Festival of Death (novel): Difference between revisions

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{{real world}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story
|image= Festival of Death.jpg  
|image       = Festival of Death.jpg  
|series=[[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]]  
|series       = [[BBC Past Doctor Adventures]]  
|number= 35  
|number       = 35  
|doctor=Fourth Doctor
|doctor       = Fourth Doctor
|companions=[[K9 Mark II]], [[Romana II]]
|companions   = [[K9 Mark II]], [[Romana II]]
|enemy= [[Repulsion]], [[Koel Paddox|Paddox]]
|enemy       = [[Repulsion]], [[Koel Paddox|Paddox]]
|setting=[[Festival of Death]], [[2815]] and [[3012]]
|setting     = [[Festival of Death]], [[2815]] and [[3012]]
|writer= [[Jonathan Morris]]  
|writer       = [[Jonathan Morris]]  
|publisher= BBC Books  
|publisher   = BBC Books  
|cover=[[Black Sheep]]
|cover       = [[Black Sheep]]
|release date= [[4 September (releases)|4 September]] [[2000 (releases)|2000]]
|release date = [[4 September (releases)|4 September]] [[2000 (releases)|2000]]
|format= Paperback Book, 20 chapters, 284 Pages  
|format       = Paperback Book, 20 chapters, 284 Pages  
|isbn= ISBN 0-563-53803-1  
|isbn         = ISBN 0-563-53803-1  
|prev=Imperial Moon (novel)
|prev         = Imperial Moon (novel)
|next=Independence Day (novel)
|next         = Independence Day (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
}}{{prose stub}}
{{you may|Festival of Death|n1=the titular festival}}
{{you may|Festival of Death|n1=the titular festival}}
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* The Doctor failed his [[Time Travel Proficiency test]] at the [[Time Lord Academy|Academy]] because he didn't turn up for it.
* The Doctor failed his [[Time Travel Proficiency test]] at the [[Time Lord Academy|Academy]] because he didn't turn up for it.
* The Doctor carries in his pocket a copy of [[Bor Pollag]]'s ''[[Book of Alien Monsters]]'', which includes illustrated entries on [[Akker-Takker]]s, [[Algolian Sithersback]]s, [[Apostles of Grarb]], and the [[Arachnopod]]s.
* The Doctor carries in his pocket a copy of [[Bor Pollag]]'s ''[[Book of Alien Monsters]]'', which includes illustrated entries on [[Akker-Takker]]s, [[Algolian Sithersback]]s, [[Apostles of Grarb]], and the [[Arachnopod]]s.
*The Doctor, as he is about to die, quotes multiple final phrases:
* The Doctor, as he is about to die, quotes multiple final phrases:
**"It is a far, far better thing that I do now, than I have ever done. And it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known" from ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]].
** "It is a far, far better thing that I do now, than I have ever done. And it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known" from ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'' by [[Charles Dickens]].
**"If I should die, think only this of me..." from the poem ''The Soldier'' by Rupert Brooke.
** "If I should die, think only this of me..." from the poem ''The Soldier'' by Rupert Brooke.
**[[Oscar Wilde (writer)|Oscar Wilde's]] last words "Either that wallpaper goes or I go!"  
** [[Oscar Wilde (writer)|Oscar Wilde's]] last words "Either that wallpaper goes or I go!"  
**"How's the empire?", from the morning of [[George V|King George V's]] death.
** "How's the empire?", from the morning of [[George V|King George V's]] death.
**[[Goethe|Goethe's]] last words "More light! More light!"
** [[Goethe|Goethe's]] last words "More light! More light!"
**'''''"'''''And so to bed," an expression often used by [[Samuel Pepys]] at the end of his day's diary entry.
** '''''"'''''And so to bed," an expression often used by [[Samuel Pepys]] at the end of his day's diary entry.
**"[My life] is conquered at last", a misquote of the poem ''For Annie'' by [[Edgar Allan Poe]].
** "[My life] is conquered at last", a misquote of the poem ''For Annie'' by [[Edgar Allan Poe]].
**"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come", a line from the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] play ''[[Hamlet]]''.
** "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come", a line from the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] play ''[[Hamlet]]''.
**"Out​, out, brief candle!" a line from the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] play ''[[Macbeth]]''.
** "Out​, out, brief candle!" a line from the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] play ''[[Macbeth]]''.


