The ''New Series Adventures'' are a series of novels relating to the long-running

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

science fiction television series, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...

, and are regularly published twice a year. Beginning with the

Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...

, a series of 'Quick Reads' have also been available, published once a year. With exception to the Quick Reads, all of the NSAs have been published in hardcover to begin with, and have been reprinted in paperback for boxed collections that are exclusive to The Book People and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

. Some of the reprints amend pictures of the companion of the novel from the cover. Some of the hardback editions have also been reprinted to amend pictures of Rose.

Publication history

Ninth Doctor novels

With the revival of the television series,

retired its paperback

Eighth Doctor Adventures The ''Eighth Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes abbreviated as EDA or referred to as the EDAs) are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books impri ...

and

Past Doctor Adventures The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprint. ...

fiction lines in 2005 in favour of a new range of hardback books featuring the

Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the serie ...

and

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

. These have a reduced word count compared to the EDA and PDA lines, with an average page count of about 250. (Initially, the EDA and PDA lines overlapped with the New Series Adventures; the final EDA, '' The Gallifrey Chronicles'', was published in June 2005, followed by the final PDA, ''

Atom Bomb Blues The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprint. ...

'', a

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

adventure, being published in December 2005.) The 2005 series episode " Boom Town" makes a reference to the Doctor and Rose's trip to the Justicia system. This took place in '' The Monsters Inside'', making it the first spin-off novel to ever be explicitly referred to in the television series. All the Ninth Doctor novels except '' Only Human'' contain "Bad Wolf" references in common with the 2005 television series. '' Winner Takes All'' also features the recurring characters

Mickey Smith Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the BBC One science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by British actor Noel Clarke and was the show's first televised black companion. The character is introduced as the ordinary, ...

and

Jackie Tyler Jackie Tyler is a fictional character played by Camille Coduri in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The character, a resident of contemporary London, is introduced in the first episode of the 2005 revival as the mot ...

; Jackie also makes a cameo appearance in ''Only Human''. Unlike many of the BBC's earlier spin-off novels, no definite timeframe exists as to when each of the books take place, though the first three probably take place between " World War Three" and "

The Empty Child "The Empty Child" is the ninth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 May 2005. It was directed by James Hawes, and was the first canonical episo ...

". Of the latter three (which feature Captain Jack), '' Only Human'' and ''

The Deviant Strain The ''New Series Adventures'' are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published twice a y ...

'' take place between "

The Doctor Dances "The Doctor Dances" is the tenth episode of the first series of the revival of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story, following t ...

" and "Boom Town", while ''

The Stealers of Dreams The ''New Series Adventures'' are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published twice a y ...

'' takes place after "Boom Town" as the events of that episode are referenced, although on-screen dialogue in the episode "

Bad Wolf "Bad Wolf" is the twelfth episode of the revived Doctor Who series 1, first series of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 11 June 2005. It is ...

" makes it a challenge to place this novel into the show's continuity. However, it is possible that after "Boom Town", the Doctor, Rose and Jack went somewhere else before returning the egg to Raxacoricofallapatorius. The first books in the series were popular in the UK. In Canada, the books were not carried by the same distributor as the BBC Books paperbacks, and were initially available only through

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

shops and online retailers when

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

took up the contract. During 2005, the New Series Adventures featuring the Ninth Doctor were published concurrently with the paperback Eighth Doctor and Past Doctor Adventures series. However, following the publication of the Past Doctor Adventure ''

'' (featuring the

) in November 2005, no new paperback releases were announced, with BBC Books choosing to focus on the New Series Adventures exclusively as the books moved on to featuring the Tenth Doctor.

Tenth Doctor novels

With the departure of

Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...

from the role of

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

, BBC Books subsequently announced the publication of three novels featuring the

and Rose, released on 13 April 2006. These books follow the same style and format as those featuring the Ninth Doctor, with a continuation of the spine numbering. Range consultant and commissioning editor

Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...

told ''

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

'' that there would be no Ninth Doctor novels in 2006, and the decision as to whether to continue to publish stories with the Ninth Doctor as a separate range has not yet been taken. Abridged

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

s were released of all of the Tenth Doctor titles (except the Quick Read series). The first three are narrated by

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

(who plays the Tenth Doctor), and were released on 3 July 2006.

The Nightmare of Black Island The ''New Series Adventures'' are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published twice a y ...

(read by

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

The Art of Destruction ''The Art of Destruction'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Stephen Cole and based on the long-running science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was published on 21 September 2006 alongside ''The Nightmare of Black Island'' a ...

(read by

Don Warrington Don Warrington MBE (born Don Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom '' Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series ' ...

), and The Price of Paradise (read by

Shaun Dingwall Shaun Dingwall (born 21 February 1970) is a British actor. He has appeared in the BBC series ''Noughts and Crosses'', the BAFTA and EMMY award-winning film '' Responsible Child'' (2019) and the Netflix series '' Top Boy''. His other credits inclu ...

