Just War (Doctor Who)

Doctorwhobook
title=Just War
series=Virgin New Adventures
number=46
featuring=Seventh Doctor Benny, Chris, Roz


writer=Lance Parkin
publisher=Virgin Books
isbn=ISBN 0-426-20463-8
set_between=
pages=272
date=January 1996
preceding=
following=Warchild|

"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 (known as Benny), Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester.

Publisher Virgin Books had a policy of accepting submissions from newcomers and this was author Lance Parkin's first professional writing following earlier "Doctor Who" fan fiction. He went on to write numerous further "Doctor Who" and other books.

Parkin had recently completed an MA and his dissertation thesis was on postcolonial literature. The novel echoes that by showing reversals of familiar colonial perspectives. The story is set in Nazi Germany-occupied Guernsey, a rare example of part of the British Isles being 'colonised' by another power. The novel also depicts Roz's experiences of discrimination as a black woman of African heritage in wartime England. This contrasts with Roz's background as she comes from a gender-equal far future where African nations dominate and is racist in her attitudes to white EuropeansFact|date=September 2007.

Plot

The Doctor and his companions land in German-occupied Guernsey in 1941 where the Nazis are pursuing a top-secret weapon which could change the course of the war.

Trivia

*The novel features a predecessor to UNIT called "LONGBOW". In a thread on the Usenet group rec.arts.drwho as to what this stood for, Parkin admitted he had only got as far as "League Of Nations Global..." He accepted Chris Schumacher's suggestion of "League Of Nations Global Bizarre Occurences Watch". [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rec.arts.drwho/browse_frm/thread/52c152af90106435/f6f4c5ae78b86544?lnk=st&q=author%3AParkin+LONGBOW&rnum=3&hl=en#f6f4c5ae78b86544]

Audio adaptation

Bigfinishbox
title=Just War
series="Bernice Summerfield"
number=5
featuring=Bernice Summerfield


writer=Lance Parkin adapted by Jac Rayner
director=Gary Russell
producer=Gary Russell
executive_producer=Jason Haigh-Ellery
production_code=
set_between="Birthright" and "Dragons' Wrath"
length=1 hr 50 mins
date=August 1999|In 1999, "Just War" was adapted by Big Finish Productions into an audio drama starring Lisa Bowerman as Bernice. The plot was changed to fit in with the run of Bernice audio dramas. Big Finish had begun by adapting New Adventure novels from after when Virgin had lost their licence to do "Doctor Who" stories and the series had focused on Benny. Big Finish also had no "Doctor Who" licence at the time, but they decided to dramatise two "Doctor Who" New Adventures, adapting them to remove the "Doctor Who" references. Thus, the audio adaptation achieves time travel through the use of Benny's Time Rings. The Doctor, Chris and Roz are removed from the narrative, with Jason Kane's role replacing some elements of the parts played by the Doctor and Chris from the novel.

The adaptation was done by Jacqueline Rayner, who adapted most of this first series of Benny audios.

Cast

*Bernice Summerfield — Lisa Bowerman
*Jason Kane — Stephen Fewell
*Oberst Oskar Steinmann — Michael Wade
*Standardtenfuhrer Joachim Wolff — Mark Gatiss
*Ma Doras — Maggie Stables
*Nurse Rosa Kitzel — Nicky Golding
*Private Franz Hutter — Anthony Keetch
*Private Gerhard Flur — Simon Moore

External links

"Just War" New Adventure

*Doctor Who RG | id=who_na46 | title=Just War
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/cloisterlibrary/justwar.htm The Cloister Library - "Just War"]

"Just War" New Adventure Reviews

*OG review | id=na-46 | title=Just War
*DWRG | id=justwar | title=Just War

"Just War" Audio Adaptation

*Doctor Who RG | id=benny05 | title=Just War (Audio)

"Just War" Audio Adaptation Reviews

*OG review | id=bennya-5 | title=Just War (Audio)
*DWRG | id=justwara | title=Just War (Audio)