The first three Doctor Who novelisations were published in the 1960s by Frederick Muller Ltd, but it wasn't until 1973, when Target Books picked up the reprint rights, that the range of Doctor Who books began to expand.
Beginning with Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, Target Books would go on to print books based on all but five of the television stories produced between 1963 and 1989, with numerous re-jacketed editions in between.
With the majority of stories novelised, the company, now owned by Virgin Publishing, went on to establish the enormously successful range of New Adventures novels.
The production of the 1996 TV movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, saw BBC Books taking the decision to publish both a script book and novelisation of the story. Shortly afterwards, the decision was also taken that the time had come for Doctor Who fiction to be brought in-house, with Target/Virgin's twenty-four year association with the programme finally coming to an end in April 1997.
Beginning with Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, Target Books would go on to print books based on all but five of the television stories produced between 1963 and 1989, with numerous re-jacketed editions in between.
With the majority of stories novelised, the company, now owned by Virgin Publishing, went on to establish the enormously successful range of New Adventures novels.
The production of the 1996 TV movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, saw BBC Books taking the decision to publish both a script book and novelisation of the story. Shortly afterwards, the decision was also taken that the time had come for Doctor Who fiction to be brought in-house, with Target/Virgin's twenty-four year association with the programme finally coming to an end in April 1997.
Doctor Who and the Time Warrior
by Terrance Dicks
Audio Book
Unabridged reading of the novelisation, narrated by Jeremy Bulloch who played Hal in the television story.
- UK
- Hardback
- Longbow / WH Allen
- May 1978
Other Editions
Doctor Who and the Time Warrior
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1978 / (No.65)
Doctor Who: The Time Warrior
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1993 / No.65
Doctor Who and the Time Warrior
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1978 / (No.65)Doctor Who: The Time Warrior
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1993 / No.65
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1978)
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?
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
Script Writer: Robert Holmes
4 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
15/12/73 Episode One
22/12/73 Episode Two
29/12/73 Episode Three
05/01/74 Episode Four
The Time Warrior
Script Writer: Robert Holmes
4 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
15/12/73 Episode One
22/12/73 Episode Two
29/12/73 Episode Three
05/01/74 Episode Four
DVD
All four episodes exist in their original format and have been released on Region 2 DVD in the UK, and on Region 1 DVD in the United States.
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Sontarans
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Sontarans
Audio Book- UK
- BBC Audiobooks
- 4 × CD / Download
- 3 hours 44 minutes
- November 2008
Notes
- 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 was encountered by Sarah Jane Smith in The Last Sontaran, the opening two-part story from Season 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
by Malcolm Hulke
Audio Book
Unabridged reading of the novelisation, narrated by Martin Jarvis who played Butler in the television story.
- UK
- Paperback
- Target Books
- February 1976
Other Editions
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
UK / Hardback / Allan Wingate Ltd / February 1976
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1978 / (No.22)
USA / Paperback / Pinnacle Books / May 1979 / #3
Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
UK / Paperback / Target Books / November 1993 / No.2
Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion
UK / Hardback / Allan Wingate Ltd / February 1976 UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1978 / (No.22) USA / Paperback / Pinnacle Books / May 1979 / #3Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs
UK / Paperback / Target Books / November 1993 / No.2
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1976 / 1978)
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?
Back Cover Blurb — Pinnacle Books
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?
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?
Back Cover Blurb — Pinnacle Books
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
Script Writer: Malcolm Hulke
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
12/01/74 Episode One
19/01/74 Episode Two
26/01/74 Episode Three
02/02/74 Episode Four
09/02/74 Episode Five
16/02/74 Episode Six
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Script Writer: Malcolm Hulke
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
12/01/74 Episode One
19/01/74 Episode Two
26/01/74 Episode Three
02/02/74 Episode Four
09/02/74 Episode Five
16/02/74 Episode Six
VHS
Episode One only exists as a 16mm black and white telerecording, with the remaining five episodes all being held in their original format. This is the final Doctor Who story which is not held complete in its original broadcast format. The story has been released on video in the UK and the United States.
