NZDWFC: TSV 31: Doctor Who - The Novelisations: The First Doctor (Page 3)

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DOCTOR WHO - GALAXY FOUR by William Emms

Cover: Andrew Skilleter (1986)
Twenty years after writing his one TV story for the series William Emms turned it into a novel at the invitation of Target. He structured the book in four chapters, each corresponding to an episode. Emms took the opportunity to expand on his teleplay, and in his view the result bore very little relation to the script, although he'd lifted bits and pieces from it. One of the sequences he created for the book involved the characters falling into a pit. The last chapter was written when Emms was very ill, and he later said that this section might have reflected his state of mind at that time. The cover, painted by Andrew Skilleter, featured an orange neon logo and a red spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 14 November 1985, priced £6.50. The only paperback edition was published 10 April 1986, priced £1.60, with a print run of 55,000 copies. The book was number 104 in the Doctor Who Library.

DOCTOR WHO - THE MYTH MAKERS by Donald Cotton

Cover: Andrew Skilleter (1985)
This was the first of Cotton's three novelisations for the series. Like a number of other Sixties Doctor Who writers, he was contacted by Target some twenty years after writing the original scripts. Cotton reworked his story as a comedic first-person eyewitness account told years later by the blind poet Homer. This necessitated many changes to what appeared on screen. The adaptation followed the TV version for the first two episodes, but episodes three and four were more radically altered, including having a very rushed ending which failed to introduce the short-lived companion Katarina. Cotton dedicated the novel to Humphrey Searle who wrote the music for the story. The cover was painted by Andrew Skilleter and featured a blue neon logo and a yellow spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 11 April 1985, priced £6.25. The only standalone paperback edition was published 12 September 1985, priced £1.50, with a print run of 65,000 copies. The book was number 97 in the Doctor Who Library. The novelisation was reissued paired with Donald Cotton's later work, The Gunfighters, in the second volume of the Doctor Who Classics series, published by Star Books 18 August 1988, priced £2.95.

DOCTOR WHO - THE DALEKS' MASTERPLAN - PART I: MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN by John Peel

Cover: Alister Pearson (1989-90)
This volume covered the single episode story Mission to the Unknown and the first six episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan. This was John Peel's second novelisation, and like The Chase came about as a result of his friendship with Terry Nation, who had co-authored the scripts with Dennis Spooner. In the early planning stages with Target, it was suggested that the epic story be covered in one mammoth volume, but it was Peel's idea to split the story across two volumes. As with The Chase, the scripts that Peel was provided to work from were early versions, and in many places differed considerably from what appeared on screen. In this case, however, Peel followed the TV version closely. The book also has a short section chronicling the last scenes of The Myth Makers to establish the character of Katarina as this section had been omitted from Donald Cotton's novelisation. The novelisation ends with the Doctor, Steven and Sara Kingdom escaping in the TARDIS. The front of the book identifies Verity Lambert as the producer of these episodes, and although she did produce Mission to the Unknown, The Daleks' Master Plan was actually produced by John Wiles. The cover was painted by Alister Pearson, and featured the McCoy logo and a black spine and back cover. There was no hardback version and the first paperback edition was published 21 September 1989, priced £1.99, with a print run of 22,000 copies. The book was number 141 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was reprinted in 1990 (£2.50), with the same cover design and a print run of 6,000 copies.

DOCTOR WHO - THE DALEKS' MASTERPLAN - PART II: THE MUTATION OF TIME by John Peel

Cover: Alister Pearson (1989-90)
This novelisation covers the last six episodes of the twelve-part story The Daleks' Master Plan and was published one month after the first half of the story. John Peel set the opening chapter several months after the events of the preceding volume with the intention of establishing the short-lived character Sara Kingdom as an off-screen long-serving member of the TARDIS crew. Peel made changes to the light-hearted Christmas Day episode, The Feast of Steven, including dropping most of a Keystone Cops chase in favour of a custard pie fight with Charlie Chaplin which featured in Terry Nation's original script, naming a group of British policemen encountered by the Doctor after the lead actors from the TV series Z Cars, and removing the part where the Doctor wishes the viewers at home a merry Christmas. As with the previous novelisation, the book identifies Verity Lambert as the producer of these episodes when in fact The Daleks' Master Plan was produced by John Wiles. The cover was painted by Alister Pearson and featured the McCoy logo and a white spine and back cover. There was no hardback version and the first paperback edition was published 19 October 1989, priced £1.99, with a print run of 22,000 copies. The book was number 142 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was reprinted in 1990 (£2.50), with the same cover design and a print run of 5,000 copies.

