Target Books

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Target Books were a children's publishing imprint, significant for being the dominant publisher of Doctor Who prose fiction and non-fiction from the 1970s to the early 1990s. They were most famous for their line of novelisations of Doctor Who serials, in part because the novelisations were the principle route by which some fans could experience missing episodes. Technically an imprint, and not an independent publisher, they were owned by several houses. However, the Doctor Who line is most associated with W.H. Allen & Co, who owned Target from 1977–1989, and Virgin Books, who bought them in 1990 and extended and reprinted the line until 1994.

Overview

Target Books was a publishing imprint set up in 1972 as a range of paperback fiction for readers of approximately 14 years of age. It was for its long lived and highly successful range of Doctor Who novelisations that Target became best known. Target almost exclusively published paperbacks, but their novelisations did occasionally get first printings in hardback by related publishers Allan Wingate and W.H. Allen & Co. Many of the hardcovers are considered rare, given that they received far smaller distribution than the paperbacks (especially outside the UK).

The Target imprint changed hands many times over its history but up until the end, when it adopted a more modern monochrome version, retained its distinctive, brightly-coloured logo. By the end of the series, they had novelised almost every Doctor Who television story and adapted every one of the First, Second, Third and Seventh Doctors' on-screen adventures.

The importance of the Doctor Who novelisations to maintaining interest and knowledge in the franchise cannot be overestimated. Prior to the 1980s, it was usually impossible to obtain recordings of previously aired stories. Reruns were rare and sporadic, and many episodes from the 1960s were destroyed and believed lost forever. The novelisations were (and in some cases remain) the only venues for reliving past stories or catching up on stories never seen before by fans. They also provided opportunities for many stories to be presented in a form unhampered by TV budgets and special effects technology limitations.

See also:

The 1970s

Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks and Doctor Who and the Crusaders, adapted by David Whitaker, and Doctor Who and the Zarbi, adapted by Bill Strutton, saw publication as hardbacks by Frederick Muller in the mid-1960s. In 1973, Target began its run of Doctor Who novelisations by reprinting these three titles. For the Target edition, the Daleks novel had its title shortened to Doctor Who and the Daleks. All had new covers by Chris Achilleos, who would illustrate the first wave of Target Doctor Who books.

An original publication, Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion by Terrance Dicks, would follow in 1974. Over the years, "Uncle Terry", as fans nicknamed him, would write more Target Books and have a closer association with them in the minds of fans than any other writer. He also wrote a short-lived series of simplified Junior Doctor Who novelisations for younger readers.

Linking some early Target novelisations to their television counterparts was a challenge at times, as for the first few years Target occasionally published novelisations under titles that differed from the TV originals. This practice actually pre-dated Target, with Doctor Who and the Zarbi having been based upon The Web Planet. Under Target, for example, Spearhead from Space became Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion. When the decision was made to keep the original title, the prefix Doctor Who and... was usually added. There were a few exceptions, such as the release of Doctor Who: The Three Doctors. Also there were occasional exceptions for first-edition hardcover publications, such as the novelisation of Revenge of the Cybermen, which was first published as Doctor Who: The Revenge of the Cybermen in hardcover, and Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen in paperback.

An even greater challenge is posed for those reading the books in televised order. When the Target line (and, indeed, the earlier Muller) were launched, the publishers had no inkling of the comprehensive nature the book series would take over the next 20 years. As a result, several novelisations ignore the events of previous stories, creating continuity issues. For example, PROSE: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, based upon the Season 8 story Colony in Space, includes introductions for Jo Grant and the Master, with Grant meeting the Doctor for the first time. In reality both characters were introduced in Terror of the Autons, which wasn't novelised until some time later, and that book once again introduced the two characters. Similarly, Doctor Who and the Daleks ignores the events of An Unearthly Child and thus creates a continuity hiccup for those who first read the novelisation of An Unearthly Child, which wasn't published until the early 1980s. (This situation is not confined to 1970s issues; in the 1980s the novelisation of Mindwarp contained an epilogue that contradicted the ending of a later novelisation, The Ultimate Foe.)

The Muller reprints were not the last books by another publisher to be reissued by Target, as the company also published a new edition of The Making of Doctor Who, a book previously issued by Piccolo Books.

