Doctor Who: Novelisations: Third Doctor: Season 11

Novelisations: Third Doctor

Season 11
Doctor Who and the Time Warrior
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
Death to the Daleks
Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon
Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders

Archive Status / DVD Releases

All but one of the 26 episodes from Season 11 exist as original 625-line PAL colour recordings. The odd one out is Episode One of Invasion of the Dinosaurs which only exists as a black and white 16mm telerecording.

All five stories from Season 11 have been released on DVD in the UK and the United States. Invasion of the Dinosaurs was released in the UK in the UNIT Tales box set, and individually in the United States. The opening episode is available to view in two versions, firstly as a fully-restored and VidFIREd black and white version, and secondly in a colourised format which was achieved via the colour recovery process which can extract the original colour signal from the black and white telerecording. Sadly, it wasn't felt to be of high enough quality to be used as the default option, but was included as an optional extra. All releases are subtitled.

The Time Warrior
• amazon.co.uk
• amazon.com

The UNIT Files / Invasion of the Dinosaurs
• amazon.co.uk
• amazon.com

Death to the Daleks
• amazon.co.uk
• amazon.com

Peladon Tales / The Monster of Peladon
• amazon.co.uk
• amazon.com

Planet of the Spiders
• amazon.co.uk
• amazon.com

Doctor Who and the Time Warrior

by
Terrance Dicks

Buy a Copy... NOTE: Target Books would routinely re-use the old ISBN when the Doctor Who novelisations were re-released with new cover art, so anyone using the Amazon links below should bear this in mind when ordering a second-hand copy.

HARDBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Longbow / WH Allen

PAPERBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Target Books

UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK
itunes uk amazon.com amazon.co.uk BBC Audiobooks

Country UK
Format Hardback
Publisher Longbow / WH Allen
Publication Date May 1978
Original Price £2.95
ISBN 0491024134
Cover Artist Roy Knipe

A novelisation of the 1973/4 television story The Time Warrior, featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Other Editions

His spaceship crippled in an inter-stellar battle, the Sontaran warrior, Linx is forced to crash-land on earth. He arrives in the Middle Ages, a time too primitive to provide the technology he needs to repair his ship. Allying himself with the local robber chief, Linx uses his powers to 'borrow' scientists and equipment from twentieth-century earth.

Doctor Who tracks down the missing scientists and journeys into the past to save them. But can he defeat the ruthless Linx and his savage allies before the course of human history is changer forever?

Television Story
The Time Warrior
4 × 25 Minutes | BBC1 | Colour

15/12/73 Episode One Robert Holmes
22/12/73 Episode Two Robert Holmes
29/12/73 Episode Three Robert Holmes
05/01/74 Episode Four Robert Holmes

Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Sontarans

Notes

Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment cover image

Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time cover image

Until the novelisation of The Two Doctors was released in 1985, the prologue to Doctor Who and the Time Warrior was Robert Holmes' only contribution to the Target Books range of Doctor Who novelisations.
The Time Warrior was the first story to feature the character of Sarah Jane Smith, as played by Elisabeth Sladen. She would remain in the series through to The Hand of Fear in 1976. She later re-appeared in the series for the twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors, as well as being paired with K9 in the unsuccessful spin-off K9 and Company. In the 1990s Sarah would be heard in both of the Doctor Who radio adventures written by Barry Letts, and in 2006 returned to television in the episode School Reunion. On the back of that episode, the BBC commissioned The Sarah Jane Adventures, which has recently enjoyed its second full season on BBC One and CBBC.
Sarah wasn't the only new addition to the Doctor Who universe in The Time Warrior, however, as the story also saw the first appearance of the Sontarans. The race would later re-appear in The Sontaran Experiment and The Invasion of Time (both during the era of the Fourth Doctor) before showing up one last time in the original television series in The Two Doctors. Although they appeared in several spin-off productions during the 1990s, they weren't to be seen again on television until 2008, when they tried to conquer the Earth in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky. Most recently, a lone survivor of that invasion, Commander Kaagh, was encountered by Sarah Jane Smith in The Last Sontaran, the opening two-part story from Season 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures, before returning later in the year in Enemy of the Bane.

Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion

by
Malcolm Hulke

Buy a Copy... HARDBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Allan Wingate

PAPERBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Target Books
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Pinnacle Books

UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK
itunes uk amazon.com amazon.co.uk BBC Audiobooks

Country UK
Format Paperback
Publisher Target Books
Publication Date February 1976
Original Price 40p
ISBN 0426108744
Cover Artist Chris Achilleos

A novelisation of the 1974 television story Invasion of the Dinosaurs, featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Chris Achilleos's cover art was one of two pieces reproduced in David J Howe's large-format book Timeframe: An Illustrated History (Doctor Who Books, 1993) to represent Season 11 of the television series.

Back Cover Blurb
The Doctor walked slowly forward into the cul-de-sac. The giant dinosaur turned its head to focus on the midget now approaching...the Doctor aimed his gun to fire...suddenly from behind came a great roar of anger. He spun round — blocking the exit from the narrow street towered a Tyrannosaurus Rex, its savage jaws dripping with blood...

The Doctor and Sarah arrive back in the TARDIS to find London completely deserted — except for the dinosaurs. Has the return of these prehistoric creatures been deliberately planned, and, if so, who can be behind it all?

Other Editions

Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
UK | Paperback | Target Books | June 1978 | 60p | 0426108744 | (No.22)
A new paperback edition of the novelisation, with new cover artwork from Jeff Cummins. Later Target reprints would be numbered No.22 in the Doctor Who Library. The back cover blurb is exactly the same as for the original 1976 Target Books edition.

Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
United States | Paperback | Pinnacle Books | May 1979 | $1.75 | 0523406061 | #3
One of ten novelisations to be reprinted in the United States by Pinnacle Books between 1979 and 1980. All ten books would feature new cover artwork by David Mann and were accompanied by an introduction from US science fiction writer Harlan Ellison. Like the Pinnacle edition of Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks, the book features a UNIT spacecraft on the front cover...

RETURN OF THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES

Three hundred and fifty million years ago, dinosaurs crawled the Earth, devouring everything in sight. But then they disappeared. Certainly, no one ever expected them to return...

When Doctor Who lands in London and finds the entire city deserted — except for dinosaurs — he figures something really weird is going on. It is. A clever group of misguided idealists is at the center of a bizarre plot to reverse Time to a golden era — an era before technology, before pollution, before the hydrogen bomb. The group is going to give the human race a second chance.

But, to implement Operation Golden Age, the past must be eliminated. The present will not exist — and only the chosen will survive. Doctor Who must turn the clock forward to stop Operation Golden Age, but will he be able to do it before Earth's Time runs out?

Television Story
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
6 × 25 Minutes | BBC1 | Colour

12/01/74 Episode One Malcolm Hulke
19/01/74 Episode Two Malcolm Hulke
26/01/74 Episode Three Malcolm Hulke
02/02/74 Episode Four Malcolm Hulke
09/02/74 Episode Five Malcolm Hulke
16/02/74 Episode Six Malcolm Hulke

Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates

Notes

The cover art used on the 1976 edition of Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion was one of five Chris Achilleos pieces reproduced in 1986 by Titan Books in their Doctor Who Art Portfolio. The other four of the A3 posters were the original cover art to: Doctor Who and the Web of Fear, The Three Doctors, Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks and Target Books' non-fiction The Making of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks

by
Terrance Dicks

Buy a Copy... HARDBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Longbow / WH Allen

PAPERBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Target Books

Country UK
Format Paperback
Publisher Target Books
Publication Date July 1978
Original Price 60p
ISBN 042620042X
Cover Artist Roy Knipe
Book Number (No.19)

A novelisation of the 1974 television story Death to the Daleks, featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Roy Knipe's cover art was one of two pieces reproduced in David J Howe's large-format book Timeframe: An Illustrated History (Doctor Who Books, 1993) to represent Season 11 of the television series.

