Past Doctor Adventures
The Past Doctor Adventures (sometimes known by the abbreviation PDA or PDAs) were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures. The novels regularly featured the First through Seventh Doctors. The Infinity Doctors had an ambiguous place in continuity and featured an unidentified incarnation of the Doctor. The Eighth Doctor co-starred with the Fourth Doctor in one novel (Wolfsbane) and, after the Eighth Doctor Adventures had ceased publication, a novel (Fear Itself) featuring the Eighth Doctor and set between two earlier Eighth Doctor Adventures (EarthWorld and Vanishing Point) was published within the Past Doctor series. Like all alternate media, their position in relation to the television series is open to interpretation.
Publication history
Between 1991 and 1997, Virgin Publishing produced successful spin-off novels under the New Adventures and Missing Adventures ranges. However, following the Doctor Who television movie in 1996, the BBC did not renew Virgin Publishing's license to continue publishing Doctor Who material. Instead, they opted to publish their own range beginning in 1997 with The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Martin Day and Keith Topping. The range continued to be published through to 2005.
Virgin had distinguished the New and Missing Adventures with different cover designs. BBC Books, however, did not differentiate their novels featuring the current and past Doctors in this way, although they were listed separately within the books. Fans, however, continued to distinguish the ongoing story of the Eighth Doctor from the more stand-alone adventures of past Doctors.
Despite moving to the BBC, the writers (many of whom wrote for the Virgin series) have broadly attempted to maintain continuity with the New and Missing Adventures and many elements from these series have appeared in the Past Doctor Adventures (which replaced the Missing Adventures). Indeed, one of the novels — Millennium Shock by Justin Richards — was a direct sequel to System Shock, a Missing Adventure published by Virgin. Another notable release was Scream of the Shalka, a novelisation of the webcast of the same title and the only release in the Past Doctor range that did not feature an "official" incarnation of the Doctor. The Infinity Doctors, written by Lance Parkin, featured an unidentified Doctor.
In addition to the Past Doctor Adventures and the Eighth Doctor Adventures, the BBC also published three short story collections under the title of Short Trips which feature all eight (at the time of publication) Doctors. These were also inherited from Virgin, a version of their Decalog short story collections, and when the BBC ceased publishing them, a licence to continue was sought by Big Finish Productions, who continued to publish their own range of Short Trips collections until 2009.
The range has ceased publication. In the spring of 2005, BBC Books began publishing a series of hardcover books, the New Series Adventures. The BBC Past Doctor paperback series continued for the remainder of 2005, but no titles were announced after Andrew Cartmel's Atom Bomb Blues, which was released in November 2005. In a talk in July 2006, commissioning editor Justin Richards said that BBC Books have plans for the future of the Past Doctor Adventures, but that decisions had not yet been taken. (This is in the context of the BBC Books imprint being taken over by Random House and consequent managerial uncertainties.)[1]
Beginning in 2012, hardback books featuring past Doctors are being published, though at a much reduced rate compared with the pre-2005 output. The books are longer, in a larger format, and written by (or in once case, adapted from earlier work by) prominent science fiction authors. As of the mid-2014, the titles published are Shada by Gareth Roberts (a novelisation of the unbroadcast television story by Douglas Adams), The Wheel of Ice by Stephen Baxter, Harvest of Time by Alastair Reynolds and Engines of War by George Mann.
List of Past Doctor Adventures
Including books featuring two of the Doctors, the numbers of books each appears in are as follows: Fourth and Seventh Doctors, 13 books each; Second and Third Doctors, 12 books each; Sixth Doctor, 11 books; Fifth Doctor, 10 books; First Doctor, 8 books; and Eighth Doctor, 2 books.
