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Doctor Who - The Novelisations

By Paul Scoones

This is the third instalment of a guide to the novelisations, each part covering a complete Doctor's era. The guide has been revised and updated for this online version, incorporating additional information on all known Target editions. This instalment covers the Seventh Doctor books as at the time of publication this was the only other Doctor's era represented by a full set of novelisations.

This guide concerns itself primarily with the editions published under the Target imprint and also the associated hardbacks. Other versions - mostly those produced by publishers outside the UK - are not covered. The paperbacks were published under the Target imprint of W H Allen (until 1989), and Virgin (from 1990 to 1994). The hardbacks were published by W H Allen.

I am indebted to David J Howe's sterling work in Howe's Transcendental Toybox and his series of articles The Changing Face of Target in DWM, and also Tim Neal for his fabulously detailed On Target website, which is highly recommended for any readers wanting to know even more about the novelisations than is featured here. The sources for the original version of this article included DWM, DWB, Time Screen and The Frame, with thanks to Jon Preddle for additional research.

THE SEVENTH DOCTOR NOVELISATIONS

The first two Seventh Doctor novelisations were published in 1988: Time and the Rani and Paradise Towers. Four more Seventh Doctor books were issued in 1989: Delta and the Bannermen, Dragonfire, Silver Nemesis and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, followed by an additional five in 1990: The Happiness Patrol, Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghost Light, Survival and The Curse of Fenric. Battlefield completed the set, published in 1991.

The Seventh Doctor era was almost completely novelized by the writers of the respective TV stories, with the sole exception of Battlefield (which was adapted by Marc Platt from a TV story by Ben Aaronovitch). Unusually for such a prolific Doctor Who novelist, not one of the twelve Seventh Doctor books was written by Terrance Dicks.

DOCTOR WHO - TIME AND THE RANI by Pip and Jane Baker

[Time and the Rani: cover version 1] [Time and the Rani: cover version 2]
Cover: Photographic (1988); Alister Pearson (1991)
This was Pip and Jane Baker's third of four Doctor Who novels. The book featured a number of additions, including an extended prologue featuring the Sixth Doctor, an explanation of the Rani's escape from her predicament at the end of The Mark of the Rani, and also an explanation of how the Tetraps' native language was simply English in reverse. The book was commissioned before the story was even transmitted, and at first was publicised with the title Strange Matter since this was the working title of the serial during production. Tony Masero originally painted the cover artwork, a piece featuring Tetraps hanging from the roof of their lair, but this was printed upside down on cover proofs (which also featured a neon logo). John Nathan-Turner then instructed that the painting should be abandoned in favour of a photographic version of the same subject. The photograph had apparently been set up and shot by Chris Capstick for the cover of the Radio Times to publicise the new season. When the Radio Times replaced the cover, Nathan-Turner asked Target books to use the photo instead. The cover was printed with the photograph and the McCoy logo, and two banners, one identifying the book as a first edition, and the other proclaiming the book to be 'The first adventure of the seventh Doctor!'. The cover had a violet spine and back cover. This was the only Seventh Doctor novelisation to have a hardback edition. The hardback was published 17 December 1987, priced £7.95. The paperback edition was wrongly numbered 127 in the Doctor Who library (it was actually 128; 127 was The Mysterious Planet), and was published 5 May 1988, priced £1.99 (print run: 23,000 copies). A new format reprint edition was issued 17 October 1991, priced £2.50, (print run 10,000), with new cover artwork by Alister Pearson and the McCoy logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - PARADISE TOWERS by Stephen Wyatt

[Paradise Towers: cover version 1] [Paradise Towers: cover version 2]
Covers: Alister Pearson (1988; 1991)
This was the first of Stephen Wyatt's two adaptations for the series, and is a straightforward retelling with few deviations from the television version. It was the first Doctor Who novelisation since 1975 to be published in paperback alone. Due to falling sales of the hardback range, the last hardback Doctor Who novelisation was The Smugglers. The decision by the publishers to discontinue the range was made at such short notice that a hardback cover proof had been printed and Paradise Towers was first scheduled for hardback publication on 21 July 1988 and then put back to simultaneous publication with the paperback in December 1988 before being cancelled altogether. The cover artwork was painted by Alister Pearson, and significantly marked resumption of using the likeness of the current Doctor in the cover painting, a practice that had been discontinued in 1980. Pearson was apparently initially informed that, like his two predecessors, Sylvester McCoy wouldn't permit his likeness to be used on cover paintings, but Pearson then met McCoy and secured his consent. The cover was the first to feature Alister Pearson's later regular practice of incorporating cryptic initials into the design. The book was numbered 134 in the Doctor Who library and was first published in paperback 1 December 1988, priced £1.99 (print run: 25,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and an orange spine and back cover. A new format reprint edition was issued October 1991, priced £2.50 (print run: 9,000), reusing the same cover artwork with the McCoy logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - DELTA AND THE BANNERMEN by Malcolm Kohll

