Target Books/1981: Difference between revisions

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[[Target Books]] was the main publishing imprint of Doctor Who titles from 1973 until the early 1990’s.
{{real world}}
{{target years}}
'''[[Target Books]]' ''[[Doctor Who]]'' output in [[1981 (releases)|1981]]''' was unusually low — at least in terms of novelisations. As had happened in [[Target Books/1973|1973]], Target only added three titles to their catalogue. Importantly, though, the adaptation of ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' debuted this year. At the same time, editorial policy changed at Target, so as to give preference to the commissioning of the [[serial]]'s original screenwriter wherever possible.


==Novelisation Covers==
If it was a sparse year for novelisations, however, it was a reasonably eventful one for ''Doctor Who'' non-fiction. The first [[The Doctor Who Programme Guide|programme guide]] was published in 1981, offering many fans their initial exposure to a complete listing of ''Doctor Who'' [[serial]]s. Target also launched its range of quiz and puzzle books with ''[[The Doctor Who Quiz Book (1981)|The Doctor Who Quiz Book]]'', and gave fans their first look at a kind of "''Doctor Who'' timeline" with ''[[The Terrestrial Index]]''.
<gallery>
 
Image:Creature_from_The_Pit_novel.jpg |[[Doctor Who and the Creature From the Pit]]
== Stories ==
Image:Enemy_of_the_World_novel.jpg|[[Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World]]
{| {{prettytable}}
Image:001a.jpg|[[Doctor Who and An Unearthly Child]]
!No. || Title || Author || Doctor || Featuring || Based on || Released
</gallery>
|-
== Reprints and Other Title Covers ==
|011
<gallery>
|''[[Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit]]''
Image:3Cybermen.jpg |[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]
|[[David Fisher (writer)|David Fisher]]
Image:Doctor_Who_The_Programme_Guide_PB.jpg|[[Doctor Who Programme Guide]]
|[[Fourth Doctor|4th]]
Image:Doctor_Who_The_Terrestial_Index_PB.jpg|[[The Terrestrial Index]]
|[[Romana II]], [[K9 Mark II]]
Image:QuizBook1.jpg|[[Doctor Who Quiz Books|Doctor Who Quiz Book]]
|''[[The Creature from the Pit (TV story)|The Creature from the Pit]]''
|[[15 January (releases)|15 January]] [[1981 (releases)|1981]]
|-
|024
|''[[Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World]]''
|[[Ian Marter]]
|[[Second Doctor|2nd]]
|[[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]], [[Victoria Waterfield|Victoria]], [[Ramón Salamander]]
|''[[The Enemy of the World (TV story)|The Enemy of the World]]''
|[[16 April (releases)|16 April]] 1981
|-
|068
|''[[Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child (novelisation)|Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child]]''
|[[Terrance Dicks]]
|[[First Doctor|1st]]
|[[Susan Foreman|Susan]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]]
|''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''
|[[15 October (releases)|15 October]] 1981
|}
 
== Novelisation covers ==
<gallery position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton="true" >
Creature_from_The_Pit_novel.jpg|''[[Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit]]''
Enemy_of_the_World_novel.jpg|''[[Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World (novelisation)|Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World]]''
Doctor_Who_and_an_Unearthly_Child.jpg|''[[Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child (novelisation)|Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child]]''
</gallery>
</gallery>


==Publishing History==
== Other Books ==
: REISSUE: [[Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]    (Issued with a new cover by [[Bill Donohoe]])<br>
{| {{prettytable}}
'''January'''
! Title || Author || Released
*[[Doctor Who and the Creature From the Pit]] Writer: [[David Fisher]] Cover Artist: [[David Dennington]]<br>
|-
'''April'''
|''[[The Doctor Who Programme Guide|The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 1]]''
*[[Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World]] Writer: [[Ian Marter]] Cover Artist: [[Bill Donohoe]]<br>
|rowspan=2|[[Jean-Marc Lofficier]]
'''October'''
|rowspan=2|[[21 May (releases)|21 May]] [[1981 (releases)|1981]]
*[[Doctor Who and An Unearthly Child]] Writer: [[Terrance Dicks]] Cover Artist: [[Andrew Skilleter]]
|-
*[[Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 1]] Writer: [[Jean-Marc Lofficier]] Cover Artist: [[Bill Donohoe]]
|''[[The Doctor Who Programme Guide|The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2]]''
*[[Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2]] Writer: [[Jean-Marc Lofficier]] Cover Artist: [[Bill Donohoe]]
|-
'''December'''
|''[[The Doctor Who Quiz Book (1981)|The Doctor Who Quiz Book]]''
*[[Doctor Who Quiz Books|Doctor Who Quiz Book]]
|[[Nigel Robinson]]
|[[10 December (releases)|10 December]] 1981
|}


