The Previous Doctor Adventures range of books was a series of original novels featuring the adventures of the First to Seventh Doctors which were published monthly by BBC Books (excluding Decembers) from June 1997, and which were effectively a replacement for Virgin's Missing Adventures series which had ceased publication in the April.
The series went bi-monthly from October 2003 when they began to alternate with novels in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range.
With the start of the new Doctor Who television series starring Christopher Eccleston in March 2005, the Eighth Doctor Adventures range was cancelled, with The Gallifrey Chronicles being the final title published in June 2005 — the intention being that all further books featuring the Eighth Doctor would be released in the Previous Doctor Adventures range.
In the event, the Previous Doctor Adventures range itself ended with a fizzle rather than a bang in the November of 2005 with the publication of Andrew Cartmel's Seventh Doctor and Ace novel Atom Bomb Blues.
The series went bi-monthly from October 2003 when they began to alternate with novels in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range.
With the start of the new Doctor Who television series starring Christopher Eccleston in March 2005, the Eighth Doctor Adventures range was cancelled, with The Gallifrey Chronicles being the final title published in June 2005 — the intention being that all further books featuring the Eighth Doctor would be released in the Previous Doctor Adventures range.
In the event, the Previous Doctor Adventures range itself ended with a fizzle rather than a bang in the November of 2005 with the publication of Andrew Cartmel's Seventh Doctor and Ace novel Atom Bomb Blues.
Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins from Neptune
by Keith Topping & Martin Day
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- June 1997
Back Cover Blurb
From the outer reaches of the Solar System, alien eyes are surveying the Earth. Eyes as cold and cruel as the methane ice that shrouds their distant world...
The Doctor is perturbed when a spate of deaths follows the break-up of an alien mass in the atmosphere. But this is merely the latest incident in a sinister conspiracy that threatens the entire planet, and the Doctor himself is embroiled in the plans of all the players.
The Brigadier's concern is heightened by the possibility of traitors at the very heart of UNIT. Leaving for Geneva to discover the truth, he little realises the deadly motives of an enemy agent on his own doorstep. The Doctor and Liz, meanwhile, discover that London doesn't have a monopoly on alien invasions.
What are the gargoyle-like creatures that kill without mercy? What do they want from our planet — and how do they figure in top-secret governmental plans?
As the lines between allies and enemies begin to blur, the Doctor finds himself fighting to save the Earth once again. But who will he be saving it for?
From the outer reaches of the Solar System, alien eyes are surveying the Earth. Eyes as cold and cruel as the methane ice that shrouds their distant world...
The Doctor is perturbed when a spate of deaths follows the break-up of an alien mass in the atmosphere. But this is merely the latest incident in a sinister conspiracy that threatens the entire planet, and the Doctor himself is embroiled in the plans of all the players.
The Brigadier's concern is heightened by the possibility of traitors at the very heart of UNIT. Leaving for Geneva to discover the truth, he little realises the deadly motives of an enemy agent on his own doorstep. The Doctor and Liz, meanwhile, discover that London doesn't have a monopoly on alien invasions.
What are the gargoyle-like creatures that kill without mercy? What do they want from our planet — and how do they figure in top-secret governmental plans?
As the lines between allies and enemies begin to blur, the Doctor finds himself fighting to save the Earth once again. But who will he be saving it for?
Regular Characters
Third Doctor / Liz Shaw / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Captain Yates / Sergeant Benton
Third Doctor / Liz Shaw / Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Captain Yates / Sergeant Benton
Notes
- The Devil Goblins from Neptune takes place between the television stories Inferno and Terror of the Autons.
- The Devil Goblins from Neptune was the first of two Doctor Who novels to be co-written by Keith Topping and Martin Day.
Topping later went on to write two solo novels of his own (The King of Terror / Byzantium!), while Day's first Doctor Who novel (The Menagerie) had actually been published as part of Virgin's Missing Adventures range in 1995. After the publication of The Hollow Men, his second book with Topping, he went on to write three further Doctor Who novels including the extraordinary The Sleep of Reason for the Eighth Doctor Adventures series which stands as one of the finest Doctor Who novels to be published to date.
Doctor Who: The Murder Game
by Steve Lyons
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- July 1997
Back Cover Blurb
The faded glamour of a hotel in space, spinning in an all-but-forgotten orbit round the Earth, is host to some unusual visitors this weekend — including a party that claim to travel in a battered blue police box...
It is the year 2146. Answering a distress call from the dilapidated Hotel Galaxian, the TARDIS crew discover a games enthusiast is using the hotel to host a murder-mystery weekend. But it seems someone from his motley group of guests is taking things a little too seriously.
