Verdigris (novel)

Publisher's summary
Jo Grant had no inkling of the ship that revolved in orbit like a discreet, preposterous thought in the mind of someone serene but bonkers.

High above London and its crust of smog, stretched tall above the soapy atmosphere of the Earth, is a ship the size and exact shape of St Pancra railway station.

On board, the Doctor and that mysterious lady adventurer, Iris Wildthyme, are bargaining for their lives with creatures determined to infiltrate the 1970s in the guise of characters from nineteenth-century novels.

Without the help of UNIT, the Doctor and his friends face the daunting task of defeating aliens, marauding robot sheep, the mysterious Children of Destiny and... the being who calls himself Verdigris.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Wants to steal Iris' TARDIS so that he can escape his exile on Earth.


 * Jo Grant
 * Is trained in lock picking and escapology.


 * Iris Wildthyme
 * Mentions Jenny her companion the "butch dyke traffic warden".


 * Tom
 * Has been travelling with Iris for about a month.
 * Tom has a paranoid moment when he meets his mother and thinks he's destined to impregnate her.
 * Tom is gay.


 * Verdigris (individual)
 * Kisses Jo whilst wearing a mask which makes him look like the Master.


 * The Children of Destiny

Planets

 * Iris summoned Verdigris from the planet Makorna.
 * The Doctor and Iris agree that the Nurses of Ionicaiy Six would go to the trouble of kidnapping humans simply to play doctors and nurses.
 * In Tom's first trip with Iris she took him to the planet Calgoria.

Alcohol

 * The Doctor, Jo, Tom (and others), drink Chardonay, whiskey, and multiple gin and tonics
 * The Doctor prefers lime rather than lemon in his Bombay Sapphire Gin.

Continuity

 * Iris mentions the occasion when the TARDIS fell off a cliff on Peladon. DW: The Curse of Peladon. The Doctor says that that hasn't happened yet.
 * Iris was on Karn when the Doctor was there. (DW: The Brain of Morbius)
 * Iris has an adventure in the Death Zone remarkably similar to DW: The Five Doctors.
 * The Master leaves Earth at the end of this story having escaped from prison in DW:  The Sea Devils and aims for Skaro, which leads to his next appearance in DW:  Frontier in Space.
 * At the end of the novel Verdigris travels to the anti-matter universe to assist Omega against the Doctor (setting up events for DW: The Three Doctors).

Timeline
Placement of this story is complicated given the various references throughout the book.
 * Iris mentions when the Doctor's TARDIS fell off the cliff, see continuity), which means in theory this occurs before DW: The Curse of Peladon.
 * However, the Master is free and not in prison, so this story must take place after DW: The Sea Devils.


 * Verdigris occurs after DWM: Target Practice
 * Verdigris occurs before: DW: The Three Doctors