1997

1997 in

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the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Events

April

• 30 - Bernice Summerfield was dropped off at the Doctor's house, whereupon she discovered he had regenerated into his eighth incarnation. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

May

• 6 - Bernice first met the Doctor in his eighth incarnation. Britain sent the Mars 97 Orbiter to Mars and the three astronauts on the surface stumbled across the Ice Warrior tomb of the Great Marshall Kyruul of the Argyre Clan under the sands of the Mare Sirenum and were killed. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was assassinated in Washington. Lord Xznaal arrived over London and ordered the country to submit to his rule. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

• 7 - Alexander Christian escaped from his military captors and contacted Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The United Kingdom submitted to Martian rule and set up a Provisional Government. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

• 14 - The Seventh Doctor's companion Ace met her younger brother Liam McShane for the first time in San Antonio on Ibiza. (AUDIO: The Rapture)

• Queen Elizabeth II was deposed and the Ice Warrior Xznaal was crowned King. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

November

• 23 - The second coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom took place, at which the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9 were present. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

December

• 17 - Before the First Doctor and Susan Foreman settled down in Shoreditch in 1963, they took a brief trip to St Albans to ensure that the United Kingdom would remain safe during and after the 1960s. Unbeknownst to either of them, the Fourth Doctor and his companions Romana and K9 were in the vicinity on the same day. (PROSE: The Little Things)

Dates unknown

• After 7 May but before 23 November - The Seventh Doctor and Ace encountered Arthurian knights in Carbury. (TV: Battlefield)
• After 7 May but before 23 November - after the events of (TV: Battlefield) - Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was promoted to General. (PROSE: The Dying Days)
• Torchwood 1 shot down a Jathaa sunglider over the Shetland Islands. They began reverse-engineering its technology. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
• Samantha Jones joined the Eighth Doctor on his travels. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors)
• A Friday - Carolyn McConnell summoned the Eighth Doctor and Samantha Jones to San Francisco to assist her with vampires. (PROSE: Vampire Science)
• Carys Fletcher's mother died in a car crash. (TV: Day One)
• Rose Tyler's grandad died this year. (TV: Army of Ghosts)

Behind the scenes

January

• 8 - Actor Tom Bowman died.
• 16 - PROSE: Eternity Weeps was first published. It featured return appearances by Bernice Summerfield and Elizabeth Shaw.
• 16 - PROSE: Burning Heart was first published. This was the final Sixth Doctor novel in the Virgin Missing Adventures series.
• 16 - REF: The Nth Doctor was first published.
• 30 - Director Nicholas Mallett died.

February

• 8 - Actor Elroy Josephs died.
• 16 - Actor Arthur Hewlett died in England.
• 20 - PROSE: The Room With No Doors was first published.
• 20 - PROSE: A Device of Death was first published.

March

• 9 - Writer Terry Nation died.
• 20 - PROSE: Lungbarrow was first published. Chronologically, this was the final Virgin New Adventures novel featuring the Seventh Doctor and Chris Cwej. It featured many characters from the TV series and New Adventures. It was notable for fully expanding the Cartmel Masterplan regarding the Doctor's origins. It was not the final Seventh Doctor NA novel to be published due to the delay on PROSE: So Vile a Sin.
• 20 - PROSE: The Dark Path was first published. This was the final Second Doctor novel in the Virgin Missing Adventures line.

April

• 17 - PROSE: The Dying Days was first published. This was the final book commission in the Virgin New Adventures line of original Doctor Who novels, but not the last published. It was the first and only book in the NA line to feature the Eighth Doctor and marked the final appearance to date of Bernice Summerfield with the Doctor, as the book helped to launch her continuation of the New Adventures.
• 17 - PROSE: The Well-Mannered War was first published. Featuring the Fourth Doctor, it was the last release in the Virgin Missing Adventures line.

May

• 1 - PROSE: Oh No It Isn't! was first published, continuing the Virgin New Adventures line as the Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures, featuring companion Bernice Summerfield. The NA books from here on in were devoid of overt references to Doctor Who, although other non-TV characters from the NA series appeared.
• PROSE: So Vile a Sin was finally published. Although scheduled for release earlier in the year, manuscript issues resulted in its release this month. It became the final book in the Virgin New Adventures line featuring the Doctor to see print and the last to feature the Seventh Doctor. It described the circumstances surrounding the departure of Roz Forrester from the series. The NA series continued for a couple more years featuring the adventures of Bernice Summerfield.
• PROSE: Decalog 4: Re:Generations was first published. As Virgin no longer had the licence for Doctor Who, the book focused on companion Roz Forrester.