While the Doctor, Ben and Polly find themselves joining in the shadowplay, it becomes clear that a real-life murderer is stalking the dark, disused corridors of the Galaxian. But worse than this: there's a sinister force waiting silently in space for events to unfold. A terrible secret is hidden on board the Galaxian, and if it is discovered nothing — least of all murder — will ever be the same again. If this is a game, the stakes just got higher.
The faded glamour of a hotel in space, spinning in an all-but-forgotten orbit round the Earth, is host to some unusual visitors this weekend — including a party that claim to travel in a battered blue police box...
It is the year 2146. Answering a distress call from the dilapidated Hotel Galaxian, the TARDIS crew discover a games enthusiast is using the hotel to host a murder-mystery weekend. But it seems someone from his motley group of guests is taking things a little too seriously.
While the Doctor, Ben and Polly find themselves joining in the shadowplay, it becomes clear that a real-life murderer is stalking the dark, disused corridors of the Galaxian. But worse than this: there's a sinister force waiting silently in space for events to unfold. A terrible secret is hidden on board the Galaxian, and if it is discovered nothing — least of all murder — will ever be the same again. If this is a game, the stakes just got higher.
Regular Characters
Second Doctor / Ben Jackson / Polly
Regular Characters
The Selachians
Second Doctor / Ben Jackson / Polly
Regular Characters
The Selachians
Notes
- The Murder game takes place between the television stories The Power of the Daleks and The Highlanders.
- The Murder Game was the first of four Previous Doctor Adventures to be written by Steve Lyons, and the first of his two to feature the Second Doctor. His second, The Final Sanction, saw the second and final outing to date for the Selachians.
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Treasure
by Christopher Bulis
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- August 1997
Back Cover Blurb
The seers of Gelsandor foretell the coming of many visitors to their planet, all in search of the lost treasure of the fabulously wealthy Rovan Cartovall, who vanished 5000 years ago...
An innocent shopping jaunt for the Doctor and Peri ends in violence and incarceration as they become caught up in a mysterious transaction involving the sale of co-ordinates leading to Rovan's hoard — the ultimate treasure.
The Doctor and Peri join the quest, but the time Lord remains sceptical. What will they find — and why has it remained undiscovered for so long?
The resourcefulness of the travellers is tested to the limits as they each race to be the first to the treasure. And among a seemingly endless array of tricks, tests and traps lurk some deadly surprises.
The seers of Gelsandor foretell the coming of many visitors to their planet, all in search of the lost treasure of the fabulously wealthy Rovan Cartovall, who vanished 5000 years ago...
An innocent shopping jaunt for the Doctor and Peri ends in violence and incarceration as they become caught up in a mysterious transaction involving the sale of co-ordinates leading to Rovan's hoard — the ultimate treasure.
The Doctor and Peri join the quest, but the time Lord remains sceptical. What will they find — and why has it remained undiscovered for so long?
The resourcefulness of the travellers is tested to the limits as they each race to be the first to the treasure. And among a seemingly endless array of tricks, tests and traps lurk some deadly surprises.
Regular Characters
Fifth Doctor / Peri Brown
Familiar Faces
Dexel Dynes
Fifth Doctor / Peri Brown
Familiar Faces
Dexel Dynes
Notes
- The Ultimate Treasure takes place between the television stories Planet of Fire and The Caves of Androzani.
- The Ultimate Treasure was the first of four books by Christopher Bulis for the Previous Doctor Adventures series, and the first of his two to feature the Fifth Doctor. Unusually, The Ultimate Treasure saw a brief appearance by Kamelion, the shape-shifting android who had apparently been killed off at the the conclusion of Planet of Fire on television. Bulis's second and final Fifth Doctor novel, Imperial Moon, was unusual in being one of the only two Doctor Who novels to make full use of the character while he was still aboard the TARDIS — the other being Craig Hinton's The Crystal Bucephalus for the Missing Adventures range in 1994.
- Tabloid journalist Dexel Dynes would later show up in Bulis's 2002 Sixth Doctor novel Palace of the Red Sun.
Doctor Who: Business Unusual
by Gary Russell
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- September 1997
Back Cover Blurb
A security force with no official identity...a managing director with no name...a sinister creature on guard patrol resembling some kind of hellhound...SenéNet is no ordinary multinational company.
The Doctor arrives in Brighton, 1989, travelling alone. He soon discovers his old friend, the Brigadier, has gone missing investigating SenéNet, whose new interactive games console is soon to be released at an absurdly reasonable price. He was last seen at their headquarters — based in the picturesque Ashdown Forest...
