Business Unusual
Encyclopedia
Business Unusual 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 Sixth Doctor
, Melanie Bush
, and the Brigadier
.
This novel depicts Mel's first adventure with the Doctor, an event not depicted in the television series. Mel's first appearance in the programme, Terror of the Vervoids
, was set in the Doctor's future relative to his trial in the season-long story The Trial of a Time Lord
. The Doctor subsequently met Mel in the final segment of that story, The Ultimate Foe
, but this Mel was from his future and had already met him. Thus, the events of Business Unusual represent Mel's first encounter with the Doctor, but not the Doctor's first encounter with Mel.
Business Unusual also plugs another hole in Doctor Who history: in the original series, all the Doctors except the First
and Sixth shared at least one adventure with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This novel was the first attempt to match the Sixth Doctor with the Brigadier; the 2000 Big Finish
audio drama The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
would bring both characters and the actors who played them together.
Some of the plot elements of Business Unusual (the Pale Man and the Irish twins Ciara and Cellian) form part of a trilogy of novels which began in Gary Russell's Virgin Missing Adventures
novel The Scales of Injustice
and concluded in his PDA
Instruments of Darkness
.
The novel's plot involves a corporation called SenéNet, which anagrams to its true roots.
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
original novel written by Gary Russell
Gary Russell
Gary James Russell is a freelance writer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media...
and based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It features the Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
, Melanie Bush
Melanie Bush
Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A computer programmer from the 20th Century who is a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1986 to 1987...
, and the Brigadier
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...
.
This novel depicts Mel's first adventure with the Doctor, an event not depicted in the television series. Mel's first appearance in the programme, Terror of the Vervoids
Terror of the Vervoids
Terror of the Vervoids is the title commonly used for a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 November to 22 November 1986. It is part of the larger narrative known as The Trial of a Time Lord, emcompassing the...
, was set in the Doctor's future relative to his trial in the season-long story The Trial of a Time Lord
The Trial of a Time Lord
The Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
. The Doctor subsequently met Mel in the final segment of that story, The Ultimate Foe
The Ultimate Foe
The Ultimate Foe is the generally accepted title for a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 29 November to 6 December 1986. It is part of the larger narrative known as The Trial of a Time Lord, encompassing the whole...
, but this Mel was from his future and had already met him. Thus, the events of Business Unusual represent Mel's first encounter with the Doctor, but not the Doctor's first encounter with Mel.
Business Unusual also plugs another hole in Doctor Who history: in the original series, all the Doctors except the First
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
and Sixth shared at least one adventure with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. This novel was the first attempt to match the Sixth Doctor with the Brigadier; the 2000 Big Finish
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio drama The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
The Spectre of Lanyon Moor is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn team up with the Brigadier to defeat an ancient evil in Cornwall....
would bring both characters and the actors who played them together.
Some of the plot elements of Business Unusual (the Pale Man and the Irish twins Ciara and Cellian) form part of a trilogy of novels which began in Gary Russell's Virgin Missing Adventures
Virgin Missing Adventures
The Virgin Missing Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the programme. The novels were published from 1994 to 1997, and...
novel The Scales of Injustice
The Scales of Injustice
The Scales of Injustice is a Virgin Missing Adventures original novel written by Gary Russell based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and concluded in his PDA
Past Doctor Adventures
The Past Doctor Adventures were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures...
Instruments of Darkness
Instruments of Darkness
Instruments of Darkness 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 Sixth Doctor and Mel....
.
The novel's plot involves a corporation called SenéNet, which anagrams to its true roots.