Time of Your Life (novel)
Publisher's summary
'Organic bugs must be purged from the system,' the screen told him. Then, more succinctly, 'You die.'
The Network broadcasts entertainment to the planets of the Meson system: Death-hunt 3000, Prisoner: The Next Generation, Bloodsoak Bunny... Sixteen channels, and not one of them worth watching. But for the citizens of poverty-striken Torrok, television offers the only escape from a reality too horrible to face.
Angela, a young inhabitant of Torrok, leaps at the chance to travel to the Network with a hermit who calls himself the Doctor. However, all is not well on the giant, chaotic space station. A soap star has murdered his wife’s lover; the robotic regulars of Timeriders are performing random kidnappings; and a lethal new game show is about to go on the air.
Can the Doctor uncover the cause of the apparently random disturbances - or will his appearance as a competitor on Death-hunt 3000 be the last of his life?
Characters
References
- There are many real world references to the BBC and to Doctor Who's hiatus.
- There's also a reference to Mary Whitehouse in the form of a character called Miriam Walker.
Notes
- The Doctor's decision to become a recluse is also a reflection of DW: The Twin Dilemma, after another violent episode involving Peri. We also saw a similar character, also played by Colin Baker, becoming a hermit in the Stranger video, Summoned by Shadows, which this may also be reflecting.
Continuity
- The Doctor was put on trial by the Time Lords in DW: Trial of a Time Lord and faced the Valeyard, an evil future incarnation of himself, in DW: The Ultimate Foe.
- Reference is made to Drathro, the L2 Service Robot in DW: The Mysterious Planet.
- The CIA make an appearance vaguely mimicking scenes seen (and heard) in DW: The Brain of Morbius and DW: Blood of the Daleks.
- The "shadow that hung heavy over [the Doctor's] future" may be a reference to the series' hiatus in 1985 or to the Valeyard.
- The mass transit systems were outlawed long ago (NA: Transit).
Timeline
- Time of Your Life occurs immediately after: DW: The Ultimate Foe
- Time of Your Life occurs before: MA: Killing Ground
External links
- The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of Time of Your Life
- The Discontinuity Guide to: Time of Your Life at The Whoniverse