June

• 2 - PROSE: The Eight Doctors was first published, launching the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures line. It was the first multi-Doctor original novel and included references to many TV episodes. It conflicted with elements of the Virgin New Adventures line. Samantha Jones became the Doctor's newest companion.
• 2 - PROSE: Dragons' Wrath was first published.
• 2 - PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune was first published, a Third Doctor adventure launching the BBC Past Doctor Adventures line.

July

• 3 - PROSE: Beyond the Sun was first published.
• 7 - PROSE: Vampire Science was first published.
• 7 - PROSE: The Murder Game was first published. It was the first BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel featuring the Second Doctor.
• 7 - Actor Royston Tickner died.
• 16 - Actor Hugh Martin died from a heart operation.
• 22 - Actor Don Henderson died.
• 27 - Actor Brian Glover died.

August

• 4 - PROSE: The Bodysnatchers was first published.
• 4 -PROSE: The Ultimate Treasure was first published. It was the first BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel featuring the Fifth Doctor.
• 4 - Film cameraman Dick Bush died.
• 16 - Actor Robin Wentworth died.
• 20 - Actor Bill Mitchell died.
• 21- PROSE: Ship of Fools was first published.

September

• PROSE: Decalog 5: Wonders was first published. This post-BBC licence short story collection featured very little noticeable connection to Doctor Who save for one story featuring Bernice Summerfield. It was the last volume of the series.
• Actor Robert Cawdron died.
• 1 - PROSE: Genocide was first published.
• 1 - PROSE: Business Unusual was first published. This novel was notable for chronicling the adventure in which Melanie Bush first met the Sixth Doctor. It was the first BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel to feature the Sixth Doctor.
• 2 - PROSE: Down was first published.
• 7 - News reporter Alex MacIntosh died.
• 12 - Actor Leonard Maguire died.
• 19 - Actor Jack May died.
• 25 - Director Paul Bernard died.

October

• 2 - PROSE: Deadfall was first published.
• 5 - Actor Andrew Keir died.
• 6 - Actress Adrienne Hill died from cancer.
• 6 - PROSE: War of the Daleks was first published.
• 6 - PROSE: Illegal Alien was first published. This was the first solo "Past Doctor/Missing Adventures"-style novel to feature the Seventh Doctor.
• 6 - Tom Baker published his autobiography, Who on Earth was Tom Baker?. An audio book version, read by Baker, was also released on this date.
• 6 - REF: Doctor Who: A Book of Monsters was first published.
• 6 - REF: Doctor Who: The Book of Lists was first published.
• 13 - Writer Ian Stuart Black died.
• 16 - REF: Licence Denied was first published.
• 17 - Space, a Canadian cable network, launched. It aired classic-era Doctor Who during its first few years. In the late 2000s it would become the Canadian broadcast home of Torchwood and the revived Doctor Who.
• 30 - Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman died from a heart attack in Toronto, Canada.

November

• 3 - PROSE: Ghost Devices was first published.
• 20 - REF: Doctor Who - The Handbook: The Second Doctor was first published.
• 20 - REF: Doctor Who: The Eighties was published in paperback.
• 24 - PROSE: Alien Bodies was first published. This book introduced Faction Paradox, later to be featured in a series of spin-off audio dramas and novels.
• 24 - PROSE: The Roundheads was first published.

December

• 1 - PROSE: Mean Streets was first published.
• 5 December - GAME: Destiny of the Doctors, a home computer adventure game, was released. The game used newly recorded audio of all surviving Doctor actors except Paul McGann and featured Anthony Ainley in newly shot video footage as the Master, his final appearance in this role.
• This was a down month for both the PROSE and PROSE book lines.
• After trying several "test balloon" services, the BBC officially launched BBC Online (also known as BBCi) at bbc.co.uk. This became the network's main online portal. In the coming years, a Doctor Who section of the site was launched which has featured not only promotions and archival features relating to both the 1963-89 and 2005-present series, but also original content such as webcasts and online fiction.
• 14 - Actor Stubby Kaye died.