==Publishing Notes==
== Reprints and other books covers ==
* Beginning with the 1981 releases, there was a noticeable change in the format of the Target Book series. Up until this point, with a few exceptions (such as [[Brian Hayles]] and [[Gerry Davis]]), Target Books usually commissioned one of its staff writers to write the novelisations (more often than not, [[Terrance Dicks]], but also [[Malcolm Hulke]] and several ''Doctor Who'' TV producers). The release of ''[[Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit]]'' marked the start of a concerted effort by Target to, whenever possible, commission the original teleplay writer to also write the novelisation; in this initial case, [[David Fisher]]. This practise soon extended to include script writers from the 1960s as well; if the original writer was not available or not willing, Target would commission a staff writer such as Dicks or [[Ian Marter]] to take on the job. This practice continued through to the tend of the Target novelisations series.
<gallery position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton="true" >
Cybermen1981.jpg|''[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen (novelisation)]]''
DWPGcover.jpg|''[[The Doctor Who Programme Guide]]'' (two volumes)
QuizBook1.jpg|''[[The Doctor Who Quiz Book (1981)|The Doctor Who Quiz Book]]''
</gallery>


==[[Target Books (1980)|Previous: Target Books (1980)]]==
== Publishing notes ==
==[[Target Books (1982)|Next: Target Books (1982)]]==
* Beginning with the 1981 releases, there was a noticeable change in the format of the Target Book series. Up until this point, with a few exceptions (such as [[Brian Hayles]] and [[Gerry Davis]]), Target Books usually commissioned one of its staff writers to write the novelisations (more often than not, [[Terrance Dicks]], but also [[Malcolm Hulke]] and several ''Doctor Who'' TV producers). The release of ''[[Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit]]'' marked the start of a concerted effort by Target to, whenever possible, commission the original teleplay writer to also write the novelisation; in this initial case, [[David Fisher (writer)|David Fisher]]. This practice soon extended to include script writers from the 1960s as well; if the original writer was not available or not willing, Target would commission a staff writer such as Dicks or [[Ian Marter]] to take on the job (due to the smaller-than-usual number of releases in 1981, this means scriptwriter-penned novelisations would not begin to appear in force until 1982). This practice continued through to the end of the Target novelisations series.


[[Category:Target Books| ]]
[[Category:Target Books by year]]

Latest revision as of 13:50, 15 January 2023

RealWorld.png

Target Books' Doctor Who output in 1981 was unusually low — at least in terms of novelisations. As had happened in 1973, Target only added three titles to their catalogue. Importantly, though, the adaptation of An Unearthly Child debuted this year. At the same time, editorial policy changed at Target, so as to give preference to the commissioning of the serial's original screenwriter wherever possible.

If it was a sparse year for novelisations, however, it was a reasonably eventful one for Doctor Who non-fiction. The first programme guide was published in 1981, offering many fans their initial exposure to a complete listing of Doctor Who serials. Target also launched its range of quiz and puzzle books with The Doctor Who Quiz Book, and gave fans their first look at a kind of "Doctor Who timeline" with The Terrestrial Index.

Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

No. Title Author Doctor Featuring Based on Released
011 Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit David Fisher 4th Romana II, K9 Mark II The Creature from the Pit 15 January 1981
024 Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World Ian Marter 2nd Jamie, Victoria, Ramón Salamander The Enemy of the World 16 April 1981
068 Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child Terrance Dicks 1st Susan, Ian, Barbara An Unearthly Child 15 October 1981

Novelisation covers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Other Books[[edit] | [edit source]]

Title Author Released
The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 1 Jean-Marc Lofficier 21 May 1981
The Doctor Who Programme Guide Volume 2
The Doctor Who Quiz Book Nigel Robinson 10 December 1981

Reprints and other books covers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Publishing notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Beginning with the 1981 releases, there was a noticeable change in the format of the Target Book series. Up until this point, with a few exceptions (such as Brian Hayles and Gerry Davis), Target Books usually commissioned one of its staff writers to write the novelisations (more often than not, Terrance Dicks, but also Malcolm Hulke and several Doctor Who TV producers). The release of Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit marked the start of a concerted effort by Target to, whenever possible, commission the original teleplay writer to also write the novelisation; in this initial case, David Fisher. This practice soon extended to include script writers from the 1960s as well; if the original writer was not available or not willing, Target would commission a staff writer such as Dicks or Ian Marter to take on the job (due to the smaller-than-usual number of releases in 1981, this means scriptwriter-penned novelisations would not begin to appear in force until 1982). This practice continued through to the end of the Target novelisations series.
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