#roz forrester

[daughterofheartshaven]

A Virgin New Adventures reading guide

I told @gotyouanyway that I'd give them my reading guide for the Virgin New adventures that I made for a friend a while back and posting it publicly was easy and also means other people can use this too. I wrote this back in 2021, but stand by it from what I remember. It has been like 5-6 years since I read some of these books, so if I rated your favorite too low lemme know and I'll give it a re-read.

This might not be that helpful if you want to pick just a few books - I designed it more to streamline VNA experiance

The key:

1 - I'd recommend skipping

2 - Eh. You can skip, but there is at least something to be gained by reading it

3 - I would recommend reading this. It's not plot-critical, but it is a good read or useful setup

4 - Read this for sure. It's either plot-relevant, or just that damn good (or both).

Timewyrm: Genesys - 4 (introduces the timewyrm and the series; unfortunately it's also not great.)

Timewyrm: Exodus - 3 (continues the timewyrm story, and is a fairly straightforward but interesting story)

Timewyrm: Apocalypse - 2 (eh. Not much for or against it either way)

Timewyrm: Revelation - 4 (concludes the timewyrm arc with style)

Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible - 3 (Good if you can wrap you head around it)

Cat's Cradle: Warhead - 2 (depressing as all get out, but very well written)

Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark - 3 (just plain weird. Does finish the current arc and sets up Return of the Living Dad)

Nightshade - 2 (kinda weird. Notable as the first Mark Gatiss story)

Love and War - 4 (plot-relevant. Also awesome)

Transit -4 (Introduces important recurring character. Hard to follow but really good even if you can't follow it)

The Highest Science - 3 (good story, but ultimately not amazingly important)

The Pit - 1 (I did not enjoy)

Deceit - 4 (Not a great read, but important to the plot)

Lucifer Rising - 4 (Amazing, with important character development for our protagonists)

White Darkness - 2 (first David A. McIntee novel, but not especially gripping)

Shadowmind - 3 (good demonstration of where Ace and Benny are as characters, vaguely interesting plot)

Birthright - 3 (good character piece for Ace and Benny, shows a darker side to the Doctor without being dumb about it)

Iceberg - 2 (plot is messy and weird. Only read if you need the Doctor's half of the story from Birthright)

Blood Heat - 4 (starts alternate universe arc, important developments for the Tardis)

The Dimension Riders - 2 (gonna be honest here - I don't remember a thing about this one either way)

The Left-Handed Hummingbird - 3 (first Kate Orman novel. Pretty good, although a little weird and hard to follow)

Conundrum - 3 (Be prepared for weirdness. And superheroes. Helps setup for No Future and Head Games)

No Future - 4 (concludes the alternate universe arc with style, establishes Ace from here on out)

Tragedy Day - 3 (dark, but good. Worth a read)

Legacy - 3 (Kinda dark, but it works. Be prepared for over-continuity)

Theatre of War - 4 (Pulls off one of the best plot twists I've seen anywhere, and introduces Braxieatel to the Whoniverse)

All-Consuming Fire - 4 (Not plot-relevent at all, but is very good, especially if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan)

Blood Harvest - 4 (Major plot point in the Whoniverse)

Strange England - 2 (takes strangeness to an art form. Can be freely skipped)

First Frontier - 4 (plot relevant for spoiler-y reasons)

St Anthony's Fire - 2 (dark and weird, but well written)

Falls the Shadow - 1 (Just... no)

Parasite - 1 (Written by Jim Mortimore, therefore depressing as all get out)

Warlock - 2 (I did not read. Sequel to Warhead, so only read if you liked it)

Set Piece - 4 (major plot developments for multiple characters)

Infinite Requiem - 2 (like The Dimension Riders, I remember nothing)

Sanctuary - 3 (a pure historical. Not really great on its own, but helps set up Human Nature)

Human Nature - 4 (The story that was adapted to TV. One of the best New Adventures by itself, becomes even better by having fun comparing it to the TV version)

Original Sin - 4 (plot-relevant)

Sky Pirates! - 2 (Only if you like Douglas-Adams-esque dark humor)

Zamper - 3 (Somewhat interesting follow-up to The Highest Science)