# | Title | Author | Doctor | Featuring | Published |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Devil Goblins from Neptune | Martin Day and Keith Topping | 3rd | Liz, UNIT | June 1997 |
2 | The Murder Game | Steve Lyons | 2nd | Ben and Polly | July 1997 |
3 | The Ultimate Treasure | Christopher Bulis | 5th | Peri | August 1997 |
4 | Business Unusual | Gary Russell | 6th | Mel and The Brigadier | September 1997 |
5 | Illegal Alien | Mike Tucker and Robert Perry | 7th | Ace | October 1997 |
6 | The Roundheads | Mark Gatiss | 2nd | Ben, Polly and Jamie | November 1997 |
7 | The Face of the Enemy | David A. McIntee | 3rd | The Master, UNIT, The Brigadier, Ian, Barbara, and Harry | January 1998 |
8 | Eye of Heaven | Jim Mortimore | 4th | Leela | February 1998 |
9 | The Witch Hunters | Steve Lyons | 1st | Susan, Ian and Barbara | March 1998 |
10 | The Hollow Men | Martin Day and Keith Topping | 7th | Ace | 6 April 1998 |
11 | Catastrophea | Terrance Dicks | 3rd | Jo | May 1998 |
12 | Mission: Impractical | David A. McIntee | 6th | Frobisher | June 1998 |
13 | Zeta Major | Simon Messingham | 5th | Tegan and Nyssa | July 1998 |
14 | Dreams of Empire | Justin Richards | 2nd | Jamie and Victoria | August 1998 |
15 | Last Man Running | Chris Boucher | 4th | Leela | September 1998 |
16 | Matrix | Mike Tucker and Robert Perry | 7th | Ace | October 1998 |
17 | The Infinity Doctors | Lance Parkin | Unspecified | None | November 1998 |
18 | Salvation | Steve Lyons | 1st | Steven and Dodo | January 1999 |
19 | The Wages of Sin | David A. McIntee | 3rd | Jo and Liz | February 1999 |
20 | Deep Blue | Mark Morris | 5th | Tegan, Turlough and UNIT | March 1999 |
21 | Players | Terrance Dicks | 6th | Peri | April 1999 |
22 | Millennium Shock | Justin Richards | 4th | Harry | May 1999 |
23 | Storm Harvest | Mike Tucker and Robert Perry | 7th | Ace | June 1999 |
24 | The Final Sanction | Steve Lyons | 2nd | Jamie and Zoe | July 1999 |
25 | City at World's End | Christopher Bulis | 1st | Ian, Barbara and Susan | September 1999 |
26 | Divided Loyalties | Gary Russell | 5th | Adric, Nyssa and Tegan | October 1999 |
27 | Corpse Marker | Chris Boucher | 4th | Leela | November 1999 |
28 | Last of the Gaderene | Mark Gatiss | 3rd | Jo and UNIT | January 2000 |
29 | Tomb of Valdemar | Simon Messingham | 4th | Romana I and K-9 | February 2000 |
30 | Verdigris | Paul Magrs | 3rd | Jo | 3 April 2000 |
31 | Grave Matter | Justin Richards | 6th | Peri | May 2000 |
32 | Heart of TARDIS | Dave Stone | 2nd and 4th1 | Jamie, Victoria and Romana I1 | June 2000 |
33 | Prime Time | Mike Tucker | 7th | Ace | July 2000 |
34 | Imperial Moon | Christopher Bulis | 5th | Turlough and Kamelion | August 2000 |
35 | Festival of Death | Jonathan Morris | 4th | Romana II and K-9 | September 2000 |
36 | Independence Day | Peter Darvill-Evans | 2nd and 7th2 | Jamie and Ace2 | October 2000 |
37 | The King of Terror | Keith Topping | 5th | Tegan, Turlough and The Brigadier | November 2000 |
38 | The Quantum Archangel | Craig Hinton | 6th | Mel | January 2001 |
39 | Bunker Soldiers | Martin Day | 1st | Steven and Dodo | February 2001 |
40 | Rags | Mick Lewis | 3rd | Jo and UNIT | March 2001 |
41 | The Shadow in the Glass | Justin Richards and Stephen Cole | 6th | The Brigadier | 2 April 2001 |
42 | Asylum | Peter Darvill-Evans | 4th | Nyssa | May 2001 |
43 | Superior Beings | Nick Walters | 5th | Peri | June 2001 |
44 | Byzantium! | Keith Topping | 1st | Ian, Barbara and Vicki | July 2001 |
45 | Bullet Time | David A. McIntee | 7th | Sarah Jane Smith | August 2001 |
46 | Psi-ence Fiction | Chris Boucher | 4th | Leela | September 2001 |
47 | Dying in the Sun | Jon de Burgh Miller | 2nd | Ben and Polly | October 2001 |
48 | Instruments of Darkness | Gary Russell | 6th | Mel and Evelyn Smythe | November 2001 |
