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{{Infobox Novel|
{{title dab away}}
novel name= First Frontier|
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:NA030_firstfrontier.jpg|250px]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[List of Virgin New Adventures Stories | Virgin New Adventures]] |
|image= NA030 firstfrontier.jpg
number= 30 |
|series = Virgin New Adventures
doctor=[[Seventh Doctor]] |
|range = Virgin New Adventures
companions= [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] |
|number in range = 30
enemy= [[Tzun]], [[the Master]] |
|number= 30
writer= [[David A. McIntee]] |
|doctor = Seventh Doctor
publisher= [[Virgin Books]] |
|companions= [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]
release date= |
|enemy= [[Tzun]], {{Tipple|n=the "Tzun" Master}}
format= Paperback Book, ? Pages |
|setting= [[New Mexico]], [[1957]]
isbn= 0426204212 }}
|writer= David A. McIntee
|cover= [[Tony Masero]]
|publisher= Virgin Books
|release date= 15 September 1994
|format= Paperback Book; 24 Chapters, 294 Pages
|isbn= ISBN 0-426-20421-2
|prev= Strange England (novel)
|next= St Anthony's Fire (novel)
|editor = Rebecca Levine
}}{{prose stub}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the thirtieth [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] novel. It featured the [[Seventh Doctor]], [[Ace]] and [[Bernice Summerfield]]. This novel also featured the first in-novel [[regeneration]] of a character from the [[List of Doctor Who television stories|TV series]]: [[the Master]]. It was one of three novels written by [[David A. McIntee]] that feature the Master, with [[Virgin Missing Adventures]]' ''[[The Dark Path (novel)|The Dark Path]]'' following in 1997 and [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]]' ''[[The Face of the Enemy (novel)|The Face of the Enemy]]'' being published in 1998.


==Publisher's Summary==
== Publisher's summary ==
'''[[Ace]] raised her blaster. 'You've already killed me once, girl,' [[Kreer]] said. 'Didn't you learn anything from that?''''
:''Ace raised her blaster. "You've already killed me once, girl," {{Tipple|n=Kreer}} said. "Didn't you learn anything from that?"''


When [[Bernice Summerfield|Bernice]] asks to see the dawn of the space age, [[the Doctor]] takes the [[TARDIS]] to the [[United States of America]] in [[1957]] - and into the midst of distrust and paranoia. The Cold War is raging, bringing the world to the brink of atomic destruction.  
When [[Bernice Summerfield|Bernice]] asks to see the dawn of the space age, [[Seventh Doctor|the Doctor]] takes the [[The Doctor's TARDIS (Silurian Earth)|TARDIS]] to the [[United States of America]] in [[1957]] — and into the midst of distrust and paranoia. The [[Cold War]] is raging, bringing the world to the brink of atomic destruction.


But the threat facing America is far more deadly than Communist Russia. The militaristic [[Tzun Confederacy]] have made [[Earth]] their next target for conquest - and the aliens are already among us.  
But the threat facing America is far more deadly than [[Communism|Communist]] [[Russia]]. The militaristic [[Tzun Confederacy]] have made [[Earth]] their next target for conquest — and the aliens are already among us.


Two nuclear warheads have been stolen; there are traitors to the human species in the highest ranks of the army; and alien infiltrators have assumed human form. Only one person seems to know what’s going on: the army’s mysterious scientific advisor, the enigmatic Major Kreer.  
Two [[nuclear warhead]]s have been stolen; there are traitors to the human species in the highest ranks of the army; and alien infiltrators have assumed human form. Only one person seems to know what's going on: the army's mysterious scientific advisor, the enigmatic Major {{Tipple|n=Kreer}}.
 
== Plot ==
On [[May Day]], [[1957]], the [[Soviet]]s launch [[Sputnik]] I. After it begins its orbit, the signal begins to fade and the [[satellite]] is lost. The mission will be erased from history, and when Sputnik II is launched, it will be renamed "Sputnik I."


==Notes==
''to be added''
''to be added''


==Characters==
== Characters ==
''to be added''
* [[Seventh Doctor]]
* [[Ace]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* {{Tipple|c}}
* [[Shadow (Kitling)|Shadow]]
* [[Joe Manco]]
* [[Allen Dulles]]
* [[Jack Finney]]
* [[Ken Andrews]]
* [[Marion Davison]]
* [[Nyby]]
* [[Robert Agar]]
* [[Jack Siegel]]
* [[Shok'Arl]]
* [[Sr'Shol]]
* [[Tzashan]]
* [[Stoker (First Frontier)|Stoker]]
* [[Xeno]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Biology ===
* The Master and Ace can detect each other because they are both infected with the [[Cheetah Virus]].
* The Master used [[Tzun]] genetic engineering to remove the [[Trakenite]] [[DNA]] from his body to restore him to a full [[Time Lord]].
* Brady watches ''[[I Love Lucy]]''.
 
