Past Doctor Adventures

{{Short description|Series of Doctor Who-based novels (1997–2005)}} {{For|the related book series|Eighth Doctor Adventures}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Italic title}} {{more citations needed|date=August 2017}}  The '''''Past Doctor Adventures''''' (sometimes known by the abbreviation '''''PDA''''' or '''''PDAs''''') were a series of [[Doctor Who spin-offs|spin-off]] novels based on the long running [[BBC]] [[science fiction]] [[television series]] ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and published under the [[BBC Books]] imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the ''[[Eighth Doctor Adventures]]''. The novels regularly featured the [[First Doctor|First]] through [[Seventh Doctor]]s. ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'' had an ambiguous place in continuity and featured an unidentified incarnation of the Doctor. The [[Eighth Doctor]] co-starred with the [[Fourth Doctor]] in one novel (''Wolfsbane'') and, after the Eighth Doctor Adventures had ceased publication, a novel (''[[Fear Itself (Wallace novel)|Fear Itself]]'') featuring the Eighth Doctor and set between two earlier Eighth Doctor Adventures (''[[EarthWorld]]'' and ''[[Vanishing Point (Cole novel)|Vanishing Point]]'') was published within the Past Doctor series.

==Publication history== Between 1991 and 1997, [[Virgin Publishing]] produced successful spin-off novels under the [[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]] and [[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]] ranges. However, following the ''Doctor Who'' [[Doctor Who (1996)|television movie]] in 1996, the [[BBC]] did not renew [[Virgin Publishing]]'s license to continue publishing ''Doctor Who'' material. Instead, they opted to publish their own range beginning in 1997 with ''[[The Devil Goblins from Neptune]]'' by [[Martin Day (writer)|Martin Day]] and [[Keith Topping]]. The range continued to be published through to 2005.

Virgin had distinguished the New and Missing Adventures with different [[trade dress|cover designs]]. BBC Books, however, did not differentiate their novels featuring the current and past Doctors in this way, although they were listed separately within the books. Fans, however, continued to distinguish the [[Eighth Doctor Adventures|ongoing story of the Eighth Doctor]] from the more stand-alone adventures of past Doctors.

Despite moving to the BBC, the writers (many of whom wrote for the Virgin series) have broadly attempted to maintain continuity with the New and Missing Adventures and many elements from these series have appeared in the Past Doctor Adventures (which replaced the Missing Adventures). Indeed, one of the novels — ''Millennium Shock'' by [[Justin Richards]] — was a direct sequel to ''[[System Shock (novel)|System Shock]]'', a Missing Adventure published by Virgin. Another notable release was ''[[Scream of the Shalka#Novelisation|Scream of the Shalka]]'', a novelisation of the webcast of the same title and the only release in the Past Doctor range that did not feature an "official" incarnation of the Doctor. ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'', written by [[Lance Parkin]], featured an unidentified Doctor.

In addition to the Past Doctor Adventures and the Eighth Doctor Adventures, the BBC also published three short story collections under the title of [[BBC Short Trips|Short Trips]], which feature all eight (at the time of publication) Doctors. These were also inherited from Virgin, a version of their [[Virgin Decalog|Decalog]] short story collections, and when the BBC ceased publishing them, a licence to continue was sought by [[Big Finish Productions]], who continued to publish their own range of [[Big Finish Short Trips|Short Trips]] collections until 2009.

The range has ceased publication. In the spring of 2005, BBC Books began publishing a series of hardcover books, the ''[[New Series Adventures]]''. The BBC Past Doctor paperback series continued for the remainder of 2005, but no titles were announced after [[Andrew Cartmel]]'s ''Atom Bomb Blues'', which was released in November 2005. In a talk in July 2006, [[commissioning editor]] Justin Richards said that BBC Books have plans for the future of the Past Doctor Adventures, but that decisions had not yet been taken. Beginning in 2012, hardback books featuring past Doctors are being published, with longer books and in a larger format, though at a much reduced rate compared with the pre-2005 output.

