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{{TitleNovel}}
{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Novel
|image       = <gallery>
|image = Onlyhuman.jpg
Onlyhuman.jpg|2006 edition
|name = Only Human
Only_Human.jpg|2013 edition
|series = [[BBC New Series Adventures]]
</gallery>
|number = 5
|series       = [[BBC New Series Adventures]]
|doctor = Ninth Doctor
|number       = 5
|companions = [[Rose Tyler]]<br />Captain [[Jack Harkness]]
|doctor       = Ninth Doctor
|enemy = [[Chantal Osterberg]]<br />The [[Hy-Bractor]]s
|companions   = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]
|year = [[Earth]], [[Far future|438,533 AD]]<br>[[Bromley]], [[2 May]] [[2005]] and [[May]] [[BC#Prehistory|29,185 BC]]
|enemy       = {{il|[[Chantal Osterberg]],| [[Hy-Bractor]]s}}
|writer = [[Gareth Roberts]]
|setting      = [[Bromley]], [[2005]] and [[24 May]] [[BC#Prehistory|29,185 BC]]
|publisher = [[BBC Books]]
|writer       = Gareth Roberts
|release date = [[8 September]] [[2005]]
|read by      = [[Anthony Head]]
|format = Hardcover book, 254 pages
|cover        = [[Henry Steadman]]
|isbn = ISBN 0-563-48639-2
|publisher    = BBC Books
|prev = The Deviant Strain (novel)
|release date = 8 September 2005
|next = The Stealers of Dreams (novel)
|release date2= 7 March 2013
}}
|format       = Hardcover book, 254 pages
'''''Only Human''''' was the fifth [[BBC New Series Adventures|Ninth Doctor novel]] released.
|isbn         = ISBN 0-563-48639-2
|prev         = The Deviant Strain (novel)
|next         = The Stealers of Dreams (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
'''''Only Human''''' was the fifth novel in the [[BBC New Series Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Gareth Roberts]] and featured the [[Ninth Doctor]], [[Rose Tyler]] and [[Jack Harkness]]. It was originally released in [[2005 (releases)|2005]] to accompany [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 1]] and was re-released in [[2013 (releases)|2013]] for ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s 50th Anniversary.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
Somebody's interfering with time. The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack arrive on modern-day Earth to find the culprit -- and discover a [[Neanderthal]] Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. Only a trip back to the primeval dawn of humanity can solve the mystery.
=== 2005 BBC Books edition ===
Somebody's interfering with time. [[Ninth Doctor|The Doctor]], [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] and [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack]] arrive on modern-day [[Earth]] to find the culprit and discover a [[Neanderthal]] Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. Only a trip back to the primeval dawn of [[human]]ity can solve the mystery.


Who are the mysterious humans from the distant future now living in that distant past? What hideous monsters are trying to escape from behind the Grey Door? Is Rose going to end up married to a caveman?
Who are the mysterious humans from the distant future now living in that distant past? What hideous monsters are trying to escape from behind the Grey Door? Is Rose going to end up married to a caveman?


Caught between three very different types of human being -- past, present and future -- the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack must learn the truth behind the [[Osterberg]] experiment before the monstrous [[Hy-Bractor]]s escape to change humanity's history forever...
Caught between three very different types of human being past, present and future the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack must learn the truth behind the [[Chantal Osterberg|Osterberg]] experiment before the monstrous [[Hy-Bractor]]s escape to change humanity's history forever...
 
=== 2013 BBC Books edition ===
Reports of a time disturbance lead the [[Ninth Doctor]] to modern-day [[London]], where he discovers a [[Neanderthal]] Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. A trip back to the dawn of [[human]]ity only deepens the mystery: who are these strange humans from the [[far future]] now living in the [[distant past]]? The Doctor must learn the truth about the Osterberg experiment before history is changed forever.
 
== Plot ==
On 2 October [[438533|438,533]], seven year-old [[Chantal Osterberg]] provides an account of how over the weekend, her cat, Dusty, was giving her and her family too many "wrong-feelings." She proceeded to do surgery on her cat, making her tail scaly, rearranging her organs, and altering her brain to catch more rats. Her parents didn't like this.
 
