''Oh No It Isn't!'' is a novel published in 1997 by

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...

from 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 ...

featuring the fictional archaeologist

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 ...

. The New Adventures were a series of novels 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 ...

'', made by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. They had originally been licensed ''Doctor Who'' stories, but in the wake of the return of ''Doctor Who'' to television screens with the 1996 movie, the BBC did not renew publisher

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 ...

' licence. Virgin had for some time planned for a spin-off series based on the characters and settings created in the ''Doctor Who'' New Adventures. With the licence gone, they continued the monthly release schedule of the New Adventures, but switched to stories featuring the character of Bernice Summerfield (known as Benny), beginning with ''Oh No It Isn't!''. The author, Paul Cornell, had originally created Benny as a companion for the Doctor. She appeared regularly in the ''Doctor Who'' New Adventures for a period, before ceasing travelling with the Doctor in another Cornell-penned work, '' Happy Endings''. She was re-introduced as a regular character in the last ''Doctor Who'' New Adventure, ''

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 range ...

'', which led into ''Oh No It Isn't!''. ''Oh No It Isn't!'' also provided the initial set-up and background to the Benny-led New Adventures that followed, including re-introducing the Doctor's pet cat

Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

(originally from Cornell's New Adventure ''

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

'') and the

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

known as

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

(originally from the New Adventure ''

The Also People ''The Also People'' is an original novel written by Ben Aaronovitch and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Bernice, Chris, Roz and Kadiatu. Plot The Prologue rel ...

''). The book also introduces the alien race the Grels, who would re-appear in later Benny stories. The novel title and content reference the traditions of

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

, reflecting Cornell's interest in traditional conceptions and icons of Englishness.

Plot

Bernice Summerfield's investigation into the lost civilisation of Perfection takes a turn for the strange when her cat Wolsey turns into

Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" ( it, Il gatto con gli stivali) is an Italian fairy tale, later spread throughout the rest of Europe, about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for hi ...

…

Audio adaptation

In 1998, ''Oh No It Isn't!'' was adapted by

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 ...

into an

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

starring

Lisa Bowerman Lisa Bowerman (born 1 February 1962) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the BBC One medical drama ''Casualty'', in the first two series (1986–1987). She also starred as Professor Bernice Summe ...

as Bernice. This was the debut release by Big Finish, who started with a series of Bernice Summerfield-led adaptations of New Adventure novels before later obtaining a licence to do original ''Doctor Who'' stories. Cornell was asked to do the adaptation but was too busy, instead suggesting his then girlfriend

Jacqueline Rayner Jacqueline Rayner is a British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Biography Her first professional writing cr ...

could do it. Rayner went on to write all but one of Big Finish's New Adventure adaptations. The audio drama also features actor

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Ear ...

who is better known for playing the recurring character of

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

in the television series ''Doctor Who''.

Cast

—

* Wolsey the Cat —

*Jayne Waspo/Bitchy — Jo Castleton *Michael Doran/Cute — Jonathan Brüün *Captain Balsam/King Rupert — Colin McIntyre *Lt Prince/Prince Charming —

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Dale ...

*Professor Candy/Dame Candy —

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Americ ...

*The Grand Vizier —

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series ''Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

*The Grel Master —

Alistair Lock Alistair is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic ''Alasdair''. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the sam ...

Trivia

*The character of Michael Doran is named after a well-known ''Doctor Who'' fan. *Mark Gatiss, who performs in the audio adaptation, had also written New Adventures novels himself and went on to write for the 2005 television series of ''Doctor Who''.

External links

The Cloister Library - ''Oh No It Isn't!''

The Whoniverse - Discontinuity Guide entry for ''Oh No It Isn't!''

* {{Authority control 1997 British novels 1997 science fiction novels Virgin New Adventures Bernice Summerfield audio plays Novels by Paul Cornell Bernice Summerfield novels