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Author | Kate Orman |
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Cover artist | Mark Salwowski |
Series | Doctor Who book: The New Adventures |
Release number | 10 |
Subject | Featuring: Bernice Summerfield |
Publisher | Virgin Books |
Publication date | February 1998 |
ISBN | 0-426-20521-9 |
Preceded by | Tempest |
Followed by | Oblivion |
Walking to Babylon is a 1998 novel by Kate Orman. [1] It is set in the Virgin New Adventures series and features the fictional archaeologist Bernice Summerfield (known as Benny).
The New Adventures were a spin-off from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who , but after the publisher Virgin Books lost the license to do Doctor Who stories from the BBC, the New Adventures continued, centred on the character of Benny and further characters and settings created for the series. Walking to Babylon is the tenth Benny-led New Adventure.
Orman had previously written several Doctor Who New Adventures, but this was her first for the post-Doctor Who series. As characterises her work, the novel mixes hard science fiction with strong characters. The book also contains some scenes of a sexual nature, reflecting Virgin's willingness to include more adult content than the BBC had allowed for the Doctor Who New Adventures.
The story features the People, an alien race were created in the Doctor Who New Adventure The Also People and subsequently appeared in many of the Bernice Summerfield New Adventures. The novel also indirectly refers to the Time Lords, a race from Doctor Who; this was to avoid any copyright disputes with the BBC.
The book opens by positing the conduct of a war between two super-powerful, time-travelling groups. A similar idea was being developed by fellow New Adventure author Lawrence Miles (which eventually saw its fullest exploration in his Faction Paradox stories), although Orman has said this was purely by coincidence. Miles has said his later New Adventure Dead Romance was in part inspired by his dislike of elements of Walking to Babylon.
Bernice Summerfield travels back in time to ancient Babylon to try to prevent the powerful race known only as the People from destroying the city with a singularity bomb.
Walking to Babylon | |
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Big Finish Productions audio drama | |
Series | ' Bernice Summerfield' |
Release no. | 3 |
Featuring | Bernice Summerfield |
Written by | Kate Orman adapted by Jac Rayner |
Directed by | Gary Russell |
Produced by | Gary Russell |
Executive producer(s) | Jason Haigh-Ellery |
Length | 1 hr 50 mins |
Release date | November 1998 |
Preceded by | Beyond the Sun |
Followed by | Birthright |
In 1998, Walking to Babylon was adapted by Big Finish Productions into their third audio drama. The drama stars Lisa Bowerman as Bernice, but also features actor Elisabeth Sladen, better known for playing Sarah Jane Smith in the Doctor Who television series.
The adaptation was by Jac Rayner, who had also adapted the first release in the series, Oh No It Isn't! .
Nigel Fairs, who performs in the audio adaptation by Big Finish, had previously worked on the Audio Visuals series of Doctor Who fan audio dramas.[ citation needed ]
The Virgin New Adventures are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. They continued the story of the Doctor from the point at which the television programme went into hiatus from television in 1989.
Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply Benny, 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 New Adventures were authorised novels carrying on from where the Doctor Who television series had left off, and Summerfield was introduced in Cornell's novel Love and War in 1992.
Lance Parkin is a British author. He is best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and as a storyliner on Emmerdale.
Kate Orman is an Australian author, best known for her books connected to the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.
Lisa Bowerman is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the BBC One medical drama Casualty, in the first two series (1986–1987). She also stars as Doctor Who companion Professor Bernice Summerfield in a series of the same name and many Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions productions, as well as directing many series for the company.
Jacqueline Rayner is a British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
A number of officially licensed audio productions based upon the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who have been produced over the years.
Daniel O'Mahony is a half-British half-Irish author, born in Croydon. He is the oldest of five children, his siblings including Eoin O'Mahony of the band Hamfatter, and Madeleine O'Mahony, who has designed and made hats for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Oh No It Isn't! is a novel published in 1997 by Paul Cornell from the Virgin New Adventures featuring the fictional archaeologist Bernice Summerfield.
Birthright is a novel by Nigel Robinson from the Virgin New Adventures. The New Adventures were a spin-off from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Although part of the main run of New Adventures featuring the Seventh Doctor, the Doctor only appears in the beginning and end of the novel; most of the story involves his companions Bernice Summerfield and Ace. The events in this book occur simultaneously to those in the New Adventure Iceberg, which was written by former Doctor Who actor David Banks. A prelude to this novel was published in Doctor Who Magazine #203, penned by the author.
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, Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester.
The Draconian Rage is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The story is a sequel to the Doctor Who audio adventure The Dark Flame.
The Heart's Desire is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
The Crystal of Cantus is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
The Wake is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
The Adventures of the Diogenes Damsel is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
The Diet of Worms is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Dead Man's Switch is a Big Finish Productions audio drama featuring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, a character from the spin-off media based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Big Bang Generation is a BBC Books original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Twelfth Doctor and Bernice Summerfield, making her first appearance in the New Series Adventures along with the Doctor from the revived series. The book was released on 10 September 2015 as a part of The Glamour Chronicles, alongside Royal Blood and Deep Time.