The BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures were a series of original paperback novels featuring the Eighth Doctor published by BBC Books from June 1997 to June 2005, taking over the Doctor Who franchise from the Virgin New Adventures line. The first BBC Book release was in fact Doctor Who - The Novel of the Film, a novelisation of the 1996 telefilm; however, this is not considered part of the EDA series, which launched with a novel featuring all eight incarnations of the Doctor.
Initially, the novels were not linked to Virgin Books' previous Doctor Who New Adventures line (though the accompanying Missing Adventures line was referenced in the very first instalment, as well as throughout the Past Doctor Adventures from The Murder Game onwards), but as the series progressed, the barriers began to come down; as a result, many EDAs contain characters and references to events in the Virgin series.
While the EDA novels did not contain sexual or "adult" content as explicit as the Virgin series, they gained a focus, occasionally more overt than subtle, on representative themes, implications, and even blatant statements that gave major characters a degree of sexual or gender ambiguity and expression outside of heterosexuality and cisgender identity, including Sam Jones, Fitz Kreiner, and most notably the Doctor himself.
The EDA novels were marked by complex and lengthy story arcs, some lasting over many books, in particular a series of stories relating to a great Time War. The novels also spearheaded the "Post-War universe" utilised by the Faction Paradox series. Elements of and references to various accounts of future incarnations of the Doctor were implemented into the series' lore, most notably The Curse of Fatal Death and Scream of the Shalka.
Although the final EDA release was The Gallifrey Chronicles, published in June 2005, the following September one final Eighth Doctor novel, Fear Itself, was published, albeit under the BBC Past Doctor Adventures line, recognising the coming of the Ninth Doctor to television.
With more than seventy novels published, the Eighth Doctor Adventures is the longest-running series of novels featuring any single incarnation of the Doctor to date.
In 2005 BBC Books retired its EDA and PDA lines, preferring to focus its publishing efforts on novels based upon the revived TV series. Although there was speculation that the Eighth Doctor's adventures might continue in a revived PDA line of books, this did not occur. The literary adventures of the Eighth Doctor continued in the Short Trips short story anthologies published by Big Finish Productions (many of which were written by veterans of the EDA and PDA ranges), until that series was also retired in the spring of 2009. BBC Books and Puffin have included the Eighth Doctor in various short story series and collections since.
# |
Title |
Author |
Featuring |
Published
|
1
|
The Eight Doctors
|
Terrance Dicks
|
Sam, First Doctor, Second Doctor, Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, the Master
|
2 June 1997
|
2
|
Vampire Science
|
Kate Orman, Jonathan Blum
|
Sam, Vampires
|
7 July 1997
|
3
|
The Bodysnatchers
|
Mark Morris
|
Sam, Litefoot, Zygons
|
18 August 1997
|
4
|
Genocide
|
Paul Leonard
|
Sam, Jo Grant, Sergeant Benton, UNIT
|
1 September 1997
|
5
|
War of the Daleks
|
John Peel
|
Sam, Daleks, Davros
|
6 October 1997
|
6
|
Alien Bodies
|
Lawrence Miles
|
Sam, Krotons, Faction Paradox, the Shift
|
24 November 1997
|
7
|
Kursaal
|
Peter Anghelides
|
Sam
|
8 January 1998
|
8
|
Option Lock
|
Justin Richards
|
2 February 1998
|
9
|
Longest Day
|
Michael Collier
|
2 March 1998
|
10
|
Legacy of the Daleks
|
John Peel
|
Susan, the Master, Daleks
|
6 April 1998
|
11
|
Dreamstone Moon
|
Paul Leonard
|
Sam
|
5 May 1998
|
12
|
Seeing I
|
Kate Orman, Jonathan Blum
|
Sam, the I
|
8 June 1998
|
13
|
Placebo Effect
|
Gary Russell
|
Sam, Stacy, Ssard, Wirrn, Foamasi, Meep
|
6 July 1998
|
14
|
Vanderdeken's Children
|
Christopher Bulis
