The BBC relaunched the iconic Doctor Who in 2005 after its original run ended in 1989, but the BBC was not sure that it would be a success. The 1989 Doctor Who run ended on the 8th Doctor, played by Paul McGann, and seemed to be the end of the British sci-fi show. Despite Doctor Who’s supposed ending on TV, audiences were still able to enjoy the Doctor’s adventures, as BBC books published a series of spin-off novels titled Eighth Doctor Adventures, or EDAs. The EDAs have 73 published books overall and ran until the relaunch of Doctor Who in 2005, when Christopher Eccleston became the Ninth Doctor.

The Eighth Doctor Adventures covered plenty of the Doctor’s stories, including starting with “The Eight Doctors” and familiar enemies such as one of the Doctor's main enemies, the Daleks, in “War of the Daleks”, to exploring the Doctor’s past by the end of the series, in “The Gallifrey Chronicles” which features the first destruction of Gallifrey. “The Gallifrey Chronicles” were the novels that were running at the time of Doctor Who’s relaunch, but were ended before they could explore Gallifrey’s restoration and the Time War. The relaunch of Doctor Who meant an end to the Eighth Doctor Adventures as the Doctor’s story would now be continued on TV.

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The BBC Feared Doctor Who's Relaunch Wouldn't Be A Success

Christopher Eccleston and Rose Tyler played by Billie Piper in Doctor Who stand in front of a Tardis and look up.

Even though Doctor Who’s stories had continued since 1989, multiple failings to bring the Time Lord back to the screen meant the BBC did not know the 2005 relaunch would be a success. A 1996 Doctor Who movie, featuring the Doctor and the Master in San Francisco, was released with the intention of sparking a new series that never transpired. Other revamps saw Steven Speilberg’s production company possibly reviving Doctor Who and an American remake titled The Chronicles of Doctor Who?. With the scripts having huge changes to big characters like the Daleks they were never accepted and the series never being made.

The BBC regained the rights and new imaginings of a Doctor Who series were made, including fantasy shows and a Gothic remaining. Also, writers who eventually became writers and actors on the show, such as Matthew Graham and Mark Gatiss, took on the role of creating new versions which never transpired, but ultimately helped in the build-up to the 2005 launch. With all the failed attempts at relaunching Doctor Who, it is no surprise the BBC was not sure whether the 2005 Doctor Who relaunch would be a success, especially not to the level it is now, so the BBC had to be prepared for another failure.

How The BBC Ensured Doctor Who Could Continue If The Relaunch Failed

An image of David Tennant looking at his hands in Doctor Who after regenerating as the Fourteenth Doctor

Doctor Who is an iconic show and a strong part of the BBC’s TV history, so the BBC wanted to ensure Doctor Who could continue even if the 2005 relaunch failed. To do this, the BBC relied on the Eighth Doctor Adventures, in particular, the final novel “The Gallifrey Chronicles”. In an interview, Lance Parkin, author of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, revealed that he never wrote a conclusion to the Eighth Doctor Adventure at the request of the BBC (via Unreality SF). Parkin says that, despite it seeming bizarre now even with near cancelations of Doctor Who:

“The BBC were keeping their options open. If Doctor Who had bombed on telly, it would have been over and done in 13 weeks. So part of the brief was to leave things open just in case the EDAs needed to pick up just where they’d left off!"

At the time of the 2005 relaunch, the Eighth Doctor Adventures were the only long-term successful Doctor Who works, and ending them at the time of a risky TV relaunch could have been the end of the Doctor Who universe. Parkin had not explored big parts of the Doctor’s story in the Eighth Doctor Adventures at that point, such as the Time War, so it could have easily been reignited if the TV show failed. Fortunately, Doctor Who was a big success, and the 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” showed the final battle of the Time War, which the Eighth Doctor Adventures could not.

Next: Doctor Who: Flux Forgot What Made RTD's Relaunch Great