[Delta and the Bannermen: cover version 1] [Delta and the Bannermen: cover version 2]
Covers: Alister Pearson (1989; 1991)
Malcolm Kohll expanded and restored missing scenes when he novelised his story for Target. Kohll's first version of one and only Doctor Who adaptation was apparently 10,000 words short of the usual 40,000 word length, and so he was asked to add in more detail. The book contains 34 chapters, including the prologue and epilogue, which is more than any other Doctor Who novelisation. The first paperback edition and its reprint both feature errors on the spine: the first edition gives the book's title as 'Delta and the Bannerman' and the second edition, whilst correcting this mistake, introduces a new one - the book is wrongly numbered 153. Additionally, in both editions Michael Ferguson is credited as the story's director when in fact it was Chris Clough. Alister Pearson painted the cover artwork, which he composed as a silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head upside down, apparently in reference to the mentions of Disneyland in the story. A hardback edition had been scheduled for January 1989 and a cover proof had been printed (which incidentally had the title spelt correctly on the spine) but this edition was never published due to the cancellation of the hardback range in late 1988. The book was numbered 135 in the Doctor Who library and was first published in paperback 19 January 1989, priced £1.99 (print run: 21,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a blue spine and back cover. A new format reprint edition was issued 21 November 1991, priced £2.99 (print run: 9,000), reusing the same cover artwork with the McCoy logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - DRAGONFIRE by Ian Briggs

[Dragonfire: cover version 1] [Dragonfire: cover version 2]
Covers: Alister Pearson (1989; 1991)
Even before the book was published, when asked by fans to explain Dragonfire's Part One cliffhanger Ian Briggs told them to 'read the book'. Dragonfire was Biggs' first of two novelisations and contains a number of extra scenes, notably a sequence where Mel rescues Ace when she is overcome by nitro-9 fumes, and another when the Doctor frees Glitz from an ice fall - a scene which was to have been on screen. Briggs makes mention of the Doctor's Scottish accent, and included an internal illustration of a piece of Ace's graffiti, which also appeared on the cover. Briggs was disconcerted at the amount of editing his manuscript received, apparently to make it acceptance to younger readers. Some references to violence and gore were removed and Glitz's attitudes towards women were was also toned down. The last line was also removed. Briggs included a thank you to John Nathan-Turner, Andrew Cartmel, and the Ealing teenagers who inspired his creation of the character Ace. Alister Pearson painted the cover, and his original cover sketch featured the Doctor's face, the biomechanoid and Kane's melting face. The biomechanoid was dropped due to a differing description in the book, and Kane's face was perceived to be too horrific, so Pearson came up with a replacement design. The final cover composition was inspired by one of Pearson's favourite Doctor Who book covers, Jeff Cummins' painting for The Face of Evil. Dragonfire completed the set of Season 24 novelisations and marked the first and only time that Target succeeded in publishing a complete Doctor Who season of novelisations in the same order as the stories were transmitted. The book was numbered 137 in the Doctor Who library and was first published in paperback 16 March 1989, priced £1.99 (print run: 21,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a black spine and back cover. A new format reprint edition was issued 17 October 1991, priced £2.99 (print run: 9,000), reusing the same cover artwork with the McCoy logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS by Ben Aaronovitch