==List== Including books featuring two of the Doctors, the numbers of books each appears in are as follows:

* [[First Doctor]], 8 books * [[Second Doctor]], 12 books * [[Third Doctor]], 12 books * [[Fourth Doctor]], 13 books * [[Fifth Doctor]], 10 books * [[Sixth Doctor]], 11 books * [[Seventh Doctor]], 13 books * [[Eighth Doctor]], 2 books

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! # ! Title ! Author(s) ! Doctor ! Featuring ! Published ! Notes |- |1 || ''The Devil Goblins from Neptune''|| [[Martin Day (writer)|Martin Day]] and [[Keith Topping]] || 3rd || [[Liz Shaw]], [[United Nations Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] || June 1997 || |- |2 || ''The Murder Game''|| [[Steve Lyons (writer)|Steve Lyons]] || 2nd || [[Ben Jackson (Doctor Who)|Ben]] and [[Polly (Doctor Who)|Polly]] || July 1997 || |- |3 || ''The Ultimate Treasure'' || [[Christopher Bulis]] || 5th || [[Peri Brown|Peri]] || August 1997 || |- |4 || ''Business Unusual''|| [[Gary Russell]] || 6th || [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] and [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart|The Brigadier]] || September 1997 || |- |5 || ''{{Visible anchor|Illegal Alien}}'' || [[Mike Tucker (special effects artist)|Mike Tucker]] and [[Robert Perry (writer)|Robert Perry]] || 7th || [[Ace (Doctor Who)|Ace]] || October 1997 || |- |6 || ''The Roundheads'' || [[Mark Gatiss]] || 2nd || Ben, Polly and [[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]] || November 1997 || |- |7 || ''The Face of the Enemy'' || [[David A. McIntee]] || 3rd || [[The Master (Doctor Who)|The Master]], UNIT, The Brigadier, <br />[[Ian Chesterton|Ian]], [[Barbara Wright (Doctor Who)|Barbara]], and [[Harry Sullivan (Doctor Who)|Harry]] || January 1998 || |- |8 || ''Eye of Heaven''|| [[Jim Mortimore]] || 4th || [[Leela (Doctor Who)|Leela]] || February 1998 || |- |9 || ''The Witch Hunters'' || Steve Lyons || 1st || [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], Ian and Barbara || March 1998 || |- |10 || ''The Hollow Men'' || Martin Day and Keith Topping || 7th || Ace || 6 April 1998 || |- |11 || ''Catastrophea'' || [[Terrance Dicks]] || 3rd || [[Jo Grant|Jo]] || May 1998 || |- |12 || ''Mission: Impractical'' || David A. McIntee || 6th || [[Frobisher (Doctor Who)|Frobisher]] || June 1998 || |- |13 || ''Zeta Major'' || Simon Messingham || 5th || [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Nyssa (Doctor Who)|Nyssa]] || July 1998 || |- |14 || ''Dreams of Empire'' || [[Justin Richards]] || 2nd || Jamie and [[Victoria Waterfield|Victoria]] || August 1998 || |- |15 || ''Last Man Running'' || [[Chris Boucher (writer)|Chris Boucher]] || 4th || Leela || September 1998 || |- |16 || ''Matrix'' || Mike Tucker and Robert Perry || 7th || Ace || October 1998 || |- |17 || ''The Infinity Doctors'' || [[Lance Parkin]] || [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|Unspecified]] || None || November 1998 || |- |18 || ''[[Salvation (novel)|Salvation]]'' || Steve Lyons || 1st || [[Steven Taylor (Doctor Who)|Steven]] and [[Dodo Chaplet|Dodo]] || January 1999 || |- |19 || ''[[The Wages of Sin (novel)|The Wages of Sin]]'' || David A. McIntee || 3rd || Jo and Liz || February 1999 || |- |20 || ''Deep Blue'' || [[Mark Morris (writer)|Mark Morris]] || 5th || Tegan, [[Vislor Turlough|Turlough]] and UNIT || March 1999 || |- |21 || ''[[Players (Dicks novel)|Players]]'' || Terrance Dicks || 6th and 2nd{{ref|n1|1}} || Peri || April 1999 || |- |22 || ''Millennium Shock'' || Justin Richards || 4th || Harry || May 1999 || |- |23 || ''Storm Harvest'' || Mike Tucker and Robert Perry || 7th || Ace || June 1999 || |- |24 || ''[[The Final Sanction (novel)|The Final Sanction]]'' || Steve Lyons || 2nd || Jamie and [[Zoe Heriot|Zoe]] || July 1999 || |- |25 || ''City at World's End'' || Christopher Bulis || 1st || Ian, Barbara and Susan || September 1999 || |- |26 || ''Divided Loyalties'' || Gary Russell<ref name=DL>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Cult - Doctor Who - Books - Divided Loyalties |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/books/dividedloyalties/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=Lovett>{{cite web |url=https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/doctor-who-the-celestial-toymaker-animated-restoration/ |title=Doctor Who To Recreate Missing The Celestial Toymaker Episodes With Animation |last=Lovett |first=Jamie |date=2023-12-11 |website=[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]] |access-date=2024-05-28 |quote=the Toymaker[...]'s appeared in several comic book stories (most recently Titan Comics' Doctor Who 2015 Holiday Special) and the Fifth Doctor novel ''Divided Loyalties'' by Gary Russell.