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Bernice Summerfield
Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply Benny, is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures. The New Adventures were authorised novels carrying on from where the Doctor Who television series had left off,[citation needed] and Summerfield was introduced in Cornell's novel Love and War in 1992.
A 26th-century archeologist, Summerfield became a hugely popular character amongst fans of the books,[citation needed] and was present until their end in 1997. She officially stopped travelling with the Doctor in Happy Endings but returned a few times thereafter, including the last Virgin New Adventure, The Dying Days. That year, Virgin had lost the licence to publish Doctor Who fiction, which was not renewed by the BBC. However, range editors Peter Darvill-Evans and Rebecca Levene decided to continue the series with Summerfield as the new lead and without the Doctor Who name, the Doctor or any other BBC copyright characters featured.
These New Adventures starring Bernice continued until 1999, when the Virgin fiction department closed down. The previous year, however, audio production company Big Finish Productions began issuing full-cast, licensed professional audio dramas starring the character on CD, and they continue to do so, making her the longest-running audio drama series in the world, the longest-running science fiction audio drama series, the longest-running audio drama series with a female lead, and – together with the books – the longest-running science fiction series with a female lead. The character is played in all Big Finish's productions by actress Lisa Bowerman, who also reprised the role in the live-action fan film The Crystal Conundrum and a video advertisement for the audio The Triumph of Sutekh. After they gained the licence to produce Doctor Who audio dramas in 1999, Big Finish thrice featured Bernice in Doctor Who stories set during and after the run of the New Adventures novels.
Big Finish are still regularly producing Bernice Summerfield audio dramas and the company has also published various novels and short story collections featuring the character.
Bernice also appeared in several comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine, with Virgin and the magazine co-operating on her visual depiction. This depiction, which was also applied to novel cover art, was of a slim, statuesque build, with short dark hair, usually shown wearing a catsuit or some similar outfit. Over time the character's appearance has been modified, and recent changes include a longer hairstyle.
The Doctor first meets Benny in Love and War; she is a 30-year-old archaeologist. She was born in 2540 and is the daughter of Admiral Isaac Douglas Summerfield, a high-ranking Spacefleet officer. Her mother, Claire Summerfield, died when Daleks attacked their homeworld of Beta Caprisis, an Earth colony. She has not seen her father for many years and has spent much of her life searching for him. At times she falsely claims to have a degree from Heidelberg University. She published an archaeological book called Down Among the Dead Men in the year 2566.
Theatre of War features the first encounter between Bernice and Irving Braxiatel (from her perspective). He later becomes a regular character in the Bernice Summerfield-only New Adventures. In Sanctuary Bernice falls in love with Guy de Carnac, a former Knight Templar. He is killed later in the novel. In Death and Diplomacy she meets her future husband Jason Kane, who she marries in the next novel, Happy Endings. Bernice leaves the TARDIS after this novel, but she appears in certain subsequent Doctor Who novels. In Return of the Living Dad, Bernice finally resolves the mystery of what happened to her father.
Virgin had long considered a non-Doctor Who spin-off series, but plans were moved forwards when they lost the license from the BBC. A number of preparations were made for the transition to Bernice-led New Adventures (see below). As Virgin felt Bernice would make a better lead as a single woman, she and Jason Kane were split up. Thus, she appears again in Eternity Weeps, a novel which describes the breakdown of her marriage and is also focused on her more than the Doctor as a prototype for the Doctor-free novels to come.
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Bernice Summerfield
Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply Benny, is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures. The New Adventures were authorised novels carrying on from where the Doctor Who television series had left off,[citation needed] and Summerfield was introduced in Cornell's novel Love and War in 1992.
A 26th-century archeologist, Summerfield became a hugely popular character amongst fans of the books,[citation needed] and was present until their end in 1997. She officially stopped travelling with the Doctor in Happy Endings but returned a few times thereafter, including the last Virgin New Adventure, The Dying Days. That year, Virgin had lost the licence to publish Doctor Who fiction, which was not renewed by the BBC. However, range editors Peter Darvill-Evans and Rebecca Levene decided to continue the series with Summerfield as the new lead and without the Doctor Who name, the Doctor or any other BBC copyright characters featured.
These New Adventures starring Bernice continued until 1999, when the Virgin fiction department closed down. The previous year, however, audio production company Big Finish Productions began issuing full-cast, licensed professional audio dramas starring the character on CD, and they continue to do so, making her the longest-running audio drama series in the world, the longest-running science fiction audio drama series, the longest-running audio drama series with a female lead, and – together with the books – the longest-running science fiction series with a female lead. The character is played in all Big Finish's productions by actress Lisa Bowerman, who also reprised the role in the live-action fan film The Crystal Conundrum and a video advertisement for the audio The Triumph of Sutekh. After they gained the licence to produce Doctor Who audio dramas in 1999, Big Finish thrice featured Bernice in Doctor Who stories set during and after the run of the New Adventures novels.
Big Finish are still regularly producing Bernice Summerfield audio dramas and the company has also published various novels and short story collections featuring the character.
Bernice also appeared in several comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine, with Virgin and the magazine co-operating on her visual depiction. This depiction, which was also applied to novel cover art, was of a slim, statuesque build, with short dark hair, usually shown wearing a catsuit or some similar outfit. Over time the character's appearance has been modified, and recent changes include a longer hairstyle.
The Doctor first meets Benny in Love and War; she is a 30-year-old archaeologist. She was born in 2540 and is the daughter of Admiral Isaac Douglas Summerfield, a high-ranking Spacefleet officer. Her mother, Claire Summerfield, died when Daleks attacked their homeworld of Beta Caprisis, an Earth colony. She has not seen her father for many years and has spent much of her life searching for him. At times she falsely claims to have a degree from Heidelberg University. She published an archaeological book called Down Among the Dead Men in the year 2566.
Theatre of War features the first encounter between Bernice and Irving Braxiatel (from her perspective). He later becomes a regular character in the Bernice Summerfield-only New Adventures. In Sanctuary Bernice falls in love with Guy de Carnac, a former Knight Templar. He is killed later in the novel. In Death and Diplomacy she meets her future husband Jason Kane, who she marries in the next novel, Happy Endings. Bernice leaves the TARDIS after this novel, but she appears in certain subsequent Doctor Who novels. In Return of the Living Dad, Bernice finally resolves the mystery of what happened to her father.
Virgin had long considered a non-Doctor Who spin-off series, but plans were moved forwards when they lost the license from the BBC. A number of preparations were made for the transition to Bernice-led New Adventures (see below). As Virgin felt Bernice would make a better lead as a single woman, she and Jason Kane were split up. Thus, she appears again in Eternity Weeps, a novel which describes the breakdown of her marriage and is also focused on her more than the Doctor as a prototype for the Doctor-free novels to come.