), were released in November 2006. Four books in the series were released exclusively as paperback novellas under the

Quick Reads '' Quick Reads'' is a series of short books by bestselling authors and celebrities. With no more than 200 pages, they are designed to encourage adults who do not read often or find reading difficult to discover the joy of books. Quick Reads are a c ...

scheme to inspire literacy among children. One of these novellas, ''Made of Steel'', featured new companion

Martha Jones Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, ''Torchwood''. The show's first female black companion, she is a companion of ...

before the character made her television debut (" Smith and Jones"). It was also the first New Series Adventure to be written by

Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', working as a ...

, a long-time veteran of ''Doctor Who'' and former writer for the original series, making him the only writer who has written novels for every line of ''Doctor Who'' fiction with the exception of the Telos novellas. Despite the character of Martha Jones having left the television series at the end of the 2007 season (although she subsequently appeared in several episodes of the 2008 season), the novels released in early 2008 continued to feature her as a companion, rather than the Doctor's new companion,

Donna Noble Donna Noble is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a companion of the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors (both portr ...

. Donna featured in all three of the novels released in late 2008. The Boxing Day 2008 release saw the series cover new ground with one book featuring Donna Noble, one book covering Martha Jones' adventures between the episodes " The Sound of Drums" (2007) and " Last of the Time Lords" (2007), and one book featuring the Doctor travelling without a companion following the events of "

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry com ...

" (2008). The 2009 releases (including 6 books in the main series, 1 novella and ''The Darksmith Legacy'') all follow the mould of the Doctor travelling without a regular companion. These books also feature aliens from the New Series. Whilst this is not the first time this has happened ( The Monsters Inside), it is the first time they are on the cover, or referenced in the title. In 2020 BBC Books released two new novels featuring the Tenth Doctor to tie in with the Time Lord Victorious multi-platform storyline. The Eighth and Ninth Doctors also appeared in both books.

Eleventh Doctor novels

The series of

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation (otherwise known as regeneration) of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As wi ...

novels began in April 2010, with a new cover design, amending the Gallifreyan numbering system on the spine. The titles quickly reached sales numbers of the previous Tenth Doctor novels, and a further batches of three books have been released on a regular basis since July 2010. In October 2009

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

confirmed that he would be writing a one-off, supersize novel, combining prose with hand-drawn sketches, images and exclusive artwork. The title was confirmed as '' The Coming of the Terraphiles'', and it was released in November 2010. It did not form part of the usual range of novels, and featured characters from Michael Moorcock's Second Ether books. Two further books followed in the hardback range, '' The Silent Stars Go By'', released in September 2011, and ''Dark Horizons'', the only novel released that year, in July 2012. In April 2011 BBC Books launched a new range of "chapter books" that offer readers aged 8–12 two stories in one publication (or "2in1", which appears on the books' covers). The first two releases had flippable covers and a divided spine design. In late August 2011 the second batch of releases was published with a surtitle applied to the two stories and a shared cover with a more traditional blurb for each of the two stories on the back of the books. The next batch of 2in1 stories was released in February 2012. In June 2011, BBC books published "Touched by an Angel", with the plot involving a man named Mark, who is grieving the death of his wife Rebecca Whitaker who died in a car crash; when he is sent back in time by a Weeping Angel, he attempts to stop her dying, and the Doctor, Amy and Rory track him down and try to stop him before he creates a paradox. The story was also released as an audiobook on 6 CDs read by Clare Corbett. And in April 2013, BBC Books published "The Dalek Generation", with the plot involving Daleks manipulating a planet posing as benefactors and helpers while plotting to use an alien device for their own ends. An unabridged audiobook version was also released on 6 June 2013.

Twelfth Doctor novels

In May 2014, it was revealed that New Series Adventures would release books starring the

Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three ...

and

Clara Oswald Clara Oswald is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Steven Moffat and portrayed by Jenna Coleman. Clara was introduced in the seventh series as a new travel ...

, which were released in September 2014. The titles of the released books are ''Silhouette'', ''The Crawling Terror'', and '' The Blood Cell''. The next wave was released in September 2015, with each book under the name of ''the Glamour Chronicles''. The stories featured were ''Deep Time'', ''Royal Blood'' and ''Big Bang Generation''; first two of these feature the Twelfth Doctor and Clara, and the latter marking first New Series Adventure appearance of

Bernice Summerfield Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply 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'' novels, the '' New Ad ...

, alongside the Twelfth Doctor. A new wave was released in April 2017 with the arrival of Bill Potts and Nardole making a presence to prose. The stories featuring are ''Diamond Dogs'', ''The Shining Man'' and ''Plague City''.

Thirteenth Doctor novels

In July 2017, it was revealed that

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

would publish books featuring the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She is played by Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, in three series, five specials and a ...

. The Good Doctor was released on 25 October 2018. Molten Heart was released on 8 November 2018. Combat Magicks was released on 22 November 2018. In 2018, it was announced that author David Solomons would write two novels featuring the 13th Doctor to be published by BBC Children's Books with the first book, The Secret in Vault 13, set to be released on 1 November 2018. The second, The Maze of Doom, was published on 30 April 2020. In 2020, actress

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...

released a brand-new novel featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and

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 a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

called ''At Childhood's End''.