Later Target reprints would be numbered No.19 in the Doctor Who Library.

Back Cover Blurb
A mysterious power-loss strands the TARDIS on Exxilon, a sinister fog-shrouded alien planet. Forced to brave the dangers of the planet, the Doctor meets the survivors of a beleaguered expedition from Earth searching for a precious mineral that can save the galaxy from a terrible space-plague. Sarah finds a mysterious super-City and becomes a captive of the savage Exxilons, and, worst of all, the Doctor's greatest enemies, the dreaded Daleks, arrive on a secret mission of their own.

What terrifying power makes captive of all who come to the planet? What is the secret of the mysterious deserted City with its great flashing beacon? And what sinister plan has brought the Daleks to Exxilon. The Doctor and Sarah must risk their lives time and again in a desperate attempt to foil the Daleks and save millions of humans from the horrific plague.

Other Editions

Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks
UK | Hardback | Longbow / WH Allen | 1978 | £3.25 | 0491024339

Doctor Who: Tod den Daleks!
Germany | Paperback | Goldmann Verlag | 1990 | 3442236231
Doctor Who: Tod den Daleks! was one of six translations of Doctor Who novelisations to be released in Germany between 1989 and 1990 by Goldmann Verlag, with all but one being Dalek stories. The book re-used the original Roy Knipe cover artwork.

Television Story
Death to the Daleks
4 × 25 Minutes | BBC1 | Colour

23/02/74 Episode One Terry Nation
02/03/74 Episode Two Terry Nation
09/03/74 Episode Three Terry Nation
16/03/74 Episode Four Terry Nation

Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Daleks

Notes

In the 1980s, Roy Knipe's original 1978 cover art was chosen to appear on one of the five posters from Target Books, which readers could send away. The image was later featured on the cover of Doctor Who Magazine (#291) in May 2000, which contained the first installment of David J Howe's epic six-part history of Target's Doctor Who novelisations.

Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon

by
Terrance Dicks

Buy a Copy... NOTE: Target Books would routinely re-use the old ISBN when the Doctor Who novelisations were re-released with new cover art, so anyone using the Amazon links below should bear this in mind when ordering a second-hand copy.

HARDBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk WH Allen

PAPERBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Target Books

BEYOND THE STARS: TALES OF ADVENTURE IN TIME AND SPACE
amazon.com amazon.co.uk (1983) Octopus Books
amazon.com amazon.co.uk (1986) Marylebone Books

Country UK
Format Hardback
Publisher WH Allen
Publication Date November 1980
Original Price £3.95
ISBN 0491028237
Cover Artist Steve Kyte

A novelisation of the 1974 television story The Monster of Peladon, featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Other Editions

Fifty years after his first visit to Peladon, the Doctor returns to find that Queen Thalira has inherited a troubled kingdom from her father.

Membership of the Galactic Federation was expected to bring peace and prosperity to the planet, but the spirit of the sacred monster Aggedor is once more spreading terror and death.

The Doctor uncovers a treacherous plot to steal the mineral wealth of Peladon, and is confronted by his old enemies — the Ice Warriors.

Television Story
The Monster of Peladon
6 × 25 Minutes | BBC1 | Colour

23/03/74 Episode One Brian Hayles
30/03/74 Episode Two Brian Hayles
06/04/74 Episode Three Brian Hayles
13/04/74 Episode Four Brian Hayles
20/04/74 Episode Five Brian Hayles
27/04/74 Episode Six Brian Hayles

Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Ice Warriors / Alpha Centauri

Notes

Beyond the Stars: Tales of Adventure in Time and Space (1983)

Beyond the Stars: Tales of Adventure in Time and Space (1986)

The Monster of Peladon is a sequel to The Curse of Peladon. A further sequel, Legacy, was published in 1994 as part of the New Adventures range.
The first twenty-two pages from Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon were included in Beyond the Stars: Tales of Adventure in Time and Space, a budget anthology from Octopus Books in 1983 which was available exclusively from Marks and Spencer in the UK. The title was subsequently re-issued by Marylebone Books in 1986, complete with different cover art, and this time was one of a number of similar volumes available from Woolworths in the UK.