[Remembrance of the Daleks]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1990)
Remembrance of the Daleks took first-time novelist Ben Aaronovitch a very long time to write. Ace's friend Manisha was first created for this book and after reading the unfinished manuscript Marc Platt wrote Manisha into his script for Ghost Light. Aaronovitch included many innovations, including beginning several chapters with fictional book 'extracts', sequences written from a Dalek perspective, flashbacks to early Gallifrey, and excerpts from characters' memories. The book is dedicated to Andrew and Anna, and features a quotation from the Shakespeare play Richard III. Allegedly Terry Nation's permission was not obtained for the novelisation, and Nation's annoyance at this is said to have been a contributing factor in getting permission for further Dalek novels. The book was originally scheduled to be published in August 1989 as book number 143, ahead of the other Season 25 novelisations, but due to the writing taking a lot longer than anticipated, the book kept getting rescheduled. Once the book was completed it was scheduled for April 1990 but due to the sale of WH Allen to Virgin and the Doctor Who range being put on temporary hold as a result, the book was delayed still further. An extract from the unedited manuscript was sent out before the book was published to a number of people applying for the job of assistant editor on the Doctor Who range. Alister Pearson was commissioned to paint the cover just two days after the story was transmitted. The book was numbered 148 in the Doctor Who library and was published in paperback 21 June 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 25,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a grey spine and back cover. It was reprinted later the same year (print run: 5,000).

DOCTOR WHO - THE HAPPINESS PATROL by Graeme Curry

[The Happiness Patrol]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1990)
Graeme Curry's only Doctor Who novelisation expands quite considerably on the society and characters presented in the story and also includes extra scenes which were present in the rehearsal scripts but were cut from TV version. Curry's description of the Kandy Man was based on his concept of how he wanted the character to look, rather than how it actually turned out. The book was originally going to be published ahead of Silver Nemesis and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy but was delayed in the schedule. Alister Pearson painted the cover; his initial design sketch featured a montage of the Kandy Man, Susan Q, a Pipe Person and the pink TARDIS, but this was rejected, partly because the description of the Kandy Man differed in the book and also because it was deemed too cluttered, so Pearson came up with a much simpler illustration in its place. The book was numbered 146 in the Doctor Who library and the only edition was published in paperback 15 February 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 25,000 copies), with the McCoy logo, a white spine and back cover.

DOCTOR WHO - SILVER NEMESIS by Kevin Clarke

[Silver Nemesis: cover version 1] [Silver Nemesis: cover version 2]
Covers: Alister Pearson (1989; 1993)
Although it was not originally intended as such, this ended up being the first Season 25 novelisation published, and was published a year to the month after the story was broadcast. Kevin Clarke based his one and only novelisation on his original scripts and included scenes which were not seen on TV and also a number of things that were changed in production, including Mrs Hackensack (Remington on screen), and a building site instead of a warehouse as the location of the final action sequence. Clarke dedicated the book to 'DHF Somerset' which was an in-joke as this was the name that appeared on new bank notes, reflecting the fact that Clarke hated writing the book but was motivated by the money. Alister Pearson painted the cover, the original design for which had the Doctor in a different pose. Pearson was initially concerned about including a swastika in the design, but was reassured by the publishers that they were okay with this. The cover was painted at short notice when the book was rescheduled earlier than had been planned. The book was numbered 143 in the Doctor Who library and was first published in paperback 16 November 1989, priced £1.99 (print run: 22,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a blue spine and back cover. The back cover noted that the story celebrated 25 years of Doctor Who on television. A new format reprint edition (timed to coincide with the publication of the Cyberman New Adventures novel Iceberg), was issued 16 September 1993, priced £3.50, with the McCoy logo and a blue spine, and unusually saw Alister Pearson replacing his own cover artwork with a completely new cover painting.

DOCTOR WHO - THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE GALAXY by Stephen Wyatt

[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: cover version 1] [The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: cover version 2]
Covers: Alister Pearson (1989; 1991)
By his own admission, Stephen Wyatt disliked the process of novelising his stories, and would much rather have simply published the scripts. He said that the only appeal of writing the book was the money. As with Wyatt's first novelisation, Paradise Towers, his second and last adaptation is a faithful retelling of the TV version with very minor changes and very few additional scenes. Alister Pearson painted the cover; his original design sketch featured a montage of faces including Mags, clowns and the ticket collector placed around the Doctor's head, but these were not included in the final painting. The book was numbered 144 in the Doctor Who library and was first published in paperback 21 December 1989, priced £1.99 (print run: 22,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a blue spine and back cover. A new format reprint edition was issued two years later, 12 December 1991, priced £2.99, with the McCoy logo and a blue spine.