In [[Bromley]], [[2005]], [[Dean (Only Human)|Dean]] goes to a pub dressed as a Roman and gets into a fight with [[Das (Only Human)|Das]], who he believes is dressed as a caveman.
 
The [[Ninth Doctor]], [[Rose Tyler]], and [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] intend to go to [[Kegron Pluva]], but are drawn off course due to a time distortion. Rose investigates and finds that a caveman is in a nearby hospital. They go there to find that the hospital has been [[quarantine]]d and escape with Das with help from [[Weronica (Only Human)|Weronica]]. They try to bring Das back to his time, but he disintegrates when they try to take him in the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]. The Doctor believes it's because his time travel was unprotected, and tells Jack to look after him for a month while him and Rose investigate what happened.
 
Rose and the Doctor travel back in time to find the [[Osterberg Experiment]] led by Chantal, wherein a group of future humans travelled back in time. They discover that most future humans drug themselves in order to not feel wrong emotions. The Doctor and Rose each go with a different human — Rose with Reddy, a human who uses drugs, and the Doctor with T. P. Quilley, a "refuser." Rose throws away Reddy's "[[popper pack]]" and forces him to feel real emotions as they witness a [[Neanderthal]] birth, then is kidnapped by early humans. Quilley and the Doctor discover the [[Hy-Bractors]] and are both shortly kidnapped and drugged by Chantal.
 
Rose is coerced into a marriage with Tillun. The Doctor is [[Vivisection|vivisected]] by Chantal, before escaping as the drugs where off and helping Quilley escape as well.
 
''To be added.''


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* The [[Ninth Doctor]]
* [[Ninth Doctor]]
* [[Rose Tyler]]
* [[Rose Tyler]]
* Captain [[Jack Harkness]]
* [[Captain Jack Harkness]]
* [[Das (Only Human)|Das]]
* [[Das (Only Human)|Das]]
* [[Chantal Osterberg]]
* [[Chantal Osterberg]]
* [[Weronika]]
* [[Weronika (Only Human)|Weronika]]
* [[Jacob (Only Human)|Jacob]]
* [[Jacob (Only Human)|Jacob]]
* [[Lene]]
* [[Lene (Only Human)|Lene]]
* [[Tom of Osterberg|Tom]]
* [[Tom of Osterberg|Tom]]
* [[T. P. Quilley]]
* [[T. P. Quilley]]
* [[Tina]]
* [[Tina (Only Human)|Tina]]
* [[Reddy]]
* [[Reddy (Only Human)|Reddy]]
* [[X01]]
* [[X01]]
* [[Hy-Bractor]]s
* [[Hy-Bractor]]s
* [[Jackie Tyler]]
* [[Jackie Tyler]]
* [[Stephanie (Only Human)|Stephanie]]
* [[Stephanie (Only Human)|Stephanie]]
* [[Ka]]
* [[Ka (Only Human)|Ka]]
* [[Sakka]]
* [[Sakka (Only Human)|Sakka]]
* Sakka's Mate
* [[Sakka's mate (Only Human)|Sakka's mate]]
* Sakka's Daughter
* [[Sakka's daughter (Only Human)|Sakka's mate]]
* Neanderthal Midwife
* [[Neanderthal midwife (Only Human)|Neanderthal midwife]]
* [[Gual]]
* [[Gual (Only Human)|Gual]]
* [[Nan (Only Human)|Nan]]
* [[Nan (Only Human)|Nan]]
* [[Tillun]]
* [[Tillun (Only Human)|Tillun]]
* [[Anna Marie|Anna Marie O'Grady]]
* [[Anna Marie O'Grady]]
* The Priest
* [[The Priest (Only Human)|The Priest]]
 
== Worldbuilding ==
* [[Dean]] refers to [[Das (Only Human)|Das]] as <nowiki>''</nowiki>[[Captain Caveman]]<nowiki>''</nowiki>.
* The Doctor doesn't want Das to watch ''[[Farscape]]''.
* [[Rip engine]]s are a dangerous and primitive form of time travel.
* The Doctor says he was married to [[Lady Mary Wortley Montagu]].
* The Doctor discovers [[poppa pack]]s.
* The Doctor tells Jack to buy Das clothes from the Gap in [[Croydon]].
* The Doctor intends to take Rose and Jack to [[Kegron Pluva]].
 
