The wonderful thing about Doctor Who is that it’s more than just one show. Every so often, the series renews itself. Sometimes, it changes because of a new Doctor or a new companion. Other times, it might simply be a complete change of style. Regardless of what changes happen, Doctor Who is never quite the same show twice.
This has aided the longevity of the series, as it’s always gaining new fans. But at the same time, fans will still miss particular eras. Sometimes, you might find yourself craving a particular kind of Doctor Who story that isn't common anymore, such as the pure historicals that were a key feature of Hartnell’s era.
Of course, when a fan is feeling nostalgic, there are two easy solutions. They can rewatch one of their favorite stories from the era that they miss. Or they can enjoy a new story with their favorite team from other media. The latter might seem like an easy option today. But it wasn't until 1994 that this became a reality for fans.
The Missing Adventures
Over thirty years after Doctor Who began, it's hard to believe that it took so long for something like The Missing Adventures to be created. The premise was so simple: in no particular order, tell brand new stories featuring past Doctors. The novels were meant to fit into clear, established eras of the show's history. In fact, the backs of many novels would explicitly state exactly when they took place.
As I said, a simple idea. But it was an idea that had never really happened before, even in expanded media. While fans sometimes got to read a story with a past Doctor in the occasional annual or special, there had never been a series of ongoing stories focused on past Doctors and eras.
Unsurprisingly, The Missing Adventures proved to be a successful range. Beginning with the Fifth Doctor novel "Goth Opera", from July 1994 to Apr 1997, 33 novels were published, telling stories of the first six Doctors. These stories always aimed to capture the style of the original era, but they would also aim to tell stories that couldn't have been told on television.
Familiar Doctors, new stories
For example, The New Adventures - a series of novels featuring the Seventh Doctor that continued where the Classic Series ended in 1989 - aimed to appeal to a more mature audience. This was often true of The Missing Adventures, as well.
However, this wasn't the only way that these novels could be different from the TV eras they were based on. The First Doctor novel "Venusian Lullaby" by Paul Leonard features the incredibly alien Venusians - large creatures with multiple eyes on stalks, multiple mouths and legs, and generally being impossible to imagine being brought to life on screen, especially back in the '60s.
Of course, this was what fans were looking for. Something old and familiar with stories of their favorite Doctors and companions. But also something brand new, something that they hadn't seen before on television. Generally speaking, The Missing Adventures was successful enough to make this balance last for three years.
Legacy
The only reason the series ended was because the BBC wanted to create its own ranges of Doctor Who novels. As a result, they withdrew the license from Virgin Publishing, and both The New Adventures and Missing Adventures came to an end.
Thankfully, this wasn't the end of new stories featuring past Doctors. In 1997 - just a matter of months after the end of The Missing Adventures - BBC Books began the Past Doctor Adventures. Essentially, this series of novels shared the same aim as The Missing Adventures - to tell brand new stories with past Doctors. The only real difference between the two, aside from the artwork, was that the Seventh Doctor was at this point also a past Doctor, and so was included in the series.
The Past Doctor Adventures proved to be successful in its own right, lasting until 2005 and publishing 76 novels. Eventually, BBC Books moved away from telling stories with past Doctors and started focusing on stories based on the New Series.
However, by the time the Past Doctor Adventures ended, another company was already telling ongoing stories with past Doctors, albeit in a different medium. In 1999, Big Finish Productions started producing brand new audio dramas featuring the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Doctors.
25 years later, Big Finish has produced countless stories featuring almost all of the previous Doctors, across many different ranges. Not only have they told completely original stories, but they've also adapted many novels. In fact, earlier this year, they released a full-cast audio adaptation of the first Missing Adventure "Goth Opera" - 30 years after the original novel was published. It's a perfect tribute from Big Finish to the first original series based on Doctor Who nostalgia.