=== Famous Persons ===
=== Famous Persons ===
* Romana quotes [[Richard Dawkins]]' saying "However many ways there may be of being alive, it is certain there are vastly more ways of being dead."
* Romana quotes [[Richard Dawkins]]' saying "However many ways there may be of being alive, it is certain there are vastly more ways of being dead."
* The Doctor and Romana quote [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] line "What's past and what's to come is strew'd with husks, and formless ruin of oblivion." The Doctor also misquotes "Alas, poor Yorick!", a line from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Hamlet]]''.
* The Doctor and Romana quote [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] line "What's past and what's to come is strew'd with husks, and formless ruin of oblivion." The Doctor also misquotes "Alas, poor Yorick!", a line from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Hamlet]]''.
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* The co-pilot of the Montressor reads ''[[Shrieking Boy Veepjill - The Myth Behind the Truth - An Autobiography]]''.
* The co-pilot of the Montressor reads ''[[Shrieking Boy Veepjill - The Myth Behind the Truth - An Autobiography]]''.
* [[Magazine]]s available in the year [[3012]] include ''[[Guards and Guarding]]'' and ''[[Holding Captive]]''.
* [[Magazine]]s available in the year [[3012]] include ''[[Guards and Guarding]]'' and ''[[Holding Captive]]''.
*The Doctor quotes multiple passages from the Bible, including:
* The Doctor quotes multiple passages from the Bible, including:
**"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." from Psalm 23:4
** "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." from Psalm 23:4
**"Oh grave, where is thy victory?" from 1 Corinthians 15:55
** "Oh grave, where is thy victory?" from 1 Corinthians 15:55


=== Planets ===
=== Planets ===
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=== Time Lords ===
=== Time Lords ===
* Academi Plurix coined the term pre-jà vu, the sensation that one is going to have been somewhere before. It applies only to Time Lords.
* Academi Plurix coined the term pre-jà vu, the sensation that one is going to have been somewhere before. It applies only to Time Lords.
*The Doctor and Romana make multiple mentions of the [[Web of Time]] and the [[First Law of Time]].
* The Doctor and Romana make multiple mentions of the [[Web of Time]] and the [[First Law of Time]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
[[File:Doctor_Who_Festival_of_Death_50th.jpg|thumb|The cover of the [[2013]] re-release.]]
* This novel was re-released on [[7 March (releases)|7 March]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]] with a new cover to celebrate the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' 50th anniversary.
* This novel was re-released on [[7 March (releases)|7 March]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]] with a new cover to celebrate the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' 50th anniversary.
* Before the Doctor sacrifices himself he tells Romana to "''Keep Australia Beautiful". ''This is a humourous nod to the 1979 campaign ''Keep Australia Beautiful'' advertisement where Tom Baker reprises his role for a series of adverts.
* Before the Doctor sacrifices himself he tells Romana to "''Keep Australia Beautiful". ''This is a humourous nod to the 1979 campaign ''Keep Australia Beautiful'' advertisement where Tom Baker reprises his role for a series of adverts.
*Romana quotes Richard Dawkins and tells the Doctor that the quote was by someone he wouldn't know. This is a reference to Lalla Ward being married to Richard Dawkins after previously in a relationship with Tom Baker.
* Romana quotes Richard Dawkins and tells the Doctor that the quote was by someone he wouldn't know. This is a reference to Lalla Ward being married to Richard Dawkins after previously in a relationship with Tom Baker.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Romana states that if not for [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]], the Doctor would probably still be trapped in a cellar in [[Paris]] in [[1979]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')
* Romana states that if not for [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]], the Doctor would probably still be trapped in a cellar in [[Paris]] in [[1979]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')
* [[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] jumps a [[time track]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Aquitaine]]'', ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks (audio story)|Renaissance of the Daleks]]'')
* [[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] jumps a [[time track]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Aquitaine]]'', ''[[Renaissance of the Daleks (audio story)|Renaissance of the Daleks]]'')
*The Doctor mentions to Romana that as Time Lords, they have a unique sensitivity to distortions in time. ([[TV]]:  ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')
* The Doctor mentions to Romana that as Time Lords, they have a unique sensitivity to distortions in time. ([[TV]]:  ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')
*The Doctor refers to the Repulsion as "an ancient evil from the dawn of time", a term he would later use to describe [[Fenric]] in his [[Seventh Doctor|Seventh incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Curse of Fenric (TV story)|The Curse of Fenric]]'')
* The Doctor refers to the Repulsion as "an ancient evil from the dawn of time", a term he would later use to describe [[Fenric]] in his [[Seventh Doctor|Seventh incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Curse of Fenric (TV story)|The Curse of Fenric]]'')
*The Doctor says "Sorry, must dash," a phrase often used in his fifth incarnation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time-Flight (TV story)|Time-Flight]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]] et al'')
* The Doctor says "Sorry, must dash," a phrase often used in his fifth incarnation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time-Flight (TV story)|Time-Flight]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]] et al'')
*Romana was trained in the Academy to stop her hearts beating for a short time, and enter a state of suspended animation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
* Romana was trained in the Academy to stop her hearts beating for a short time, and enter a state of suspended animation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
*The Doctor tracks Romana's time trail in the [[TARDIS]], something he would do again in his [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh incarnation]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Random History (comic story)|Random History]]'')
* The Doctor tracks Romana's time trail in the [[TARDIS]], something he would do again in his [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh incarnation]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Random History (comic story)|Random History]]'')
*This would not be the last time the Doctor travels back multiple times in his personal timeline and in the same adventure. Most notably, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] would do so to release his past self from the [[Pandorica]] and leaving notes for [[Amy Pond|Amelia Pond]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
* This would not be the last time the Doctor travels back multiple times in his personal timeline and in the same adventure. Most notably, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] would do so to release his past self from the [[Pandorica]] and leaving notes for [[Amy Pond|Amelia Pond]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
*The Doctor throws away the textbook for his basic time travel proficiency test in annoyance. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] similarly admitted that he'd disagreed with the [[TARDIS Instruction Manual|TARDIS instruction manual]] so much that he threw it into a [[supernova]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'')
* The Doctor throws away the textbook for his basic time travel proficiency test in annoyance. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] similarly admitted that he'd disagreed with the [[TARDIS Instruction Manual|TARDIS instruction manual]] so much that he threw it into a [[supernova]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'')
*The Fourth Doctor and Romana discuss the possibility of travelling elsewhere for months and years and avoiding the Doctor's death. They ultimately decide against it and return immediately.
* The Fourth Doctor and Romana discuss the possibility of travelling elsewhere for months and years and avoiding the Doctor's death. They ultimately decide against it and return immediately.
**The [[Eleventh Doctor]] would also know about his upcoming death at [[Lake Silencio]], but unlike the Fourth Doctor spends time delaying his arrival there and putting his affairs in order. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]] et al)''
** The [[Eleventh Doctor]] would also know about his upcoming death at [[Lake Silencio]], but unlike the Fourth Doctor spends time delaying his arrival there and putting his affairs in order. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]] et al)''
**[[Clara Oswald]], in a similar situation, also decided not to return to the fixed point of her death immediately but to travel in a [[TARDIS]] with [[Me]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'')
** [[Clara Oswald]], in a similar situation, also decided not to return to the fixed point of her death immediately but to travel in a [[TARDIS]] with [[Me]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'')
 
