''Lungbarrow'' is an original novel written by Marc Platt 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 ...

''. Published in

Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...

' ''

New Adventures New Adventures is a British dance-theatre company. Founded by choreographer Matthew Bourne in 2001, the company developed from an earlier company Adventures in Motion Pictures, now dissolved. History Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP) was es ...

'' range, it was the last of that range to feature 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 ...

. When all stories of any media under any banner are listed chronologically, this is the last which features the Seventh Doctor as the "current" Doctor, although

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...

Eighth Doctor The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann. The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door pilo ...

had already made his televised appearance by the time the novel was published.

Plot

His mind occupied with thoughts of his coming regeneration, the Doctor accidentally returns to

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 the House of Lungbarrow, where for over 673 years his 44 cousins have been trapped, but mysteriously only six of them are still left. Meanwhile,

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 "Shv ...

is having strange dreams of the past, when the family cast the Doctor out. The Doctor is accused of the murder of the head of the House, but he finds many allies in the form of former companions

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, Romana, K-9 Mark I, K-9 Mark II and Leela, who have become embroiled in a Celestial Intervention Agency plot to overthrow Romana's presidency. The secrets of the past are catching up to the Doctor—in particular, the secret that links him to a figure from Gallifreyan history known only as the

Other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

Background

''Lungbarrow'' wrapped up the last of the continuity of the New Adventures and put the Doctor on course to gather the

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

remains from

Skaro Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks. In ''The Daleks'' (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth pl ...

, as depicted in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie. It is also one of a number of the New Adventures which is hard to obtain and is often seen on auction websites such as

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

at prices many times the original cover price. The novel which followed ''Lungbarrow'',

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 ...

's ''

The Dying Days ''The Dying Days'' is an original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was last of the New Adventures range to feature the Doctor and the only one of that rang ...

'', featured the

. When Virgin subsequently lost their licence to print original ''Doctor Who'' fiction, they chose to focus on a character from the New Adventures which the BBC did not own, former companion

Bernice Summerfield Bernice Surprise Summerfield (later Professor Bernice Summerfield or just Benny) is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length ''Doctor Who ...

. ''Lungbarrow'' serves, in concert with ''Dying Days'', to gradually increase the standing of Summerfield's character, laying the groundwork for the later appearance of the Seventh Doctor's then-companion,

, in Summerfield's own novels. Platt's novel, though, is largely concerned with concluding what was known as 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 ...

". In the final two seasons of the original 1963-1989 run of ''Doctor Who'', the then

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...

Andrew Cartmel Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of ''Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television serie ...

introduced new elements of mystery into the character of the

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

. Suggestions of dark secrets that the Doctor might be more than just a

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...

were inserted into scripts of stories such as

Ben Aaronovitch Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the ''Rivers of London'' series of novels. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-off novels from ''Doctor Who' ...

's ''

Remembrance of the Daleks ''Remembrance of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in four weekly episodes from 5 to 26 October 1988. It was written by Ben Aaronovi ...

'' and Kevin Clarke's ''

Silver Nemesis ''Silver Nemesis'' is the third serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in three weekly parts from 23 November (the 25th anniversary) to 7 ...

''. Had the series not been effectively cancelled in 1989, the following series would have made some of these revelations. ''Lungbarrow'' began life as a television script, which was rejected by

John Nathan-Turner John Nathan-Turner (''né'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. He was also the final producer of the series' first ...

on the grounds that it revealed too much about the Doctor and the Time Lords, too quickly. Elements of Platt's planned ''Lungbarrow'' instead became part of the Series 26 serial '' Ghost Light'', such as the sinister house keeper, the trapped investigating policeman and finale based around the family dinner. If produced, the story would have featured

as the main companion and been set entirely within the House. Along the way to this resolution, ''Lungbarrow'' ultimately reveals much new information about the Doctor's home world and race, some of which had been hinted at ever since the first New Adventures novel. Many of the New Adventures authors migrated to the BBC Books ''Doctor Who'' line and elements of this backstory also made their way into subsequent novels. However, there have also been elements in those novels that contradict it.

Publication history

The numbering of this book (60 of 61) refers to the publisher's ''intended'' order, not the actual order of publication. Because of chronic delays troubling

's ''

So Vile a Sin ''So Vile a Sin'' is an original novel written by Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz, Bernice, Jason, Kadiatu Let ...

'' (which was eventually finished by

Kate Orman Kate Orman (born 1968 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian author, best known for her books connected to the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Biography Orman was born in Sydney, but grew up in Canberr ...

), it was actually the 59th New Adventure published.

on an Outpost Gallifrey forum thread stated in 2005 that the reason the last three books in the Virgin New Adventures range, including ''Lungbarrow'', were so expensive on the

secondary market The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of the s ...

was excessive demand, rather than an unusually low initial

print run Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulat ...

. However, he also noted that reprints of these books were not allowed, because Virgin's license expired before a second printing might otherwise have been made. A new version of ''Lungbarrow'', with both additions and subtractions to the original text, author's notes and an artwork gallery, was presented as an

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

on the BBC website from 22 August 2003 to December 2010.

Continuity

*The Seventh Doctor is sent to collect the Master’s remains by Romana, a lead in to the television movie.

Outside references

The Houses that Platt gives Gallifrey are similar to the household featured in Peake's ''

Gormenghast Gormenghast may refer to: * ''Gormenghast'' (series), a trilogy of novels by Mervyn Peake ** ''Gormenghast'' (novel), second in the series * ''Gormenghast'' (opera), an opera based on the books * ''Gormenghast'' (TV serial), a BBC adaptatio ...

'' trilogy. Badger, a character who makes his first appearance in ''Lungbarrow'', has much in common with a character in Peake's ''Gormenghast'' novella, '' Boy in Darkness'', which originally appeared in the collected work '' Sometime, Never'' by Golding, Wyndham and Peake.

References

External links

The Cloister Library - ''Lungbarrow''
* {{K9 stories, selected=Books 1997 British novels 1997 science fiction novels Virgin New Adventures Novels by Marc Platt Seventh Doctor novels

Plot

Background

Publication history

Continuity

Outside references

See also

References

External links