Doctor Who/Novels

Novels based on Doctor Who have been published since 1964, the second year of the TV series. Since then, hundreds of books have been published, both adapting TV scripts and telling original tales.

History

1964-1965: Frederick Muller

In 1964 and 1965 British publishing house Frederick Muller published three Doctor Who novels, based on the second, the thirteenth, and the fourteenth television story.

1973-1994: Target Books

Almost a decade later, in 1973, Target Books reprinted the three Muller books, after which they continued to publish adaptations of the TV series for 20 years. When the line was discontinued in 1994, a total of 157 books had been published, adapting 154 of the 159 television stories aired between 1963 and 1989. Due to licence disagreements, Douglas Adams' three television scripts - The Pirate Planet, City of Death, and the unaired Shada - as well as Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks, were never adapted.

Besides the television adaptions, the Target line also included novelizations of the Doctor Who audio dramas Slipback, The Pescatons and The Paradise of Death, starring the 6th, 4th and 3rd Doctor, respectively.

In addition to its main Doctor Who series (and non-fiction literature, such as reference books, puzzle books, and educational books), Target Book also published three other main book series, tied to the show:

• Junior Doctor Who, including two short novels for young readers, adapted from the television stories.

• The Missing Episodes, including adaptations of three 6th Doctor scripts, originally intended for Season 23, before it being re-tooled to consist of the season long "Trial of a Time Lord" arc.

• The Companions of Doctor Who, including three books not featuring the Doctor, but rather his former companions: Vislor Turlough and Harry Sullivan starred in one novel each, both of which were original stories, and Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 co-starred in the novelization based on the pilot (and only produced episode) of the television spin-off series K9 and Company.

1991-1999: Virgin Books

Following the discontinuation of the TV series in 1989, publishing house Virgin Books, gained the right to continue the adventures of the 7th Doctor in The New Adventures series of novels. A total of 61 novels were published between 1991 and 1997, with the penultimate leading up to the first scene of the the 1996 television movie. The 61st and last featured the newly regenerated 8th Doctor.

In 1994, Virgin published the first novel in a Doctor Who series consisting of new stories featuring the Doctor's six earlier incarnations: The Missing Adventures. In total the series came to include 33 novels, one of which did not featured the Doctor, but starred former companion Victoria Waterfield.

Alongside The New Adventures and The Missing Adventures Virgin also published a series of five Doctor Who short story collections, Decalog, featuring stories of the first seven doctors and/or their companions, as well as Licence Denied, a collection of fan-made Doctor Who stories. Additionally, a 1996 Virgin Books stand-alone novel, Who Killed Kennedy (sometimes listed among the The Missing Adventures novels), featured the 3rd Doctor in a non-starring role.

In 1997 Virgin Books lost the Doctor Who licence, although their The New Adventures series continued, now starring Bernice Summerfield, who had acted as the 7th Doctor's companion in many of Virgin's Doctor Who novels. 23 Bernice Summerfield books were released until the series was ultimately cancelled in 1999.

Since 1996: BBC Books

In 1996, BBC Books published the novelization of the 1996 television movie, starring the 8th Doctor in his only on-screen appearance.

The following year, BBC launched two novel series: Eighth Doctor Adventures, following the further life of the Eighth Doctor, beyond the closing credits of the movie, and Past Doctor Adventures, continuing to feature the past seven Doctors, in a similar way to Virgin's defunct The Missing Adventures.

Both series ended in 2005, due to the relaunch of the television series, with season 27. Eight Doctor Adventures concluded with volume 73, although one of the final volumes of Past Doctor Adventures also starred the 8th Doctor (as the 9th Doctor had made it's first appearance on television at the time, the eighth had now earned a "past Doctor" billing). The Past Doctor Adventures series came to consist of 75 volumes, with one not featuring the Doctor, but rather his archenemy, the Master.

BBC Book also gave Virgin's Decalog series a successor, with Short Trips. Three volumes were published in 1999 and 2000.

Predating the closure of Eight Doctor Adventures and Past Doctor Adventures were the introduction of a new series of novels, New Series Adventures, which featured original stories, told as tie-ins to the ongoing revival series, and thus featuring the the 9th Doctor, and then the subsequent 10th and 11th Doctor.

