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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|image           = Ma-2.jpg
|name= Evolution
|series         = [[Virgin Missing Adventures]]
|image= Ma-2.jpg
|range          = Virgin Missing Adventures
|series=[[Virgin Missing Adventures]]
|number in range = 2
|number= 2
|number         = 2
|doctor=Fourth Doctor
|doctor         = Fourth Doctor
|companions= [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]
|companions     = [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]
|enemy= [[Percival Ross]], [[Tobias Breckinridge]]
|enemy           = [[Percival Ross]], [[Tobias Breckinridge]]
|setting=[[Dartmoor]], [[1880]]; [[Andromeda (galaxy)|Andromeda Galaxy]]
|setting         = {{il|[[Dartmoor]], [[1880]]|[[Andromeda (galaxy)|Andromeda Galaxy]]}}
|writer= [[John Peel]]
|writer         = John Peel
|publisher= Virgin Books
|cover          = [[Alister Pearson]]
|release date= [[15 September (releases)|15 September]] [[1994 (releases)|1994]]
|publisher       = Virgin Books
|format= Paperback Book; 13 Chapters, 256 Pages
|release date   = 15 September 1994
|isbn= ISBN 0-426-20422-0
|format         = Paperback Book; 13 Chapters, 256 Pages
|prev= Goth Opera (novel)
|isbn           = ISBN 0-426-20422-0
|next= Venusian Lullaby (novel)
|prev           = Goth Opera (novel)
}}
|next           = Venusian Lullaby (novel)
{{you may|evolution|n1=the scientific principle}}
}}{{prose stub}}{{dab page|Evolution (disambiguation)}}
'''''Evolution''''' was the second novel in the [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] series. It was written by [[John Peel]]. It featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]].
'''''Evolution''''' was the second novel in the ''[[Virgin Missing Adventures]]'' series. It was written by [[John Peel]] and featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]].


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
''"Someone is tampering with the fabric of the human cell," [[Fourth Doctor|the Doctor]] said darkly, "perverting its secrets to his own dark purposes."''
''"Someone is tampering with the fabric of the [[human]] [[Cell (biology)|cell]]," [[Fourth Doctor|the Doctor]] said darkly, "perverting its secrets to his own dark purposes."''


[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] wants to meet her fellow [[journalist]] [[Rudyard Kipling]], and the Doctor sets the co-ordinates for [[England]], [[Earth]], in the [[Victorian era|Victorian Age]]. As usual, [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] materialises in not quite the right place, and the [[time travel]]lers find themselves pursued across [[Devon]] [[moorland]] by a huge feral hound.
[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]] wants to meet her fellow [[journalist]] [[Rudyard Kipling]], and the Doctor sets the co-ordinates for [[England]], [[Earth]], in the [[Victorian era|Victorian Age]]. As usual, [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] materialises in not quite the right place, and the [[time travel]]lers find themselves pursued across [[Devon]] [[moorland]] by a huge feral hound.


[[Child]]ren have gone missing; at the local boarding school, the young Rudyard Kipling has set up search parties. Lights have been seen beneath the waters of the bay, and [[fishing|fishermen]] have been pulled from their boats and mutilated. Graves have been robbed of their corpses. Something is going on, and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], the ship's doctor from a recently berthed arctic whaler, is determined to investigate.
[[Child]]ren have gone missing; at the local [[boarding school]], the young Rudyard Kipling has set up search parties. Lights have been seen beneath the waters of the [[bay]], and [[fishing|fishermen]] have been pulled from their [[boat]]s and mutilated. [[Grave]]s have been robbed of their [[corpse]]s. Something is going on, and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], the ship's [[doctor]] from a recently berthed arctic [[whaler]], is determined to investigate.