Beginning in the second half of the 1970s, W.H. Allen and/or related publishers began issuing hardcover editions of the novels. In some cases these predated the paperback editions by months. Often they were published simultaneously, and in the case of a few of the 1974–75 books hardcover editions weren't published for nearly a decade.

The 1980s

During the 1980's, experimentally, Target published two original novels featuring further adventures of the Doctor's companions, Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma by Tony Attwood and Harry Sullivan's War by Ian Marter, who had played Harry Sullivan on television. Target also took up three scripts from the "lost" version of Season 23 which, due to the delay and re-thinking of Season 23 by the then-current production team of Doctor Who, never made their way onto screen. Target also began to look beyond the televised series for source material by novelising the radio play Slipback and the spin-off special K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend.

Beginning in 1981, Target began making a concerted effort to enlist the original script-writers in writing the novelisations based upon their stories (a practice actually dating back to Strutton's Zarbi novel, but only occasionally employed during the 1970s). They were successful in commissioning novelisations even from writers who had last worked on the series in the 1960s. Where the original author was unavailable, unwilling, or deceased, the range turned to one of its staff writers, such as Marter or Terrance Dicks. The practice of having the original scriptwriters write the books when possible would continue for the remainder of the line. The two most significant writers whom Target was unable to commission for novelisations were Terry Nation and Douglas Adams. Marter had the unique distinction of adapting several stories in which he himself had performed as Harry Sullivan; he died in 1986 and several of his novelisations were published posthumously. One of Marter's books, Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World, was controversial for incorporating adult concepts and language — issues that would later resurface when original Doctor Who novels began to appear in the 1990s.

Towards the late 1980s and into the 1990s, however, Target loosened the policy of only commissioning writers with past connection to Doctor Who on TV, beginning with the novelisation of The Celestial Toymaker, which was co-authored by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman, a writer with no Doctor Who connection. Later, Nigel Robinson, the line's editor, who otherwise had no Doctor Who TV connection, wrote four books. In the 1990s, John Peel wrote the final five Daleks novelisations.

In 1982, Target phased out the practice of adding Doctor Who and... to its novelisation titles. In 1988, the practice of publishing hardcover editions was abandoned following publication of The Smugglers.

The Virgin years

During the 1990's the company was acquired by Virgin Publishing. The only titles still held by Target were the Doctor Who stories. Many of the titles were reissued with new covers, but to many readers they were still affectionately regarded as "Target Books". Indeed, Virgin itself referred to the later titles as part of "the Target Library".

The end of Target Books

In the later years of the run, Target was successful in negotiating with Terry Nation's estate the rights to adapt four of his Daleks storylines, most notably The Chase and The Daleks' Master Plan; the latter had to be published in two volumes.

Target eventually outlasted the original run of Doctor Who itself, which ended with Season 26 in 1989. The Target line continued in the "short paperback" form until the release of Doctor Who - The Pescatons in 1991 — an adaptation of an audio play, as virtually all available televised stories had been adapted by this time. Between 1990 and 1994 Target republished many of its older releases with new cover art; a subsidiary, Star Books, also published omnibus paperback editions combining two books at a time. The 1990–1994 reissues and the Star Books editions were straight reprints, rather than new editions that corrected typographical and other errors.

After 1991, several additional releases were published in longer-format paperbacks by the owner of Target, Virgin Publishing, beginning with the adaptations of The Evil of the Daleks and The Power of the Daleks, two David Whitaker scripts that, like the Nation stories, had previously eluded adaptation. The 1994 release The Paradise of Death, based upon a radio play, was the 156th and last release in the Target series.

By the time it had ended, almost every Doctor Who story aired on television (save for five; see below), along with several audio dramas, had appeared under the Target imprint. Within a few years of the final release, the Target Books line had fallen out of print, with many of the books, particularly the scarce hardback editions, becoming collectors items. Virgin continued to publish a few more novelisations, but under its New Adventures and Missing Adventures lines, and none based upon televised episodes of the original series.

When Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, it was announced that no novelisations would be published, in part due to the expectation that the episodes would be easily available on DVD in due course. Nonetheless, Penguin Character Books revived the novelisation format by releasing adaptations of episodes from the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures; appropriately, the first of these books was written by Terrance Dicks. One novelisation, adapting The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, featured the Doctor appearing in a TV novelisation for the first time since the novelisation of the 1996 TV movie.