Toy Soldiers - 2 (Adds pretty much nothing, but not painfully bad) 

Head Games - 4 (a worthwhile look at where the Doctor has been going and who he is)

The Also People - 4 (probably my favorite New Adventure, although Theatre of War and Human Nature are also up there. Also resolves a recurring character's arc)

Shakedown - 3 (Fun, but ultimately fluff)

Just War - 2 (Weird and ultimately unimportant)

Warchild - 2 (Same situation as Warlock. Starts Psi arc, but can be skipped)

SLEEPY - 4 (Generally good story, sets up Psi arc if you skipped Warchild)

Death and Diplomacy - 3 (only worthwhile as setup for Happy Endings)

Happy Endings - 4 (Plot relevant. Ultimately fluff, but plot-relevant)

GodEngine - 4 (not plot-relevant, but an excellent story)

Christmas on a Rational Planet - 2 (part of Psi arc, and lays groundwork for Faction Paradox stuff, but I couldn't really follow it)

Return of the Living Dad - 4 (cleans up old plot threads, and is a great story in its own right)

Cold Fusion - 4 (Not plot relevant, but an excellent, gripping story)

The Death of Art - 2 (part of Psi arc, but not great)

Damaged Goods - 2 (Russel T. Davis's first Who work, but very dark and nasty)

So Vile a Sin - 4 (finishes Psi arc and has other plot relevance)

Bad Therapy - 2 (deals mostly with repercussions of previous story, but not great in and of itself)

Eternity Weeps - 1 (Jim Mortimore's writing is too depressing for me. Technically plot relevant in that Benny and Jason get divorced but not worth it)

The Room With No Doors - 4 (setup for Lungbarrow, good story in its own right)

Lungbarrow - 4 (concludes the new adventures of the seventh doctor in a surprisingly meaningful way)

The Dying Days - 4 (a nice little coda to the series that sets up Benny's adventures as well)

[wgough42]

Discuss

[legok9]

Doctor Who cover art by Jon Sullivan

The Death of Art

So Vile a Sin cover

The Room With No Doors

Oh No It Isn't!

Ship of Fools

Deadfall

Oblivion

Dry Pilgrimage

Where Angels Fear

via Jon Sullivan's ArtStation

[dalesramblingsblog]

Why do the first three EDAs of 1998 seem to decide all of a sudden that Sam is a chronic fingernail-biter? As far as I can recall there was no hint of that trait from The Eight Doctors through to Alien Bodies. It almost seems like an attempt to set something up for Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum to use as a signifier of how far she's moved on in her four-year absence from the TARDIS in Seeing I but from doing a quick scan of that book it's not mentioned at all.

Really does sum up the recurring issues they're having with defining Sam. When they're not focusing on her body in a very MenWritingWomen kind of way, that is.

(There's a passage where Sam recognises "the line of her breasts" and frankly with how often the authors like bringing them up or putting her in a wet T-shirt or having her be exposed to creepy leering sex pests - or both, as happens in Option Lock, woo! - I can't blame her. God it's just so weird, how have we gone from Roz Forrester, Bernice Summerfield and Ace to... this, in a little over a year.)

[familyparadox]

The Fact that Chris Cwej is in “Last Day: part 2” is so funny because he was also in Lungbarrow, both stories see the seventh Doctor being sent of to collect the Master remains. Lungbarrow is actually the story in which Cwej leaves the Doctor. Like how does that work? Roz being there is even more ridiculous because she should be dead by this point? Is this Post Lungbarrow Cwej? If so is this is First, Third or Fourth Body? Is is just some random Cwejen rocking up like the ones in the Bernice Summerfield audio? Not to mention how is Roz there? She should be dead? Benny being there was already wild but Cwej and Roz being here? How does that work? Are they going to bring Roz back to life somehow? Is Cwej on a mission from the Time Lords to kill the Doctor to alter some key event in the War in Heaven? Will Christine Summerfield get a name drop? Will this audio finally solve the mystery of the Seventh Doctor’s encounter with Faction Paradox? I am so excited for this mess.

