Apollo 23

Last updated

Apollo 23
Apollo 23.jpg
Author Justin Richards
Series Doctor Who book:
New Series Adventures
Release number
37
SubjectFeaturing:
Eleventh Doctor
Amy
Set inPeriod between
"Victory of the Daleks" and
"The Time of Angels"
Publisher BBC Books
Publication date
22 April 2010
Preceded by Code of the Krillitanes  
Followed by Night of the Humans  

Apollo 23 is a book in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures. [1] It was the first book in the series to feature the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond as his companion. [2]

Contents

Plot

The Doctor and Amy arrive at a shopping centre much to the Doctor's disappointment. When arriving they discover that an American astronaut has appeared out of thin air. They both decide to materialize to the Moon which they successfully do and find the secret Base Diana. Investigating, they learn of a plot by the evil Talerians to take over the Earth by possessing human bodies. The Doctor ends up trapped on Earth and working with secret government officials, manages to return to the Moon on Apollo 23, there having secretly been Apollos 18 through 22 before a link was established between Earth and the Moon that allowed instantaneous travel before sabotage caused it to break down, causing the spaceman to appear.

On the Moon, Amy is captured and possessed and lures the Doctor into a trap, but he manages to escape with the help of Major Carlisle who managed to secretly remain unpossessed due to a power failure caused by Amy attempting to stop sabotage. With Carlisle's help, the Doctor finds a back-up copy of Amy's personality and restores her to normal and later manages to do the same using the fire suppression system to everyone but the alien leader, Jackson, who had kept his back-up with him. Restoring everyone's minds through their back-ups also erases the alien minds possessing them. Jackson manages to summon an invasion force of actual Talerians and reveals that the real Jackson's experiments had allowed him (the alien possessing him) to transfer himself to Jackson in the first place and start the invasion. The Talerians are revealed to be balloon-like aliens that are extremely fragile and are dying out. They want human bodies to survive. The Doctor restores the real Jackson by secretly giving him his back-up in his tea and he sacrifices himself to destroy the Talerians by shooting out a window, causing a depressurization that kills the Talerian invaders due to their fragility, and also kills him.

Characters

Translations

A French version of the book has been released by Milady editions [3] in 2012. It has been translated by Rosalie Guillaume. A German version has been released by Basti Lübbe in 2019, translated by Axel Franken.

Audiobook

An unabridged audiobook running 5 hours and 29 minutes and read by James Albrecht was released by Audio Go. [4]

The audiobook running 5 hours and 18 minutes in French language, read by Arnauld Le Ridant, is available by Hardigan [5] . [6]

Reviews

Related Research Articles

In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels or shares adventures with the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as an audience surrogate. They provide the lens through which the viewer is introduced to the series. The companion character often furthers the story by asking questions and getting into trouble; also by helping, rescuing, or challenging the Doctor. This designation is applied to a character by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology. The Doctor also refers to the show's other leads as their "friends" or "assistants"; the British press have also used the latter term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Pond</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Amy is a companion of the series protagonist the Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, played by Matt Smith. She appears in the programme from the fifth series (2010) to midway through the seventh series (2012). Gillan returned for a brief cameo in Smith's final episode "The Time of the Doctor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Williams</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having been introduced at the start of the fifth series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor as a companion in the middle of Series 5. As Amy Pond's fiancé, Rory is initially insecure because he believes Amy secretly loves the Doctor more. Later, however, he proves to be a hero in his own right and he and Amy get married. The couple conceive a daughter aboard the Doctor's time machine, the TARDIS, while in the time vortex, but their baby is kidnapped at birth. In "A Good Man Goes to War", Rory and Amy discover their time traveller friend River Song is actually their daughter, Melody Pond. The Doctor and River marry in "The Wedding of River Song", and Rory becomes the Doctor's father-in-law. In "The Angels Take Manhattan", the fifth episode of the seventh series, he and Amy are transported back in time by a Weeping Angel, leading to the couple's departure from the series.

"The Beast Below" is the second episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat and broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 10 April 2010.