=== Cultural references from the real world ===
* The Doctor makes a sly reference to [[Santa Mira]].
 
=== Documents ===
* The Master respects Bernice and has read her paper on ''[[Martian Feudalism]]''.
 
=== Individuals ===
* Shadow is the name of a [[Kitling]] named by the Master. It took him from the Cheetah World to [[1950s]] [[America]].
 
=== Planets ===
* [[Bandraginus Five]] was a shipyard for the [[Vegan (The Monster of Peladon)|Vegans]].
* Before being trapped on the [[Cheetah World]] [[the Master]] tried to start a war between [[Antari Two]] and [[Antari Three]].
* The Cheetah World had an atmosphere rich in [[artron energy]].
 
=== Psychology ===
* Bernice is immune to the Master's [[hypnosis|hypnotism]].
 
=== Species ===
* The [[Nestene Consciousness]] controls a section of the [[Tau quadrant]].
* The [[Tzun]] are from the planet [[S'Arl]].
* The [[Sidhe (Autumn Mist)|Sidhe]] are mentioned.
* [[First Rank]] is a rank of [[Time Lord]]s.
* Other species mentioned include the [[Rutan Host]], [[Venusian]]s, [[Cyberman|Cybermen]], and the [[Sontaran]]s, whom the Tzun feel are inferior warriors who do not develop their tactics and so become stagnant.
 
=== Sports ===
* It is best (supposedly) to have five arms and five legs when using [[Venusian aikido]].
 
=== TARDIS ===
* The Master constructs a [[Stattenheim remote control]] to retrieve his TARDIS.
 
=== Theories and concepts ===
* There is some discussion of [[dimensional transcendence]], which in turn leads to discussions of [[Gallifreyan]] [[warp matrix engineering]] and [[Block Transfer Computation]]s.
** A key to warp matrix engineering stems from the fact that the [[universe]] has 11 [[dimension]]s, and so could be said to exist as a point with no dimensions.
 
=== Time Lords ===
* The Master claims to be a [[Time Lord]] of the First Rank.
 
=== Vehicles ===
* Ace can fly a [[Hercules military plane]].
* Ace also used to fly a [[spacehopper]] in the [[Spacefleet]].


==References==
=== Weapons ===
[[The Master | Kreer]], [[Tzun]], [[Regeneration]]
* The Master uses his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]] once more.


==Continuity==
== Notes ==
[[Survival]]
* [[Sophie Aldred]] later posed for photographs wearing an outfit based upon the one worn by Ace on the cover of this novel, for her memoir, ''[[Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era]]''.
* A [[Prelude First Frontier (short story)|prelude]] was published for this novel in [[DWM 216]].
* This is the first published work to feature the Master post-''Survival''. Later stories would contradict ''First Frontier'', which follows on directly from ''Survival''. The Master is still infected by the Cheetah virus in ''[[Housewarming (short story)|Housewarming]]'' and ''[[Prime Time (novel)|Prime Time]]'', and is returned to his last crispy incarnation (before [[Tremas]]) in ''[[Dust Breeding (audio story)|Dust Breeding]]''.
* The regenerated Master's appearance is based on [[Basil Rathbone]] in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'', according to McIntee, First Frontier's author ([[DWM 222]]).
* The [[Seventh Doctor]]'s mention of the [[Darkling]]s, [[fungus|fungoid]] people from [[Yuggoth]] who were driven back to [[61 Cygni]], is a reference both to [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s {{wi|Fungi from Yuggoth}} and to the ''[[Blake's 7 (series)|Blake's 7]]'' episode ''[[w:c:blakes7:Killer (episode)|Killer]]'', where 61 Cygni is in the "Darkling Zone" and inhabited by aliens with advanced [[gene]]tic weapons.


