Just War (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
Just War is a novel by Lance Parkin
from the Virgin New Adventures
. The New Adventures were based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. The novel featured the characters of the Seventh Doctor
, Bernice Summerfield
(known as Benny), Chris Cwej
and Roz Forrester
.
The story is set in Nazi Germany-occupied Guernsey
, a rare example of part of the British Isles being 'colonised' by another power.
in 1941 where the Nazis are pursuing a top-secret weapon which could change the course of the war.
into an audio drama starring Lisa Bowerman
as Bernice. The plot was changed to fit in with the run of Bernice audio dramas. Big Finish had begun by adapting New Adventure novels from after when Virgin had lost their licence to do Doctor Who stories and the series had focused on Benny. Big Finish also had no Doctor Who licence at the time, but they decided to dramatise two Doctor Who New Adventures, adapting them to remove the Doctor Who references. Thus, the audio adaptation achieves time travel
through the use of Benny's Time Rings. The Doctor, Chris and Roz are removed from the narrative, with Jason Kane's role replacing some elements of the parts played by the Doctor and Chris from the novel.
The adaptation was done by Jacqueline Rayner
, who adapted most of this first series of Benny audios.
Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and Emmerdale...
from the Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
. The New Adventures were 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...
. The novel featured the characters of 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....
, Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
(known as Benny), Chris Cwej
Chris Cwej
Christopher Rodonanté Cwej, usually just known as Chris Cwej, is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures range of spin-offs based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Roz Forrester
Roz Forrester
Roslyn Sarah Inyathi Forrester, usually just known as Roz Forrester, is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures range of spin-offs based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
.
The story is set in Nazi Germany-occupied Guernsey
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
, a rare example of part of the British Isles being 'colonised' by another power.
Plot
The Doctor and his companions land in German-occupied GuernseyOccupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
in 1941 where the Nazis are pursuing a top-secret weapon which could change the course of the war.
Continuity
- The novel features a predecessor to UNITUnited Nations Intelligence TaskforceUNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
called "LONGBOW". In a thread on the UsenetUsenetUsenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
group rec.arts.drwho as to what this stood for, Parkin admitted he had only got as far as "League Of Nations Global..." He accepted Chris Schumacher's suggestion of "League Of Nations Global Bizarre Occurences Watch".http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.arts.drwho/browse_frm/thread/52c152af90106435/f6f4c5ae78b86544?lnk=st&q=author%3AParkin+LONGBOW&rnum=3&hl=en#f6f4c5ae78b86544
- The novel also depicts Roz's experiences of discrimination as a black woman of African heritage in wartime England. This contrasts with Roz's background as she comes from a gender-equal far future where African nations dominate and is racist in her attitudes to white Europeans.
Trivia
Parkin had recently completed an MA and his dissertation thesis was on postcolonial literature. The novel echoes that by showing reversals of familiar colonial perspectives.Audio adaptation
In 1999, Just War was adapted by Big Finish ProductionsBig Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
into an audio drama starring Lisa Bowerman
Lisa Bowerman
Lisa Bowerman is a British actress.Bowerman trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and was a regular in the first two series of BBC medical drama Casualty playing Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic. Her other television work includes: Dodgem, The Count of Solar, Grange Hill, The...
as Bernice. The plot was changed to fit in with the run of Bernice audio dramas. Big Finish had begun by adapting New Adventure novels from after when Virgin had lost their licence to do Doctor Who stories and the series had focused on Benny. Big Finish also had no Doctor Who licence at the time, but they decided to dramatise two Doctor Who New Adventures, adapting them to remove the Doctor Who references. Thus, the audio adaptation achieves time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
through the use of Benny's Time Rings. The Doctor, Chris and Roz are removed from the narrative, with Jason Kane's role replacing some elements of the parts played by the Doctor and Chris from the novel.
The adaptation was done by Jacqueline Rayner
Jacqueline Rayner
Jacqueline Rayner is a best selling British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, who adapted most of this first series of Benny audios.
Cast
- Bernice SummerfieldBernice SummerfieldBernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
— Lisa BowermanLisa BowermanLisa Bowerman is a British actress.Bowerman trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and was a regular in the first two series of BBC medical drama Casualty playing Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic. Her other television work includes: Dodgem, The Count of Solar, Grange Hill, The... - Jason Kane — Stephen FewellStephen FewellStephen Fewell is a British actor who portrays Jason Kane in the audio adventures of Bernice Summerfield. He has also appeared in classical theatre and as several roles in various Doctor Who audio productions...
- Oberst Oskar Steinmann — Michael WadeMichael WadeMichael Wade was a Canadian actor. Born in Avondale, Newfoundland, Wade was best known for playing Lockwood in Nicholas Briggs's critically acclaimed Reeltime Pictures production of the Auton trilogy...
- Standardtenfuhrer Joachim Wolff — Mark GatissMark GatissMark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
- Ma Doras — Maggie StablesMaggie StablesMaggie Stables is a British actress who plays the part of the companion Evelyn Smythe in a range of audio dramas by Big Finish Productions based on the BBC television series Doctor Who.-Career:...
- Nurse Rosa Kitzel — Nicky Golding
- Private Franz Hutter — Anthony Keetch
- Private Gerhard Flur — Simon Moore