DOCTOR WHO - THE MASSACRE by John Lucarotti

Covers: Tony Masero (1987); Alister Pearson (1992)
Lucarotti was reluctant to adapt this, the third and last of his broadcast Doctor Who stories as the scripts had been substantially rewritten by script editor Donald Tosh, and also the plot hinged on the visual element of uncertainty over whether the Abbot of Amboise was in fact the Doctor or his double, something that Lucarotti felt would not translate to the written page. His solution was to entirely restructure the story, incorporating additional historical details. Lucarotti included an Author's Note at the front of the book to point out the authenticity of these details, which he'd taken the trouble to extensively research in Paris. The story is presented as a flashback, taking place when the Doctor is subject to an inquiry later in his life by the Time Lords. The last segment of the television story, involving the TARDIS arriving in London and picking up Dodo Chaplet, is missing from the book (possibly because this sequence was created by Donald Tosh), and Dodo is mentioned briefly in the book's epilogue. The front of the book credits William Hartnell's dual role as both the Doctor and the Abbot, and Lucarotti also took the unusual step of prefacing the story with a list of 'Dramatis Personae'. The first edition cover, painted by Tony Masero, featured a yellow neon logo, spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 18 June 1987, priced £7.50. The first paperback edition was published 19 November 1987, priced £1.95, with a print run of 25,300 copies. The book was number 122 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was re-issued 15 October 1992, priced £2.99 with new cover art painted by Alister Pearson, the McCoy era logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - THE ARK by Paul Erickson

Covers: David McAllister (1987); Alister Pearson (1992)
Target editor Nigel Robinson had tracked down many of the surviving 1960s script writers to discuss novelising their stories, but in the case of Paul Erickson he experienced a great deal of difficulty as no-one seemed to know where the writer lived more than twenty years later. Robinson finally contacted him through the telephone directory. Erickson took the opportunity in adapting his one four-part story to expand on what had appeared on screen. In particular his descriptions of the planet Refusis far exceeded what had been possible to achieve in studio on a tight budget. The television story was jointly credited to Paul Erickson and his wife at the time, Lesley Scott, however Scott did not contribute to the writing of the scripts, and the novelisation credits Paul Erickson as the sole author of the TV serial, (however the 1992 reprint does acknowledge Scott on the back cover). The cover was painted by David McAllister and featured a red neon logo, and a blue spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 9 October 1986, priced £7.25. The first paperback edition was published 19 March 1987, priced £1.75, with a print run of 32,500 copies. The book was number 114 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was reprinted later in 1987 with a print run of 3,500, and was again re-issued 3 December 1992, priced £2.99 with new cover art painted by Alister Pearson, the McCoy era logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - THE CELESTIAL TOYMAKER by Gerry Davis & Alison Bingeman

Covers: Graham Potts (1986); Alister Pearson (1992)
This was one of only a very few novelisations to be written by someone with no other connection to Doctor Who. The original version of the TV story was scripted by Brian Hayles, but pre-production problems meant that script editor Gerry Davis ended up rewriting the entire story so that although the finished story was transmitted under Hayles' name, it was almost all Davis's creation. Davis was the obvious choice to undertake the writing of the novelisation, especially since Hayles had died many years earlier. The writing of the adaptation was delayed and Davis passed the task on to his American girlfriend, Alison Bingeman. His only contributions were to perform minimal editing and to write a foreword explaining the problems behind the story's production. The cover was the only one that Graham Potts painted for a Doctor Who novelisation. The cover featured a lilac neon logo and an orange neon logo, spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 19 June 1986, priced £6.95. The first paperback edition was published 20 November 1986, priced £1.60, with a print run of 30,000 copies. The book was number 111 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was re-issued 3 December 1992 (although dated 1993), priced £2.99 with new cover art painted by Alister Pearson, the McCoy era logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - THE GUNFIGHTERS by Donald Cotton

Cover: Andrew Skilleter (1986)
Donald Cotton's second novelisation was written very much in the same style as The Myth Makers, with a strong emphasis on humour. The story was presented in the form of a narrative by 'Ned Buntline', a biographer who visits the dying Doc Holliday and gets him to recount the adventure. Cotton changed some details, notably the events of the gunfight at the OK Corral itself. The cover, by Andrew Skilleter was the first since Target returned to publishing older adventures in 1984 to feature the Doctor's face - and this only happened because Skilleter thought there was little else of note to illustrate from the story. The cover featured a blue neon logo and a light blue spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 11 July 1985, priced £6.25. The only standalone paperback edition was published 9 January 1986, priced £1.60, with a print run of 55,000 copies. The book was number 101 in the Doctor Who Library. The novelisation was reissued paired with Donald Cotton's first book, The Myth Makers, in the second volume of the Doctor Who Classics series, published by Star Books 18 August 1988, priced £2.95.