[vikingschism]

Continuing my readthrough of the Doctor Who Virgin New Adventures, I finished reading Damaged Goods the other day. This book was Russel T Davies' first published foray into Who and it was an absolute banger. Many of these novels don't really hold up to much scrutiny as a reader, but this is one of the few that I think really stands out - not just as a Doctor Who novel, but a novel that is worth reading.

The Doctor and companions find themselves on earth, trying to ingratiate themselves with the residents of a working class housing estate - given what RTD would go on to write in the main show, this sort of setting should sound instantly familiar. However, we cannot forget that these are the VNAs and thus there is a level of grit and grime that feel more like they come from Torchwood. This book gets dark. I can handle that, but it's definitely something to be wary of if you're interested in reading the book.

The main enemy of the book was a really fun concept, definitely one that special effects would struggle to keep up with but in prose can really shine. And speaking of the prose the novel is written well - there's some great lines in here. I particularly love The Doctor describing the challenge of ingratiating themselves with the different households on the estate as having to "breach 76 fortresses". That's a wonderfully evocative bit of dialogue.

And I really have to give RTD praise for the characters - they're well drawn and compelling. One of them is a gay man who is roiling in self-loathing, there's a mother desperate to give her children a better life than her, and a teenage girl who saw something many years ago (as well as The Doctor) but wants nothing more than to have nothing to do with it. And that's only naming a few - all of the characters have their internal struggles and these are all well done.

In all, I highly recommend the novel. I will caveat that it is dark and not for the faint of heart - expect a similar level of grimness as Torchwood: Children of Earth had. The book was a great time though, and I will look forward to seeing how So Vile A Sin continues this little arc that's developed over the past few books.

[st4rshiptr00per]

new favorite piece of roz characterization actually. boomer who thinks its bullshit youre not allowed to smoke indoors anymore

[thebraxiatelcollection]

I love Chris and Roz's relationship in the vnas so much. Chris is the definition of a golden retriever, and Roz Forrester reminds me of a Siamese cat.

[dalesramblingsblog]

The thing to understand about Chibnall (well, there are several things, but we only have time for one) is that, first and foremost... he writes cop shows. Broadchurch is the obvious one, yes, but he also wrote for Life on Mars, and parlayed his work on Torchwood into showrunning Law & Order: UK, which ironically served to prevent Children of Earth and Miracle Day from having Freema Agyeman return as Martha so lol. And I think that's really at the heart of his rather chronically milquetoast/centrist political outlook. Even beyond Yaz, you can see this in Flux, with Vinder's whole backstory basically being a lost episode of Line of Duty, complete with a guest spot from Craig Parkinson.

And honestly "cop as Doctor Who companion" was done much better thirty years ago and her name was Roslyn Forrester. Then again, it helped that she was very pointedly a futuristic space cop in the vein of Judge Dredd, a series which comes with anti-cop satire practically baked in. Roz is a cop, and not a very nice one at that, but the novels at least recognise that fact and give her the designated role of "person in the regular cast who will go along with whatever awful thing Seven has decided he's going to do this month, even if she argues with him about it a bit."

(It also undoubtedly helps that it's a consistent throughline in the New Adventures that Seven has strayed from the Doctorly ideal, so picking up two cops as his latest companions feels a bit more pointed than it does in the case of Thirteen, who was just one regeneration prior telling Clara "I'm not the police, that's just what it says on the box.")

The Roz/Seven dynamic is spiky and toxic, but it never pretends to be anything else, and it's also complex and challenging in a way that Thirteen's era and its handling of Yaz could pretty much never dream. If there had been a moment on par with "History kills people and sometimes even you can't save them" in the Chibnall Era, I'd probably be a lot less hard on it.

