Byzantium! (novel): Difference between revisions

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{{title dab away}}
{{real world}}
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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|image          = Byzantium.jpg
|name= Byzantium!
|range          = BBC Past Doctor Adventures
|image=Byzantium.jpg
|number in range = 43
|series=[[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]]  
|series         = [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]]
|number= 44
|number         = 43
|doctor=First Doctor  
|doctor         = First Doctor
|companions=[[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]], [[Vicki Pallister|Vicki]]  
|companions     = [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]], [[Vicki Pallister|Vicki]]
|enemy=  
|setting        = {{il|[[Byzantium (city)|Byzantium]], [[March]]-[[April]] [[64]]|[[London]], [[1973]]}}
|setting= [[Byzantium (city)|Byzantium]], [[64]]; [[London]], [[1973]]
|writer         = Keith Topping
|writer= [[Keith Topping]]
|publisher       = BBC Books
|publisher= BBC Books  
|cover           = [[Black Sheep]]
|cover=[[Black Sheep]]
|release date   = 2 July 2001
|release date= [[2 July (releases)|2 July]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]]
|format         = Paperback Book, 36 Chapters, 288 Pages
|format= Paperback Book, 36 Chapters, 283 Pages  
|isbn           = ISBN 0-563-53836-8
|isbn= ISBN 0-563-53836-8
|prev           = Superior Beings (novel)
|prev= Superior Beings (novel)
|next           = Bullet Time (novel)
|next= Bullet Time (novel)}}
}}{{prose stub}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the forty-fourth [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]] novel. It featured the [[First Doctor]], [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Barbara Wright]] and [[Vicki Pallister]]. Set at the beginning of ''[[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]]'' as the TARDIS falls off the cliff, this is the first full length story that features Vicki as a companion.
{{dab page|Byzantium}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the forty-third novel in the [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Keith Topping]], released [[2 July (releases)|2 July]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]] and featured the [[First Doctor]], [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Barbara Wright]] and [[Vicki Pallister]].
 
Set at the beginning of ''[[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]]'' as the TARDIS falls off the cliff, this is the earliest full length story chronologically to feature Vicki as a companion.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
"Life is cheap in Byzantium. Life is cheap everywhere that the Romans are."
"Life is cheap in [[Byzantium (city)|Byzantium]]. Life is cheap everywhere that the [[Roman]]s are."


[[Byzantium (city)|Byzantium]]. The imperial city — rising dramatically, as if by a trick of the light, from the peninsula of the [[Bosphorus]] and the [[Black Sea]]. Its domes and towers and minarets overlook a place of intrigue, lust, power, oppression, resistance and murder.
Byzantium. The imperial city — rising dramatically, as if by a trick of the light, from the peninsula of the [[Bosphorus]] and the [[Black Sea]]. Its domes and towers and minarets overlook a place of intrigue, lust, power, oppression, resistance and murder.


Romans, Greeks, Zealots, Pharisees ... all meet in the market squares of the great city, but mutual loathing and suspicion are rife.
Romans, [[Greek]]s, [[Zealot]]s, [[Pharisee]]s ... all meet in the market squares of the great city, but mutual loathing and suspicion are rife.


Into this cauldron, the Doctor and his companions arrive, expecting to view the splendour and civilisation of the [[Roman Empire]]. But events cast them into a deadly maelstrom of social and political upheaval. In the eye of the hurricane they must each face the possibility of being stranded, alone and far from their own times, in an alien culture bunker.
Into this cauldron, [[First Doctor|the Doctor]] and his companions arrive, expecting to view the splendour and civilisation of the [[Roman Empire]]. But events cast them into a deadly maelstrom of social and political upheaval. In the eye of the hurricane they must each face the possibility of being stranded, alone and far from their own times, in an alien culture bunker.
 