DOCTOR WHO - THE SAVAGES by Ian Stuart Black

Covers: David McAllister (1986); Alister Pearson (1992)
Ian Stuart Black accepted the task of novelising his three 1960s Doctor Who stories because he couldn't bear the thought of someone else doing them. He adapted The Savages first and his approach was to tell the story as he remembered it. While there were dialogue changes, the book was a fairly accurate representation of the plot. Black dedicated the book to 'Celia, Eloise, Ian, Jamie-Marie, and Annabel'. The cover artwork was painted by David McAllister and featured a red neon logo and a black spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 20 March 1986, priced £6.95. The first paperback edition was published 11 September 1986, priced £1.60, with a print run of 35,000 copies. The book was number 109 in the Doctor Who Library. The paperback was re-issued 19 November 1992, priced £2.99 with a new cover painting by Alister Pearson and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - THE WAR MACHINES by Ian Stuart Black

Covers: Alister Pearson & Graeme Wey (1989; 1992)
Ian Stuart Black's third and final of his Doctor Who novelisations deviated the most from his scripts. The TV story had been developed with input from Kit Pedler and BBC staff writer Pat Dunlop but the contributions of these two writers were overlooked in the novelisation and Black was given sole credit. Unlike Black's other two stories, The War Machines still existed in the BBC Archives, but he turned down the opportunity to watch the episodes, believing it was more important to tell an entertaining story than to strictly follow what appeared on screen. Black's changes included having the Doctor use his association with Ian Chesterton to gain entry to the Post Office Tower, and also named one of the War Machines 'Valk'. The cover was painted by Alister Pearson with help from Graeme Wey, who airbrushed the concentric blue circles. The cover featured the McCoy logo and a grey spine and back cover. There was no hardback edition, and the book was first published in paperback 16 February 1989, priced £1.99. The book was number 136 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was re-issued 19 November 1992, priced £2.99 with a new cover design reusing Alister Pearson's painting and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - THE SMUGGLERS by Terrance Dicks

Covers: Alister Pearson (1988; 1993)
Although Terrance Dicks included the last scene from The War Machines in his opening chapter, effectively linking the two books, the two consecutive stories were released in reverse order, three months apart. The novelisation was, typically for Terrance Dicks, very faithful to the original story by the late Brian Hayles. Cover artist Alister Pearson used history books for picture research since he couldn't find any suitable photo references for this story. The cover featured the McCoy logo and a blue spine and back cover. The book was first published in hardback 16 June 1988, priced £7.95, with a print run of 1,000 copies. This was the very last hardback novelisation - after this book the hardback range was initially suspended and then cancelled due to poor sales. The first paperback edition was published 17 November 1988, priced £1.99, with a print run of 23,000 copies. The book was number 133 in the Doctor Who Library. The novelisation was re-issued 18 February 1993, priced £3.50 with a new cover design reusing Alister Pearson's painting and a blue spine. Advance copies of the reprint cover had the artwork printed in reverse however this was corrected by the time of publication.

DOCTOR WHO AND THE TENTH PLANET by Gerry Davis

Covers: Chris Achilleos (1976; 1978-85); Alister Pearson (1993)
This was the first Target books-originated novelisation of a Hartnell era story and was author Gerry Davis's second adaptation for the series. Davis had co-authored the original scripts for The Tenth Planet with Kit Pedler a decade earlier. Davis prefaced the novel with a section titled 'The Creation of the Cybermen' which identified their original home planet as Telos and Mondas as their adopted home. Davis made a number of changes in the novel, including moving the year in which the story is set from 1986 to 2000 - presumably because the events were only ten years away by the time he wrote the book. Further changes included Ben watching a Roger Moore James Bond movie, and changing references to moon landings to Mars landings. Davis also altered the regeneration sequence and added an introductory scene for Patrick Troughton's Doctor. The cover artwork was by Chris Achilleos who also produced a smaller picture for the back cover, featuring the First Doctor and a Cyberman. A caption on the front cover proclaimed the book as 'The First Cyberman Adventure!' The cover originally featured a purple 'curve' logo and white spine and back cover. The book was simultaneously published in hardback and paperback 19 February 1976. The hardback was priced £2.25, with a print run of 3,000 copies. The paperback was priced 40p. A 'Second Impression' hardback edition was issued in 1977, with a print run of 1,500 copies. The back cover artwork was not featured on either of the hardcover editions. The paperback was reprinted 1978 (60p, 'Second Impression), 17 August 1978 (65p, print run 10,000), 1979 (75p, 'Second Impression', print run 12,000), 1980 (85p), 1982 (print run 20,000), 1984 (£1.35) 1984 again (£1.50, print run 20,000) and 1985 (£1.50). The cover design changed after the first edition, in that the back cover painting was dropped (however the reference on the title page to the Doctor appearing on the cover was retained), the curve logo changed from purple to blue and the artwork background was altered. From 1983 editions were numbered 62 in the Doctor Who Library. The book was re-issued 18 February 1993, retitled Doctor Who - The Tenth Planet, priced £3.50 with new cover artwork by Alister Pearson and featuring the McCoy logo and a blue spine.