A history of Dr.Who books

This article will be looking at a history of books based on the television series Dr Who, and will be providing you with information regarding the publishers, the types of stories that are included with the books and the years in which the books were published.

Original run: 1960s - 1990s

The original series of Dr Who ran on the BBC between 1963 and 1989 and due to the success of the series, it branched out in other prospects, the main one of these was embedded in literature and the Dr Who book series was launched. From 1964 until 1991, during the run of the original classic Dr Who series, the books published were novelised adaptations of the series. The book series began with the William Hartnell series arc The Daleks which was titled Dr Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks. These first novels were published by Frederick Muller Ltd. Between 1973 and 1991, Target Books published most of the Dr Who serials as novelisations. After Target's accusation by Virgin, three more serials were added. These were the John Peel stories, The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks, along with the radio serial The Paradise of Death. During this time, only five television serials did not turn into books. These were The Pirate Planet, City of Death, Shada, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks.

The 1990s onwards

After the cancellation of the series by the BBC in the late 1980s, the books continued to be published throughout the 1990s and 2000s. These books introduced the audience to the 8th doctor, as the books acted as a spin of to the television series. Due to this, the book series no longer acted as a novelisation of the television show and original stories began to be produced. Subsequently, the 1996 television series was turned into a book and published by BBC books. This book series of original stories ran for 73 novels between 1991 and 2005, and the shorelines lead for an open interpretation for their relation to the television series due to the show's structure. After the re-vamping of the show in 2005 by Russell T. Davies, a new series of books were published by BBC books to include the new 9th, 10th and 11th Dr Who. Like the previous novels published during the 1990s, these books were all original stories but incorporated the characters from the series. They are available exclusively to The Book People and Tesco. The new series of books has so far run for 48 novels with the 49th and The Silent Stars Go By due for release on 29 September 2011.