}}</ref> || 5th<ref name=DL/><ref name=Lovett/> || [[Adric]], Nyssa and Tegan, [[the Celestial Toymaker]]<ref name=DL/><ref name=Lovett/> || October 1999<ref name=DL/> || The book is divided into four rounds, each named after the title of an [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] song, as well as all the chapters within each round. According to E.G. Wolverson of ''Doctor Who Reviews'', many critiqued the portrayal of the Doctor's childhood on Gallifrey in the extended flashback. They state that they and Chadd Knueppe of ''[[Outpost Gallifrey]]'' are the only ones who enjoyed it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who - Divided Loyalties |url=https://www.doctorwhoreviews.altervista.org/PDA26.htm |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=www.doctorwhoreviews.altervista.org}}</ref> |- |27 || ''[[Corpse Marker]]'' || Chris Boucher || 4th || Leela || November 1999 || |- |28 || ''[[Last of the Gaderene]]'' || Mark Gatiss || 3rd || Jo and UNIT || January 2000 || |- |29 || ''Tomb of Valdemar'' || Simon Messingham || 4th || [[Romana I]] and [[K-9 (Doctor Who)|K-9]] || February 2000 || |- |30 || ''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'' || [[Paul Magrs]] || 3rd || Jo || 3 April 2000 || |- |31 || ''[[Grave Matter]]'' || Justin Richards || 6th || Peri || May 2000 || |- |32 || ''Heart of TARDIS'' || [[Dave Stone]] || 2nd and 4th{{ref|n2|2}} || Jamie, Victoria and Romana I{{ref|n2|2|noid=noid}} || June 2000 || |- |33 || ''Prime Time'' || Mike Tucker || 7th || Ace || July 2000 || |- |34 || ''Imperial Moon'' || Christopher Bulis || 5th || Turlough and [[Kamelion]] || August 2000 || |- |35 || ''[[Festival of Death (novel)|Festival of Death]]'' || [[Jonathan Morris (author)|Jonathan Morris]] || 4th || [[Romana II]] and [[K-9 (Doctor Who)|K-9]] || September 2000 || |- |36 || ''Independence Day'' || [[Peter Darvill-Evans]] || 2nd and 7th{{ref|n3|3}} || Jamie and Ace{{ref|n3|3|noid=noid}} || October 2000 || |- |37 || ''[[The King of Terror]]'' || Keith Topping || 5th || Tegan, Turlough and The Brigadier || November 2000 || |- |38 || ''[[The Quantum Archangel]]'' || [[Craig Hinton]] || 6th || Mel || January 2001 || |- |39 || ''[[Bunker Soldiers]]'' || Martin Day || 1st || Steven and Dodo || February 2001 || |- |40 || ''Rags'' || Mick Lewis || 3rd || Jo and UNIT || March 2001 || |- |41 || ''[[The Shadow in the Glass]]'' || Justin Richards and [[Stephen Cole (writer)|Stephen Cole]] || 6th || The Brigadier || 2 April 2001 || |- |42 || ''Asylum'' || Peter Darvill-Evans || 4th || Nyssa || May 2001 || |- |43 || ''[[Superior Beings]]'' || [[Nick Walters (writer)|Nick Walters]] || 5th || Peri || June 2001 || |- |44 || ''Byzantium!'' || Keith Topping || 1st || Ian, Barbara and [[Vicki (Doctor Who)|Vicki]] || July 2001 || |- |45 || ''Bullet Time'' || David A. McIntee || 7th || [[Sarah Jane Smith]] || August 2001 || |- |46 || ''Psi-ence Fiction'' || Chris Boucher || 4th || Leela || September 2001 || |- |47 || ''Dying in the Sun'' || Jon de Burgh Miller || 2nd || Ben and Polly || October 2001 || |- |48 || ''[[Instruments of Darkness]]'' || Gary Russell || 6th || Mel and [[Evelyn Smythe]] || November 2001 || |- |49 || ''Relative Dementias'' || [[Mark Michalowski]] || 7th || Ace || January 2002 || |- |50 || ''Drift'' || [[Simon A. Forward]]<ref name=WCDrift>{{Cite book |last=Forward |first=Simon A. |title=Drift |date=2002 |publisher=BBC |isbn=0-563-53843-0 |location=London |oclc=51439272}}</ref> || 4th<ref name=Drift>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Cult - Doctor Who - Books - Drift |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/books/drift/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> || Leela<ref name=Drift/> || February 2002<ref name=WCDrift/><ref name=Drift/> || Set against winter in [[New Hampshire]], the US military is pursuing a [[survivalist]] while battling a series of unnatural sexual pleasures. They are also holding a snow-blowing threat that could threaten the entire world if it is not stopped.