The "lost" novelisations

Target Books was unable to come to agreement with Douglas Adams or Eric Saward on the adaptation of several serials. As a result, the Adams-written (or co-written) The Pirate Planet, City of Death and unbroadcast Shada, and Saward's two Dalek stories, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, were never adapted for Target (the Saward stories were at one point announced as future releases, but were cancelled). Years later, the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club published fan-written novellas adapting these storylines. In 2012, BBC Books published a new official novelisation of Shada by Gareth Roberts, the first new Doctor Who novelisation in 16 years; an adaptation of City of Death by James Goss was published in May 2015 and The Pirate Planet has been confirmed for a novelisation but a release date is TBC.

In addition, Terrance Dicks intended to novelise his stage play, Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure for Target, but the project was cancelled.

Audiobook adaptations

In the early 1980s, several audio book adaptations of Target novels were released, read by Tom Baker. In 2007 BBC Audio began a new series of complete and unabridged releases of the Target novelisations, giving new life to these old (and out of print) favourites (see Audiobooks of novelisations). In most cases, the books are read by actors who had appeared in the original stories. This series has continued into 2013.

Special distribution

In July 2008, backstock of 27 Target novelisations (and a few Target-published spin-off works) were distributed at random with copies of Doctor Who Magazine #397. These were not reprints but original copies, some dating back more than 25 years.

BBC Books reprints

In July 2011, BBC Books reprinted six Target novelisations with original cover art by Chris Achilleos and new introductions by prominent writers affiliated with Doctor Who or who are fans of the series. Six more reprints followed in May 2012. Seven more followed in April 2016.

Title Introduction by Release date
Doctor Who and the Daleks Neil Gaiman 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Crusaders Charlie Higson 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Cybermen Gareth Roberts 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen Stephen Baxter 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion Russell T Davies 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters Terrance Dicks 2011-07-07
Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks Gary Russell 2012-05-10
Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Steven Moffat 2012-05-10
Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster Michael Moorcock 2012-05-10
Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet Tom MacRae 2012-05-10
Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors Mark Gatiss 2012-05-10
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors Alastair Reynolds 2012-05-10
Doctor Who and the Zarbi N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who and the Web of Fear N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who and the Visitation N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos N/A 2016-04-28
Doctor Who: Battlefield N/A 2016-04-28

In 2013, Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks was republished in a new edition by BBC Books as part of a series fo 50th anniversary reprints; it was the only TV novelisation featured in the set and was reissued in lieu of republishing any of the many original Seventh Doctor novels.

List of Doctor Who-related Target titles

Fiction

Novelisations

NOTES: The following tables are based upon Target's numbering of the book releases and the dates of first paperback publication. Up until 1988 most books were also published in a hardcover edition that, in many cases, predated the publication of the paperback by many months and, in some cases, were not published until long after the paperback. The paperback releases are used as the baseline given they are and remain far more common than the hardcovers.
The numbering of the novelisations was introduced in 1983, with the first seventy-three books retroactively renumbered in alphabetical order (although not every book had a numbered edition). The books from #74 onwards are predominantly numbered in the order of publication, with a few notable exceptions.
No. Title Author Doctor TV Serial

1973

016 Doctor Who and the Daleks (first pub. 1964) David Whitaker 1st The Daleks
073 Doctor Who and the Zarbi (first pub. 1965) Bill Strutton 1st The Web Planet
012 Doctor Who and the Crusaders (first pub. 1965) David Whitaker 1st The Crusade

1974

006 Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion Terrance Dicks 3rd Spearhead from Space
009 Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters Malcolm Hulke 3rd Doctor Who and the Silurians
023 Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon Malcolm Hulke 3rd Colony in Space
018 Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks Terrance Dicks 3rd Day of the Daleks
015 Doctor Who and the Dæmons Barry Letts 3rd The Dæmons
054 Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils Malcolm Hulke 3rd The Sea Devils
001 Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen Terrance Dicks 2nd The Abominable Snowmen

1975

013 Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon Brian Hayles 3rd The Curse of Peladon
014 Doctor Who and the Cybermen Gerry Davis 2nd The Moonbase
028 Doctor Who and the Giant Robot Terrance Dicks 4th Robot
063 Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons Terrance Dicks 3rd Terror of the Autons
029 Doctor Who and the Green Death Malcolm Hulke 3rd The Green Death
048 Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders Terrance Dicks 3rd Planet of the Spiders
064 The Three Doctors Terrance Dicks 3rd The Three Doctors

