The Hiatus: Doctor Who’s Most Prolific Period?

As every Whovian knows, Doctor Who is chock full of paradoxes and reality-twisting concepts. It seems only fitting, then, that the 16 years between episode three of “Survival” and “Rose,” a time when Doctor Who was not on the television and, according to the BBC, “on hiatus,” turned out to be some of the most productive years for the show. Indeed, one could argue that it’s because of the hiatus that the BBC even entertained the idea of bringing the show back in 2005.

The reasons why Doctor Who was, effectively, canceled in 1989 differ depending on who you talk to. They include the fact that the ratings were slipping, the Director General of the BBC hated the show, the scripts weren’t good, it was competing against the long-running soap opera Coronation Street (and losing), and a whole myriad of other reasons. The fact is, when the Seventh Doctor and Ace walked off into the sunset, many at the BBC thought that was the last they’d seen of the old Time Lord. And many thought no-one would care, except for a few “anoraks” (i.e., spotty geeks who like that weird kind of sci-fi stuff).

What happened between 1989 and 2005, however, was something quite remarkable. First, Doctor Who Magazine, a magazine tied to the TV show, didn’t stop. People kept buying it, and so, even though there wasn’t a Doctor Who show being produced, they kept publishing. In 1991, Virgin Publishing started a series of “New Adventures” novels featuring the Seventh Doctor, and a series of “Missing Adventures” stories, featuring previous incarnations of the Time Lord.

In 1996, Who fans were delighted to see the Doctor return in a TV movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. This was a co-production between the BBC and Fox in the US, and was supposed to pilot a new series. Ratings in the UK were very encouraging; but not so much in the US. The series didn’t happen, but even this didn’t put an end to Doctor Who. BBC Books reclaimed the publishing license, and began producing a series of Eighth Doctor novels. They also published “Past Doctor” adventures, which meant that while the show was off the air, at least two new Doctor Who stories would be available to fans every month.

If that wasn’t enough, in 1999, a company called Big Finish started making radio plays, under license from the BBC, starring past incarnations of the Doctor, and his companions. In 2001, the Eighth Doctor joined the ranks of the audio Doctors. These adventures, both with the Eighth Doctor and other Doctors continue to this day, with CDs coming out every month. Indeed, if you combine the books and the Big Finish audios, the Eighth Doctor is by far the most prolific, and the longest-serving of all the Doctors–even though he has spent little more than an hour on our TV screens.

To get a good idea of how many Doctor Who stories have been released since 1989, check out these lists:

• A list of original Virgin “New Adventures” novels
• A list of original Virgin “Missing Adventures” novels
• A list of BBC “Eighth Doctor Adventures” novels
• A list of BBC “Past Doctor Adventures” novels
• A list of Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures

I haven’t mentioned the webcasts, the fan productions, the DVD range of classic stories, and all the other merchandising that went on during those 16 “dark” years. I’m convinced that when the Head of Drama approached Russell T. Davies in 2003 about bringing back Doctor Who, the fact that the show was very much alive in the consciousness of thousands, if not millions, was a big factor.

Have you read any Doctor Who original novels (i.e., not novelizations of TV stories), or heard any of the Big Finish audios? Your thoughts on these, or the hiatus? Let’s talk…!

Slightly off-topic: CNN is running a story today about Doctor Who, the fans, and the 50th anniversary. See HERE.