== Chapter Titles ==
* Prologue: Once in a Lifetime
'''Episode One: LXIV, And All That...'''
* Chapter One: Direction, Reaction, Creation
* Chapter Two: There Are Seven Levels
* Chapter Three: Through the Past, Darkly
* Chapter Four: Naming All the Stars
* Chapter Five: Babylon's Burning
* Chapter Six: The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
* Chapter Seven: Cephalic Symbol
* Chapter Eight: Right Here, Right Now
'''Episode Two: Four Sides to the Circle'''
* Chapter Nine: The Culture Bunker, Part One — Heliocentric
* Chapter Ten: The Culture Bunker, Part Two — Spies Like Us
* Chapter Eleven: The Culture Bunker, Part Three - Going Underground
* Chapter Twelve: The Culture Bunker, Part Four — Everybody's Been Burned Before
* Chapter Thirteen: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
* Chapter Fourteen: He Not Busy Being Born is Busy Dying
'''Episode Three: Window Shopping for a New Crown of Thorns'''
* Chapter Fifteen: Pale Shelter
* Chapter Sixteen: True Faith and Brotherhood
* Chapter Seventeen: The Culture Bunker, Part Five — How Soon Is Now?
* Chapter Eighteen: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
* Chapter Nineteen: Some Call It God-Core
* Chapter Twenty: What Did Your Last Slave Die Of?
'''Episode Four: Infamy, Infamy, They've All Got It In For Me'''
* Chapter Twenty-One: Perfume (AU on You)
* Chapter Twenty-Two: The Culture Bunker, Part Six - Jehovahkill
* Chapter Twenty-Three: You're History
* Chapter Twenty-Four: Rust Never Sleeps
* Chapter Twenty-Five: Give 'Em Enough Rope
* Chapter Twenty-Six: Jigsaw Feeling (A Poem for Byzantium)
'''Episode Five: Four Lone Ends'''
* Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Culture Bunker, Part Seven — Losing My Religion
* Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Passage of Time Leaving Empty Lives Waiting to Be Filled
* Chapter Twenty-Nine: One Man Clapping
* Chapter Thirty: Coping
* Chapter Thirty-One: The Culture Bunker, Part Eight — Just Another Greek Tragedy
* Chapter Thirty-Two: A New Dawn Fades
* Chapter Thirty-Three: Here's Where The Story Ends
* Chapter Thirty-Four: ...And Miles to Go Before We Sleep
* Epilogue: Two Thousand Light Years from Home