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates
Audio Book- UK
- BBC Audiobooks
- 4 × CD / Download
- 4 hours 9 minutes
- November 2007
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
- UK
- Paperback
- Target Books
- July 1978
- (Book Number: 19)
Other Editions
Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks
UK / Hardback / Longbow/WH Allen / 1978
UK / Paperback / Target Books / April 1991 / No.19
Doctor Who: Tod den Daleks!
Germany / Paperback / Goldmann Verlag / 1990
Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks
UK / Hardback / Longbow/WH Allen / 1978 UK / Paperback / Target Books / April 1991 / No.19Doctor Who: Tod den Daleks!
Germany / Paperback / Goldmann Verlag / 1990
Doctor Who: Tod den Daleks! was one of eight translations of Doctor Who novelisations to be released in Germany in the late-1980s and early-1990s by Goldmann Verlag, with all but one being Dalek stories.
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1978)
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.
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.
Television Story
Death to the Daleks
Script Writer: Terry Nation
4 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
23/02/74 Episode One
02/03/74 Episode Two
09/03/74 Episode Three
16/03/74 Episode Four
Death to the Daleks
Script Writer: Terry Nation
4 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
23/02/74 Episode One
02/03/74 Episode Two
09/03/74 Episode Three
16/03/74 Episode Four
VHS
All four episodes exist in their original format and have been released on video in the UK and the United States.
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Daleks
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Daleks
Notes
- In the 1980's, 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
- UK
- Hardback
- WH Allen
- November 1980
Other Editions
Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon
UK / Paperback / Target Books / December 1980 / (No.43)
Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1992 / No.43
Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon
UK / Paperback / Target Books / December 1980 / (No.43)Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon
UK / Paperback / Target Books / June 1992 / No.43
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1980)
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.
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
Script Writer: Brian Hayles
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
23/03/74 Episode One
30/03/74 Episode Two
06/04/74 Episode Three
13/04/74 Episode Four
20/04/74 Episode Five
27/04/74 Episode Six
The Monster of Peladon
Script Writer: Brian Hayles
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
23/03/74 Episode One
30/03/74 Episode Two
06/04/74 Episode Three
13/04/74 Episode Four
20/04/74 Episode Five
27/04/74 Episode Six
DVD
CD
Audio Download (UK)
All six episodes exist in their original format and are due to be released on Region 2 DVD in the UK in 2010 as part of the Peladon Tales box set. The complete soundtrack to the story was released on CD by BBC Audiobooks in March 2008, with linking narration by Elisabeth Sladen.
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Ice Warriors / Alpha Centauri
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith
Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Ice Warriors / Alpha Centauri
Notes
- 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 (ISBN: 0862730945) 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 (ISBN: 0861782941) 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
Audio Book
Unabridged reading of the novelisation, narrated by Elisabeth Sladen who played Sarah Jane Smith in the television story.
- UK
- Paperback
- Target Books
- October 1975
Other Editions
Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders
UK / Hardback / Allan Wingate Ltd / November 1975
UK / Paperback / Target Books / September 1978 / (No.48)
Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders
UK / Paperback / Target Books / August 1991 / No.48
Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders
UK / Hardback / Allan Wingate Ltd / November 1975 UK / Paperback / Target Books / September 1978 / (No.48)Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders
UK / Paperback / Target Books / August 1991 / No.48
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1975)
'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!
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1978)
'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!
'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!
Back Cover Blurb — Target Books (1978)
'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
Script Writers: Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
04/05/74 Episode One
11/05/74 Episode Two
18/05/74 Episode Three
25/05/74 Episode Four
01/06/74 Episode Five
08/06/74 Episode Six
Planet of the Spiders
Script Writers: Robert Sloman and Barry Letts
6 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour
04/05/74 Episode One
11/05/74 Episode Two
18/05/74 Episode Three
25/05/74 Episode Four
01/06/74 Episode Five
08/06/74 Episode Six
VHS
All six episodes exist in their original format and have been released on video in the UK and the United States.
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates
Third Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / Captain Yates
Audio Book- UK
- BBC Audiobooks
- 4 × CD / Download
- 3 hours 36 minutes
- June 2009
Notes
- 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.
