Apollo 23 (novel)
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 Eleventh Doctor
- Amy Pond
- Professor Jackson
- Major Carlisle
- Captain Reeve
- Colonel Devenish
- Nurse Phillips
- General Walinski
- Candace Hecker
- Agent Jennings
- Commander Raarg
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, Tenth Doctor, or the Twelfth 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 appetite. (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 Jammie Dodger, but doesn't find one when patting his pockets, having eaten it in TV: Victory of the Daleks.
- The Doctor dislikes being called "Doc". (TV: The Five Doctors)
- The Doctor enthuses about how "cool" it was to be a prisoner on the moon. (TV: Frontier in Space)
Audio release
- The story was released as an audiobook on 6x CD read by James Albrecht.
Gallery
Original cover
French edition
The audiobook cover
External links
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