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Line 83: Line 44:
* [[Thalius Maximus]]
* [[Thalius Maximus]]
* [[Gemellus]]
* [[Gemellus]]
* [[Hieronymous (Byzantium!)|Hieronymous]]
* [[Amos (Byzantium!)|Amos]]
* [[Daniel (Byzantium!)|Daniel]]
* [[James (Byzantium!)|James]]
* [[Reuben (Byzantium!)|Reuben]]
* [[Ruth (Byzantium!)|Ruth]]
* [[Bob Franklin]]
* [[Julia Franklin]]
* [[Fabulous]]
* [[Fabulous]]
* [[Georgiadis]]
* [[Georgiadis]]
* [[Evangeline (Byzantium!)|Evangeline]]
* [[Evangeline (Byzantium!)|Evangeline]]
* [[Iola]]
* [[Iola]]
* [[Hieronymous (Byzantium!)|Hieronymous]]
* [[Gabrielle (Byzantium!)|Gabrielle]]
* [[Gabrielle (Byzantium!)|Gabrielle]]
* [[Agrinella Lanilla]]
* [[Marcus Lanilla]]
* [[Antonia Vinicius]]
* [[Cressida (Byzantium!)|Cressida]]
* [[Crispianus Dolavia]]
* [[Damien (Byzantium!)|Damien]]
* [[Dorcas]]
* [[Dorothea (Byzantium!)|Dorothea]]
* [[Drusus Felinistius]]
* [[Edius Flavia]]
* [[Erastus]]
* [[Fabius Actium]]
* [[Felicia (Byzantium!)|Felicia]]
* [[Germanicus Vinicius]]
* [[Hebron]]
* [[Jocelyn (Byzantium!)|Jocelyn]]
* [[Luke Panathaikos]]
* [[Matthew Basellas]]
* [[Papavasilliou]]
* [[Phasaei]]
* [[Rebecca (Byzantium!)|Rebecca]]
* [[Simeon (Byzantium!)|Simeon]]
* [[Tobias (Byzantium!)|Tobias]]
* [[Titus (Byzantium!)|Titus]]
* [[Yewhe]]
* [[Nikos (Byzantium!)|Nikos]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
=== The Doctor ===
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor has been travelling in the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] for sixty years, making him two hundred ninety-six during this story.
* The Doctor has been travelling in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] for sixty years, making him two hundred and ninety-six during this story.
* The Doctor has visited [[Rome]], [[Jerusalem]] and [[Antioch]] and witnessed both the debut performance of ''[[King Lear]]'' and the assassination of [[President of the United States|US President]] [[William McKinley]].
* The Doctor has visited [[Rome]], [[Jerusalem]] and [[Antioch]] and witnessed both the debut performance of ''[[King Lear]]'' and the assassination of [[President of the United States|US President]] [[William McKinley]].
* The Doctor was on the field of battle in the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] during [[World War I]].
* The Doctor was on the field of battle in the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] during [[World War I]].
Line 109: Line 103:
=== Planets and stars ===
=== Planets and stars ===
* The Doctor has visited [[Mondas]].
* The Doctor has visited [[Mondas]].
* Ian Chesterton shows Vicki several celestial bodies in the Earth sky: [[Pegasus]], [[Andromeda (constellation)|Andromeda]], the [[Seven Sisters]], [[Orion]], [[Betelgeuse]], [[Rigel]], the [[Horsehead Nebula]], [[Orionis Zeta]], [[Orionis Epsilon]], [[Orionis Delta]], [[Polaris]] (the [[pole star]]), the [[Ursa Minor]], [[Castor (star)|Castor]] and [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]], [[Gemini]], [[Venus]] and [[Jupiter]].
* Ian Chesterton shows Vicki several celestial bodies in the Earth sky: [[Pegasus]], [[Andromeda (constellation)|Andromeda]], the [[Seven Sisters]], [[Orion]], [[Betelgeuse (star)|Betelgeuse]], [[Rigel (star)|Rigel]], the [[Horsehead Nebula]], [[Orionis Zeta]], [[Orionis Epsilon]], [[Orionis Delta]], [[Polaris]] (the [[pole star]]), the [[Ursa Minor]], [[Castor (star)|Castor]] and [[Pollux (star)|Pollux]], [[Gemini]], [[Venus]] and [[Jupiter]].


=== Television series ===
=== Television series ===
* Ian mentions ''[[The Morecambe & Wise Show]]''.
* Ian mentions ''[[The Morecambe & Wise Show]]''.
* [[Yewhe]] quotes the [[Monty Python]] film ''Life of Brian'' during the meeting of the [[Zealot]]s when he asks, "What have the Romans ever done for us?"