DOCTOR WHO - BATTLEFIELD by Marc Platt

[Battlefield]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1991)
Unlike every other Seventh Doctor novelisation, this book was not written by the story's scriptwriter. Ben Aaronovitch started work on the adaptation and completed a couple of chapters before giving up, realising that he didn't have the time to work on it. Aaronovitch asked Marc Platt to write the novelisation instead. Platt incorporated some of which Aaronovitch had already written into the novelisation. The book's dedication acknowledges this handover saying: 'Written For Ben, the perfect gentle Knight who let his humble squire take over the reins'. The book was originally scheduled to be published in September 1990 as book number 150 between Ghost Light and Survival, but the delay caused by Aaronovitch's lack of time to work on the book and subsequent handover to Platt meant that the book's publication was delayed by almost a year. The novelisation features many additions and enhancements to the story, most notably near the beginning, which material likely to have originated from Aaronovitch. The prologue is set in the time of King Arthur with a future, red-haired incarnation of the Doctor as Merlin. This was Marc Platt's second and last Doctor Who Target novelisation (although he went on to write for the New Adventures and Missing Adventures series). The cover was painted by Alister Pearson in early 1990, long before it was needed. Battlefield was the last of the Seventh Doctor novelisations to be published. The book was numbered 152 in the Doctor Who library and the only edition was published in paperback 18 July 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 22,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a white spine and back cover.

DOCTOR WHO - GHOST LIGHT by Marc Platt

[Ghost Light]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1990)
Marc Platt's story was heavily edited before it reached the screen, so in writing this novelisation he took the opportunity to reinstate many of the lost sequences, as well as creating new material that includes dialogue referencing the author's passion for opera, Light's whirlwind trip outside Gabriel Chase, and an entire first chapter featuring a 13-year-old Ace. This was Marc Platt's first Doctor Who novelisation. Platt dedicated the book to 'Ian, Margaret and the wonderful Alice.' Alister Pearson painted the cover artwork. The book was to have been published in August 1990, but a printing error involving the cover caused it to be delayed by a month. The book was numbered 149 in the Doctor Who library and the only edition was published in paperback 20 September 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 25,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a white spine and back cover.

DOCTOR WHO - THE CURSE OF FENRIC by Ian Briggs

[The Curse of Fenric]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1990)
Briggs delivered the manuscript for his second of two Doctor Who novelisations shortly before the story screened on UK television. At 192 pages the book is equal in length to Fury from the Deep as one of the longest novelisations in the range. As this book is based on a story only four episodes long it greatly expands on what appeared on screen, including a map, four 'documents', and an epilogue set in Paris 1887 after Ace has left the Doctor. Additions to the story included making Nurse Crane an agent for the Russians and Dr Judson the victim of Millington's adolescent jealousy. The Haemovore descriptions were based on an earlier, unused design for the creatures, considerably different from what appeared on screen. Briggs had difficulty writing the final televised sequence when Ace dives into the water as he wasn't sure himself what this scene meant. As he had done with Dragonfire, Briggs included an acknowledgement to JNT, Cartmel and a dozen teenagers in Ealing. Briggs' name was accidentally left off the title page. Alister Pearson was commissioned to paint the cover before the story had even screened, and finished the painting on the day the third episode was transmitted. He admitted to not knowing what the story was about when he created the painting. Pearson was instructed to include a haemovore even though Briggs didn't want one depicted due to his conflicting description. The book was numbered 151 in the Doctor Who library and the only edition was published in paperback 15 November 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 29,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a white spine and back cover.

DOCTOR WHO - SURVIVAL by Rona Munro

[Survival]
Cover: Alister Pearson (1990)
This had the honour of being numbered the 150th Doctor Who novelisation. The adaptation of the last Sylvester McCoy television story was Rona Munro's only contribution to the series. The book contained several changes and extra scenes: the grocers Len and Harvey get transported to the Hunting Planet, Ace burns Karra on a funeral pyre instead of a Cheetah Person taking the body away, Patterson is from the police rather than the army, and the ending is substantially rewritten in that it is not based on either the TV version or Munro's script. Munro said that she wrote the adaptation closer to her original ideas than the TV version was. The cover painting by Alister Pearson was to have featured the Master's face (merged with the black cat), but this was removed when actor Anthony Ainley refused permission for his likeness to be used. The realistic looking claw tears were achieved by Pearson ripping the actual mounting board on which the picture had been painted. Pearson never received the artwork back, and believes that "someone who didn't know better thought it had been badly damaged and threw it away!" The book contains a postscript by editor Peter Darvill-Evans, which informed readers that although Survival was the last televised TV story, there still were still further novelisations to come and that the New Adventures were also on their way. The only edition was published in paperback 18 October 1990, priced £2.50 (print run: 25,000 copies), with the McCoy logo and a white spine and back cover.

This item appeared in TSV 33 (April 1993).

Index nodes: The Novelisations