Talk:Novelizations

As well as canon issues in general we should probably work out a policy for the use of Novelizations. When it comes to writing entries for this site I would prefer to use the Novelizations for ease of use mainly. It is much easier to make entries while holding a book than it is while watching a video which needs to be paused and rewound etc. So if no one objects I propose that we write the entries from the POV of the Novelizations and then for those who wish greater clarity they can go through the entries and separate out what minor differences exist between the TV and book versions of the story. For the most part the books add to the TV show and there are only a few examples of them differing to a large extents (Im thinking the Daleks novelization but not a lot apart from that)

What does anyone else think?

--Amxitsa 16:59, 20 Mar 2005 (EST)

I have to say that I really don't think using the novelizations as a reference source is a good idea at all. I can see that it may be more convenient but I think it would lead to many inaccuracies and inconsistencies. The novelizations frequently diverge from the broadcast story, often quite dramatically (eg The Mind Robber, The Three Doctors and The Doomsday Weapon to name just three). Even the small differences could create problems (for example, the novelization of The Wargames claims that TARDIS's are powered by 'green crystals'). So, I would strongly recommend that, wherever possible, the original source is used to originate entires in this Wiki. However, should the novelizations ever be used as the reference source it should be clearly stated.

Mantrid 05:22, 21 Mar 2005 (EST)

I'm with Mantid here. I understand Amxita's point about ease of reference, but using novelizations as a primary source could cause all sorts of errors to creep in. I'd say it's best to either use the video/DVD as reference (if possible), or state clearly that your reference is the novelization, so that another user can come in and do a pass-over for accuracy against the broadcast story. (I know that this is a pain, especially since not everyone has access to every story that's been released on video/DVD, and the missing episodes are an entirely different can of worms, but we should strive for accuracy.) --Josiah Rowe 22:43, 25 Mar 2005 (EST)