Investigating further, the Doctor becomes more and more entangled in a deadly web of intrigue. Together with Mel, a plucky computer programmer from Pease Pottage, the Doctor must overcome the conspiracy of silence, rescue the Brigadier and save the world once again — something that would be a lot easier if he just knew where to start...
A security force with no official identity...a managing director with no name...a sinister creature on guard patrol resembling some kind of hellhound...SenéNet is no ordinary multinational company.
The Doctor arrives in Brighton, 1989, travelling alone. He soon discovers his old friend, the Brigadier, has gone missing investigating SenéNet, whose new interactive games console is soon to be released at an absurdly reasonable price. He was last seen at their headquarters — based in the picturesque Ashdown Forest...
Investigating further, the Doctor becomes more and more entangled in a deadly web of intrigue. Together with Mel, a plucky computer programmer from Pease Pottage, the Doctor must overcome the conspiracy of silence, rescue the Brigadier and save the world once again — something that would be a lot easier if he just knew where to start...
Regular Characters
Sixth Doctor / Melanie Bush
Familiar Faces
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / The Nestene Consciousness / The Autons / Ciara / Cellian / Trey Korte
Sixth Doctor / Melanie Bush
Familiar Faces
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / The Nestene Consciousness / The Autons / Ciara / Cellian / Trey Korte
Notes
- Business Unusual takes place between the television stories The Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani.
- Business Unusual was the first of Gary Russell's three Previous Doctor Adventures to feature the Sixth Doctor and was effectively the second part of a trilogy of tales which had begun with The Scales of Injustice for Virgin's Missing Adventures range of novels and which concluded with 2001's Instruments of Darkness.
Readers of Russell's previous books will no doubt be completely unsurprised to discover that it is packed from cover to cover with continuity references...- The part-Auton Irish twins Ciara and Cellian make the second of their three Doctor Who novel appearances, having been created by Russell for The Scales of Injustice.
- Business Unusual marked the first occasion on which Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart had encountered the Sixth Doctor — something which never occurred in the original television series. Unsurprisingly, it wouldn't be the last time this happened, with various other books and audio adventures revisiting the pairing afterwards, including The Shadow in the Glass and The Spectre of Lanyon Moor.
- Business Unusual marked the first meeting between the Sixth Doctor and Melanie Bush and concluded with her stowing away when the TARDIS leaves Earth.
Somewhat surprisingly, Gary Russell changes Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner's ideas on how the Sixth Doctor first met Mel.
In his non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Companions (Piccadilly Press, 1986) it was explained that they had first met while attempting to stop the Master from destabilising the world's banking houses. Business Unusual begins with the Doctor tidying up the aftermath of that particular adventure which had apparently also involved the Usurians from the television story The Sun Makers.
The rather convoluted way in which the Sixth Doctor and Mel's futures are tangled up can be found in the notes for Pip and Jane Baker's Terror of the Vervoids novelisation. - Business Unusual was the first of two books to feature Trey Korte, an America student who was staying in England with the Bush family. His final appearance was in Gary Russell's Instruments of Darkness.
- Business Unusual saw the return of the Nestene Consciousness and the plastic Autons who had appeared in the two Third Doctor television stories Spearhead from Space and Terror of the Autons in the early 1970s. If the originally planned stories for Season Twenty-Three had actually been produced, the Sixth Doctor would have encountered them in the Robert Holmes-penned story titled Yellow Fever and How to Cure It.
Both sets of villains would later turn up in SynthespiansTM from Craig Hinton, which was actually set prior to Business Unusual from the Sixth Doctor's perspective. Their most recent appearance was in Rose, the first episode of the revived Doctor Who television series in March 2005.
Doctor Who: Illegal Alien
by Mike Tucker & Robert Perry
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- October 1997
Back Cover Blurb
Britain is at war. Night after night the Luftwaffe are bombing London. A serial killer dubbed the Limehouse Lurker is stalking the rubble-strewn streets. But a deadlier threat falls from the sky in the shape of a sinister silver sphere...
Cody McBride, ex-pat American private eye, sees the sphere crash-land and split open — and glimpses something emerging from within. But the military dismiss his account of events — the sphere is simply a new German secret weapon that has malfunctioned in some way. What else could it be?
Arriving amid the chaos, the Doctor and Ace are the only people to believe McBride. The sphere bears all the hallmarks of sophisticated alien technology — and whatever was inside it is now loose in London.
