Thanks, the next book being an Orman/Blum effort bodes well. However I see the one following is by the dreaded David McIntee. Brave Heart.
Yes, as much as the Eruditorum's author has not enjoyed The Winderness Years it's been fascinating reading the summation of the period. Especially since in many ways this is "my" Doctor Who, eagerly awaiting each monthly New Adventure. It's also interesting wondering about the what-ifs, for instance if the show *had* come back in 2000/2001, which could have happened if not for the confusing rights issues.
But back to the 8DA, Phil Sandifer has really been able to define why these books are so unsatisfying, they really weren't the main narrative of Doctor Who anymore (particularly in the fans rejecting rubbish like War of the Daleks). The NAs had taken the series as far as it could in novels, the show really needed to be back on TV when they ended. Unfortunately there was an extra 5 or so years that went by before that happened.
Yeah, exactly. And it's something I hadn't really noticed, even living through it. In the fandom circles I knew, the NAs were widely seen as for-real proper-legit Doctor Who, a step apart from all the spin-off fiction you found all over the place. The EDAs... well, they weren't seen as spin-off material any more, they were just sort of ignored. The vitality was elsewhere. And I think Sandifer does indicate that it wasn't just that the books were mostly bland and often useless, and cursed with dumb decisions like Sam; even if they'd all been great I don't think they would have been seen like the NAs. He argues that Big Finish came along and became the "proper" 8th Doctor, rendering the EDAs irrelevant (& even more so when the series reasserted itself) but I don't think that's exactly right - I think the Big Finish material marked a splintering of focus, of the wilderness years descending into a mass of possibilities and therefore losing any gravity it might have previously held. Or something.
I don't even think he concludes that Big Finish was more "proper" but just that it was far more dynamic and interesting than the books post-TV Movie. It seems to be that defining "The 8th-Doctor Era" is like nailing jelly to a wall. Is it the movie? the books? the audios? the comic series? All of them? None of them?
Yes and no to each.
But it's been interesting that all through the NAs I felt a connection with the 2005+ series, the influences were clear. So far I'm 22 books into the 8DA and it's all gone down some strange rabbit-hole with no end (or purpose). Meanwhile the Big Finish run has had some direct influence on the show (most notably Jubilee and Spare Parts and several writers).
Some day, when I finish the run (still another 50 or so books to go) I'll do a "these are the ones you should read". Currently I think I'd *maybe* recommend 3 of the 8DAs so far.
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I hope the books ahead continue to hold your interest, however marginally. There are some good things ahead, if you can get there.
Man, the Eruditorium has just been crashingly good on the Wilderness Years, huh? Love that blog.
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Yes, as much as the Eruditorum's author has not enjoyed The Winderness Years it's been fascinating reading the summation of the period. Especially since in many ways this is "my" Doctor Who, eagerly awaiting each monthly New Adventure. It's also interesting wondering about the what-ifs, for instance if the show *had* come back in 2000/2001, which could have happened if not for the confusing rights issues.
But back to the 8DA, Phil Sandifer has really been able to define why these books are so unsatisfying, they really weren't the main narrative of Doctor Who anymore (particularly in the fans rejecting rubbish like War of the Daleks). The NAs had taken the series as far as it could in novels, the show really needed to be back on TV when they ended. Unfortunately there was an extra 5 or so years that went by before that happened.
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Yes and no to each.
But it's been interesting that all through the NAs I felt a connection with the 2005+ series, the influences were clear. So far I'm 22 books into the 8DA and it's all gone down some strange rabbit-hole with no end (or purpose). Meanwhile the Big Finish run has had some direct influence on the show (most notably Jubilee and Spare Parts and several writers).
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Maybe.
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