The Doctor and Doyle join forces to uncover a macabre scheme to interfere with human [[evolution]] — and both Sarah Jane and Kipling face a terrifying transmogrification.
The Doctor and Doyle join forces to uncover a macabre scheme to interfere with human [[evolution]] — and both Sarah and Kipling face a terrifying transmogrification.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
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== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* The [[Fourth Doctor]]
* [[Fourth Doctor]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
* [[Rudyard Kipling]]
* [[Rudyard Kipling]]
* [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]
* [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]
* Sir [[Edward Fulbright]]
* [[Edward Fulbright|Sir Edward Fulbright]]
* [[Alexander Cromwell|Sir Alexander Cromwell]]
* [[Alexander Cromwell|Sir Alexander Cromwell]]
* [[Josh Anders]]
* [[Josh Anders]]
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* [[Billy (Evolution)|Billy]]
* [[Billy (Evolution)|Billy]]
* [[Tobias Breckinridge]]
* [[Tobias Breckinridge]]
* Captain [[John Gray]]
* [[John Gray|Captain John Gray]]
* [[Roger Bridewell]]
* [[Roger Bridewell]]
* [[Alice Fulbright]]
* [[Alice Fulbright]]
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* [[Raintree]]
* [[Raintree]]
* [[Jen Walker]]
* [[Jen Walker]]
* [[Jack Lamb]]
* [[Bernard Faversham]]
* [[Jim Brackley]]
* [[Martinson (Evolution)|Martinson]]
* [[Jack Kinney]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Sarah swims in the "tub" in the "bathroom" of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. The merchildren also stay in the "tub" on the trip to [[Andromeda (galaxy)|Andromeda]].
* Sarah swims in the "tub" in the "[[TARDIS swimming pool|bathroom]]" of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. The merchildren also stay in the "tub" on the trip to [[Andromeda (galaxy)|Andromeda]].
* Colonel Ross claims to be a special agent working directly under the command and authority of Her Majesty [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] and it is his job to investigate those matters that lie outside of the conventional.
* Colonel Ross claims to be a special agent working directly under the command and authority of Her Majesty [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] and it is his job to investigate those matters that lie outside of the conventional.
* The Doctor can speak fluent [[dolphin]].
* The Doctor can speak fluent [[dolphin]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* The Doctor is the inspiration for [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s [[Sherlock Holmes]] (and, possibly, {{w|Professor Challenger}}, as mentioned in the novel's coda). Specifically referenced are Holmes's choice of dress (the Doctor wears a deerstalker cap and long cloak), his methods of [[deductive reasoning]] and close reading of footprints to determine events at a crime scene. The outfit the Doctor is seen wearing on the cover of this story is also the same one he will wear in the television story ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)|The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]''.
* The Doctor is the inspiration for [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s [[Sherlock Holmes]]. Specifically referenced are Holmes's choice of dress (the Doctor wears a deerstalker cap and long cloak), his methods of [[deductive reasoning]] and close reading of footprints to determine events at a crime scene. The outfit the Doctor is seen wearing on the cover of this story is also the same one worn by him in the television story ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)|The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]''.
* The relationship between the Doctor and Doyle, himself a ship's [[surgeon]], parallels that of Holmes and [[John Watson|Dr Watson]].
* The relationship between the Doctor and Doyle, himself a ship's [[surgeon]], parallels that of Holmes and [[John Watson|Dr Watson]].
* There are numerous references to {{wi|The Hound of the Baskervilles}}, especially in the early parts of the novel, concerning a great, dog-like beast claiming victims on the moors.
* There are numerous references to ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'', especially in the early parts of the novel, concerning a great, dog-like beast claiming victims on the moors.
* This novel directly contradicts ''[[All-Consuming Fire (novel)|All-Consuming Fire]]'', published only a few months earlier, by strongly implying that Holmes and Watson are fictional characters, created by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], based on the Doctor and Doyle himself. ''Fire'', by contrast, treats Holmes and Watson as real people, fictionalised slightly by Doyle. Well after this novel's publication, other stories agreed with ''Evolution'', flatly stating that Holmes was a fictional character whose adventures, written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], were published in ''[[The Strand (magazine)|The Strand]]''. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers (novel)|The Bodysnatchers]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Snowmen (TV story)|The Snowmen]]'')
* The novel ''[[All-Consuming Fire (novel)|All-Consuming Fire]]'' establishes that while Sherlock Holmes is a real character in this universe, the name "Sherlock Holmes" is a pseudonym invented by [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]] to hide his true identity. This novel goes on to speculate that Doyle based some of the fictional Holmes' characteristics on the Fourth Doctor, in order to further obscure the detective's true identity. The TV story ''[[The Snowmen (TV story)|The Snowmen]]'' would later indicate that Holmes and his adventures were based on [[Vastra|Madame Vastra]].
* A crashed [[Rutan]] ship is key to the back-story. In the personal timeline of the Doctor, ''Evolution'' takes place before the television story ''[[Horror of Fang Rock (TV story)|Horror of Fang Rock]]'', which is also about events set in motion by a [[Rutan]] crashing in an isolated part of the English coast.
* A crashed [[Rutan]] ship is key to the back-story. In the personal timeline of the Doctor, ''Evolution'' takes place before the television story ''[[Horror of Fang Rock (TV story)|Horror of Fang Rock]]'', which is also about events set in motion by a [[Rutan]] crashing in an isolated part of the English coast.
* [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] is said to have secret agents who investigate unusual occurrences. This story was written twelve years before the television episode ''[[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]]'', so any intentional reference to the [[Torchwood Institute]] is impossible.
* [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] is said to have secret agents who investigate unusual occurrences. This story was written twelve years before the television episode ''[[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]]'', so any intentional reference to the [[Torchwood Institute]] is impossible.
* This story is set between ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'' and ''[[The Seeds of Doom (TV story)|The Seeds of Doom]]''.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Sarah refers to the planet [[Karn]] and her encounter with [[Morbius]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')  
* Sarah refers to the planet [[Karn]] and her encounter with [[Morbius]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})
* The Doctor mentions [[Metebelis III]] and [[Argolis]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'', ''[[The Leisure Hive (TV story)|The Leisure Hive]]'')
* The Doctor mentions [[Metebelis III]] and [[Argolis]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Spiders (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Leisure Hive (TV story)}})
* Sarah compares the moors to [[Karn]] and observes the effect that adventure has had on the Doctor's mood. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
* Sarah compares the moors to [[Karn]] and observes the effect that adventure has had on the Doctor's mood. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})
* Sarah refers to her first trip in the TARDIS to [[13th century]] [[England]] and her encounter with [[Sutekh]] in [[1911]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Warrior (TV story)|The Time Warrior]]'', ''[[Pyramids of Mars (TV story)|Pyramids of Mars]]'')
* Sarah refers to her first trip in the TARDIS to [[13th century]] [[England]] and her encounter with [[Sutekh]] in [[1911]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Time Warrior (TV story)}}, {{cs|Pyramids of Mars (TV story)}})
* The Doctor would again encounter someone experimenting with human evolution. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Ghost Light (TV story)}})


