7 and Ace

[NightJim]

With my watching of Old Who finally having reached Remembrance of the Daleks I'm now properly interested in post series McCoy, both the Virgin New Adventures and Big Finish. However, there's two things that I'm not sure about, and some general confusion.

The whole Loom ideas and the Cartmel Masterplan. Neither of these seem to fit with what the Doctor became with Big Finish and the New Series, so I'd kinda like to ignore them as much as possible. If I skip Timewyrm, Cat's Cradle and Lungbarrow am I basically safe? Or does this make the whole exercise pointless?

The other aspect is Ace. I know she leaves the Doctor in the Virgin Missing adventures, but how does this all match up with Big Finish and when Hex is brought in. Is it one of those "Big Finish doesn't match up"?

I know Big Finish have done a couple of adaptions of the more popular stories. Should I just stick to them and make it easy on myself?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Don't forget the BBV.

They even did a couple movies with "Ace".

 

[Turtletrekker]

18. I'll hold. Oh, wait, you're talking about Dr. Who...

 

[Timofnine]

Ace and 7 are my favourite Doctor/companion combo and always have been! Would love to see Ace in the new series at some point :-p

 

[Stevil2001]

The whole Loom ideas and the Cartmel Masterplan. Neither of these seem to fit with what the Doctor became with Big Finish and the New Series, so I'd kinda like to ignore them as much as possible. If I skip Timewyrm, Cat's Cradle and Lungbarrow am I basically safe? Or does this make the whole exercise pointless?

Skipping Timewyrm is incredibly silly. If you're really worried about Looms, Lungbarrow is the only novel where they're anything more than window-dressing. But I'm not sure why it's such a bad thing to read a story with a continuity point you don't care for.

The other aspect is Ace. I know she leaves the Doctor in the Virgin Missing adventures, but how does this all match up with Big Finish and when Hex is brought in. Is it one of those "Big Finish doesn't match up"?

It's not very clear. In my opinion, the BF Ace/Hex stories follow the NAs, as there are BF stories that draw on Ace's NA experiences (specifically, Enemy of the Daleks). There's one BF story that introduces a memory wipe for Ace (The Prisoner's Dilemma), which can be used to explain away inconsistencies.

I know Big Finish have done a couple of adaptions of the more popular stories. Should I just stick to them and make it easy on myself?

As of now, there's only Love and War (which is good), The Highest Science (which is very much not good), and Damaged Goods (which is utterly perfect). The bulk of the NA adaptations are forthcoming, and even once they come out, there's a lot of high points that will still be unadapted.

 

[Nightowl1701]

I'm 110% certain BF will adapt Lungbarrow at some point in the next couple of years (McCoy's 30'th Anniversary as the Doctor, perhaps?), and iron out the inconsistencies then.

 

[Aldo]

Ace and 7 are my favourite Doctor/companion combo and always have been! Would love to see Ace in the new series at some point :-p

Davies wanted to use her in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures" but unfortunately Sladen passed away before that idea could be realized.

 

[NightJim]

Thanks for the help, I'll address this point first since it's pretty much why I'm asking

But I'm not sure why it's such a bad thing to read a story with a continuity point you don't care for.

From what little I've picked up of the Virgin New Adventures, and later 8's BBC Books, the authors took an approach that a lot of post series expanded lines do, that the show was never coming back. But with Who it seemed like the authors decided to go as far into left field as they could. Now the shows back the crazier stuff like Looms, and Gallifrey getting destroyed and returned by Eight seem a little ridiculous, especially what now happens with the very next version of the Doctor. The kind of stuff that is only going to get more separated from the main brand as time goes by. And since I've got a limited time, I might as well skip it.

The whole Loom ideas and the Cartmel Masterplan. Neither of these seem to fit with what the Doctor became with Big Finish and the New Series, so I'd kinda like to ignore them as much as possible. If I skip Timewyrm, Cat's Cradle and Lungbarrow am I basically safe? Or does this make the whole exercise pointless?

Skipping Timewyrm is incredibly silly. If you're really worried about Looms, Lungbarrow is the only novel where they're anything more than window-dressing.

Fair enough, that makes me feel a lot better. But why is skipping Timewyrm silly? It's that good? It's that important to what comes next? Or it just doesn't deal with the problems I'm worried about?

I know Big Finish have done a couple of adaptation of the more popular stories. Should I just stick to them and make it easy on myself?

As of now, there's only Love and War (which is good), The Highest Science (which is very much not good), and Damaged Goods (which is utterly perfect). The bulk of the NA adaptations are forthcoming, and even once they come out, there's a lot of high points that will still be unadapted.[/QUOTE]

Is Highest Science a bad adaptation, or just not good all round?

 

[Stevil2001]

Timewyrm is pretty foundational to the NAs, I think. I just can't imagine doing a systematic read of them and skipping the first four, the ones that made them what they are!

I think The Highest Science is a weak adaptation of a middling novel.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I've only read 8 of the Virgin New Adventures: "Timewyrm: Exodus," "The Highest Science," "The Pit," "Iceberg," "The Dimension Riders," "All-Consuming Fire," "Sanctuary," & "Shakedown." I can't recall the Looms being mentioned in any of them.

I also can't recall most of them being any good. "The Highest Science" was crap. "The Pit" was even worse and kinda feels like the exact same story again. "Timewyrm: Exodus" & "Shakedown" were good if only because they were written by Terrance Dicks. "All-Consuming Fire" is great if you're also into Sherlock Holmes. "Sanctuary" is f---ing fantastic!

The other problem with the Virgin New Adventures was that the relationship between the 7th Doctor & Ace becomes really toxic. (It kinda reminds me of some of the worst Capaldi/Clara moments from Season 8.)

Overall, outside of "Sanctuary," I wouldn't really recommend the Virgin New Adventures. The 1997-2005 BBC novels are generally better. And if you want some great 7th Doctor & Ace stories, check out "Illegal Alien" & "Loving the Alien" by Mike Tucker & Robert Perry.

 

[NightJim]

If I'm truly honest, I was barely going to touch Who Books. Maybe the odd one that grabbed me like "The Face of the Enemy" and "Players". I was mostly going to stick to the show and Big Finish. However there was always Bennie. I started this with the intention of seeing/hearing every companions arrival and departure, and Bennie was the non-show companion I'd heard of before I even started watching Classic, so I knew I had to address her at some point. But I figured the BF adaptations might cover it.

After watching Remembrance I ventured into maybe reading more than I had planned. Partly because of Bennie, and I was suddenly struck with how Hex worked in to all of it.

 

[Turtletrekker]

As fate would have it, today is the birthday of both Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred! Happy birthday to Doctor and companion!

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Also that of Anthony Ainley, apparently, though he's no longer with us.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

^ Also that of Anthony Ainley, apparently, though he's no longer with us.

What are you talking about? He's indestructible. The entire universe knows that! (Just keep on the look out for anyone who's name could be an anagram for "Anthony Ainley.")

 

[Rarewolf]

They even did a couple movies with "Ace".

Mindgame? Sophie just plays a nameless human


I like to think Ace was cloned at some point. And the character she plays in Shakedown (a spoilt brat) a reject.