Virgin Decalog
Encyclopedia
The Virgin Decalog books were collections of short stories
published by Virgin Publishing based on the television series Doctor Who
: they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories (although the last two collections both contained eleven). Five volumes were published between 1994 and September 1997, although volumes 4 and 5 did not feature the Doctor
or any other non-Virgin copyright
ed characters. This is because the BBC
decided not to renew Virgin's licence to produce original Doctor Who fiction. Following this, the BBC began producing their own Doctor Who fiction, including short stories under the name Short Trips
.
The Story Playback by Stephen James Walker was a short linking piece that recurred between the other stories, detailing the story of an amnesiac claiming to be the Doctor having his memories restored by going through the items in his pockets: each item relates to one of the stories.
and Andy Lane. It introduced a new idea for linking the stories whereby each story would contain an element from the previous and subsequent stories, and the first contained an element from the last and vice versa. It contained the following stories:
This was Steven Moffat's first Doctor Who work. He later went on to write for the 2005 revival of the television series, and would become head writer for the series from the 2010 season onwards. Jackie Marshall was an established writer of Doctor Who fan fiction
at the time. DeCandido went on two write novels for the Star Trek
franchise. Moffat would later use many plot elements from Continuity Errors as the basis for the 2010 Christmas Special, as well as for River Song
's backstory in "Let's Kill Hitler
".
. As this companion had been created by co-editor Andy Lane for the Virgin New Adventures
, there were no copyright issues in including her. It contained the following stories:
, however features another former New Adventures companion, Bernice Summerfield
. The collection contained the following stories:
Following the publication of this book, Virgin produced no further Decalog collections.
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
published by Virgin Publishing based on the television 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...
: they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories (although the last two collections both contained eleven). Five volumes were published between 1994 and September 1997, although volumes 4 and 5 did not feature the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
or any other non-Virgin copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed characters. This is because the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
decided not to renew Virgin's licence to produce original Doctor Who fiction. Following this, the BBC began producing their own Doctor Who fiction, including short stories under the name Short Trips
BBC Short Trips
The BBC Short Trips books were a series of short story anthologies published by BBC Books based on the television series Doctor Who, following a pattern established by Virgin Publishing's Decalog collections. Three volumes were published between March 1998 and March 2000, before the BBC decided to...
.
Decalog
The first volume of stories published was Decalog (Virgin, 17 March 1994), edited by Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker. It contained the following stories:| Title | Author | Doctor/Companion |
| Playback | Stephen James Walker | 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.... |
| Fallen Angel | Andy Lane Andy Lane Andrew Lane , who also writes as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist. He has written a number of spin-off novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Finish based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who , as well as assorted non fiction books based... |
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.... , Jamie 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... & Zoe |
| The Duke of Dominoes | Marc Platt Marc Platt Marc Platt is a British writer. He is most known for his work with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.After studying catering at a technical college, Platt worked first for Trust House Forte, and then in administration for the BBC... |
Fourth Doctor Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who.... , Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures.... |
| The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back | Vanessa Bishop Vanessa Bishop Vanessa Bishop is a British writer who wrote in the review section "Off the Shelf" in Doctor Who Magazine. She has also written short stories based on the BBC Television series Doctor Who.-Work:... |
Third Doctor Third Doctor The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee.... , Liz Liz Shaw (Doctor Who) Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs... , UNIT United Nations Intelligence Taskforce UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures... |
| Scarab of Death | Mark Stammers | Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith |
| The Book of Shadows | Jim Mortimore Jim Mortimore Jim Mortimore is a British science fiction writer, who has written several spin-off novels for popular television series, principally Doctor Who, but also Farscape and Babylon 5.... |
First Doctor First Doctor The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a... , Ian Ian Chesterton Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's very first regular cast, appearing in the bulk of the first two... & Barbara Barbara Wright (Doctor Who) Barbara Wright is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. She was one of the programme's very first regulars and appeared in the bulk of its first two seasons from 1963–65, played by Jacqueline Hill. In the film version... |
| Fascination | David J. Howe David J. Howe David J. Howe is a British writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian.-Biography:David Howe was born in 1961 and established himself as an authoritative media historian through writing articles for fanzines and other publications... |
Fifth Doctor Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.... , Peri Peri Brown Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.... |
| The Golden Door | David Auger | First Doctor, Dodo Dodo Chaplet Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet is a fictional character played by Jackie Lane in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Earth teenager from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in its third season, from February to July,... , Steven Steven Taylor (Doctor Who) Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by Peter Purves in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A space pilot from Earth in the future, he was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966.-Character history:Steven first... and the Sixth Doctor Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker... |
| Prisoners of the Sun | Tim Robins | Third Doctor, Liz Shaw and UNIT |
| Lackaday Express | Paul Cornell Paul Cornell Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield.... |
Fifth Doctor, Nyssa & Tegan Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to... |
The Story Playback by Stephen James Walker was a short linking piece that recurred between the other stories, detailing the story of an amnesiac claiming to be the Doctor having his memories restored by going through the items in his pockets: each item relates to one of the stories.
