New Adventures, New Worlds

New Adventures, New Worlds

It's ironic that just as 'Doctor Who' finished I became more of a fan and wanted to know more about the series. The next year or so was a barren time for new 'Doctor Who' as no season 27 appeared and we had only 'Doctor Who Magazine' and the Target novelisations to satisfy our need for the Doctor.
So when in 1991 it was announced that there were to be new Doctor Who books released, I was very excited.

As I was a member of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS), I pre-ordered my copies of the New Adventures (as they had been titled) from their book club. So excitedly sending off my cheque and order form, I waited for the books to arrive.

And in due course 'Timewyrm: Genesys' arrived through the door and I loved it. It was new 'Doctor Who' if a little more adult in tone. The characters of the Doctor and Ace were pretty much as I remembered them from season 26, though I recall that the Doctor was a little less dark and a bit more Doctorish.

Having read that one I looked forward to receiving 'Exodus' written by the legend that is Terrance Dicks. But the next book I received was Nigel Robinson's 'Apocalypse' which is a very good book but not the anticipated 'Exodus'.

And then in December came 'Revelation' by Paul Cornell.

Now, I don't know the reason why 'Exodus' was delayed and when I actually received it whether it arrived before 'Revelation' or not, but I remember it being a while and I may have even have had a refund from the DWAS for the book and then had to reorder, I can't really remember as it's 27 years ago.

But I do remember really enjoying the books especially 'Genesys' and 'Exodus' as they seemed to be the 'Doctor Who' that I had been waiting for.

The second set of books was released in 1992 and I had the 'Cat's Cradle' set of three books, but couldn't afford many more after that. I just picked up the odd one or two that I liked the sound of or in the case of 'Legacy' (written by Gary Russell) I borrowed it from my local library.

After a few years, Virgin Books started the Missing Adventures range, stories which featured older Doctors and slotted in between televised adventures.

I remember the cover for 'Goth Opera' by Paul Cornell, which caused a bit of a stir as it featured Nyssa with blood on her top and had to be toned down.

Again I couldn't afford to buy all of them so again had to pick and choose which ones I wanted to read.

For us in the early 90s and (aka the Wilderness Years) the New Adventures were our 'Doctor Who' and still hold fond memories for us. And they gave us writers like Mark Gatiss, Gareth Roberts and Paul Cornell. Even Russell T Davies had a go, with his first professional writing for 'Doctor Who'.
So thank you to all of those involved in the New Adventures, you kept 'Doctor Who' alive when the BBC seemed not to want to.

You can see us nattering about the New Adventures books here.

(By Lisa Parker)