Besides the main novels of the New Series Adventures, and several non-fiction books and puzzle books, three additional series have been published:

• The Darksmith Legacy, a 10-part novella series starring the 10th Doctor.
• Quick Reads, featuring novellas written to help improve adults with literacy problems.
• 2-in-1, featuring volumes consisting of two novellas each.

A one-shot anthology, The Doctor Who Stories, featuring 15 short stories - the majority not starring the Doctor, but supporting characters from the 10th Doctor's adventures - was published in 2009.

In 2012 the Past Doctor Adventures series returned with new original novels featuring the first eight Doctors.

BBC has also published two previously unpublished novelizations: one based on Scream of the Shalka, a 2003 animated webseries produced by BBC and featuring a Doctor from outside the main chronology, and one based on Shada, one of the five stories of the original series not novelized by Target Books.

Since 2008, the New Series Adventures also include audiobooks that isn't publish as regular novels, and beginning in 2012, BBC Digital is publishing tie-in e-books, starring supporting characters from the show.

2001-2007: Telos Publishing

In 2001, Telos Publishing began releasing original story novellas starring the eight first Doctors, in a format similar to the one later used by BBC Books for their Quick Reads series. A total of 15 volumes were published until 2004, when BBC ended their license due to the upcoming revival of the TV series.

Additionally Telos also published a series of spinoff novellas, Time Hunter, featuring characters originating in their ninth Doctor Who novella. Eleven Time Hunter volumes were published between 2003 and 2007.

Since 2002: Big Finish Production

When BBC Books ended their line of Doctor Who short story collections, Short Trips, the license was eventually handed over to Big Finish Production, who had produced Doctor Who audio dramas since the late 1990s. Big Finish published a total of 29 Short Trips volumes, featuring the first eight Doctors.

Big Finish has also continued to publish books about former companion Bernice Summerfield, created for the Virgin Books New Adventures novels.

In 2005, Big Finish published three books under the moniker New Worlds, each starring a supporting characters from their series of Doctor Who audio stories: William Abberton and Erimem (both created by Big Finish), and Iris Wildthyme (created by author Paul Magrs in 1995, incorporated in the Doctor Who mythos three years later, when Magrs became a Doctor Who writer for BBC Books, and a frequently appearing character in Big Finish's audio stories since 2002).

Since 2009: Obverse Books & Snowbooks

In 2009 Obverse Books published its first collection of short stories starring Iris Wildthyme, and 2011, Snowbooks released its first Wildthyme novel. As of 2013, a total of 8 Iris Wildhyme Adventures volumes have been released by either of the two publishers.

Listings

Doctor Who novels

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
Target Books & Frederick Muller
Target Novelisations	1964	1994	156+1
Junior Doctor Who	1979	1980	2
The Missing Episodes	1989	1990	3
Virgin Books
The New Adventures	1991	1997	61
The Missing Adventures	1994	1997	33+1
Decalog	1994	1997	5+1
BBC Books
Eighth Doctor Adventures	1997	2005	73+1
Past Doctor Adventures	1997	2005	75+1
Short Trips	1999	2000	3
New Series Adventures: The Ninth Doctor	2005	2005	6
New Series Adventures: The Tenth Doctor	2006	2009	30
Quick Reads: The Tenth Doctor	2006	2010	5
The Darksmith Legacy	2009	2009	10
The Doctor Who Stories	2009
New Series Adventures: The Eleventh Doctor	2010	2013	18
2-in-1: The Eleventh Doctor	2011	2012	6
Quick Reads: The Eleventh Doctor	2012	2013	2
Past Doctor Adventures	2012	—	—
BBC Digital e-books	2012	—	—
New Series Adventures: The War Doctor	2014	2014	1
New Series Adventures: The Twelfth Doctor	2014	—	—
Telos Publishing
Telos Adventures	2001	2004	15
Big Finish Production
Short Trips	2002	2009	29

Spin-off novels

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
Target Books
The Companions of Doctor Who	1986	1987	3
Virgin Books
The New Adventures: Bernice Summerfield	1997	1999	23
Telos Publishing
Time Hunter	2003	2007	11
Big Finish Production
Professor Bernice Sommerfield	2000	—	—
New Worlds	2005	2005	3
Obverse Books & Snowbooks
Iris Wildhyme Adventures	2009	—	—