Decalog 2: Lost Property
The next volume was Decalog 2: Lost Property (Virgin Publishing, 20 July 1995), again edited by Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker. This volume abandoned the linking story concept used in Decalog, and instead concentrated on having all its stories written on the same theme – a property that the Doctor owns somewhere or when in the universe. It contained the stories:| Title | Author | Doctor/Companion |
| Vortex of Fear | Gareth Roberts Gareth Roberts (writer) Gareth John Pritchard Roberts is a British television screenwriter and novelist, best known for his work related to the science-fiction television series Doctor Who... |
Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe |
| Crimson Dawn | Tim Robbins | Fourth Doctor, Leela Leela (Doctor Who) Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978... & K-9 K-9 (Doctor Who) K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977... |
| Where the Heart Is | Andy Lane | Third Doctor, Jo Jo Grant Josephine "Jo" Grant is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who... & UNIT |
| The Trials of Tara | Paul Cornell | Seventh Doctor, Bernice 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... , |
| Housewarming | David A. McIntee David A. McIntee -Biography:McIntee has written many spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, as well as one each based on Final Destination and Space: 1999. He has also written a non-fiction book on Star Trek: Voyager and one jointly on the Alien and Predator movie franchises... |
Sarah Jane Smith, Mike Yates Captain Mike Yates Captain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth... & K9 |
| The Nine Day Queen | Matthew Jones Matt Jones (writer) Matthew David Jones is a British television writer and producer, who has worked on a variety of popular drama programmes for several television networks in the UK.... |
First Doctor, Ian & Barbara |
| Lonely Days | Daniel Blythe Daniel Blythe Daniel Blythe is a British author, who was born in Maidstone in 1969 and studied Modern Languages at St John's College, Oxford. After several years writing stories for the small press, Blythe began his professional career writing for the Virgin New Adventures series of Doctor Who novels, and very... |
Fifth Doctor, Nyssa |
| People of the Trees | Pam Baddeley | Fourth Doctor, Leela |
| Timeshare | Vanessa Bishop | Sixth Doctor, Peri |
| Question Mark Pyjamas | Mike Tucker Mike Tucker Mike 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 |
Seventh Doctor, Ace & Bernice |
Decalog 3: Consequences
The final Decalog collection before Virgin lost their licence to use Doctor Who characters was called Decalog 3: Consequences (Virgin Publishing, 18 July 1996), and was joint edited by Justin RichardsJustin Richards
Justin 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...
and Andy Lane. It introduced a new idea for linking the stories whereby each story would contain an element from the previous and subsequent stories, and the first contained an element from the last and vice versa. It contained the following stories:
| Title | Author | Doctor/Companion |
| . . . And Eternity in an Hour | Stephen Bowkett | Third Doctor, Jo |
| Moving On | Peter Anghelides Peter Anghelides Peter Anghelides is an English author and dramatist best known for his work on various spin-offs related to the BBC television series Doctor Who.-Work:... |
Sarah Jane Smith, K9 |
| Tarnished Image | Guy Clapperton | First Doctor, Dodo |
| Past Reckoning | Jackie Marshall | Fifth Doctor, Nyssa |
| UNITed We Fall | Keith R. A. DeCandido Keith R. A. DeCandido Keith Robert Andreassi DeCandido is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and musician, who works on comic books, novels, role-playing games and video games, including numerous media tie-in books for properties such as Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Supernatural,... |
Fourth Doctor, the Brigadier Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney... |
| Aliens and Predators | Colin Brake Colin Brake Colin Brake is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programs such as Bugs and EastEnders. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series Doctor Who... |
Second Doctor, Jamie & Zoe |
| Fegovy | Gareth Roberts | Sixth Doctor, Mel 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... |
| Continuity Errors | Steven Moffat Steven Moffat Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his... |
Seventh Doctor, Bernice |
| Timevault | Ben Jeapes Ben Jeapes Ben Jeapes is an English science fiction writer living in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.-Early life and education:According to the Biography section on his website, Jeapes was born in Belfast in 1965. He was educated at Hampton Dene Primary School, Hereford, Little Chalfont Primary School, Lorraine... |
Fourth Doctor, K9 |
| Zeitgeist | Craig Hinton Craig Hinton Craig Paul Alexander Hinton was a British writer best known for his work on various spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who.... |
Fifth Doctor, Turlough Vislor Turlough Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984.-Character history:... |
This was Steven Moffat's first Doctor Who work. He later went on to write for the 2005 revival of the television series, and would become head writer for the series from the 2010 season onwards. Jackie Marshall was an established writer of Doctor Who fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
at the time. DeCandido went on two write novels for the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
franchise. Moffat would later use many plot elements from Continuity Errors as the basis for the 2010 Christmas Special, as well as for River Song
River Song (Doctor Who)
River Song is a fictional character played primarily by Alex Kingston in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. River Song was introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of series protagonist the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time in his TARDIS...