Despite the cover art on the earlier edition, which shows a Viper and Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica, the only other extract from a media tie-in to be included was Escape from the Death Star, taken from the novelisation of Star Wars.

Both editions were published in hardback and featured the same set of illustrations by Peter Dennis.
The Monster of Peladon was the last of Brian Hayles' six stories for the television series, and was also the final one to feature the Ice Warriors. Although plans were drawn up for them to appear in Mission to Magnus in 1985, Doctor Who was unexpectedly put on hold for eighteen months and all existing scripts were axed. Philip Martin subsequently novelised his unproduced story for Target Books in 1990.

Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders

by
Terrance Dicks

Buy a Copy... NOTE: Target Books would routinely re-use the old ISBN when the Doctor Who novelisations were re-released with new cover art, so anyone using the Amazon links below should bear this in mind when ordering a second-hand copy.

HARDBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Allan Wingate

PAPERBACK
amazon.com amazon.co.uk Target Books

UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK
itunes uk amazon.com amazon.co.uk BBC Audiobooks

Front Cover Back Cover

Country UK
Format Paperback
Publisher Target Books
Publication Date October 1975
Original Price 35p
ISBN 0426106555
Cover Artist Peter Brookes

A novelisation of the 1974 television story Planet of the Spiders, featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Back Cover Blurb
'It's happening, Brigadier! It's happening!' Sarah cried out. The Brigadier watched, fascinated, as the lifeless body of his old friend and companion, Dr Who, suddenly began to glow with an eerie golden light... The features were blurring, changing... 'Well, bless my soul,' said the Brigadier. 'WHO will he be next?'

Read the last exciting adventure of DR WHO's 3rd Incarnation!

Other Editions

Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders
UK | Hardback | Allan Wingate Ltd | November 1975 | £2.25 | 0855230525
Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders was the first in a regular series of hardbacks to be released by Allan Wingate. Although Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion and Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters had both been released in the format, none of the intervening books had. The hardback range would eventually come to a halt in June 1988 with the release of The Smugglers.

'It's happening, Brigadier! It's happening!' Sarah cried out. The Brigadier watched, fascinated, as the lifeless body of his old friend and companion, Dr Who, suddenly began to glow with an eerie golden light... The features were blurring, changing... 'Well, bless my soul,' said the Brigadier. 'WHO will he be next?'

Read the last exciting adventure of DR WHO's 3rd Incarnation!

Television Story
Planet of the Spiders
6 × 25 Minutes | BBC1 | Colour

04/05/74 Episode One Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
11/05/74 Episode Two Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
18/05/74 Episode Three Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
25/05/74 Episode Four Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
01/06/74 Episode Five Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
08/06/74 Episode Six Robert Sloman and Barry Letts

Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates

Notes

Cover image: Doctor Who, Alien Bodies, BBC Books (1997)

Planet of the Spiders was the very final story to feature the adventures of the Third Doctor, who would regenerate at the conclusion of the story after receiving a fatal dose of radiation on Metebelis 3. However, in the world of Doctor Who publishing that wasn't to remain the case.

In 1997 writer Lawrence Miles had introduced the time-travelling voodoo cult Faction Paradox in Alien Bodies. Two years later his epic two-book novel Interference saw the Third Doctor being forced to regenerate prematurely after being shot on the planet Dust — in the process being infected by a Faction virus which would eventually cause the Eighth Doctor to become their agent.
Planet of the Spiders was the final television story to feature the character of Mike Yates, who had been forced to resign from UNIT after the events of Invasion of the Dinosaurs.