Virgin New Adventures: Difference between revisions

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[[File:NA001 genesys.jpg|thumb|right|The first NA, ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys]]'', displaying the initial cover design.]]
[[File:NA001 genesys.jpg|thumb|right|The first NA, ''[[Timewyrm: Genesys]]'', displaying the initial cover design.]]
The '''New Adventures published by [[Virgin Books]]''' were a series of original, full-length ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novels that continued the adventures of the [[Seventh Doctor]] (and, initially, [[Ace]]) following on from the TV story, ''[[Survival]]''. As the books were geared for an older audience, they included mature themes, strong language, violence and [[Sexuality|sexual elements]]. One book in the series, ''[[Shakedown]]'', was unique, being a novelizsation of the non-[[BBC]] spin-off production, ''[[Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans]]'', greatly expanded to include the Doctor.
The '''New Adventures published by [[Virgin Books]]''' were a series of original, full-length ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novels that continued the adventures of the [[Seventh Doctor]] (and, initially, [[Ace]]) following on from the TV story, ''[[Survival]]''. As the books were geared for an older audience, they included mature themes, strong language, violence and [[Sexuality|sexual elements]]. One book in the series, ''[[Shakedown]]'', was unique, being a novelizsation of the non-[[BBC]] spin-off production, ''[[Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans]]'', greatly expanded to include the Doctor.
The series reflected sometimes inconsistent knowledge of the ''Doctor Who'' universe and some notable divergences from known ''Doctor Who'' continuity. For example, they claimed that [[Time Lords]] are not born, but rather grown from [[looms]], and that the female Prime Minster mentioned in [[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)]] was actually Shirley Wlliams.


The series concluded with the [[Eighth Doctor]] novel ''[[The Dying Days]]''. The series ended because, following the broadcast of the 1996 TV movie, [[BBC Books]] took over the license for publishing original ''Doctor Who'' fiction, although there was an overlap of more than a year to allow Virgin to publish its contracted novels. One change saw the book line change its branding, relegating the ''Doctor Who'' logo to the spine and rebranding the series as "The New Adventures", with the publication of ''[[Bad Therapy (novel)|Bad Therapy]]''.
The series concluded with the [[Eighth Doctor]] novel ''[[The Dying Days]]''. The series ended because, following the broadcast of the 1996 TV movie, [[BBC Books]] took over the license for publishing original ''Doctor Who'' fiction, although there was an overlap of more than a year to allow Virgin to publish its contracted novels. One change saw the book line change its branding, relegating the ''Doctor Who'' logo to the spine and rebranding the series as "The New Adventures", with the publication of ''[[Bad Therapy (novel)|Bad Therapy]]''.

Revision as of 11:17, 22 October 2015

RealWorld.png
The first NA, Timewyrm: Genesys, displaying the initial cover design.

The New Adventures published by Virgin Books were a series of original, full-length Doctor Who novels that continued the adventures of the Seventh Doctor (and, initially, Ace) following on from the TV story, Survival. As the books were geared for an older audience, they included mature themes, strong language, violence and sexual elements. One book in the series, Shakedown, was unique, being a novelizsation of the non-BBC spin-off production, Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans, greatly expanded to include the Doctor.

The series reflected sometimes inconsistent knowledge of the Doctor Who universe and some notable divergences from known Doctor Who continuity. For example, they claimed that Time Lords are not born, but rather grown from looms, and that the female Prime Minster mentioned in Terror of the Zygons (TV story) was actually Shirley Wlliams.

The series concluded with the Eighth Doctor novel The Dying Days. The series ended because, following the broadcast of the 1996 TV movie, BBC Books took over the license for publishing original Doctor Who fiction, although there was an overlap of more than a year to allow Virgin to publish its contracted novels. One change saw the book line change its branding, relegating the Doctor Who logo to the spine and rebranding the series as "The New Adventures", with the publication of Bad Therapy.

After The Dying Days was published, the books continued with Bernice as the principal character in a new series of novels which were officially dubbed "The New Adventures" (with a new "NA" logo introduced).

Virgin launched two spin-off lines following the initial success of the NA line: the Decalogs, a series of five short story collections, and the Missing Adventures, chronicling the adventures of the first six Doctors.

Although the continuity of the NA line was initially ignored by the BBC Books lines, this was eventually relaxed and references to NA and MA began to appear. Steven Moffat described the New Adventures books as "a separate (and equally valid) continuity" to the BBC Wales television series in DWM 482.

One NA novel, Human Nature, was later adapted as the television episodes Human Nature and The Family of Blood in 2007, while several stories with the Seventh Doctor were adapted into audio from 1999 onwards by Big Finish Productions, either directly or altered to feature Bernice Summerfield's supporting cast instead of the Doctor.

