Apollo 23 (novel)

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Apollo 23
Doctor:	Eleventh Doctor
Companion(s):	Amy
Main enemy:	Talerians
Main setting:	England, Texas and The Moon, 2010
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::BBC Books]]
Writer:	Justin Richards
Release details
Release number:	37
Release date:	22 April 2010
Format:	Hardcover, 248 Pages
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84607-200-0
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BBC New Series Adventures
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Apollo 23 was the 37th book in the BBC New Series Adventures range.

It was notable for not just being the first Eleventh Doctor NSA book, but actually the first Eleventh Doctor book to be released. It is also Amy Pond's first appearance in the NSA series.

It was written by Justin Richards and published on 22 April 2010.

Publisher's summary

"Houston – we have a problem."

An astronaut in full spacesuit appears out of thin air in a busy shopping centre. Maybe it’s a publicity stunt.

A photo shows an immaculately-dressed woman in her best shoes lying dead at the edge of a crater on the dark side of the moon – beside her beloved dog ‘Poochie’. Maybe it’s a hoax.

But as the Doctor and Amy find out, these are just minor events in a sinister plan to take over every human being on earth. The plot centres on a secret military base on the moon – that’s where Amy and the TARDIS are.

The Doctor is back on Earth, and without the TARDIS there’s no way he can get to the moon to save Amy and defeat the aliens.

Or is there? The Doctor discovers one last great secret that could save humanity: Apollo 23.

Characters

• The Doctor
  • Enthuses about how "cool" it was to be a prisoner on the moon (see TV: Frontier in Space).
  • Spends a lot of time trying to keep his hair out of his eyes.
  • Compares Amy to Snow White.
  • Dislikes being called "Doc", but unlike previous Doctors, responds with humour, saying "Doc was a dwarf" rather than anger.
• Amy Pond
  • The Doctor describes her as compassionate, strong willed and "more than a pretty face"
  • The Doctor also says her eyes are brown, compassionate and warm.
• Professor Jackson
  • The leading Scientist aboard Base Diana
  • Has pale blue eyes.
• Major Carlisle
  • A bitter, ruthless Major on Base Diana
  • Has brown eyes.
  • The one member of Base Diana not infected by the Talerians and eventual ally of the Doctor and Amy.
• Captain Reeve
  • Apparently the friendly counterpart of Major Carlisle aboard Base Diana
• Colonel Devenish
  • In charge of Base Diana
• Nurse Phllips
  • In charge of Medical
• General Walinski
  • In charge of Base Hibiscus
• Candace Hecker
  • In charge of Science Base Hibiscus
• Agent Jennings
  • Secret Agent with information on the Doctor
  • Works for the CIA
  • Has bright green eyes.
• Commander Raarag
  • Leader of the Talerians
  • Killed by Professor Jackson.

References

• The Doctor mentions T-Mat, which was an important technology used in the Second Doctor story TV: The Seeds of Death.
• UNIT and Torchwood are mentioned, as well as detailed files regarding the organisation's dealings with previous incarnations of The Doctor.
• Professor Jackson refers to the "Keller Process" in relation to the "treatments" he's giving the prisoners (TV: The Mind of Evil).
• The Doctor jokes about being a prisoner on the moon. This occurred in TV: Frontier in Space, when he was imprisoned in a penal colony.
• Agent Jennings' boss is called Control, who may be the same Control who turns up in a number of Past Doctor Adventures, including PROSE: The King of Terror.
• The spacesuits the Doctor and Amy wear (with large translucent bubble helmets) are similar to those the Doctor and his companions wore in TV: The Moonbase.
• The fuel used in Apollo 23 is the M3 Variant designed by the British Rocket Group for the Mars Missions as seen in TV: The Ambassadors of Death.
• Agent Jennings says he'd have recognised the Doctor if he was older. Given he has read both the UNIT and Torchwood files, this implies he was expecting either the Third Doctor or the Tenth Doctor.
• Base Diana uses an information storage system using water. This was last seen in AUDIO: The Genocide Machine.

Notes

• There was some initial confusion over the title of this book, as some media coverage, including Doctor Who Magazine, used the erroneous title Apollo 13.
• This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.

Continuity

• The Doctor says he has witnessed many deaths, referring to the fact that death and bloodshed follow in the footsteps of each of his incarnations. (TV: Warriors of the Deep, Resurrection of the Daleks)
• The Doctor says death spoils his apetite. (TV: Boom Town)
• The Doctor claims that it has been a number of months since his "death". (TV: The End of Time)
• UNIT and the Torchwood Institute are referred to. In the former, there appears to be a reference to the Third Doctor.
• The Doctor says he got his Mars-Venus license. (TV: Robot)
• Once again, the Doctor instructs someone not to call him 'Doc'. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Time Meddler, The Five Doctors, The Twin Dilemma, The Ultimate Foe, Dreamland)
• At one point, the Doctor uses the catchphrase of his ninth incarnation, saying: 'That is fantastic.'
• When blasting off in the rocket, the Doctor once again exclaims: 'Geronimo!' (TV: The End of Time, The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, The Big Bang, PROSE: The Forgotten Army, GAME: City of the Daleks)
• The Doctor implies he's literally been to 'the depths of hell itself', likely a reference to TV: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit.
• The Doctor says he usually carries around a jammy dodger, but doesn't find one when patting his pockets, having eaten it in TV: Victory of the Daleks.

Audio release

• The story was released as an audiobook on 6x CD read by James Albrecht.
• The audiobook is also available as a download from the AudioGo website.

Gallery

• 

  Original cover

• 

  French edition

• 

  The audiobook cover

External links

• Apollo 23 at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Cloister Library: Apollo 23
• BBC Shop - Apollo 23