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This book is also available as an ebook and from the Amazon Kindle store.  
* This book is also available as an ebook and from the Amazon Kindle store.
* The novel reveals that Vicki's last name is Pallister. It was never mentioned in any televised episode.
* The novel reveals that Vicki's last name is Pallister. It was never mentioned in any televised episode.
* Vicki states that her mother wanted to call her Tanni, but her father preferred Vicki. This is a sly reference to the fact that the new companion's name in [[TV]]: ''[[The Rescue (TV story)|The Rescue]]'' was originally going to be Tanni.
* Vicki states that her mother wanted to call her Tanni, but her father preferred Vicki. This is a sly reference to the fact that the new companion's name in [[TV]]: ''[[The Rescue (TV story)|The Rescue]]'' was originally going to be Tanni.
* There is a flash-forward scene which reveals Ian and Barbara will have a son, [[Johnny Chess|John Alydon Ganatus Chesterton]], by [[1973]]. [[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' and [[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'' would later confirm that Ian and Barbara will someday marry.
* There is a flash-forward scene which reveals Ian and Barbara will have a son, [[Johnny Chess|John Alydon Ganatus Chesterton]], by [[1973]]. [[TV]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'' and [[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'' would later confirm that Ian and Barbara will someday marry.
* The details of the story conflict with the earlier short story ''[[Romans Cutaway (short story)|Romans Cutaway]]'' from ''[[More Short Trips]]'', which also takes place immediately after the TARDIS falls of the cliff. ''Byzantium!'' references ''Romans Cutaway'' through Ian's dream about crashing a [[Ford Anglia]] and hurting his head, and meeting a lion tamer. In ''Romans Cutaway'', Ian dreams about the death of a girl he used to love at the hands of a Ford Anglia, having been out cold following the TARDIS's crash, and he meets a [[Lion (Romans Cutaway)|a lion]]. The implication is that the events of ''Romans Cutaway'' were just a dream had by Ian on his way to Rome.
* This story is a "[[pure historical]]" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki and the TARDIS.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Vicki refers to her recent rescue from [[Dido]] in [[2493]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Rescue (TV story)|The Rescue]]'')
* Vicki refers to her recent rescue from [[Dido]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Rescue (TV story)|The Rescue]]'')
* Ian adapts the story of the [[Dalek]]s and the [[Thal]]s to entertain an audience. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'')
* Ian adapts the story of the [[Dalek]]s and the [[Thal]]s to entertain an audience. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'')
* The Doctor seems to be aware that Vicki will eventually become Cressida in circa [[BC|1200 BC]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Myth Makers (TV story)|The Myth Makers]]'')
* The Doctor seems to be aware that Vicki will eventually become Cressida in circa [[BC|1200 BC]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Myth Makers (TV story)|The Myth Makers]]'')
* Barbara mentions that she learned her lesson about trying to change history in [[Mexico]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'')
* Barbara mentions that she learned her lesson about trying to change history in [[Mexico]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'')
* The Doctor thinks back to when he fled his home, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Beginning (audio story)|The Beginning]]'') as well as the numerous times he stared death in the face, including [[France]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Reign of Terror (TV story)|The Reign of Terror]]'') [[Mexico]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') [[Skaro]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Return to Skaro (audio story)|Return to Skaro]]'') He also thinks of undepicted adventures on [[Mondas]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'') and [[Cassuragi]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Ghost Ship (novel)|Ghost Ship]]'')
* The Doctor thinks of his encounter with the [[Mountain Mauler of Montana]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]]'')
* By [[1973]], Ian has befriended [[Greg Sutton]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* By [[1973]], Ian has befriended [[Greg Sutton]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* [[Gaius Calaphilus]] fought "[[Boudica]]'s wretched [[Iceni]]" in [[Britain|Roman Britain]] in [[60]]. During his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]], the Doctor and his companion [[Leela]] would encounter Boudica during her revolt against the occupying Roman forces in Britain. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wrath of the Iceni (audio story)|The Wrath of the Iceni]]'')
* [[Gaius Calaphilus]] fought "[[Boudica]]'s wretched [[Iceni]]" in [[Britain|Roman Britain]] in [[60]]. During his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]], the Doctor and his companion [[Leela]] would encounter Boudica during her revolt against the occupying Roman forces in Britain. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wrath of the Iceni (audio story)|The Wrath of the Iceni]]'') The [[Renegade Time Lord|renegade Time Lady]] [[Iris Wildthyme]] claimed that she had also been present during the revolt. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Elixir of Doom (audio story)|The Elixir of Doom]]'')
* Ian dreams about a crash involving a [[Ford Anglia]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Romans Cutaway (short story)|Romans Cutaway]]'')


