The Dying Days (novel)

The Dying Days was the final release of the Virgin New Adventures line of Doctor Who novels (however, see "Notes", below) and the only one featuring the Eighth Doctor.

Publisher's summary
6 May 1997

The Dying Days of the Twentieth Century

On the Mare Sirenum, British astronauts are walking on the surface of Mars for the first time in over twenty years. The National Space Museum in London is the venue for a spectacular event where the great and the good celebrate a unique British achievement.

In Adisham, Kent, the most dangerous man in Britain has escaped from custody while being transported by helicopter. In Whitehall, the new Home Secretary is convinced that there is a plot brewing to overthrow the government. In west London, MI5 agents shut down a publishing company that got too close to the top secret organisation known as UNIT. And, on a state visit to Washington, the Prime Minister prepares to make a crucial speech, totally unaware that dark forces are working against him.

As the Eighth Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield discover, all these events are connected. However, soon all will be overshadowed.

This time, the Doctor is already too late.

Plot
The story begins with The Doctor holding a little girls' hand, running through the midst of the Gamma forrest. 'Run!' he said.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
 * Alexander Christian
 * Winifred Bambera
 * Edward Greyhaven
 * David Staines
 * Xznaal
 * Eve Waugh

Archaeology

 * Bernice excavated Mare Sirenum on Mars when she was twenty-four. This established her reputation as an archaeologist.

Books

 * Bernice nicked parts of her diary describing events around the UNIT/Rebel assault on Martian held London from a "tattered old paperback with a creepy eye on the cover".

The Doctor

 * The Doctor refers to himself as the Eighth Man Bound, the champion of Life and Time, The Bringer of Darkness to the Daleks and the Oncoming Storm to the Draconians. And the guy with two hearts.
 * Is calm about dying after blowing up the Martian War Rocket.
 * After being blown out of the Ice Warrior's War Rocket, the Doctor creates several balloons to slow his descent out of bin bags, curtain rings and a cannister of helium.

Cultural references from the real world

 * The whole Martian invasion is viewed as a hoax by the public, serving as a distraction to enable the Provisional Government to keep control of the country.
 * Benny looks at a John Smith and the Common Men album when she and the Doctor are searching Todd's flat.
 * Bruce Springsteen is the American President.

Gallifrey

 * Benny notices the Seal of Rassilon inside the TARDIS.
 * The Doctor left Chris Cwej on Gallifrey.

Governments

 * David Staines is Home Secretary of the United Kingdom government.

History

 * Bernice's 20th century knowledge speciality actually ranges from 1963 to 1989

Individuals

 * Lord Greyhaven makes a deal with the Ice Warriors which leads them to invade the United Kingdom.
 * Bernice is staying at the Doctor's house in Kent after getting a lift there with Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart and aM!xitsa.
 * The Brigadier mentions debriefing Jo Grant after her 'adventures' with the Doctor, one involving the Ice Warriors and Peladon. (TV: The Curse of Peladon)
 * Alexander Christian knew Jo Grant when she was studying her A levels.
 * Winifred Bambera is married to Ancelyn, who has gone with the Crown into exile, as befits a Knight of the Realm.
 * Reminds Bambera that he is still technically, retired despite being the figurehead of the anti-Martian/Greyhaven rebellion.
 * At the Queen's re-coronation, the Brigadier points out the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 to Doris.
 * Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is promoted to General by the end of this story.

Languages

 * Bernice can speak Martian.

Media

 * Eve Waugh an American news reporter.

Organisations

 * UNIT is much better funded than it was in the 1970s.
 * UNIT has a branch in Paris (called NUIT).
 * UNIT in the past has dealt with the Bandril and Drahvin attempted invasions (without the Doctor's help).
 * Veronica Halliwell is Director General of MI5.
 * The Ice Warriors have an organisation called the Martian Communicators Guild.

Planets

 * Mars has a perfectly breathable (though a bit chilly) atmosphere, but the soil is almost completely infertile.
 * Water is a source of great wealth on Mars.
 * The Arcturan Treaty of 2085 is the 'official' date of peaceful first contact with aliens.
 * The Sword of Tuburr is mentioned.

Species

 * Xznaal, despite being an Ice Lord, doesn't wear the traditional armour. He wears the shell of a Warrior. This makes him eccentric and is an insight into his mindset according to Benny (he's militaristic and close-minded).

Technology

 * The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to reflect a Ice Warrior sonic blast.
 * Bernice knows how to isolate electrics from the fuel supply of a 20th century helicopter.

Timeline

 * Benny receives a letter (from 2593) offering her the Edward Watkins chair of archaeology at St. Oscar's University, Dellah.
 * The Brigadier met the Eighth Doctor in Hong Kong in 1988 when they discovered the secret of the Embodiment of Gris.

Vehicles

 * The Brigadier kept Bessie in mothballs for the Doctor and waits for the Doctor in the UNIT parking bays for him with the car.

Continuity

 * The Doctor regenerated in TV: Doctor Who.
 * The Doctor delivers Benny to Dellah for the start of the Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures Oh No It Isn't!.
 * The Brigadier refers to debriefing Jo Grant after the events of TV: The Curse of Peladon.
 * Kadiatu and aM!xitsa last appeared in PROSE: Happy Endings.
 * Benny asks how Martians can invade Britian now, but she also has Martians at her wedding. (PROSE: Happy Endings).
 * In TV: The Christmas Invasion there is question of whether or not aliens are Martians and confirmed not to be the case.
 * Benny previously met the Brigadier in PROSE: No Future and he attended her wedding in Happy Endings (which is subjectively in the future for the Brigadier).
 * The previous Mars missions are mentioned including the meeting of the Ambassadors (TV: The Ambassadors of Death).
 * The Doctor left Chris on Gallifrey in PROSE: Lungbarrow.
 * Chris Cwej returns in PROSE: Deadfall.
 * Bambera first met the Doctor in TV: Battlefield.
 * The fictional book-within-a-book Who Killed Kennedy is mentioned, as are its authors James Stevens and David Bishop. Supposedly, UNIT altered the dates within the book to change them from the actual dates. Stevens is said to have "gone to ground", referring to his disappearance in January 1996. On that occasion, he travelled back in time to Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy) On the other hand, Bishop is mentioned as still being in London.
 * In TV: Aliens of London / World War Three the public are again given practically unquestionable knowledge of aliens existing and (again) it is seen as a hoax.
 * The Doctor's House first appeared in PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead.
 * Veronica Halliwell originally appeared (and died) in PROSE: System Shock.
 * Susan was listening to John Smith and the Common Men in TV: An Unearthly Child.
 * PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet is the first novel to mention a re-coronation of the Queen. But this was actually Lawrence Miles explaining a continuity problem in TV: Battlefield (a throwaway line of there being a King).
 * The Doctor tells Benny that she is his longest-serving companion as of that time.
 * The final chapter strongly implies that a sexual encounter takes place between Benny and the Doctor. For years this was a matter of debate and speculation, until it was confirmed in AUDIO: Benny's Story.