1976

040 Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster Terrance Dicks 4th Terror of the Zygons
022 Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion Malcolm Hulke 3rd Invasion of the Dinosaurs
062 Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet Gerry Davis 1st The Tenth Planet
033 Doctor Who and the Ice Warriors Brian Hayles 2nd The Ice Warriors
051 The Revenge of the Cybermen Terrance Dicks 4th Revenge of the Cybermen
027 Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks Terrance Dicks 4th Genesis of the Daleks
072 Doctor Who and the Web of Fear Terrance Dicks 2nd The Web of Fear
057 Doctor Who and the Space War Malcolm Hulke 3rd Frontier in Space
046 Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks Terrance Dicks 3rd Planet of the Daleks
050 Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars Terrance Dicks 4th Pyramids of Mars

1977

008 Doctor Who and the Carnival of Monsters Terrance Dicks 3rd Carnival of Monsters
055 Doctor Who and the Seeds of Doom Philip Hinchcliffe 4th The Seeds of Doom
017 Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth Terrance Dicks 1st The Dalek Invasion of Earth
010 Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos Terrance Dicks 3rd The Claws of Axos
004 Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Ian Marter 4th The Ark in Space
007 Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius Terrance Dicks 4th The Brain of Morbius
047 The Planet of Evil Terrance Dicks 4th Planet of Evil
044 Doctor Who and the Mutants Terrance Dicks 3rd The Mutants
019 Doctor Who and the Deadly Assassin Terrance Dicks 4th The Deadly Assassin
061 Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang Terrance Dicks 4th The Talons of Weng-Chiang
042 Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora Philip Hinchcliffe 4th The Masque of Mandragora

1978

025 Doctor Who and the Face of Evil Terrance Dicks 4th The Face of Evil
032 Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock Terrance Dicks 4th Horror of Fang Rock
066 Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen Gerry Davis 2nd The Tomb of the Cybermen
065 Doctor Who and the Time Warrior Terrance Dicks
(Prologue by Robert Holmes)
3rd The Time Warrior
020 Death to the Daleks Terrance Dicks 3rd Death to the Daleks
002 Doctor Who and the Android Invasion Terrance Dicks 4th The Android Invasion
056 Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment Ian Marter 4th The Sontaran Experiment

1979

030 Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear Terrance Dicks 4th The Hand of Fear
036 Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy Terrance Dicks 4th The Invisible Enemy
053 Doctor Who and the Robots of Death Terrance Dicks 4th The Robots of Death
034 Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl Terrance Dicks 4th Image of the Fendahl
070 Doctor Who and the War Games Malcolm Hulke 2nd The War Games
021 Doctor Who and the Destiny of the Daleks Terrance Dicks 4th Destiny of the Daleks
052 Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation Ian Marter 4th The Ribos Operation

1980

067 Doctor Who and the Underworld Terrance Dicks 4th Underworld
035 Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time Terrance Dicks 4th The Invasion of Time
059 Doctor Who and the Stones of Blood Terrance Dicks 4th The Stones of Blood
003 Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara Terrance Dicks 4th The Androids of Tara
049 Doctor Who and the Power of Kroll Terrance Dicks 4th The Power of Kroll
005 Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor Terrance Dicks 4th The Armageddon Factor
038 Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus Philip Hinchcliffe 1st The Keys of Marinus
045 Doctor Who and the Nightmare of Eden Terrance Dicks 4th Nightmare of Eden
031 Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon Terrance Dicks 4th The Horns of Nimon
043 Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon Terrance Dicks 3rd The Monster of Peladon

1981

011 Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit David Fisher 4th The Creature from the Pit
024 Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World Ian Marter 2nd The Enemy of the World
068 Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child Terrance Dicks 1st An Unearthly Child

1982

058 Doctor Who and the State of Decay Terrance Dicks 4th State of Decay
071 Doctor Who and Warriors' Gate John Lydecker 4th Warriors' Gate
037 Doctor Who and the Keeper of Traken Terrance Dicks 4th The Keeper of Traken
039 Doctor Who and the Leisure Hive David Fisher 4th The Leisure Hive
069 Doctor Who and the Visitation Eric Saward 5th The Visitation
026 Full Circle Andrew Smith 4th Full Circle
041 Logopolis Christopher H. Bidmead 4th Logopolis
060 Doctor Who and the Sunmakers Terrance Dicks 4th The Sun Makers