's backstory in "Let's Kill Hitler
Let's Kill Hitler
"Let's Kill Hitler" is the eighth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, Space and BBC America on 27 August 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story, continuing stories from "A Good Man Goes to War"...
".
Decalog 4: Re-Generations
The first Decalog collection after Virgin lost their licence to use Doctor Who characters was called Decalog 4: Re-Generations (Virgin Publishing, 15 May 1997), and was again joint edited by Justin Richards and Andy Lane. In order to try to keep the audience of previous Decalogs even though the Doctor could no longer appear in the stories, it was decided to theme the collection around the family history of one of the Doctor's companion Roz ForresterRoz 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....
. As this companion had been created by co-editor Andy Lane for 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...
, there were no copyright issues in including her. It contained the following stories:
| Title | Author |
| Second Chances | Alex Stewart |
| No One Goes to Halfway There | Kate Orman Kate Orman Kate Orman is an Australian author, best known for her books connected to the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:... |
| Shopping for Eternity | Gus Smith |
| Heritage | Ben Jeapes Ben Jeapes Ben Jeapes is an English science fiction writer living in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.-Early life and education:According to the Biography section on his website, Jeapes was born in Belfast in 1965. He was educated at Hampton Dene Primary School, Hereford, Little Chalfont Primary School, Lorraine... |
| Burning Bright | Liz Holliday Liz Holliday Liz Holliday is a British editor and writer of science fiction and mystery.-Life and early career:Holliday has been a teacher and a youth leader, owned a bookshop and run a theatre company.... |
| C9H13NO3 | Peter Anghelides |
| Approximate Time of Death | Richard Salter |
| Secret of the Black Planet | Lance Parkin 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... |
| Rescue Mission | Paul Leonard Paul Leonard (writer) Paul J. Leonard Hinder, better known by his pseudonym of Paul Leonard and also originally published as PJL Hinder, is an author best known for his work on various spin-off fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.Leonard has acknowledged a debt to his... |
| Dependence Day | Justin Richards and Andy Lane |
Decalog 5: Wonders
The final Decalog collection was called Decalog 5: Wonders (Virgin Publishing, 18 September 1997), and was jointly edited by Paul Leonard and Jim Mortimore. This time, all but one story were free-standing science fiction pieces on the theme of "the Ten Wonders of the Universe". One story, The Judgement of Solomon by Lawrence MilesLawrence Miles
Lawrence Miles is a science fiction author known for his work on original Doctor Who novels and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox...
, however features another former New Adventures companion, 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...
. The collection contained the following stories:
| Title | Author |
| The Place of All Places | Nakula Somana |
| Poyekhali 3201 | Stephen Baxter Stephen Baxter Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :... |
| King's Chambers | Dominic Green |
| City of Hammers | Neil Williamson |
| Painting the Age with the Beauty of Our Days | Mike O'Driscoll |
| The Judgement of Solomon | Lawrence Miles |
| The Milk of Human Kindness | Liz Sourbut |
| Bibliophage | Stephen Marley Stephen Marley (writer) Stephen Marley is a British author and video game designer, best known for his Chia Black Dragon series. He was born in Derby of Irish parents and was educated in Bemrose School in Derby and at Nottingham. He graduated in Social Anthropology in 1971 in London, gained an M.Sc in the Sociology of... |
| Negative Space | Jeanne Cavelos |
| Dome of Whispers | Ian Watson |
| Waters of Starlight | Stephen Marley Stephen Marley (writer) Stephen Marley is a British author and video game designer, best known for his Chia Black Dragon series. He was born in Derby of Irish parents and was educated in Bemrose School in Derby and at Nottingham. He graduated in Social Anthropology in 1971 in London, gained an M.Sc in the Sociology of... |
Following the publication of this book, Virgin produced no further Decalog collections.