But then again I guess that's why Kate Orman remains the GOAT.

i really did enjoy the 13th doctor HOWEVER, if i could change anything (other than chibnall's flmisy political messaging) i wouldve made yaz a social worker in training. it literally made no sense to make her a cop, especially when she was constantly comparing herself to the doctor, who is literally the opposite of a cop in every way. and if she had to start off as a cop, she should have resigned and pursued social work or something similar that matched her backstory as a trouble teen AND the doctor's pacifist ideology. the idea that she felt a renewed interest in becoming a cop was sp dumb. why the fuck did he make the doctor's companion a cop when they fucking hateeee people of authority. wwtdd? not be a fucking cop

[floridianfireflyfaith]

Roz straight-up Forrest Gumping towards Paddler will never not be funny. 😂

[michelada12]

Just an average night at KFAM 189.16 📻

[dialogue from Frasier]

[dalesramblingsblog]

This week on Dale's Ramblings, Dave Stone finally concludes his Clockwork Trilogy some two years after the last instalment, and Jason and Roz return to round out one last hurrah for the classic New Adventures companions.

Or the ones to which Virgin still have the rights, at any rate...

Like what I write? Consider supporting me on Ko-fi!

[daughterofheartshaven]

And the art thief

a monk who the Doctor wanted to annoy

a tramp

and the heat vampire

I just love the seventh doctor companions

Obviously we got Mel and Ace

And that dead woman's son

And the soldier from the organisation that killed that guy's mother

And another soldier from the army

A space archeologist that hasn't got a degree

And her husband

A bigoted future cop

A future cop with a big dick

Werewolf girl

His future self's companion that one time

Harry sullivan

Another fourth doctor companion

Anti dalek propaganda macho man hero replica with a chainsaw and a greasy ponytail

The real anti dalek macho man hero with a chainsaw and a greasy ponytail

Nazi from an alternate timeline

That woman from the alternate timeline the alternate timeline Nazi made because from her point of view the normal timeline was an alternate timeline so she alternated it

The nazi's friend in a timeline where she isn't a nazi

the one the doctor delivered as a baby

The android he built because he was lonely

And Wolsey the cat

[familyparadox]

How does one think the 7th Doctor’s first meeting with the Faction went down. We know Seven met the Faction Paradox before Alien Bodies but we have no details of this encounter.

Out of universe is is clearly a reference to the VNA version of Alien Bodies but I often wonder how the in universe meeting happened. To me it seems that Roz and Cwej would have been with them and involved the Klade as mentioned in Father Time (however is could Fitz and Anjie with eight)

[vikingschism]

Continuing my readthrough of the Doctor Who Virgin New Adventures I finished reading The Death of Art by Simon Bucher-Jones the other day. Set in Paris in the late 19th century, the TARDIS crew are trying to avert some catastrophe that is due to happen (which will destroy history, naturally) and The Doctor thinks psychic powers might have something to do with it.

Not going to bury the lede on this one, it was a bit of a confusing mess. By the end it resolved itself into a fairly clear story, but along the way I was constantly unsure what was going on. The experience of reading it was almost dreamlike in a sense; scenes would shift with little to no connection and characters come in and out of prominence with no fanfare. I don't think this was fully intentional however, and it made the book very slow to read.

The concept behind the aliens in this story was cool, however it didn't help with the confusion as there was a lot of jargon introduced very quickly. Again, later on this became more obvious when it was clear what they actually were, but the first few scenes appear so unconnected to the other scenes going on that it's hard to latch on to them. I think that a concept like this could only really be done in a book if executed like it was here - it would definitely be hard to do in a visual medium.

The Doctor and crew were fine here, Chris gets a fun plotline where he has to infiltrate the Parisian police, and ends up needing to pretend to be The Doctor. The Doctor has his fingers in many pies and gets to engage in a bit of scheming. Roz, meanwhile, seems to get the short end of the stick and doesn't get a ton to do. There is some insight on her past though which is interesting. The other supporting characters and villains aren't too interesting overall.

The book does bring back The Shadow Directory from Christmas on a Rational Planet, however they don't seem to do all that much here. The callback does make sense at least seeing as the book is set in Paris.

The next book in the series is Damaged Goods by Russel T Davies, and I'm already halfway through. It's a good one. Expect a review for that one soon.

[companion-showdown]

Showdown 2k25

Just like last year I want to kick January off with a flat popularity contest, showdown 2k25.

