Forum:What are the 'New Series Adventures'?
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.
Opening post
The BBC New Series Adventures page is a mess, featuring several disparate ranges.
There are the standard releases, released in batches of 3. There are the 'special' releases, released individually and in a different format. There are the audio releases. There are anthologies, some by BBC Books and some by BBC Children's Books. There are e-book tie-ins. There are the 2 in 1 books. And there are novels featuring classic series Doctors.
All of these, I'd argue, are completely separate ranges and should not be on the same page. There is already a section linking to "other New Series ranges", but for some reason all the above don't qualify as other ranges?
It's worth noting that the name 'New Series Adventures' does not come from official sources. The term comes from wikis and fan sites, dating back to 2006 when the first Tenth Doctor novels were released. Up until that point, fans had referred to the range as the 'NDAs' or 'Ninth Doctor Adventures', as a parallel to the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures. But when the range continued with the Tenth Doctor, and the spines retained continuous numbering (a feature which, perhaps notably, stopped when the range was redesigned for the Eleventh Doctor novels), a new name was required and fans seemed to settle on 'New Series Adventures'. This name has never been used officially. (aside from a brief mention in an online 'Fact File' for the episode The Long Game, which can be found on the BBC website here, almost certainly derived from a wiki or fansite.)
But if this is purely a fan term, then we as fans need to then discern what 'counts' under this term. The term is vague, and could refer to literally any 'adventure' released by the BBC pertaining to the 'New Series', but I believe it should only refer to the series of novels released by BBC Books featuring the incumbent Doctor at time of publishing, released in sets of three (originally simultaneously, lightly-spaced out as of 2018) and aimed at all-ages readers. This would include only the 65 novels in the main table of the article.
Perhaps, being lenient, the 31 audio exclusive releases listed under Audiobooks could be included too, as they follow a similar format in terms of cover art, age range, and use of the incumbent Doctor. (It's also perhaps worth noting that these audiobooks are being officially branded as 'Doctor Tales', and the audiobooks of the standard novels are being officially branded as 'Doctor Novels', and it may be worth adopting this official nomenclature universally, but that's beyond the scope of this proposal.)
Everything else should be moved to separate articles, and not be listed as part of the 'New Series Adventures' series. At the very least, things like the 2 in 1 Books and the various anthologies published by BBC Children's Books should not be listed on the page. BBC Children's Books is a completely separate imprint to BBC Books, and thus they are unarguably not part of the same range.
I also believe that the Past Doctors New Novels (also a blatant fan term) releases should be moved, and possibly even merged with the releases currently listed as Specials, as they share many similarities in format - being more premium, hardcover releases aimed at older readers, and often featuring previous Doctors and big name 'guest' authors.
These changes should not only be reflected on the New Series Adventures page itself, but also throughout the wiki on the pages of the many releases themselves, categories, infoboxes, lists, etc.
My suggestion can be summarized as follows:
- BBC New Series Adventures should ONLY refer to the (currently) 65 releases in the main table of the article as present, and perhaps the 31 releases under Audiobooks.
- The releases currently listed as Specials, and those listed as Past Doctors New Novels, should be combined and moved to a new article, perhaps titled BBC Books Special Releases. The releases currently listed as tie-in e-books might also fit on this new page. These should not 'count' as New Series Adventures releases, and not be listed nor numbered as such.
- The releases currently listed as Anthologies should be moved into two new articles, BBC Books Anthologies and BBC Children's Books Anthologies. These should not 'count' as New Series Adventures releases, and not be listed nor numbered as such.
- The releases currently listed as 2 in 1 Books should be moved into a new article, 2 in 1 Books. These should not 'count' as New Series Adventures releases, and not be listed nor numbered as such.
- These new articles should all be linked on the BBC New Series Adventures article under a section titled Related ranges, similarly to how the current page has an Other "New Series" ranges section.
Shnupbups ☎ 02:16, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
