I've never seen a more prophetic trading card:

The New Adventures

Are the New Adventures novels "real" in the context of the show? Generally, only the primary medium and author of a work are considered canonical; for example, only printed stories by Arthur Conan Doyle form the Sherlock Holmes "canon." But in the years since the Seventh Doctor's final stories aired in 1989, there has been no new Who in its primary medium of television, and nine of the New Adventures published to date are by the same writers as the tv adventures. Some fans believe that only the 1963-1989 tv series should be considered canon, while others believe that the New Adventures and Missing Adventures novels should be provisionally accepted as "real"—at least until the Doctor returns to tv (we hope!). Only in printed media do we find such latter-day companions as Bernice Summerfield et al to read about and enjoy. Whether she's real or not, one thing is certain: the Doctor's adventures continue, somehow, somewhere.

sometimes a coming-of-age story is about holding your abusive mother as a baby and although you won’t reconcile with her in the present you begin to understand how generational trauma may have affected her behaviour towards you long ago. sometimes a coming-of-age story is also about defeating sea vampire nazis through the power of faith and befriending a communist and a devastating betrayal from your space mentor . and in the end it’s about taking your hair out of the constricting netting that’s been holding it and diving for a swim into the wild swirling waters

I love how Ian Reddington has played two villains in the Doctor Who universe: the Chief Clown, who barely has a line of dialogue and whose silence is a huge part of how scary he is, and Nobody No-One, who as an audio villain—whose power comes from words—is entirely voice. And he absolutely kills it both times.

doctor who + notable quotes

Come one people. I love Wilf but Ace should be absolutely kicking his butt in this showdown. Can't believe he's in the lead by that much.

Who is the best companion to get intoxicated with?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

I wasn't sure what to draw so I thought to try to draw Ace since I thought that I mostly drew the doctor a lot why not at least draw one of his companions (which funny enough ace is one of my favorites)

literally what happened

original:

Sylvester McCoy And Matt Smith, 2024

Lots of recommendations under the cut so I don't clog up peoples' dashes.

If you want something in the Mel era, but with a somewhat darker than usual tone like the later parts of his TV era I highly recommend The Fires of Vulcan. It's a pure historical set in Pompeii in the lead up to the eruption. Both Sylvester and Bonnie give amazing performances and have a great dynamic together.

If you want something with TV era Ace and especially if you liked Remembrance of the Daleks then I definitely recommend The Assassination Games. It's set between S25 and S26 and reunites them with Gilmore and his proto-UNIT team "Counter-Measures". They have a spinoff series on audio and this (though it was made after that had started) is set not long after Remembrance for the team and shows it being set up.

Sidenote: I highly recommend the Counter-Measures series... well the first four box sets, after that they rebooted it and set it in the 70s and the 60s atmosphere, style and setting were what made me love it so I didn't stick with it after that.

For post Survival stories but before anyone else joins the team of Seven and Ace I highly recommend both The Grey Man of the Mountain (which reunites Seven and Ace with the Brigadier) and The Fearmonger (which is a brilliant and dark story that does really well with the Seven and Ace dynamic especially in the last episode).

Now for new teams on audio: I highly recommend the entire Seven, Ace and Hex era. He makes a brilliant addition to the team and their whole dynamic is incredible. The Harvest is his first story and it's a brilliant one. Can't say too much without spoilering it but definitely worth getting to see if you want more. Other particularly special highlights of that era for me are: LIVE 34, The Settling, Muse of Fire, Enemy of the Daleks. There is another particular highlight but it is veeeeeery much not standalone so I won't include it here.

For the Doctor at the end of his era leading up to the TVM the best story of that bunch is easily Valhalla in my opinion. Does a great job of showing how the Doctor has ended up and exploring his character in that state.

I am once again asking for your help, Big Finish fans.

What are you favorite Sylvester McCoy audio dramas?

Definitely do yourself a favour and try the Hex audios. Hex is brilliant and most of his stories are too. He has such a great dynamic with Seven and Ace, they really are one of the perfect TARDIS teams.

Doctor Who Daily Challenge

From @doctorwhogirlie

Day 6: favorite male companion

I suspect it would be Hex if I'd listened to his audios. But for now, Rory.

Every Doctor Who Story → The Curse of Fenric.

“Love and hate, frightening feelings, especially when they're trapped struggling beneath the surface. Don't be frightened of the water.”

OMG Chris is actually winning a poll for once. I'm so happy. Go vote for him and increase his too narrow lead!

Who is the best character to get intoxicated with?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

The Timewyrm is one of the best Wilderness Years characters simply because artists drew her in so many different ways:

Concept art (DWM 167)

Concept art (Andy Lambert, DWM 182)

Concept art (Andy Lambert, DWM 305)

The New Adventures Prologue (Paul Vyse, DWM 175)

Timewyrm: Genesys (Andrew Skilleter)

Fanart by Paul Cooke

Blacklight: The Art of Andrew Skilleter

The Last Word (Lee Sullivan)

I'm sick again so I'm sitting in bed painting instead of at work. I know this one isn't a novel, but it's still part of the VNA continuity so it counts, ok?

ID: a fan cover for The Shadow of the Scourge by Paul Cornell. His name is at the top in blocky green letters and the title is at the bottom in blocky purple letters. In the middle is the Seventh Doctor painted in greyscale except for his eyes, which glow green. Jagged purple insect legs stick out around him, a purple insectoid face with glowing green eyes leans over his head, and purple insect wings flare to either side. At the bottom, four green ovals hold simple images of a needle and thread, a clock, a peace sign, and an unborn baby. The scene is framed by a white rectangle with up/down buttons at the top like an elevator door. end ID.

Just saw this; great little vid about Ace's jacket and badges.

doctor who + notable quotes

So sad to see Ace losing. I love Donna, but come on. Ace is just Ace. her dynamic with her Doctor is incredible. he was basically priming her as his replacement. If the classic series hadn't ended when it did she would've been the first human to train as a Time Lord.

She's such a brilliant character.

Who is your favourite companion?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

propaganda under the cut

Ace McShane

She's brilliant. One of the best written and developed companions of the classic series, such a template for the modern era. So many different fates and stories across the different media. If you don't love her in one you're bound to in another. And then she got her return in the new era to boot. Oh yeah; and beating the crap out of a Dalek with a Gallifreyan enhanced baseball bat. What a legend. she's... ACE! (@seven-times-champion /@elden-12 )

Ace is the natural predecessor to modern female companions. She's a fighter, smart, caring, an explosives "expert", a match for the Doctor despite being so young. She follows her own morality, will smash a dalek with a baseball bat no problem, and has a banging wardrobe! (anonymous)

Donna Noble

you already know who she is bc she's the most iconic companion of all time. imagine teleporting into the tardis on the worst day of the doctor's life (so far) and not clocking any of his angst and SCREAMING at him to take you back to your wedding not only is this THE funniest introduction it's symbolizing how she saw the doctor at their worst, underneath the front that they put up, and due to this she understands them on a level like nothing else and changes their life forever. "you don't just need someone to stop you, you need someone to keep you going". AHHHHHH. she isn't in love with the doctor she calls them out whenever they're being awful and need to be whacked on the back of the head. she is filled with so much compassion for the smallest person she reminds ten of the kindness that was beaten out of him and she is so so loving to everyone except for herself. she loves her trans daughter so much. she changed the narrative of the doctor back from the tragedy it was into something hopeful. healing is real and possible through the power of queerplatonic relationships actually. donna sweep or i blow up the website (@aq2003 )