1983

074 Time-Flight Peter Grimwade 5th Time-Flight
075 Meglos Terrance Dicks 4th Meglos
076 Castrovalva Christopher H. Bidmead 5th Castrovalva
077 Four to Doomsday Terrance Dicks 5th Four to Doomsday
078 Earthshock Ian Marter 5th Earthshock
079 Terminus John Lydecker 5th Terminus
080 Arc of Infinity Terrance Dicks 5th Arc of Infinity
081 The Five Doctors Terrance Dicks 5th The Five Doctors

1984

082 Mawdryn Undead Peter Grimwade 5th Mawdryn Undead
084 Kinda Terrance Dicks 5th Kinda
083 Snakedance Terrance Dicks 5th Snakedance
085 Enlightenment Barbara Clegg 5th Enlightenment
086 The Dominators Ian Marter 2nd The Dominators
087 Warriors of the Deep Terrance Dicks 5th Warriors of the Deep
088 The Aztecs John Lucarotti 1st The Aztecs
089 Inferno Terrance Dicks 3rd Inferno
090 The Highlanders Gerry Davis 2nd The Highlanders
091 Frontios Christopher H. Bidmead 5th Frontios

1985

093 Planet of Fire Peter Grimwade 5th Planet of Fire
092 The Caves of Androzani Terrance Dicks 5th The Caves of Androzani
094 Marco Polo John Lucarotti 1st Marco Polo
095 The Awakening Eric Pringle 5th The Awakening
096 The Mind of Evil Terrance Dicks 3rd The Mind of Evil
097 The Myth Makers Donald Cotton 1st The Myth Makers
098 The Invasion Ian Marter 2nd The Invasion
099 The Krotons Terrance Dicks 2nd The Krotons
100 The Two Doctors Robert Holmes 6th The Two Doctors

1986

101 The Gunfighters Donald Cotton 1st The Gunfighters
102 The Time Monster Terrance Dicks 3rd The Time Monster
103 The Twin Dilemma Eric Saward 6th The Twin Dilemma
104 Galaxy Four William Emms 1st Galaxy 4
105 Timelash Glen McCoy 6th Timelash
107 The Mark of the Rani Pip and Jane Baker 6th The Mark of the Rani
108 The King's Demons Terence Dudley 5th The King's Demons
* Slipback Eric Saward 6th Slipback (radio play)
109 The Savages Ian Stuart Black 1st The Savages
110 Fury from the Deep Victor Pemberton 2nd Fury from the Deep
111 The Celestial Toymaker Gerry Davis &
Alison Bingeman
1st The Celestial Toymaker
112 The Seeds of Death Terrance Dicks 2nd The Seeds of Death

1987

113 Black Orchid Terence Dudley 5th Black Orchid
114 The Ark Paul Erickson 1st The Ark
115 The Mind Robber Peter Ling 2nd The Mind Robber
116 The Faceless Ones Terrance Dicks 2nd The Faceless Ones
117 The Space Museum Glyn Jones 1st The Space Museum
118 The Sensorites Nigel Robinson 1st The Sensorites
119 The Reign of Terror Ian Marter 1st The Reign of Terror
120 The Romans Donald Cotton 1st The Romans
121 The Ambassadors of Death Terrance Dicks 3rd The Ambassadors of Death
122 The Massacre John Lucarotti 1st The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
123 The Macra Terror Ian Stuart Black 2nd The Macra Terror
* K9 and Company Terence Dudley none K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend

1988

124 The Rescue Ian Marter 1st The Rescue
125 Terror of the Vervoids Pip and Jane Baker 6th Terror of the Vervoids
126 The Time Meddler Nigel Robinson 1st The Time Meddler
127 The Mysterious Planet Terrance Dicks 6th The Mysterious Planet
128 Time and the Rani Pip and Jane Baker 7th Time and the Rani
106 Vengeance on Varos Philip Martin 6th Vengeance on Varos
129 The Underwater Menace Nigel Robinson 2nd The Underwater Menace
130 The Wheel in Space Terrance Dicks 2nd The Wheel in Space
131 The Ultimate Foe Pip and Jane Baker 6th The Ultimate Foe
132 The Edge of Destruction Nigel Robinson 1st The Edge of Destruction
133 The Smugglers Terrance Dicks 1st The Smugglers
134 Paradise Towers Stephen Wyatt 7th Paradise Towers