49 | Relative Dementias | Mark Michalowski | 7th | Ace | January 2002 |
50 | Drift | Simon A. Forward | 4th | Leela | February 2002 |
51 | Palace of the Red Sun | Christopher Bulis | 6th | Peri | March 2002 |
52 | Amorality Tale | David Bishop | 3rd | Sarah | April 2002 |
53 | Warmonger | Terrance Dicks | 5th | Peri | May 2002 |
54 | Ten Little Aliens | Stephen Cole | 1st | Ben and Polly | June 2002 |
55 | Combat Rock | Mick Lewis | 2nd | Jamie and Victoria | July 2002 |
56 | The Suns of Caresh | Paul Saint | 3rd | Jo | August 2002 |
57 | Heritage | Dale Smith | 7th | Ace | October 2002 |
58 | Fear of the Dark | Trevor Baxendale | 5th | Tegan and Nyssa | December 2002 |
59 | Blue Box | Kate Orman | 6th | Peri | March 2003 |
60 | Loving the Alien | Mike Tucker and Robert Perry | 7th | Ace | May 2003 |
61 | The Colony of Lies | Colin Brake | 2nd and 7th3 | Jamie, Zoe and Ace3 | July 2003 |
62 | Wolfsbane | Jacqueline Rayner | 4th and 8th4 | Harry and Sarah4 | September 2003 |
63 | Deadly Reunion | Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts | 3rd | Jo and UNIT | November 2003 |
64 | Scream of the Shalka | Paul Cornell | Unofficial 9th Doctor | Alison, The Master | February 2004 |
65 | Empire of Death | David Bishop | 5th | Nyssa | March 2004 |
66 | The Eleventh Tiger | David A. McIntee | 1st | Ian, Barbara and Vicki | May 2004 |
67 | Synthespians™ | Craig Hinton | 6th | Peri | July 2004 |
68 | The Algebra of Ice | Lloyd Rose | 7th | Ace | September 2004 |
69 | The Indestructible Man | Simon Messingham | 2nd | Jamie and Zoe | November 2004 |
70 | Match of the Day | Chris Boucher | 4th | Leela | February 2005 |
71 | Island of Death | Barry Letts | 3rd | Sarah | July 2005 |
72 | Spiral Scratch | Gary Russell | 6th | Mel | August 2005 |
73 | Fear Itself | Nick Wallace | 8th | Fitz and Anji | September 2005 |
74 | World Game | Terrance Dicks | 2nd | Lady Serena | October 2005 |
75 | The Time Travellers | Simon Guerrier | 1st | Susan, Ian and Barbara | 10 November 2005 |
76 | Atom Bomb Blues | Andrew Cartmel | 7th | Ace | December 2005 |
Notes
- ^ Although both Doctors play crucial roles in the plot, and are even briefly simultaneously present in the TARDIS console room, the Second is unaware of the Fourth's presence, with the Fourth Doctor and Romana hiding under the console at the opposite side from the younger Doctor and his companions after entering the ship via a dimensional rift to deal with a disruption caused by its presence in a dimensional anomaly.
- ^ The Second Doctor and Jamie appear briefly at the beginning of the novel visiting the planet Mendeb Two, but do not interact with the Seventh Doctor or Ace; their actions during this visit prompt the Seventh Doctor to return.
- ^ Although the Seventh Doctor and Ace appear at the beginning and the conclusion of the novel, Ace never meets the past Doctor and companions, and the Seventh's only contact with his other self occurs in an artificial reality simulation when the Second Doctor is attempting to access a ship's computer, the future Doctor providing his younger self with advice and information for tackling the current situation.
- ^ Although both Doctors play important roles in solving the crisis, their involvement takes place a month apart, with the Eighth Doctor and Harry Sullivan tackling the problem in November while the Fourth Doctor and Sarah deal with the aftermath in December. Also, Harry is the only person to interact with both Doctors (although the Fourth Doctor and Sarah learn of the Eighth's presence, neither of them appear to realise that he is the Doctor), and the Eighth's current state of amnesia- in the aftermath of The Ancestor Cell- prevents either the Eighth Doctor or Harry from recognising each other.
See also
References
External links
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