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{dwrefguide|whobbk44.htm|Byzantium!}}
* {{Penguin|1073602/doctor-who--byzantium-/}}
* {{whoniverse|PD44.php|Byzantium!}}
{{dwrefguide|whobbk44.htm|Byzantium!}}
* {{whoniverse|pd44|Byzantium!}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/byzantiu.htm The Cloister Library: '''Byzantium!''']
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/byzantiu.htm The Cloister Library: '''Byzantium!''']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050406231200/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/01/01/13726.shtml Interview: Keith Topping]
{{PDA}}
{{PDA}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
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[[Category:PDA novels]]
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[[Category:Stories set in the 1st century]]
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[[Category:Stories set in 64]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Historical stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1973]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1973]]
[[Category:E-books]]
[[Category:Stories set in Istanbul]]

Latest revision as of 03:48, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
You may wish to consult Byzantium for other, similarly-named pages.

Byzantium! was the forty-third novel in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Keith Topping, released 2 July 2001 and featured the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister.

Set at the beginning of The Romans as the TARDIS falls off the cliff, this is the earliest full length story chronologically to feature Vicki as a companion.

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

"Life is cheap in Byzantium. Life is cheap everywhere that the Romans are."

Byzantium. The imperial city — rising dramatically, as if by a trick of the light, from the peninsula of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Its domes and towers and minarets overlook a place of intrigue, lust, power, oppression, resistance and murder.

Romans, Greeks, Zealots, Pharisees ... all meet in the market squares of the great city, but mutual loathing and suspicion are rife.

Into this cauldron, the Doctor and his companions arrive, expecting to view the splendour and civilisation of the Roman Empire. But events cast them into a deadly maelstrom of social and political upheaval. In the eye of the hurricane they must each face the possibility of being stranded, alone and far from their own times, in an alien culture bunker.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets and stars[[edit] | [edit source]]

Television series[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This book is also available as an ebook and from the Amazon Kindle store.
  • The novel reveals that Vicki's last name is Pallister. It was never mentioned in any televised episode.
  • Vicki states that her mother wanted to call her Tanni, but her father preferred Vicki. This is a sly reference to the fact that the new companion's name in TV: The Rescue was originally going to be Tanni.
  • There is a flash-forward scene which reveals Ian and Barbara will have a son, John Alydon Ganatus Chesterton, by 1973. TV: Death of the Doctor and COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone would later confirm that Ian and Barbara will someday marry.
  • The details of the story conflict with the earlier short story Romans Cutaway from More Short Trips, which also takes place immediately after the TARDIS falls of the cliff. Byzantium! references Romans Cutaway through Ian's dream about crashing a Ford Anglia and hurting his head, and meeting a lion tamer. In Romans Cutaway, Ian dreams about the death of a girl he used to love at the hands of a Ford Anglia, having been out cold following the TARDIS's crash, and he meets a a lion. The implication is that the events of Romans Cutaway were just a dream had by Ian on his way to Rome.
  • This story is a "pure historical" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Vicki and the TARDIS.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

v • e
BBC Past Doctor Adventures
 
First Doctor
Susan, Ian, Barbara
Ian, Barbara, Vicki
Steven, Dodo
Ben, Polly
 
Second Doctor
Ben, Polly
Ben, Polly, Jamie
Jamie, Victoria
Jamie, Zoe
Serena
 
Third Doctor
Liz, UNIT
Jo, UNIT
Jo, Liz
Jo
Sarah
 
Fourth Doctor
Sarah, Harry
Harry
Leela
Romana I
Romana II, K9
Nyssa
 
Fifth Doctor
Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Nyssa
Nyssa, Tegan
Tegan, Turlough
Turlough, Kamelion
Peri
 
Sixth Doctor
Peri
Frobisher
Mel
Mel, Evelyn
The Brigadier
 
Seventh Doctor
Ace
Solo travels
 
Eighth Doctor
Solo travels
Fitz, Anji
 
Other novels
The Master, Ian, Barbara
"Infinity Doctor"
Shalka Doctor, Shalka Master, Alison
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