== Additional cover images ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Doctor_Who_Festival_of_Death_50th.jpg|2013 edition
</gallery>


== External links ==
== External links ==

Revision as of 08:00, 20 July 2021

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prose stub
You may be looking for the titular festival.

Festival of Death was the thirty-fifth novel in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Jonathan Morris, released 4 September 2000 and featured the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9.

Publisher's summary

2000 BBC Books edition

The Beautiful Death. The ultimate theme-park ride. For twenty galactic credits, you can find out what it's like to be dead.

But something has gone wrong. Visitors expecting a sightseeing tour of the afterlife have been transformed into mindless zombies, set on a killing rampage.

The TARDIS arrives in the aftermath of the disaster and, to the Doctor's baffled delight, he is immediately congratulated for saving the population from certain and terrible destruction.

The only problem is, he hasn't actually done it yet.

Aided and abetted by a drug-addled hippie lizard, a hard-hitting investigative reporter and a suicidal ship's computer, the Doctor has no choice but to travel back in time and discover exactly how he became a hero.

And then he finds out. He did it by sacrificing his life.

2013 BBC Books edition

The Beautiful Death is the ultimate theme-park ride: a sightseeing tour of the afterlife. But something has gone wrong, and when the Fourth Doctor arrives in the aftermath of the disaster, he is congratulated for saving the population from destruction – something he hasn't actually done yet. He has no choice but to travel back in time and discover how he became a hero. And then he finds out. He did it by sacrificing his life.

Plot

to be added

Characters

References

Alcoholic beverages

Cultural References

  • ERIC sings Don't Dilly Dally on the Way by Charles Collins.

Drugs

The Doctor

Famous Persons

  • Romana quotes Richard Dawkins' saying "However many ways there may be of being alive, it is certain there are vastly more ways of being dead."
  • The Doctor and Romana quote Shakespeare's line "What's past and what's to come is strew'd with husks, and formless ruin of oblivion." The Doctor also misquotes "Alas, poor Yorick!", a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
  • The Doctor quotes "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," a quote attributed to Mark Twain.

History

Literature

Planets

Species

Spaceships

Time Lords

  • Academi Plurix coined the term pre-jà vu, the sensation that one is going to have been somewhere before. It applies only to Time Lords.
  • The Doctor and Romana make multiple mentions of the Web of Time and the First Law of Time.

Notes

  • This novel was re-released on 7 March 2013 with a new cover to celebrate the Doctor Who 50th anniversary.
  • Before the Doctor sacrifices himself he tells Romana to "Keep Australia Beautiful". This is a humourous nod to the 1979 campaign Keep Australia Beautiful advertisement where Tom Baker reprises his role for a series of adverts.
  • Romana quotes Richard Dawkins and tells the Doctor that the quote was by someone he wouldn't know. This is a reference to Lalla Ward being married to Richard Dawkins after previously in a relationship with Tom Baker.

Continuity

Additional cover images

External links