Before long the Doctor and his friends have embarked on a trail that brings them face to face with hidden Nazi operatives — and some very old enemies...
Britain is at war. Night after night the Luftwaffe are bombing London. A serial killer dubbed the Limehouse Lurker is stalking the rubble-strewn streets. But a deadlier threat falls from the sky in the shape of a sinister silver sphere...
Cody McBride, ex-pat American private eye, sees the sphere crash-land and split open — and glimpses something emerging from within. But the military dismiss his account of events — the sphere is simply a new German secret weapon that has malfunctioned in some way. What else could it be?
Arriving amid the chaos, the Doctor and Ace are the only people to believe McBride. The sphere bears all the hallmarks of sophisticated alien technology — and whatever was inside it is now loose in London.
Before long the Doctor and his friends have embarked on a trail that brings them face to face with hidden Nazi operatives — and some very old enemies...
Regular Characters
Seventh Doctor / Ace
Familiar Faces
The Cybermen / Cody McBride / George Limb
Seventh Doctor / Ace
Familiar Faces
The Cybermen / Cody McBride / George Limb
Notes
- Illegal Alien takes place after the television story Survival.
- Illegal Alien was the first of four Seventh Doctor books for the Previous Doctor Adventures series which were to be written by Mike Tucker and Robert Perry. All of them would be set after the events of Survival, the final story from the original television series.
- Illegal Alien was unusual in being one of the few original Doctor Who books to actually feature the Cybermen — arguably the most popular villains from the television series after the Daleks. Virgin Publishing had previously used them for one book in each of their two Doctor Who ranges: David Banks' Iceberg for the New Adventures and Steve Lyons Killing Ground for the Missing Adventures. Surprisingly, after Illegal Alien, the next book to feature them would be some ten year later when Made of Steel was published as part of the New Series Adventures range, which featured the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones.
- A sequel to Illegal Alien, in the form of Loving the Alien, was published by BBC Books in 2004. Once again this was written by Tucker and Perry, and saw the return of both George Limb and Cody McBride. It also served as a follow-up to Mike Tucker's solo Seventh Doctor novel Prime Time, in which the Doctor discovered that Ace would be killed at some point in the future. Loving the Alien explained how it all happened...
Doctor Who: The Roundheads
by Mark Gatiss
- UK
- Paperback
- BBC Books
- November 1997
Back Cover Blurb
"I tell you — we will cut off this King's head. Aye, with the crown on it!"
It is December 1648. Although victorious over the Cavaliers in the Civil Wars, the Roundheads are struggling to retain power. Plans are afoot to spirit King Charles from his prison, and the Doctor and his companions become embroiled in the intrigue...
Ben finds himself press-ganged and on board a mysterious ship to Amsterdam. Polly is an unwitting accomplice in the plot to rescue the King, and the Doctor and Jamie find themselves arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London under suspicion of conspiracy.
Can the Doctor and Jamie escape, manage to find Ben and Polly and still ensure that history remains on its proper course?
"I tell you — we will cut off this King's head. Aye, with the crown on it!"
It is December 1648. Although victorious over the Cavaliers in the Civil Wars, the Roundheads are struggling to retain power. Plans are afoot to spirit King Charles from his prison, and the Doctor and his companions become embroiled in the intrigue...
Ben finds himself press-ganged and on board a mysterious ship to Amsterdam. Polly is an unwitting accomplice in the plot to rescue the King, and the Doctor and Jamie find themselves arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London under suspicion of conspiracy.
Can the Doctor and Jamie escape, manage to find Ben and Polly and still ensure that history remains on its proper course?
Regular Characters
Second Doctor / Ben Jackson / Polly / Jamie McCrimmon
Second Doctor / Ben Jackson / Polly / Jamie McCrimmon
Notes
- The Roundheads takes place between the television stories The Macra Terror and The Faceless Ones.
- The Roundheads was the third original Doctor Who novel to be written by Mark Gatiss, but the first not written for what was at the time considered the "current" Doctor — Nightshade and St. Anthony's Fire were both written for the New Adventures series which featured the Seventh Doctor. His final Doctor Who book to date is the Third Doctor adventure Last of the Gadarene which was published in 2000.
More recently, apart from an ever increasing list of acting credits on television, he has written two episodes of the Doctor Who television series. The Unquiet Dead saw the Ninth Doctor and Rose encountering the Gelth and Charles Dickens in 1869, while The Idiot's Lantern the following season saw the Tenth Doctor and Rose encountering the Wire and stopping an insidious plot to take over the population of the UK by using the television broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.
