish makes himself a lorgnette, not a quizzing glass. When Linx says to the Doctor 'We are sworn enemies', he is nevertheless 'intrigued' by the Doctor's suggestion of help.
When the Doctor is 'explaining' about the probic vent to Rubeish, Sarah cottons on to what he was talking about - she can see the vent from where she's standing - which she couldn't have done on screen, as she was in front of Linx.
Terrance leaves in the notorious 'potato-peeling' passage (potatoes not having come to Europe until 3 or 4 centuries after the time depicted). Sarah doesn't take off her serving maid disguise after poisoning the food.
Not content with his extra trip to the TARDIS for chemicals earlier, the Doctor still makes the return visit seen on screen to get his metal umbrella. He changes his jacket and shirt too - did we see any evidence of that on screen?
At the end, Hal isn't surprised by the disappearance of the TARDIS, as that's how he expects a wizard to depart.
My favourite change - possibly the best of all Targetisms - is the way that Linx's ship actually takes off after he dies, rather than blowing up. Terrance comments drily: 'Commander Linx was going back to his war at last.'
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