Heritage (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Heritage is a BBC Books
original novel written by first-time novelist Dale Smith and based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. It features the Seventh Doctor
and Ace
.
and Ace
arrive on Heritage in the year 6048 to visit the Heyworths, who are old friends of the Doctor's. Nobody seems to want them on the planet, and certainly not poking their noses in. But they are stuck there until the next day. The Doctor doesn't want to get involved, but Ace can't help herself: by talking to Lee Marks she finds out that the Heyworths were murdered by the townsfolk, because they threatened to disrupt Professor Wakeling's experiments into cloning. Without the cloning technology, Heritage would have nothing going for it at all.
The Doctor suspects all this, and also that the Heyworth's surviving daughter Sweetness is a clone of her mother created by Professor Wakeling. What he doesn't tell Ace is that Sweetness's mother is actually his old companion Melanie Bush
.
The Doctor confronts Wakeling and ruins his chances of announcing his discoveries to the universe. As Wakeling tries to take revenge on the Doctor, he is caught in a landslide and probably killed.
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
original novel written by first-time novelist Dale Smith and based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It features the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
and Ace
Ace (Doctor Who)
Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.
Plot
The Seventh DoctorSeventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
and Ace
Ace (Doctor Who)
Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
arrive on Heritage in the year 6048 to visit the Heyworths, who are old friends of the Doctor's. Nobody seems to want them on the planet, and certainly not poking their noses in. But they are stuck there until the next day. The Doctor doesn't want to get involved, but Ace can't help herself: by talking to Lee Marks she finds out that the Heyworths were murdered by the townsfolk, because they threatened to disrupt Professor Wakeling's experiments into cloning. Without the cloning technology, Heritage would have nothing going for it at all.
The Doctor suspects all this, and also that the Heyworth's surviving daughter Sweetness is a clone of her mother created by Professor Wakeling. What he doesn't tell Ace is that Sweetness's mother is actually his old companion Melanie Bush
Melanie Bush
Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A computer programmer from the 20th Century who is a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1986 to 1987...
.
The Doctor confronts Wakeling and ruins his chances of announcing his discoveries to the universe. As Wakeling tries to take revenge on the Doctor, he is caught in a landslide and probably killed.
Continuity
- The story forms part of an ongoing story arc planned by Mike TuckerMike TuckerMike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a variety of spin-offs relating to the television series Doctor Who and...
and Robert Perry, involving the apparent death of Ace. The other books in the arc are Prime TimePrime Time (Doctor Who)Prime Time is a BBC Books original novel written by Mike Tucker and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor and Ace.-Synopsis:...
and Loving the AlienLoving the Alien (Doctor Who)Loving the Alien is a BBC Books original novel written by Mike Tucker & Robert Perry and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor and Ace.- Trivia :...
. This in turn feeds into a larger arc involving the apparent deaths of many of the Doctor's companions running through the Past Doctor Adventures and the Eighth Doctor AdventuresEighth Doctor AdventuresThe Eighth Doctor Adventures are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. 73 books were published overall...
. - Following the events of Justin RichardsJustin RichardsJustin Richards is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day...
's novel Sometime Never...Sometime Never...Sometime Never... is a BBC Books original novel written by Justin Richards and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
, it is uncertain whether or not the events of Heritage actually take place as described, or whether Mel Bush is actually still alive. Dale Smith has stated that the novel contains a "get-out" clause for allowing Mel to still be alive. - Although the novel's chapters provide specific dates for all of the action, the later novel HalflifeHalflife (Doctor Who)Halflife is a BBC Books original novel written by Mark Michalowski and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Trix.-Plot:...
retcons the action to take place several centuries earlier in an attempt to make the lack of stable cloning technology more acceptable. However, the author has pointed out that the novels states that Wakeling was not the first person to develop cloning technology, and that the era was chosen to tie in with the Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
television serial The Invisible EnemyThe Invisible EnemyThe Invisible Enemy is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 October to 22 October 1977...
.
Outside References
- The novel was dedicated to "Cathy Howkins", who turns up as a character in the author's later work The Albino's DancerThe Albino's DancerThe Albino's Dancer is the ninth in the series of "Time Hunter" novellas, and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's Doctor Who novella The Cabinet of Light...
. - The avian alien Hadoke who piloted the shuttle that was to take the Doctor and Ace away from Heritage was named after the comedian Toby HadokeToby HadokeToby Hadoke is an English actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He is particularly well known for his work on the Manchester comedy circuit, where he performs regularly. He runs the multi award winning XS Malarkey comedy club, and is involved with many of the more experimental and financially...
, who attended Manchester University with Dale Smith.