''Cold Fusion'' is an original novel written by

Lance Parkin Lance Parkin is a British author. He is best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular '' Doctor Who'' (and spin-offs including the Virgin New Adventures and Faction Paradox) and as a storyliner on ''Emmerd ...

and based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It features the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from t ...

, with

Adric Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A compan ...

, Nyssa, and

Tegan Tegan is a given name of Welsh origin. It is a diminutive of the Welsh word ''teg'' ('fair') and means 'darling', 'loved one', or 'favourite', and is the normal Welsh word for 'toy'. People with the name Notable people with the first name Tegan i ...

, immediately after '' Castrovalva''. Also appearing is the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

, with

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and Roz, from between the

Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from the point at which the televisio ...

novels ''

Return of the Living Dad ''Return of the Living Dad'' is an original novel written by Kate Orman and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz, Bernice and Jason. Plot Bernice Summ ...

'' and ''

The Death of Art ''The Death of Art'' is a novel by Simon Bucher-Jones published in 1996 and based on the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Chris Cwej, Chris, Roz ...

''. It was the only one of the Virgin ''Doctor Who'' novels to feature more than one Doctor.

Notes

The story deliberately contrasts the characterisation of the Fifth Doctor and of the Seventh Doctor in the

.FTN interviews Doctor Who writer Lance Parkin
13 January 2013 In an interview for the BBC, in discussing ''Cold Fusion'', Parkin described the character of Adric as "hopeless with Davison". Parkin has said he was writing a book about the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, that is a conflict "where horrible things are happening, and clearly there's a case for international intervention, but … well, there's no clear good guys and bad guys. And that was the idea of the book: two Doctors show up and they look at a situation like Yugoslavia/Syria and they, completely independently, perfectly sensibly, pick a side to support. And they pick different sides, so spend the book fighting each other." He also said he "was never happy with Cold Fusion. It was the second novel I wrote, and I always had the sense it had got away from me, but I'd never been able to explain why. My first, Just War, was very taut, serious, fine-tuned. Cold Fusion was always a lot more ramshackle." ''Cold Fusion'' includes many references to the

Cartmel Masterplan The Cartmel Masterplan is a fan name for the planned ''Doctor Who'' backstory developed primarily by script editor Andrew Cartmel and writers Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt, by which they intended to restore some of the mystery of the Doctor's b ...

which would be more fully explored in ''

Lungbarrow ''Lungbarrow'' is an original novel written by Marc Platt and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Published in Virgin Books' ''New Adventures'' range, it was the last of that range to feature the ...

''. More is learned about the character of Patience in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel ''

The Infinity Doctors ''The Infinity Doctors'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The book was released to commemorate the 35th a ...

'', also by Lance Parkin. It is suggested that she is the Doctor's (or possibly

The Other In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...

's) wife, but how she fits into normal continuity is deliberately not revealed. Notably, this novel features a sequence in which the Doctor recalls his life on

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, The Doct ...

and in which this earlier Doctor has recently regenerated in a form heavily inferred to be one of the " Morbius Doctors" seen in the mind bending sequence of the serial ''

The Brain of Morbius ''The Brain of Morbius'' is the fifth serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1976. The screenwriter credit is given ...

'', specifically the incarnation which was represented by an image of

Douglas Camfield Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield (8 May 1931 – 27 January 1984) was a British television director, active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Early life Camfield studied at the York School of Art and aimed to work for The Walt Disney Company. He was ...

. While it is inferred in this book to be an incarnation of the Doctor, the novel ''

'' suggests it may in fact be an incarnation of

the Other In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...

. Names in the book are very similar to those of the main characters (and the actors) in the BBC comedy

Terry and June ''Terry and June'' is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of '' Happy Ever After'', and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Te ...

, so the book includes a Medford, a Whitfield, a Scott, and a Terry and June.

Reception

Readers of ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' gave the novel a rating of 76.69% (from 845 votes). ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' magazine recommended the book if someone were to only read one Missing Adventure, describing it as "mind-bending sci-fi with the Fifth Doctor (and a cameo for the Seventh) and an inside-out TARDIS."

Audio adaptation

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

released an audio drama adaptation of the novel in December 2016. The release was announced in July 2016. It starred

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...

Janet Fielding Janet Fielding (born Janet Claire Mahoney; 9 September 1953) is an Australian actress who starred in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' as companion Tegan Jovanka. Early life and career Fielding was born in Brisbane. Afte ...

Sarah Sutton Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961) is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Early life Sutton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sutton studied ballet as ...

and

Matthew Waterhouse Matthew Waterhouse (born 19 December 1961) is an English actor and writer. From 1980 to 1982 he played the role of Adric in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Early life Waterhouse was born in Hertford, but brought up ...

reprising their television roles as the Fifth and

Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth ...

, Nyssa and

respectively. In addition,

Yasmin Bannerman Yasmin Bannerman (born 1970) is an English actress. Bannerman was born and brought up in Gloucestershire and attended the Rose Bruford College in London until 1993. She has had roles in television series such as ''Hollyoaks'', ''Cold Feet'', ' ...

and

Travis Oliver Travis Oliver (born 18 March) is a British actor. He is possibly best known for his role as Oliver Ryan in the ITV series '' Footballers' Wives: Extra Time'' between 2005 and 2006. He's also made appearances in BBC's ''Doctor Who'' (2007) and t ...

reprised their roles as the Seventh Doctor's companions Roz Forrester and

Chris Cwej Christopher Rodonanté Cwej, usually just known as Chris Cwej, is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures range of spin-offs based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. His surname is properly pronounced "Shva ...

from Big Finish's adaptations of the New Adventures novels ''

Damaged Goods Damaged goods or Damaged Goods may refer to: * Goods that have been damaged, where goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility * A person considered to be less than perfect psychologically, as a result of a traumatic experience ...

'' and ''

Original Sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

''.

Christine Kavanagh Christine Mary Kavanagh (born 24 March 1957 in Prescot, Lancashire) is an English actress. Career overview Kavanagh was educated in Brussels, and trained as a drama teacher at Bretton Hall College and as an actor at Bristol Old Vic Theatr ...

plays the role of Patience. '' Starburst'' gave the audio a mixed review, describing it as "an odd fish".https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/doctor-who-cold-fusion-review

References

External links

Author's webpage
about the book

{{Multi-Doctor stories 1996 British novels 1996 science fiction novels Virgin Missing Adventures Fifth Doctor novels Seventh Doctor novels Doctor Who multi-Doctor stories Novels by Lance Parkin Novels set on fictional planets