Automatically competing - everyone from last year (list), with the following exceptions

Last years winner - Donna Noble

Possibly Rose Tyler as the 2023 winner, but I need to think on it a bit more

I'm going to reassess a few from last year, specifically the real people

Rules for new nominees (tardis wiki list referenced below)

Anyone on the list will automatically be accepted

TV companions MUST be on the list

EU companions not on the list will be considered on a case by case basis. If they meet a reasonable definition of companion I will accept them, basic guideline is has their own tardis wiki article so I can actually check, multiple stories with the Doctor, none of these guidelines are hard rules, if you can justify them to me, I'll let them in

Propaganda is not carrying over from last year, if you want to go to bat for someone, use this same form

You can use this form to make multiple nominations/give multiple bits of propaganda at once.

You have until at least the 1st of January

list of competitors, anyone in green has propaganda submitted for them

Classic Who

Ace McShane

Adric

Barbara Wright

Ben Jackson

The Brigadier

Chang Lee

Dodo Chaplet

Grace Holloway

Harry Sullivan

Ian Chesterton

Jamie McCrimmon

Jo Grant

K9

Kamelion

Katarina

Leela

Liz Shaw

Mags

Mel Bush

Mike Yates

Nyssa

Peri Brown

Polly Wright

Romana I

Romana II

Sabalom Glitz

Sara Kingdom

Sarah-Jane Smith

Sergeant Benton

Steven Taylor

Susan Foreman

Tegan Jovanka

Turlough

Vicki Pallister

Victoria Waterfield

Zoe Heriot

NuWho

Adam Mitchell

Amy Pond

Bill Potts

Canton Everett Delaware III

Clara Oswald

Dan Lewis

Graham O'Brien

Grant Gordon aka the Ghost

Handles

Inston-Vee Vindor

Jack Harkness

Karvanista

Kate Stewart

Martha Jones

Mickey Smith

Missy

Nardole

River Song

Rory Williams

Rose Noble

Ruby Sunday

Ryan Sinclair

Wilfred Mott

Yasmin Khan

Audio

Alex Campbell

Anya Kingdom

Bliss

C'rizz

Cass Fermazzi

Charley Pollard

Cousin Eliza: Christine Summerfield: Horus

Dalek Test Subject 2

Erimem

Evelyn Smythe

Helen Sinclair

Hex Schofield

Iris Wildthyme

Liv Chenka

Lucie Miller

Mark Seven

Molly O'Sullivan

Narvin

Oliver Harper

Sheena (The Starship of Theseus)

Tania Bell

Novels

Anji Kapoor

Anna (Good Companions)

Badger

Barusa

Bernice Summerfield

Business woman (Time on a Vine)

Catherine “Cat” Broome

Chris Cwej

Cinder

Claudia Marwood

Compassion

Dorothy (The Wonderful Doctor of Oz)

Fitz Kreiner

Guinevere Winchester

Hector (All Flesh is Grass)

Homunculette

Ikalla

Irving Braxiatel

Jack McSpringheel

Larna

Marie (Alien Bodies)

Milena

Patience

Penelope Gate

Peter Summerfield

Rosie Taylor

Roz Forrester

Ruth Leonidas

Sam Jones

Serena

Sibling Different aka Mae

The Mortimer Family (Ida, Alan, Helen, George)

Trix MacMillan

V.M.McCrimmion

Wolsey the Cat

Zeleekhà

Comics

Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer

Alice Obifune

Angus ‘Gus’ Goodman

ARC

Chantir

Child Master (The Then and the Now)

Cindy Wu

Dave Lester

Destrii

Duh

Flanx

Fey Truscott-Sade

Frobisher

Gabby Gonzalez

Gillian & John Who

Grayla

Hattie Munroe

Izzy Sinclair

Jayne Kadett

John Jones

Josie Day

Kroton

Ly Chee the Wise

Majenta Pryce

Maxwell Edison

Olla

Rose-the-cat

Shayde

Ssard

The Squire

Weeping Angel (Origins)

Real Life

Alan Turing

Claudia Winkleman

John Lennon

Jules Verne

Mary Shelley

Peter Cushing

Other

Alison Cheney

Andy Davidson

Antimony (Death Comes to Time)

Brian the Ood

Dormouse (The Red and the Blue)

Emma (curse of fatal death)

Koschie

Romana (Battle for the Universe)

Splinx

Susan Who

Tom Campbell