==External Links==
== Continuity ==
* [http://drwhoguide.com/who_na30.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of '''First Frontier''']
* The Master rids himself of his [[Trakenite]] [[DNA]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken (TV story)|The Keeper of Traken]]'') which the Doctor theorises was most affected by the [[Cheetah Virus]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'')
* The [[Sidhe (Autumn Mist)|Sidhe]] are mentioned as existing in some of the upper [[dimension]]s above Earth. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Autumn Mist (novel)|Autumn Mist]]'')
* The Tzun later appear in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Mission: Impractical (novel)|Mission: Impractical]]'', and a single Tzun appears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Return of the Living Dad (novel)|Return of the Living Dad]]''.
* [[Bandraginus Five]] was mined and squashed to a ball by [[Zanak]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'')
* The Master later reappears to cause havoc for Benny. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'')
* The Master and a [[Kitling]] escaped the [[Cheetah Planet]]'s destruction together. ([[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'')
* Ace has previously calculated her [[birthday]] in the TARDIS. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Shadowmind (novel)|Shadowmind]]'')
* She can sense the Master via the [[Cheetah Virus]], something she hasn't felt for a while. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys (novel)|Timewyrm: Genesys]]'')
* Ace is still affected by [[Paul Richmann]]'s death. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[White Darkness (novel)|White Darkness]]'')
* The Doctor mentions [[Silurian|Homo Reptilicus]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Blood Heat (novel)|Blood Heat]]'') while the Master mentions their [[Sea Devil|aquatic branch]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sea Devils (TV story)|The Sea Devils]]'')
* The Master asks Benny if she thinks the [[Nestene]]s have ever reached Earth, to which she says no. ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'')
* The Master retrieves his TARDIS via a [[Stattenheim remote control]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Rani (TV story)|The Mark of the Rani]]'')
* He states the Doctor is "predictable as ever", ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin (TV story)|The Deadly Assassin]]'') while the Doctor claims the Master gets dizzy walking in straight lines. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Rani (TV story)|The Mark of the Rani]]'')
* The Tzun want to incorporate the Time Lords' [[symbiotic nucleus|symbiotic nuclei]] to allow them access to [[time]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'')
* The Tzun have access to the Master's recorded encounters with the Doctor. Record "Alpha.1" shows the [[Third Doctor]] attempting to disarm a bomb left by the Master. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'')
* When the Master betrays and kills the Tzun, Ace compares it to the [[Dalek]]s in [[1963]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'') the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] in [[1988]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|Silver Nemesis]]'') and the [[Hoothi]] on [[Heaven (Love and War)|Heaven]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he "once had [a nightmare] where all [his] old foes chased [him] round a soap opera". ([[TV]]: ''[[Dimensions in Time (TV story)|Dimensions in Time]]'')


{{Virgin New Adventure Series Box | before = [[Strange England]] | after = [[St Anthony's Fire]]}}
== Cover gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
NA030 firstfrontier.jpg|Original cover
NA030 firstfrontier textless cover.jpg|Textless cover
</gallery>


[[Category:Doctor Who stories]]
== External links ==
[[Category:Prose stories]]
* [https://doctorwho.guide/whona30p.htm Prelude to '''First Frontier''' as published in DWM #216]
[[Category:Virgin New Adventure Novels]]
{{dwrefguide|who_na30.htm|First Frontier}}
* {{whoniverse|na30|First Frontier}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/firs.htm The Cloister Library: '''First Frontier''']
* [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv43/beyondthebook.html#na030 Beyond the Book: First Frontier by Paul Scoones (Article) - TSV 43]
{{NA}}
{{Master stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Post-regeneration stories}}
{{TitleSort}}


{{stub}}
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:Old Master novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1957]]
[[Category:NA novels]]
[[Category:1994 novels]]
[[Category:Regeneration novels]]
[[Category:Post-regeneration stories]]

Latest revision as of 19:33, 27 June 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub

First Frontier was the thirtieth New Adventures novel. It featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield. This novel also featured the first in-novel regeneration of a character from the TV series: the Master. It was one of three novels written by David A. McIntee that feature the Master, with Virgin Missing Adventures' The Dark Path following in 1997 and BBC Past Doctor Adventures' The Face of the Enemy being published in 1998.

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

Ace raised her blaster. "You've already killed me once, girl," Kreer said. "Didn't you learn anything from that?"

When Bernice asks to see the dawn of the space age, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the United States of America in 1957 — and into the midst of distrust and paranoia. The Cold War is raging, bringing the world to the brink of atomic destruction.

But the threat facing America is far more deadly than Communist Russia. The militaristic Tzun Confederacy have made Earth their next target for conquest — and the aliens are already among us.

