BBC New Series Adventures

The BBC New Series Adventures is a banner under which the series of novels published by BBC Books featuring the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors have been collected since 2005. This line is the successor to BBC Books' prior Doctor Who fiction lines, the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures and BBC Past Doctor Adventures.

Behind the chapter numbers in the books are symbols similar to the "Gallifreyan writing" seen in the series. The same symbols appear on the spines, and are referred to as Gallifreyan numbers by fans. The recurring patterns in the symbols suggest that Time Lords count in base seven, although a recurring error means that the symbol for 13 is accidentally replaced by the symbol for 11 every time it should appear. This system is not continuing beyond the Tenth Doctor novels.

To date, all NSA releases have utilized photographs of the lead actors as part of the cover design, returning to a practice last used by Target Books during the Peter Davison era.

Ninth Doctor
Launched in mid-2005, the New Series Adventures introduced a new format for Doctor Who fiction - paperback-sized hardcovers with smaller word count than the previous EDA and PDA lines. For a few months the "NSA" line coexisted with the EDA and PDA lines until they were retired at the end of 2005.

With this series of books, BBC Books also established a release pattern it has continued ever since, releasing the books in batches of three at least twice a year. The books are considered standalone and, thus, may be read in any order (at least among a particular set of three).

Unlike past fiction lines, there was some effort to tie the books more closely to television continuity, most notably the first-ever direct reference to a novel occurring in the episode DW: Boom Town, in which Rose Tyler referenced a location she and the Doctor had visited in the novel NSA: The Monsters Inside. Supporting characters Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler also appeared in NSA: Winner Takes All.

The novels tended to reflect changes in the cast. The first three books featured the Ninth Doctor travelling with Rose, while the second set of three feature Rose and Jack Harkness as companions. The first three novels probably take place between DW: World War Three and The Empty Child, and the latter three (which feature Captain Jack) between The Doctor Dances and Boom Town.

This line of novels continued to be issued following Christopher Eccleston's departure from the series until the end of 2005, after which the series continued, featuring the Tenth Doctor in 2006.

Cancelled Novel

 * Rain of Terror by Mike Tucker was originally listed in the second batch of three novels, but was replaced by The Stealers of Dreams without explanation. As of 2011 this novel remains unreleased.

Tenth Doctor
With the coming of the Tenth Doctor era, BBC Books continued its New Series Adventures line in 2006 featuring the new incarnation. Once again, the books were published more-or-less in connection with a particular cast line-up in the series, with the first six books featuring Rose Tyler, after which Martha Jones was featured in 12 consecutive novels, the most of any companion to date. Donna Noble was then featured in only four books. Wilfred Mott appears in the final novel featuring Donna, NSA: Beautiful Chaos.

Following the events of DW: Journey's End, the books changed format somewhat, and beginning with NSA: The Eyeless, published in late 2008, the books featured the Doctor travelling alone, with no ongoing companions. Also published was NSA: The Story of Martha, a short story collection that returned Martha Jones to the NSA line for one book, and was the first NSA book to be a direct tie-in with a televised episode (it takes place during the events of DW: The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords). All NSA novels issued during 2009 featured returning alien races and villains from the TV series.

The final three Tenth Doctor novels were published in September 2009.

Two new spin-off lines were introduced during the 2006-2009 period. Quick Reads, an annual series of paperback novellas intended to promote literacy, was launched in 2006 with NSA: I am a Dalek. This spin-off line featured the return of longtime Doctor Who novelist and scriptwriter Terrance Dicks to the world of Doctor Who fiction. A total of five Tenth Doctor novellas have been published in this line, with the last scheduled to be issued in March 2010.

Also launched during this period, in conjunction with BBC Audio, were a series of original made-for-audio stories performed by cast members of the series. The first of these, Pest Control, was issued in 2008, and a total of seven Tenth Doctor stories were published in this form into 2010. David Tennant has performed most of these, with Catherine Tate and Michelle Ryan also performing some.

All of the Tenth Doctor novels (except for the Quick Reads series) have been released as audio books. The first three were read by David Tennant. After that, other actors from the series replaced Tennant, who did not reappear as narrator until the made-for-audio stories. The other actors include Freema Agyeman, Georgia Moffett, Anthony Head and Adjoa Andoh. Most of these audio books are abridged, however some of the most recent novels have been released as unabridged audio books that are only available for download.

The Tenth Doctor also appeared in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, a release in the BBC The Sarah Jane Adventures novelisations line. Although the cover art matches the format of the NSA line, the book, published by Penguin Character Books, is not considered part of the New Series Adventures.

Eleventh Doctor
The New Series Adventures line continued into 2010 with novels featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond. The first set of three were released in April 2010, with more novels released later in the year.

The books had some design changes from past releases to incorporate the new Doctor Who logo that has been introduced for the new era. The most noticeable change is that the books are taller than those published for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors (closer in height to the Torchwood novels). They also no longer include the Gallifreyan numerical symbols that had appeared on the spine of the NSA books during the Eccleston and Tennant eras.

Three audio-exclusive stories have also been announced for release as of March 2010. Also as of March 2010 it has not been announced whether the Quick Reads line will continue; as the 2010 release is a Tenth Doctor story, the earliest an Eleventh Doctor Quick Reads is expected to appear is in 2011.

In October 2010 a special standalone New Series Adventures release occurred with The Coming of the Terraphiles by noted fantasy author Michael Moorcock. The series continued again in 2011, with the release of three books in April and another three in June. As well as this, a new concept of 2 in 1 books was put into action. The stories in these books were shorter than those in normal books but there were two of them per book, set at some point after Series 5, written by two different authors.