Doctor Who: The New Adventures

# Title Author Doctor Companions Published
1 Timewyrm: Genesys John Peel 7th Ace 20 June 1991
2 Timewyrm: Exodus Terrance Dicks 7th Ace 15 August 1991
3 Timewyrm: Apocalypse Nigel Robinson 7th Ace 17 October 1991
4 Timewyrm: Revelation Paul Cornell 7th Ace 5 December 1991
5 Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible Marc Platt 7th Ace 20 February 1992
6 Cat's Cradle: Warhead Andrew Cartmel 7th Ace 16 April 1992
7 Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark Andrew Hunt 7th Ace 18 June 1992
8 Nightshade Mark Gatiss 7th Ace 20 August 1992
9 Love and War Paul Cornell 7th Ace and Bernice 15 October 1992
10 Transit Ben Aaronovitch 7th Bernice 3 December 1992
11 The Highest Science Gareth Roberts 7th Bernice 18 February 1993
12 The Pit Neil Penswick 7th Bernice 18 March 1993
13 Deceit Peter Darvill-Evans 7th Ace and Bernice 15 April 1993
14 Lucifer Rising Jim Mortimore and Andy Lane 7th Ace and Bernice 20 May 1993
15 White Darkness David A. McIntee 7th Ace and Bernice 17 June 1993
16 Shadowmind Christopher Bulis 7th Ace and Bernice 15 July 1993
17 Birthright Nigel Robinson 7th Ace and Bernice 19 August 1993
18 Iceberg David Banks 7th none 16 September 1993
19 Blood Heat Jim Mortimore 7th Ace and Bernice 21 October 1993
20 The Dimension Riders Daniel Blythe 7th Ace and Bernice 18 November 1993
21 The Left-Handed Hummingbird Kate Orman 7th Ace and Bernice 2 December 1993
22 Conundrum Steve Lyons 7th Ace and Bernice 20 January 1994
23 No Future Paul Cornell 7th Ace and Bernice 17 February 1994
24 Tragedy Day Gareth Roberts 7th Ace and Bernice 17 March 1994
25 Legacy Gary Russell 7th Ace and Bernice 21 April 1994
26 Theatre of War Justin Richards 7th Ace and Bernice 19 May 1994
27 All-Consuming Fire Andy Lane 7th Ace and Bernice 16 June 1994
28 Blood Harvest Terrance Dicks 7th Ace and Bernice 21 July 1994
29 Strange England Simon Messingham 7th Ace and Bernice 18 August 1994
30 First Frontier David A. McIntee 7th Ace and Bernice 15 September 1994
31 St Anthony's Fire Mark Gatiss 7th Ace and Bernice 20 October 1994
32 Falls the Shadow Daniel O'Mahony 7th Ace and Bernice 17 November 1994
33 Parasite Jim Mortimore 7th Ace and Bernice 1 December 1994
34 Warlock Andrew Cartmel 7th Ace and Bernice 19 January 1995
35 Set Piece Kate Orman 7th Ace and Bernice 16 February 1995
36 Infinite Requiem Daniel Blythe 7th Bernice 16 March 1995
37 Sanctuary David A. McIntee 7th Bernice 20 April 1995
38 Human Nature Paul Cornell 7th Bernice 18 May 1995
39 Original Sin Andy Lane 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 15 June 1995
40 Sky Pirates! Dave Stone 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 20 July 1995
41 Zamper Gareth Roberts 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 17 August 1995
42 Toy Soldiers Paul Leonard 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 21 September 1995
43 Head Games Steve Lyons 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 19 October 1995
44 The Also People Ben Aaronovitch 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 16 November 1995
45 Shakedown Terrance Dicks 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 7 December 1995
46 Just War Lance Parkin 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 18 January 1996
47 Warchild Andrew Cartmel 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 16 February 1996
48 Sleepy Kate Orman 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 16 March 1996
49 Death and Diplomacy Dave Stone 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 18 April 1996
50 Happy Endings Paul Cornell 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 16 May 1996
51 GodEngine Craig Hinton 7th Chris and Roz 20 June 1996
52 Christmas on a Rational Planet Lawrence Miles 7th Chris and Roz 18 July 1996
53 Return of the Living Dad Kate Orman 7th Bernice, Chris and Roz 15 August 1996
54 The Death of Art Simon Bucher-Jones 7th Chris and Roz 19 September 1996
55 Damaged Goods Russell T Davies 7th Chris and Roz 24 October 1996
56 So Vile a Sin Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman 7th Chris and Roz May 1997
57 Bad Therapy Matthew Jones 7th Chris 5 December 1996
58 Eternity Weeps Jim Mortimore 7th Chris 16 January 1997
59 The Room With No Doors Kate Orman 7th Chris 20 February 1997
60 Lungbarrow Marc Platt 7th Chris, Romana II, Leela, Ace, K9 Mark I and Mark II 20 March 1997
61 The Dying Days Lance Parkin 8th Bernice, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT 18 April 1997

Notes

Continuity

  • The New Adventures introduced a few new companions into the life of the Doctor: Bernice Summerfield (debuting in Love and War), Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej (debuting in Original Sin) and Wolsey the cat (who debuted in Human Nature).
  • Ace was written out in Love and War and left the Doctor for three years (in terms of Ace's timestream) before reuniting with him in Deceit. During that time she changed considerably. Ace left a second time, permanently, in Set Piece. Ace's character development and departure were contradicted by later media, which also contradicted each other.
  • Apart from the novels, a few of the comics and audios take place specifically in the New Adventures continuity. These feature the Seventh Doctor, Bernice and the older version of Ace.
  • Eternity Weeps portrays the death (some years in the future, from the viewpoint of readers when the book first came out) of the Third Doctor's companion, Liz Shaw.
  • Several novels of the New Adventures featured old foes from the TV series, including:

Adaptations

Major links to the Virgin Missing Adventures

Production notes

  • So Vile a Sin was the final book to be published. It was published out of narrative sequence due to delays preventing its completion. The death of a major character in that book was meant to be a surprise, but because of the production delay this was no longer possible, and the novel was adapted accordingly: its prologue began with the funeral for the character, and the event was made an intrinsic part of the narrative, rather than a shock conclusion.

External links