"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One. Featuring the Weeping Angels as primary villains and the recurring character River Song, it is the conclusion of a two-episode story; the first part, "The Time of Angels", aired on 24 April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Vampires of Venice</span> Episode of Doctor Who

"The Vampires of Venice" is the sixth episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Toby Whithouse, who previously wrote "School Reunion", and was directed by first-time Doctor Who director Jonny Campbell.

"The Big Bang" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on 26 June 2010 on BBC One. It is the second part of the two-part series finale; the first part, "The Pandorica Opens", aired on 19 June. The episode was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes.

<i>Night of the Humans</i> 2010 novel by David Llewellyn

Night of the Humans is a book in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures line, released on 22 April 2010. It was written by David Llewellyn, and features the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond as his companion.

<i>The Coming of the Terraphiles</i> 2010 novel by Michael Moorcock

The Coming of the Terraphiles is a Doctor Who novel written by Michael Moorcock, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond. It was the first special release of a Doctor Who novel by BBC Books in a lengthier hardback format to that of the previous New Series Adventures.

<i>Apollo 18</i> (film) 2011 science fiction horror film by Gonzalo López-Gallego

Apollo 18 is a 2011 American-Canadian science fiction horror film written by Brian Miller, directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego, and co-produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Michele Wolkoff. A Canadian-American co-production, its premise is that the cancelled Apollo 18 mission actually landed on the Moon in December 1974, but never returned, and as a result the United States has never launched another expedition to the Moon. The film is shot in found-footage style, supposedly "lost footage" of the Apollo 18 mission that was only recently discovered.

"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes. It was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom on BBC One, the United States on BBC America and in Canada on Space. It also aired in Australia on ABC1 on 30 April 2011. The episode features alien time traveller the Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and is the first of a two-part story, which concluded with "Day of the Moon" on 30 April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Almost People</span> Episode of Doctor Who

"The Almost People" is the sixth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story written by Matthew Graham and directed by Julian Simpson which began with "The Rebel Flesh".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Day of the Moon</span> 2011 Doctor Who episode

"Day of the Moon" is the second episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 30 April 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the United States. The episode is the second of a two-part story that began with "The Impossible Astronaut" on 23 April.

Silence (<i>Doctor Who</i>) Fictional religious order from Doctor Who

The Silence are a religious order in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, represented by humanoids with alien-like physical characteristics. Executive producer Steven Moffat created the Silence, intending them to be scarier than past villains in Doctor Who. Though the phrase "Silence will fall" recurred throughout the 2010 series of Doctor Who, the Silence were not seen until the 2011 series' opener "The Impossible Astronaut". Their origins are eventually revealed in the 2013 special "The Time of the Doctor".

<i>The Glamour Chase</i> 2010 novel by Gary Russell

The Glamour Chase is a book in the Doctor Who New Series Adventures collection, and is the sixth novel to feature the Eleventh Doctor. It saw the reappearance of the Glamour which debuted in Ghosts of India.

<i>The Silent Stars Go By</i> (novel) 2011 novel by Dan Abnett

The Silent Stars Go By is a hardback Doctor Who novel written by Dan Abnett for the BBC Books New Series Adventures line. The novel features the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams and sees the return of the Ice Warriors. The novel was re-released in 2013 in paperback in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who, with a different front cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paternoster Gang</span> Fictional characters

Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax, are a trio of recurring fictional characters in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, created by Steven Moffat and portrayed, respectively, by Neve McIntosh, Catrin Stewart, and Dan Starkey.

References

  1. "Doctor Who: Apollo 23". BBCShop.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  2. Tessier, Daniel (April 2010). "Apollo 23". Doctor Who Reviews. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  3. Apollo 23
  4. "Doctor Who: Apollo 23". AudioGo. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  5. "Le nouveau label Hardigan se dévoile un peu plus (Màj)". Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  6. "Doctor Who : Apollo 23 (édition française): Justin Richards, Arnauld Le Ridant, Hardigan: Amazon.fr: Bienvenue". amazon.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2016.