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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|name= First Frontier
|image= NA030 firstfrontier.jpg
|image= NA030 firstfrontier.jpg
|series=[[Virgin New Adventures]]
|series = Virgin New Adventures
|number= 30  
|range = Virgin New Adventures
|doctor=Seventh Doctor  
|number in range = 30
|companions= [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]  
|number= 30
|enemy= [[Tzun]], {{Frontier}}  
|doctor = Seventh Doctor
|setting= [[New Mexico]], [[1957]]  
|companions= [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]
|writer= [[David A. McIntee]]  
|enemy= [[Tzun]], {{Tipple|n=the "Tzun" Master}}
|publisher= Virgin Books  
|setting= [[New Mexico]], [[1957]]
|release date= [[15 September (releases)|15 September]] [[1994 (releases)|1994]]
|writer= David A. McIntee
|format= Paperback Book, 294 Pages  
|cover= [[Tony Masero]]
|isbn= ISBN 0-426-20421-2  
|publisher= Virgin Books
|prev= Strange England (novel)  
|release date= 15 September 1994
|next= St Anthony's Fire (novel)}}
|format= Paperback Book; 24 Chapters, 294 Pages
'''''{{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 is 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.
|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," {{Frontier|n=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, [[Seventh Doctor|the Doctor]] takes the [[The Doctor's TARDIS (Blood Heat)|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 {{Frontier|n=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 ==
== 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."
''to be added''
''to be added''


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* [[Ace]]
* [[Ace]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* {{Frontier|c}}
* {{Tipple|c}}
* [[Shadow (Kitling)|Shadow]]
* [[Shadow (Kitling)|Shadow]]
* [[Joe Manco]]
* [[Joe Manco]]
* [[Allen Dulles]]
* [[Allen Dulles]]
* [[Andrews (First Frontier)|Andrews]]
* [[Jack Finney]]
* [[Jack Finney]]
* [[Ken Andrews]]
* [[Marion Davison]]
* [[Marion Davison]]
* [[Nyby]]
* [[Nyby]]
* [[Robert Agar]]
* [[Robert Agar]]
* [[Jack Siegel]]
* [[Shok'Arl]]
* [[Shok'Arl]]
* [[Sr'Shol]]
* [[Tzashan]]
* [[Stoker (First Frontier)|Stoker]]
* [[Stoker (First Frontier)|Stoker]]
* [[Xeno]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Biology ===
=== Biology ===
* The Master and Ace can detect each other because they are both infected with the [[Cheetah Virus]].
* The Master and Ace can detect each other because they are both infected with the [[Cheetah Virus]].
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=== Cultural references from the real world ===
=== Cultural references from the real world ===
* The Doctor makes a sly reference to [[Santa Mira]], thus making the film, {{wi|Invasion of the Body Snatchers}}, something that actually happened in the [[Doctor Who universe|DWU]].
* The Doctor makes a sly reference to [[Santa Mira]].
 
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor has Majestic clearance with the US government.


=== Documents ===
=== Documents ===
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=== Individuals ===
=== Individuals ===
* [[Ace]] will be twenty-seven in a few months.
* Shadow is the name of a [[Kitling]] named by the Master. It took him from the Cheetah World to [[1950s]] [[America]].
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] thinks of the Doctor and Ace as her only family.
* Bernice imagines the Doctor marrying the TARDIS.
* [[Shadow (Kitling)|Shadow]] is the name of a [[Kitling]] named by the Master. It took him from the Cheetah World to [[1950s]] [[America]].
 
=== The Master ===
* {{Frontier|c}} recovered enough from his fight with the Doctor on the Cheetah Planet to teleport back to Earth. However, the explosion of the planet transported him back thirty-two years.
* The Master [[Regeneration|regenerates]] after Ace shoots him in the back. He turns into someone a little bit taller than his previous body (which had been infected with the [[Cheetah Virus]]). The body has a high forehead, glossy moustache, neat beard, aristocratic nose and a lean face. He was intended to resemble the actor Basil Rathbone.


=== Planets ===
=== Planets ===
* [[Bandraginus Five]] was a shipyard for the [[Vegan (The Monster of Peladon)|Vegans]].
* [[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]].
* 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]].
* The Cheetah World had an atmosphere rich in [[artron energy]].


=== Psychology ===
=== Psychology ===
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=== Species ===
=== Species ===
* The [[Nestene Consciousness]] controls a section of the [[Tau Quadrant]].
* The [[Nestene Consciousness]] controls a section of the [[Tau quadrant]].
* The [[Tzun]] are from the planet [[S'Arl]].
* The [[Tzun]] are from the planet [[S'Arl]].
* The [[Sidhe (Autumn Mist)|Sidhe]] are mentioned.
* 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 ===
=== Sports ===
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=== Theories and concepts ===
=== 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.
* 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 ===
=== Time Lords ===
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=== Vehicles ===
=== Vehicles ===
* Ace can fly a [[Hercules military plane]], thanks to what the Doctor refers to as the "narrow minded military": keeping things similar in all airborne craft.
* Ace can fly a [[Hercules military plane]].
* Ace also used to fly a [[spacehopper]] in the [[Spacefleet]].
* Ace also used to fly a [[spacehopper]] in the [[Spacefleet]].


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* [[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]]''.
* [[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]].
* 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.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The Master acquired the Trakenite DNA after stealing Tremas's body in [[TV]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]''.
* 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 Master last appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[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 [[Sidhe (Autumn Mist)|Sidhe]] (mentioned in this novel) appear in [[PROSE]]: ''[[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]]''.
* The Tzun appear in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Mission: Impractical]]''.
* [[Bandraginus Five]] was mined and squashed to a ball by [[Zanak]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'')
* A single Tzun appears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Return of the Living Dad]]''.
* The Master later reappears to cause havoc for Benny. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'')
* Bandraginus Five was mined and squashed to a ball in [[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet]]''.
* The Master and a [[Kitling]] escaped the [[Cheetah Planet]]'s destruction together. ([[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'')
* The Master reappears to cause havoc for Benny in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings]]''.
* Ace has previously calculated her [[birthday]] in the TARDIS. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Shadowmind (novel)|Shadowmind]]'')
* A [[Kitling]] last appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[Survival]]''.
* She can sense the Master via the [[Cheetah Virus]], something she hasn't felt for a while. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys (novel)|Timewyrm: Genesys]]'')
* The [[Seventh Doctor]] states that ''[[Dimensions in Time]]'' was a [[dream]].
* 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]]'')
 
== Cover gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
NA030 firstfrontier.jpg|Original cover
NA030 firstfrontier textless cover.jpg|Textless cover
</gallery>


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/whona30p.htm Prelude to '''First Frontier''' as published in DWM #216]
* [https://doctorwho.guide/whona30p.htm Prelude to '''First Frontier''' as published in DWM #216]
* {{Dwrefguide|who_na30.htm|First Frontier}}
{{dwrefguide|who_na30.htm|First Frontier}}
* {{whoniverse|NA30.php|First Frontier}}
* {{whoniverse|na30|First Frontier}}
* [http://www.magnetopia.org/cloisterlibrary/firs.htm The Cloister Library: '''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}}
{{NA}}
{{Master stories}}
{{Master stories}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Post-regeneration stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


[[Category:Bernice Summerfield stories]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:The Master novels]]
[[Category:Old Master novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Stories set in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1957]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1957]]
[[Category:NA novels]]
[[Category:NA novels]]
[[Category:1994 novels]]
[[Category:1994 novels]]
[[Category:Pseudo-historical stories]]
[[Category:Regeneration novels]]
[[Category:Regeneration stories]]
[[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]]

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