<ref name=WCDrift/><ref name=Drift/><ref>{{cite book |last=Forward |first=Simon A. |author-link=Simon Forward |date=February 2002 |title=Drift |location=London |publisher=[[BBC]] |isbn=0-563-53843-0 |oclc=51439272 }}</ref> |- |51 || ''Palace of the Red Sun'' || Christopher Bulis || 6th || Peri || March 2002 || |- |52 || ''Amorality Tale'' || [[David Bishop (writer)|David Bishop]] || 3rd || Sarah || April 2002 || |- |53 || ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'' || Terrance Dicks || 5th || Peri || May 2002 || |- |54 || ''[[Ten Little Aliens]]'' || Stephen Cole || 1st || Ben and Polly || June 2002 || |- |55 || ''[[Combat Rock (novel)|Combat Rock]]'' || Mick Lewis || 2nd || Jamie and Victoria || July 2002 || |- |56 || ''[[The Suns of Caresh]]'' || Paul Saint || 3rd || Jo || August 2002 || |- |57 || ''Heritage'' || [[Dale Smith (writer)|Dale Smith]] || 7th || Ace || October 2002 || |- |58 || ''[[Fear of the Dark (novel)|Fear of the Dark]]'' || [[Trevor Baxendale]] || 5th || Tegan and Nyssa || December 2002 || |- |59 || ''[[Blue Box (novel)|Blue Box]]'' || [[Kate Orman]] || 6th || Peri || March 2003 || |- |60 || ''Loving the Alien'' || Mike Tucker and Robert Perry || 7th || Ace || May 2003 || |- |61 || ''[[The Colony of Lies]]'' || [[Colin Brake]] || 2nd and 7th{{ref|n4|4}} || Jamie, Zoe and Ace{{ref|n4|4|noid=noid}} || July 2003 || |- |62 || ''Wolfsbane'' || [[Jacqueline Rayner]] || 4th and 8th{{ref|n5|5}} || Harry and Sarah{{ref|n5|5|noid=noid}} || September 2003 || |- |63 || ''Deadly Reunion'' || Terrance Dicks and [[Barry Letts]] || 3rd || Jo and UNIT || November 2003 || |- |64 || ''[[Scream of the Shalka#Novelisation|Scream of the Shalka]]'' || [[Paul Cornell]] || [[Shalka Doctor|Unofficial 9th Doctor]] || [[List of Doctor Who spin-off companions#Alison Cheney|Alison]], The Master || February 2004 || |- |65 || ''Empire of Death'' || David Bishop<ref name=EoD>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Cult - Doctor Who - Books - Empire of Death |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/books/empireofdeath/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> || 5th<ref name=EoD/> || Nyssa<ref name=EoD/> || March 2004<ref name=EoD/> || In 1863, [[Queen Victoria]] is insensate with grief after losing her husband, [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]]. A secret seance is planned. Concurrently, The Doctor and Nyssa are dealing with the death of their good friend, Adric. They are surprised when they are seemingly visited by the ghost of their dead friend. Everything, plus the secrets of a guarded, drowned village come together.<ref name=EoD/> |- |66 || ''[[The Eleventh Tiger]]'' || David A. McIntee || 1st || Ian, Barbara and Vicki || May 2004 || |- |67 || ''Synthespians™''|| Craig Hinton || 6th || Peri || July 2004 || |- |68 || ''[[The Algebra of Ice]]'' || [[Lloyd Rose]] || 7th || Ace || September 2004 || |- |69 || ''[[The Indestructible Man (novel)|The Indestructible Man]]'' || Simon Messingham || 2nd || Jamie and Zoe || November 2004 || |- |70 || ''Match of the Day'' || Chris Boucher || 4th || Leela || February 2005 || |- |71 || ''Island of Death'' || Barry Letts || 3rd || Sarah || July 2005 || |- |72 || ''[[Spiral Scratch (novel)|Spiral Scratch]]'' || Gary Russell || 6th || Mel || August 2005 || |- |73 || ''Fear Itself'' || [[Nick Wallace]] || 8th || [[Fitz Kreiner|Fitz]] and [[Anji Kapoor|Anji]] || September 2005 || |- |74 || ''[[World Game (novel)|World Game]]'' || Terrance Dicks || 2nd || [[List of Doctor Who spin-off companions#Lady Serena|Lady Serena]] || October 2005 || |- |75 || ''[[The Time Travellers]]'' || [[Simon Guerrier]] || 1st || Susan, Ian and Barbara || 10 November 2005 || |- |76 || ''Atom Bomb Blues'' || [[Andrew Cartmel]] || 7th || Ace || December 2005 || |}