Fifteenth Doctor novels

In April 2024, it was announced that novels featuring the

Fifteenth Doctor The Fifteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa in two series and two specials. Within the series' narr ...

with ''Ruby Red'' and ''Caged'' due to be released in June 2024, and ''Eden Rebellion'' in November 2024.

Audio stories

Starting with ''The Stone Rose'', all of the New Series Adventures featuring the Tenth Doctor have been released as abridged audio books, normally around three months after the print publication. The first three stories in the range were narrated by David Tennant, with subsequent stories narrated by different members of the cast. In January 2010, it was decided that the stories would be released, unabridged, as download-only exclusives, and that no further stories were to be published on CD. This affected the last five Tenth Doctor novels, and continued with the release of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor novels. There has also been a separate range of audio-only stories. These are linked to the novels, but are available on CD and download formats. The range began in July 2008 with ''Pest Control'', and has since contained seven stories featuring the Tenth Doctor, fourteen stories about the Eleventh Doctor, and continue with the Twelfth Doctor. In August 2011, the Ninth Doctor Adventures started being released as unabridged downloadable audiobooks. The first book was released in August 2011 and the next one will be released in September. It is not known when the following books will be released as audiobooks, but they presumably will at some point.

List of ''New Series Adventures''

Novels

Ninth Doctor

Tenth Doctor

Eleventh Doctor

Twelfth Doctor

Thirteenth Doctor

Fifteenth Doctor

Others

Cancelled novel

# ''The Rain of Terror'' * Author: Mike Tucker * Due Date: 8 September 2005 * Doctor: Ninth * Companions: Rose Tyler & Captain Jack Harkness * Information: This was originally due as part of the second selection of Ninth Doctor novels; however, in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' #374, author Mike Tucker, revealed that due to a heavy workload, he was unable to make changes to the story that had been requested by the production office, and therefore they decided to drop the story in favour of Steve Lyons' ''The Stealers of Dreams''. The original storyline was later reworked into an Eleventh Doctor book with the same title, as part of the 2in1 line (see below).

Chapter books (2 in 1 series)

Quick Reads

''Decide Your Destiny''

''Choose the Future''

Original
audiobooks An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

''The Darksmith Legacy''

Puffin Classics crossovers

Anthologies

Since 2014 BBC books have published a number of anthologies featuring all The Doctors and various other characters from the TV show, unlike earlier anthology book ''The Story of Martha'' these have been put out as special releases separate from the main New Series Adventures range.

Other publications

These books are not part of the New Series Adventures but are still published by BBC Books and feature the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth Doctors. # ''The Doctor Who Stories'' (2009) #* A book containing fourteen stories, with one of each previously appearing in each fourteen volumes of the ''Doctor Who Files'' series (published by BBC Children's Books), and another, previously unpublished, story. # ''The Weeping Angels'' (2010) #* A book published by BBC Children's Books containing two new stories and several activity items (such as stickers). # ''The Angel's Kiss'' (2012) #* The story starts slightly before "

The Angels Take Manhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan" is the fifth episode of the Doctor Who (series 7), seventh series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 September 2012. It is the last in th ...

", and reinvents the episode from River Song's point of view. It was released exclusively as an

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

. The story is also available to download in audio form via the BBC website AudioGO. # ''Summer Falls'' (2013) #* A book written by the character

Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond (also known as Amy Williams) is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion of the series protagonist the Doctor, in his el ...

and featured in the episode "

The Bells of Saint John "The Bells of Saint John" is the sixth episode of the Doctor Who (series 7), seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2013 on BBC One; the episode was the ...

". It was released exclusively as an

. The story is also available to download in audio form via the BBC Website AudioGO. # ''The Devil in the Smoke'' (2013) #* A book featuring the adventures of Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax, the crime-busting, alien-fighting trio. It was released exclusively as an

. The story is also available to download in audio form via the BBC website AudioGO. # ''The Official Cookbook'' (2016) # ''Whographica: An infographic guide to space and time'' (2016) # ''The Whoniverse'' (2016)

Notes

* '' The Clockwise Man'': page 120, '' The Monsters Inside'': page 136, '' Winner Takes All'': page 22, ''

'': page 162, ''

'': page 113 * ''The Story of Martha'' itself was written by Dan Abnett. However the four short stories that alternate with the main plot were written by David Roden, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis,

Robert Shearman Robert Charles Shearman, sometimes credited as Rob Shearman, is an English television, radio, stage play and short story writer. He is known for his World Fantasy Award-winning short stories, as well as his work for ''Doctor Who'', and his as ...

, and

Simon Jowett Simon Jowett is a British author and scriptwriter. Biography His early work was in comics, as the writer of the James Bond stories ''Silent Armageddon'' (1993, drawn by John M. Burns) and ''Shattered Helix'' (1994, drawn by David Jackson, ov ...

. * Although the Doctor is not travelling with a TV series companion, the blurb of these books indicates that he has a temporary companion for that story: June in ''The Slitheen Excursion'', Nikki in ''Judgement of the Judoon'', and Emma in ''The Sontaran Games''.

References

External links

{{Doctor Who books, selected=New Series Adventures Book series introduced in 2005