Independence Day is a BBC Books

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 Peter Darvill-Evans

Peter Darvill-Evans

Peter Darvill-Evans is an English writer and editor.He was born and lived in Buckinghamshire until he went to university, graduating in 1975 from University College, London with a degree in History....

 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...

.

Synopsis

The Doctor wishes to return a communications device he had borrowed from the Mendeb system years ago. Being a time lord, he reasons he can put it back before nobody notices anything is wrong. However, when he arrives he comes to believe he is far too late to fix things; an invasion seems to have resulted because of his actions.

Continuity

• The book also features a brief appearance by the Second Doctor
  Second Doctor
  The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
  
   and Jamie McCrimmon
  Jamie McCrimmon
  James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...
  
  , however they do not interact in person with the Seventh Doctor or Ace.
• Ace almost leaves the Doctor towards the end of this novel. She would eventually leave the Doctor first in the novel Love and War
  Love and War (Doctor Who)
  Love and War is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and introduces a new companion, Bernice Summerfield...
  
  , and again later in Set Piece
  Set Piece (Doctor Who)
  Set Piece is an original novel written by Kate Orman and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace, Bernice and Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart. It is the last New Adventure to feature Ace as a regular character, although she...
  
  .

Outside References

• The book references the movie Withnail and I
  Withnail and I
  Withnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
  
  . Many years after the movie was made, but prior to the release of this novel, its stars Paul McGann
  Paul McGann
  Paul McGann is an English actor who made his name on the BBC serial The Monocled Mutineer, in which he played the lead role...
  
   and Richard E. Grant
  Richard E. Grant
  Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born British actor, screenwriter and director. His most notable role came in the film Withnail and I. He holds dual British and Swazi citizenship.-Early life:...
  
   would eventually become the Eighth Doctor
  Eighth Doctor
  The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
  
   and the voice of the Shalka Doctor
  Shalka Doctor
  The Shalka Doctor is the common fan name given to the character that appeared as an alternate incarnation of the Doctor in the flash-animated serial Scream of the Shalka in 2003 and the later short story The Feast of the Stone which were based on the British science fiction television series,...
  
  , respectively.