=== TARDIS ===
 
* The TARDIS translation circuit has a swear filter.
* The TARDIS key works on a kind of meson projection system.
 
=== Science & Technology ===


== References ==
* The intriguing monotony in the occurrence of inter-caval conduction block during typical atrial flutter suggests an anatomic or electrophysiological predisposition for conduction abnormalities of the Doctor's heart.
* [[The Doctor's TARDIS]] has a swear filter.
* Chantal removed Rose's head from her body, which can be undone by reverse-locking the kinetic seal.
*When Das was telling [[The Doctor]], [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] and [[Captain Jack Harkness|Jack]], he mentioned "a strange tree" that brought him to 2005. This might be a reference to Doctor Who's first episode, [[An Unearthly Child]], where Kal says the same thing about the [[TARDIS]].
* Rose gets married to a prehistoric human. Her married name is "Rose Glathicgacymcilliach". This would make her a widow as [[Tillun]] lives out his natural life in his own time.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
* Later reprints of this book removed the image of Billie Piper from the cover, presumably due to use-of-likeness issues after she had left the programme.
* Later reprints of this book removed the image of [[Billie Piper]] from the cover.
* This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.
* This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.
* This book was reprinted in [[2013]] with an entirely new cover to celebrate the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' 50th Anniversary.
* This book was reprinted in 2013 with an entirely new cover to celebrate the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' 50th anniversary.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Doctor mentions that he has previously met [[Neanderthal]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[Ghost Light (TV story)|Ghost Light]]''; [[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys (novel)|Timewyrm: Genesys]]'')
* Rose reflects on her encounter with [[Gwyneth (The Unquiet Dead)|Gwyneth]] in [[Cardiff]] on [[24 December]] [[1869]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'')
* Rose reflects on her encounter with [[Gwyneth (The Unquiet Dead)|Gwyneth]] in [[Cardiff]] on [[24 December]] [[1869]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'')
* Rose recalls meeting Jack on [[20 January]] [[1941]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'' / ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'')
* Rose recalls meeting Jack during the [[The Blitz|Blitz]] on [[20 January]] [[1941]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'' / ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'')
* The Doctor uses the [[Fast Return Switch]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Edge of Destruction (TV story)|The Edge of Destruction]]'')
* The Doctor uses the [[fast return switch]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Edge of Destruction (TV story)|The Edge of Destruction]]'')
* The Doctor refers to the destruction of [[Gallifrey]] in the [[Time War]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'')
* The Doctor refers to the destruction of [[Gallifrey]] in the [[Last Great Time War]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'')
 
== Additional cover images ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Only_Human.jpg|2013 edition. Cover by [[Two Associates]].
</gallery>


== Audio release ==
== Editions published outside Britain ==
* The story was released as an audiobook read by [[Anthony Head]].
* Published in Finland by Luolamies Lontoossa in 2006 as a hardback edition, it was one of two books published in the 2000's.
* The audiobook is only available as a download from the [[AudioGo]] website.
* Published in China by New Star Press in 2017 as a hardback edition.


== Gallery ==
<gallery position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton="true" >
''<gallery hideaddbutton="true" captionalign="left">
Onlyhuman.jpg|Original cover
Only_Human_Finnish.jpg|Finnish edition
Only_Human_Finnish.jpg|Finnish edition
Onlyhuman-chinese.jpg|Chinese edition
</gallery>
== Audiobook ==
* This novel was released as an audiobook on [[1 January (releases)|1 January]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]] complete and unabridged by [[BBC Audio]] and read by [[Anthony Head]].
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Only Human Audio.jpg|Audiobook cover
Only Human Audio.jpg|Audiobook cover
Only_Human.jpg|The [[2013]] reprinting
</gallery>
</gallery>''


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{dwrefguide|whobb905.htm|Only Human}}
* {{Penguin|1093765/doctor-who--only-human/}}
* {{whoniverse|ND05.php|Only Human}}
{{dwrefguide|whobb905.htm|Only Human}}
 