Two nuclear warheads have been stolen; there are traitors to the human species in the highest ranks of the army; and alien infiltrators have assumed human form. Only one person seems to know what's going on: the army's mysterious scientific advisor, the enigmatic Major Kreer.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

On May Day, 1957, the Soviets launch Sputnik I. After it begins its orbit, the signal begins to fade and the satellite is lost. The mission will be erased from history, and when Sputnik II is launched, it will be renamed "Sputnik I."

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Biology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural references from the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Documents[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Shadow is the name of a Kitling named by the Master. It took him from the Cheetah World to 1950s America.

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

Psychology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Sports[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • It is best (supposedly) to have five arms and five legs when using Venusian aikido.

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

Theories and concepts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Time Lords[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Master claims to be a Time Lord of the First Rank.

Vehicles[[edit] | [edit source]]

Weapons[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cover gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Original cover

    Original cover

  • Textless cover

    Textless cover

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

v • e
Virgin Books New Adventures
Seventh
Doctor
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Bernice
Summerfield
1997
1998
1999
v • e
The Master stories
Early life
Television
Prose
Comic
Audio
Webcast
"Inventor"
Audio
War Chief
Television
Prose
UNIT era
The cycle
ending
Decayed
Master
Tremas
Master
Old
Master
Television
Prose
Bruce
Master
Android/
Echo
Webcast
Prose
"Preacher"
Comics
Reborn
Master
"Merlin"
Prose
Pryce
Television
Child
Master
Comics
War Master
Saxon Master
Missy
The Lumiat
Audio
Spy Master
Unclear
incarnation

Prose
.
Other
realities
Barusa's universe
Prose
Unbound Master
Inferno Earth
Prose
The Warrior's universe
Audio
From stories
considered
not part
of the DWU
by this Wiki
"DWM"
Prose
"Battle"
Games
"Exclusive!"
Prose
"DWMS"
Comics
According to one account, the Master had the appearance of Roger Delgado while on Gallifrey. According to another, he had Anthony Ainley's likeness. According to another one, the one with James Dreyfus's appearance was the incarnation who ran away from Gallifrey.

Divided Loyalties, A Brief History of Time Lords and The Legions of Death feature, or otherwise acknowledge, the War Chief, but in the process contradicted the notion put forward by other stories that he was an incarnation of the Master.

One account suggests that the incarnation portrayed by Roger Delgado may be the same as the one portrayed by Peter Pratt while some others distinguish them.

According to one account, the incarnation portrayed by Gordon Tipple is the one portrayed by Anthony Ainley, while some others state that the Ainley one was already lost by then.

While fighting to extend his life at the end of his regeneration cycle, many bodies were possessed by the Beevers incarnation, but all kept somehow reverting to his real being until he finally regenerated into the MacQueen one. Hence, these sections cannot be strictly chronological
v • e
Regeneration stories
The Doctor
TV series
Comic Relief
Comics
Prose
Audio
Home video
Webcast
The Master
Television
Prose
Comics
Audio
Alternate universe
Romana
Television
Prose
Audio
Other
Time Lords
Television
Prose
Audio
Comics
Non-Time Lord Gallifreyans
Prose
Shobogans
Television
Proto-
Time Lords
Television
Audio
Others
Television
Prose
Comics
Audio
For the purposes of this list, a "regeneration story" is one in which a regeneration is actually and initially depicted. For this reason The War Games is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirms that the Second Doctor did not regenerate at the end of it.
Additionally, immediate post-regeneration stories, like the 2005 Children in Need Special Born Again — and ones like Castrovalva, where the regeneration sequence was replayed — are not included.
v • e
Post-regeneration stories
For the purposes of this list, a "post-regeneration story" is one in which the after-effects of a regeneration is actually and initially depicted and the Time Lord fully settles into their new body. For this reason, Rose is not included below, even though it is commonly thought of as a "post-regeneration story". It doesn't actually include a clear scene of regeneration, and the preponderance of stories in other media confirm that the Ninth Doctor has not immediately regenerated prior to the story.
The Doctor
Television
Prose
Audio
Comics
Poetry
The Master
Prose
Alternate
universe
Romana
Television
The Multitude
Audio
Other Time Lords
Television
Proto-Time Lords
Television
Audio
Others
Television
Regeneration is usually considered a biologic process exclusive to Time Lords and a few other species. However, some consider Regeneration to also be a "post-regeneration story", though neither describes anything close to a biological process.
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