|
Sam
|
3 August 1998
|
15
|
The Scarlet Empress
|
Paul Magrs
|
Sam, Iris Wildthyme
|
7 September 1998
|
16
|
The Janus Conjunction
|
Trevor Baxendale
|
Sam
|
5 October 1998
|
17
|
Beltempest
|
Jim Mortimore
|
16 November 1998
|
18
|
The Face-Eater
|
Simon Messingham
|
4 January 1999
|
19
|
The Taint
|
Michael Collier
|
Sam, Fitz
|
1 February 1999
|
20
|
Demontage
|
Justin Richards
|
1 March 1999
|
21
|
Revolution Man
|
Paul Leonard
|
6 April 1999
|
22
|
Dominion
|
Nick Walters
|
10 May 1999
|
23
|
Unnatural History
|
Kate Orman, Jonathan Blum
|
7 June 1999
|
24
|
Autumn Mist
|
David A. McIntee
|
5 July 1999
|
25
|
Interference Book One: Shock Tactic Book Two: The Hour of the Geek
|
Lawrence Miles
|
Sam, Fitz, Compassion Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith
|
2 August 1999
|
26
|
27
|
The Blue Angel
|
Paul Magrs, Jeremy Hoad
|
Fitz, Compassion, Iris
|
6 September 1999
|
28
|
The Taking of Planet 5
|
Simon Bucher-Jones, Mark Clapham
|
Fitz, Compassion
|
4 October 1999
|
29
|
Frontier Worlds
|
Peter Anghelides
|
29 November 1999
|
30
|
Parallel 59
|
Stephen Cole, Natalie Dallaire
|
4 January 2000
|
31
|
The Shadows of Avalon
|
Paul Cornell
|
Fitz, Compassion, the Brigadier, Romana III
|
7 February 2000
|
32
|
The Fall of Yquatine
|
Nick Walters
|
Fitz, Compassion
|
6 March 2000
|
33
|
Coldheart
|
Trevor Baxendale
|
3 April 2000
|
34
|
The Space Age
|
Steve Lyons
|
1 May 2000
|
35
|
The Banquo Legacy
|
Andy Lane, Justin Richards
|
5 June 2000
|
36
|
The Ancestor Cell
|
Peter Anghelides, Stephen Cole
|
Fitz, Compassion, Romana III
|
3 July 2000
|
37
|
The Burning
|
Justin Richards
|
|
7 August 2000
|
38
|
Casualties of War
|
Steve Emmerson
|
4 September 2000
|
39
|
The Turing Test
|
Paul Leonard
|
2 October 2000
|
40
|
Endgame
|
Terrance Dicks
|
the Players
|
6 November 2000
|
41
|
Father Time
|
Lance Parkin
|
Miranda
|
8 January 2001
|
42
|
Escape Velocity
|
Colin Brake
|
Fitz, Anji
|
5 February 2001
|
43
|
EarthWorld
|
Jacqueline Rayner
|
5 March 2001
|
44
|
Vanishing Point
|
Stephen Cole
|
2 April 2001
|
45
|
Eater of Wasps
|
Trevor Baxendale
|
7 May 2001
|
46
|
The Year of Intelligent Tigers
|
Kate Orman
|
4 June 2001
|
47
|
The Slow Empire
|
Dave Stone
|
2 July 2001
|
48
|
Dark Progeny
|
Steve Emmerson
|
6 August 2001
|
49
|
The City of the Dead
|
Lloyd Rose
|
3 September 2001
|
50
|
Grimm Reality
|
Simon Bucher-Jones, Kelly Hale
|
1 October 2001
|
51
|
The Adventuress of Henrietta Street
|
Lawrence Miles
|
5 November 2001
|
52
|
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
|
Paul Magrs
|
Fitz, Anji, Iris
|
7 January 2002
|
53
|
Hope
|
Mark Clapham
|
Fitz, Anji
|
4 February 2002
|
54
|
Anachrophobia
|
Jonathan Morris
|
4 March 2002
|
55
|
Trading Futures
|
Lance Parkin
|
8 April 2002
|
56
|
The Book of the Still
|
Paul Ebbs
|
6 May 2002
|
57
|
The Crooked World
|
Steve Lyons
|
3 June 2002
|
58
|
History 101
|
Mags L. Halliday
|
1 July 2002
|
59
|
Camera Obscura
|
Lloyd Rose
|
5 August 2002
|
60
|
Time Zero
|
Justin Richards
|
Fitz, Anji, Trix
|
2 September 2002
|
61
|
The Infinity Race
|
Simon Messingham
|
Fitz, Anji
|
4 November 2002
|
62
|
The Domino Effect
|
David Bishop
|
3 February 2003
|
63
|
Reckless Engineering
|
Nick Walters
|
7 April 2003
|
64
|
The Last Resort
|
Paul Leonard
|
Fitz, Anji, Trix
|
2 June 2003
|
65
|
Timeless
|
Stephen Cole
|
4 August 2003
|
66
|
Emotional Chemistry
|
Simon A. Forward
|
Fitz, Trix
|
6 October 2003
|
67
|
Sometime Never...
|
Justin Richards
|
Fitz, Trix, Miranda
|
5 January 2004
|
68
|
Halflife
|
Mark Michalowski
|
Fitz, Trix
|
5 April 2004
|
69
|
The Tomorrow Windows
|
Jonathan Morris
|
7 June 2004
|
70
|
The Sleep of Reason
|
Martin Day
|
2 August 2004
|
71
|
The Deadstone Memorial
|
Trevor Baxendale
|
4 October 2004
|
72
|
To the Slaughter
|
Stephen Cole
|
7 February 2005
|
73
|
The Gallifrey Chronicles
|
Lance Parkin
|
2 June 2005
|
- Appropriately, the first and final novels of the series were published on 2 June,[source needed] exactly eight years apart.