==Notes== #{{note|n1}} Via the TARDIS thought scanner, the Sixth Doctor shows Peri a six-chapter flashback to his second incarnation's encounter with Winston Churchill and the Players. #{{note|n2}} Although both Doctors play crucial roles in the plot, and are even briefly simultaneously present in the TARDIS console room, the Second is unaware of the Fourth's presence; the Second Doctor unintentionally materializes in a dimensional anomaly while tinkering with the TARDIS, his presence causing the anomaly to become more unstable and the TARDIS losing its link to the interior dimensions, and the Time Lords are forced to make arrangements for the Fourth Doctor to travel to his past self's ship and restore its connection to the exterior, the Fourth Doctor and Romana hiding under the console at the opposite side from the younger Doctor and his companions after bringing interior and exterior back into alignment. #{{note|n3}} The Second Doctor and Jamie appear briefly at the beginning of the novel visiting the planet Mendeb Two, but do not interact with the Seventh Doctor or Ace; their actions during this visit prompt the Seventh Doctor to return. #{{note|n4}} The Seventh Doctor and Ace appear at the beginning and the conclusion of the novel, but Ace never meets the past Doctor and companions, and the Seventh's only contact with his other self occurs in an artificial reality simulation when the Second Doctor is attempting to access a ship's computer, the future Doctor providing his younger self with some discreet advice on how to deal with the current situation. #{{note|n5}} Although both Doctors play important roles in solving the crisis, their involvement takes place a month apart, with the Eighth Doctor and Harry Sullivan tackling the problem in November while the Fourth Doctor and Sarah deal with the aftermath in December. Also, Harry is the only person to interact with both Doctors (although the Fourth Doctor and Sarah learn of the Eighth's presence, neither of them appear to realise that he is ''the'' Doctor) to be fully aware of the Doctor's nature as an alien time traveller, and the Eighth's current state of amnesia — in the aftermath of ''[[The Ancestor Cell]]'' — prevents either the Eighth Doctor or Harry from recognising each other.

==See also== *[[List of Doctor Who novelists]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{TardisIndexFile}} *[http://www.timelash.com/tardis/list.asp?bbcpdoc ''The TARDIS Library'''s listing of BBC Past Doctor books]

===Books=== *{{Isfdb title|id=382321|title=Drift}}: {{Cite book |last=Forward |first=Simon A. |title=Drift |date=2002 |publisher=BBC |isbn=0-563-53843-0 |location=London |oclc=51439272}}

[[Category:Past Doctor Adventures| ]] [[Category:Book series introduced in 1997]]