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{dwrefguide|who_ma02.htm|Evolution}}
{{dwrefguide|who_ma02.htm|Evolution}}
* {{whoniverse|ma02|Evolution}}
* {{whoniverse|ma02|Evolution}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/evol.htm The Cloister Library: '''Evolution''']
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/evol.htm The Cloister Library: '''Evolution''']
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[[Category:Rutan Host novels]]
[[Category:Rutan Host novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Andromeda Galaxy]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Andromeda Galaxy]]
[[Category:Pseudo-historical stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:49, 9 January 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
You may wish to consult Evolution (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Evolution was the second novel in the Virgin Missing Adventures series. It was written by John Peel and featured the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

"Someone is tampering with the fabric of the human cell," the Doctor said darkly, "perverting its secrets to his own dark purposes."

Sarah wants to meet her fellow journalist Rudyard Kipling, and the Doctor sets the co-ordinates for England, Earth, in the Victorian Age. As usual, the TARDIS materialises in not quite the right place, and the time travellers find themselves pursued across Devon moorland by a huge feral hound.

Children have gone missing; at the local boarding school, the young Rudyard Kipling has set up search parties. Lights have been seen beneath the waters of the bay, and fishermen have been pulled from their boats and mutilated. Graves have been robbed of their corpses. Something is going on, and Arthur Conan Doyle, the ship's doctor from a recently berthed arctic whaler, is determined to investigate.

The Doctor and Doyle join forces to uncover a macabre scheme to interfere with human evolution — and both Sarah and Kipling face a terrifying transmogrification.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Sarah swims in the "tub" in the "bathroom" of the Doctor's TARDIS. The merchildren also stay in the "tub" on the trip to Andromeda.
  • Colonel Ross claims to be a special agent working directly under the command and authority of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and it is his job to investigate those matters that lie outside of the conventional.
  • The Doctor can speak fluent dolphin.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor is the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Specifically referenced are Holmes's choice of dress (the Doctor wears a deerstalker cap and long cloak), his methods of deductive reasoning and close reading of footprints to determine events at a crime scene. The outfit the Doctor is seen wearing on the cover of this story is also the same one worn by him in the television story The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
  • The relationship between the Doctor and Doyle, himself a ship's surgeon, parallels that of Holmes and Dr Watson.
  • There are numerous references to The Hound of the Baskervilles, especially in the early parts of the novel, concerning a great, dog-like beast claiming victims on the moors.
  • The novel All-Consuming Fire establishes that while Sherlock Holmes is a real character in this universe, the name "Sherlock Holmes" is a pseudonym invented by Doyle to hide his true identity. This novel goes on to speculate that Doyle based some of the fictional Holmes' characteristics on the Fourth Doctor, in order to further obscure the detective's true identity. The TV story The Snowmen would later indicate that Holmes and his adventures were based on Madame Vastra.
  • A crashed Rutan ship is key to the back-story. In the personal timeline of the Doctor, Evolution takes place before the television story Horror of Fang Rock, which is also about events set in motion by a Rutan crashing in an isolated part of the English coast.
  • Queen Victoria is said to have secret agents who investigate unusual occurrences. This story was written twelve years before the television episode Tooth and Claw, so any intentional reference to the Torchwood Institute is impossible.
  • This story is set between The Brain of Morbius and The Seeds of Doom.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]