1989

135 Delta and the Bannermen Malcolm Kohll 7th Delta and the Bannermen
136 The War Machines Ian Stuart Black 1st The War Machines
137 Dragonfire Ian Briggs 7th Dragonfire
138 Attack of the Cybermen Eric Saward 6th Attack of the Cybermen
139 Mindwarp Philip Martin 6th Mindwarp
140 The Chase John Peel 1st The Chase
141 Mission to the Unknown John Peel 1st Mission to the Unknown
The Daleks' Master Plan
1-6
142 The Mutation of Time John Peel 1st The Daleks' Master Plan 7-12
143 Silver Nemesis Kevin Clarke 7th Silver Nemesis
144 The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Stephen Wyatt 7th The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

1990

145 Planet of Giants Terrance Dicks 1st Planet of Giants
146 The Happiness Patrol Graeme Curry 7th The Happiness Patrol
147 The Space Pirates Terrance Dicks 2nd The Space Pirates
148 Remembrance of the Daleks Ben Aaronovitch 7th Remembrance of the Daleks
149 Ghost Light Marc Platt 7th Ghost Light
150 Survival Rona Munro 7th Survival
151 The Curse of Fenric Ian Briggs 7th The Curse of Fenric

1991

152 Battlefield Marc Platt 7th Battlefield
153 The Pescatons Victor Pemberton 4th Doctor Who and the Pescatons (audio drama)

1993

154 The Power of the Daleks John Peel 2nd The Power of the Daleks
155 The Evil of the Daleks John Peel 2nd The Evil of the Daleks

1994

156 The Paradise of Death Barry Letts 3rd The Paradise of Death (radio play)

The Missing Episodes

From 1989 through 1990, as "the Missing Episodes", Target published a short series which adapted scripts which were to have aired during Season 23, before the hiatus put on Doctor Who by Michael Grade. A few scripts which the production team intended to have aired during this version of the season remained un-novelised.

For a discussion of the missing episodes of Doctor Who (i.e. aired episodes which do not exist in the BBC Film and Videotape Library), see separate article.

The Companions of Doctor Who

Although intended to showcase original fiction (see below), the Companions sub-series also included a novelisation.

Junior Doctor Who

In the early 1980s, Target published two adaptations by Terrance Dicks of earlier novelisations in abridged and illustrated form, written for younger readers.

Original fiction

Target's Doctor Who fiction consisted exclusively of novelisations, with two exceptions.

The Companions of Doctor Who

Non-fiction

Target Books also published numerous reference and behind-the-scenes books based upon Doctor Who, as well as activity and general knowledge books featuring the Doctor.

General reference

Doctor Who Discovers

A non-fiction series of illustrated educational books narrated by the Fourth Doctor.

Activity / puzzle books

(See also Doctor Who quiz books)

Miscellaneous

Additional details

Non-Target novelisations

The following books adapted official and unofficial Doctor Who and Doctor Who-related productions, but were not published under the Target Books banner:

Virgin New Adventures

Virgin Missing Adventures

BBC Books

Penguin Character Books

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Novella-length adaptations of episodes of the spin-off series.

Note: two additional novelisations, The Nightmare Man and Death of the Doctor, were announced for publication in 2010, but subsequently cancelled.[1]. They were later released in e-book format only. Death of the Doctor stands as the only novelisation to date to feature the Eleventh Doctor. As such, the Ninth Doctor, War Doctor and Twelfth Doctor stand as the only incarnations not to be featured in a novelisation.

New novelisations for audio

To date, three novelisations originally published by Target have been rewritten by other writers and recorded as audio-exclusive releases for AudioGO.

  • Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood by David Fisher
  • Doctor Who: The Androids of Tara by Fisher
  • Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child by Nigel Robinson

An Unearthly Child was scheduled for release in November 2013, but the release was cancelled due to AudioGO entering administration. As of January 2014 it has yet to be announced when or if Random House Audio, AudioGO's announced successor, will release it.

Related entries

Print

Periodicals
Books

External links

  • Dr Who Gallery This gallery only site shows all TV novelisations (Armada, Dragon, Target, Virgin and BBC) in order of publication date.