* {{whoniverse|ns05|Only Human}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/onlyhuman.htm The Cloister Library: '''Only Human''']
{{NSA}}
{{NSA}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[it:Only Human (romanzo)]]
[[ro:Only Human]]
[[ro:Only Human]]
[[Category:Ninth Doctor novels]]
 
[[Category:Ninth Doctor NSA novels]]
[[Category:Ninth Doctor NSA novels]]
[[Category:2005 novels]]
[[Category:2005 novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2005]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2005]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in the distant past]]
[[Category:Stories set in 29185 BC]]
[[Category:Stories set on Earth]]
[[Category:Stories set in the far future]]
[[Category:Stories set in the far future]]
[[Category:50th Anniversary Collection NSA reprints]]

Latest revision as of 20:34, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub

Only Human was the fifth novel in the BBC New Series Adventures series. It was written by Gareth Roberts and featured the Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness. It was originally released in 2005 to accompany Series 1 and was re-released in 2013 for Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary.

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

2005 BBC Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

Somebody's interfering with time. The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack arrive on modern-day Earth to find the culprit — and discover a Neanderthal Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. Only a trip back to the primeval dawn of humanity can solve the mystery.

Who are the mysterious humans from the distant future now living in that distant past? What hideous monsters are trying to escape from behind the Grey Door? Is Rose going to end up married to a caveman?

Caught between three very different types of human being — past, present and future — the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack must learn the truth behind the Osterberg experiment before the monstrous Hy-Bractors escape to change humanity's history forever...

2013 BBC Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

Reports of a time disturbance lead the Ninth Doctor to modern-day London, where he discovers a Neanderthal Man, twenty-eight thousand years after his race became extinct. A trip back to the dawn of humanity only deepens the mystery: who are these strange humans from the far future now living in the distant past? The Doctor must learn the truth about the Osterberg experiment before history is changed forever.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

On 2 October 438,533, seven year-old Chantal Osterberg provides an account of how over the weekend, her cat, Dusty, was giving her and her family too many "wrong-feelings." She proceeded to do surgery on her cat, making her tail scaly, rearranging her organs, and altering her brain to catch more rats. Her parents didn't like this.

In Bromley, 2005, Dean goes to a pub dressed as a Roman and gets into a fight with Das, who he believes is dressed as a caveman.

The Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Captain Jack Harkness intend to go to Kegron Pluva, but are drawn off course due to a time distortion. Rose investigates and finds that a caveman is in a nearby hospital. They go there to find that the hospital has been quarantined and escape with Das with help from Weronica. They try to bring Das back to his time, but he disintegrates when they try to take him in the TARDIS. The Doctor believes it's because his time travel was unprotected, and tells Jack to look after him for a month while him and Rose investigate what happened.

Rose and the Doctor travel back in time to find the Osterberg Experiment led by Chantal, wherein a group of future humans travelled back in time. They discover that most future humans drug themselves in order to not feel wrong emotions. The Doctor and Rose each go with a different human — Rose with Reddy, a human who uses drugs, and the Doctor with T. P. Quilley, a "refuser." Rose throws away Reddy's "popper pack" and forces him to feel real emotions as they witness a Neanderthal birth, then is kidnapped by early humans. Quilley and the Doctor discover the Hy-Bractors and are both shortly kidnapped and drugged by Chantal.

Rose is coerced into a marriage with Tillun. The Doctor is vivisected by Chantal, before escaping as the drugs where off and helping Quilley escape as well.

To be added.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The TARDIS translation circuit has a swear filter.
  • The TARDIS key works on a kind of meson projection system.

Science & Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The intriguing monotony in the occurrence of inter-caval conduction block during typical atrial flutter suggests an anatomic or electrophysiological predisposition for conduction abnormalities of the Doctor's heart.
  • Chantal removed Rose's head from her body, which can be undone by reverse-locking the kinetic seal.

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Later reprints of this book removed the image of Billie Piper from the cover.
  • This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.
  • This book was reprinted in 2013 with an entirely new cover to celebrate the Doctor Who 50th anniversary.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Additional cover images[[edit] | [edit source]]

Editions published outside Britain[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Published in Finland by Luolamies Lontoossa in 2006 as a hardback edition, it was one of two books published in the 2000's.
  • Published in China by New Star Press in 2017 as a hardback edition.

Audiobook[[edit] | [edit source]]

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