Doctor Who: Happy Endings

Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures #50

by Paul Cornell, Vanessa Bishop (Contributor), John Peel (Contributor)

"Doctor, this is my fiancé. Please don't kill him."

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Mr Jason Kane and Professor Bernice S. Summerfield, to be held in the village of Cheldon Bonniface in the year 2010.

If everything works out, that is. Between rows, fights and pre-emptive divorce proceedings, there may not be a wedding at all. Especially if there really is someone who wants to prevent it happening.

Everybody's coming: from Ice Warriors to UNIT veterans, a flirtatious Ace to a suspicious Hamlet Macbeth -- and a very confused trio of Isley Brothers. The Doctor has to organise a buffet, Roz has a mystery to solve, and Chris has a girlfriend who used to be the Timewyrm.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1996

About the author

Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.

via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...

Reviews

[Daniel Cork]

Happy Endings was a novel to celebrate how the Virgin New Adventures had come up to 50 novels. To celebrate this momentous occasion, they asked Paul Cornell to write a story in which Bernice Summerfield marries Jason Kane. The story also includes a singular chapter written by a bunch of other writers who had previously contributed to this range of books. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I'm very excited to find out.

Bernice Summerfield is getting married to a man she never thought she would fall in love with, but hey life's strange like that. Friends and family from across all of time and space are to attend to their wedding in the year 2010 in the small but eventful village of Cheldon Bonniface. But someone is hoping to disrupt the wedding. Is Jason really cheating on his soon to be wife or is someone else pulling the strings? Friends must come together to save a wedding on the brink of disaster.

Paul Cornell has written a really fun but incredibly weird Doctor Who novel that is oddly satisfying. This is again the type of novel the Virgin New Adventures needed more of a light fluffy, comedic and bizarre narrative that doesn't forget the older audience it's focusing on. It's great fun to see characters from previous novels return and finding out what happened after Timewyrm: Revelation. Near enough, all the characters in this novel get something of worth to do, which is a massive surprise considering the large amount of characters, but Cornell pulled it off. It's a hilarious story with a touch of darkness and plenty of mature humor, but is ultimately a love letter to a series of books that helped keep Doctor Who on its feet during its time of need.

My only negative in this novel is how Cornell felt the need to explain how Ace had lost her virginity to Glitz, of all people. There's so much wrong with this detail that I can't help but wonder why it had to be included.

Overall: It's an incredibly fun novel that also ties up a few loose ends from previous novels. 8/10

[Mikey]

Book 50 - finally made it! And what a way to celebrate! It’s gloriously unapologetic fanwank, up to and including a surprisingly unsurprising wedding crasher. If I’m honest, I don’t really know how to go about reviewing this book properly because it’s just so fun I don’t really know where to start.

This is (sort of) Benny’s departure story, and it’s a pretty good one to ‘end’ on, and it manages to highlight just how ridiculous her and Jason’s relationship is in a way that I find much more believable than it was handled in Death and Diplomacy (though again, I do think this is something that should’ve been stretched out over a few books at least).

There’s an insane amount of guest appearances and cameos here, with pretty much every previous NA referenced or featured in some way - my favourites being the dip back into puterspace with the Travellers from Love and War, and getting some journal insights from John Watson.

Ace (or Dorothée as she’s now occasionally called) shows up and is uhh... probably the only thing I don’t like about the entire book, if I’m honest. We seem to nosedive into the more grating aspects of her character that the New Adventures introduced, but even then we do get a few good moments out of her, especially towards the end.

Chris and Roz get to take a backseat again, really, beyond Roz briefly having a subplot paired with Holmes, Watson, and none other than the Brigadier, and Chris sort of just gets a retread of what he did in The Also People.

But to be fair, it’s Benny’s big one so it’s understandable that she gets the focus for a bit. It’s gonna be weird moving onto the next run of books without her, but I’m hoping it will give Chris and Roz more of an opportunity to shine!

One highlight just to end on, is Reverend Annie Trelaw’s speech before the service, which feels very much like a love letter to the ongoing story of Doctor Who: “That’s why we’ll keep on going, and keep on having new adventures.”

[Laura]

Not on my top tier of New Adventures but I liked it a fair bit. It set out to be a celebration, and it definitely achieved that, even if there are other plots I prefer more. I've been reading this series for so long that I kept having to pull up TARDIS Wiki to remind me who all the characters showing up were!

[Adam Highway]

Oh, I'm sorry-not-sorry, all the "flaws" people find in this novel are, to me, a vital part of the joy of it. It's self-referential, full of in jokes, shamelessly jocular, and just a frankly roaring load of fun! This, as the 50th NA, is exactly like a NuWho Xmas special - FUN!

[April Mccaffrey]

He brightened, and adjusted Romana's lapels to which she saluted brightly. "President, eh? Been there, done that. Didn't like it."
"Personally, I think it rather suits me. I made my speech the other day. Read my lips, I told them, no more isolationism."
The Doctor frowned, grasping his own lapels. 'That sounds dangerous.' Then he broke into a toothy grin. "I'm sure you know what you're doing." He reached out and pressed her nose, much to Spandrell's discomfiture. "Be careful, Madame President."

-

Paul Cornell, thank you for defeating my big massive reading slump!!!!! King.

This book like Oh No It Isn't, literally had everything a nerdy Benny fan like me could want. The only thing I will say though, I am NOT the biggest fan of Jason Kane. He always gave me the icks and for me personally, he was never good enough for Benny. I was happy to see even for irony, that most of the characters felt the same, lol.

-The aliens and villagers playing cricket. I loved, loved seeing Brax and the Doctor interact in these scenes! It was so sweet for them to be on the same page and getting some brotherly interaction
-Up until the Master reveal, I was so side eyeing Jason the whole way through for cheating on Ace before he got married to Benny and it pissed me off, lol. Him having two clones and Ace running off with one was ?? but like I said, I don't really care for Jason.
-Romana showing up in a Benny novel again!! I loved the chapter with her and Spandrell saving the humans and realising it was a fortune flicker. She's so iconic.
-Chris and Roz relationship is great as always. Chris is just an adorable puppy and Roz is a grumpy cat and I love them both.
-I have literally tabbed this book to death, so I will be going back and looking at quotes again for sure
-It did drag slightly towards the end, but its so nice to see Queer representation in this book considering it was published in 1997.
-Overall, if you have not read all the other vnas, characters might become bit lost to you, but TARDIS wiki is always on hand to save the day.

[Sean Homrig]

I'm sorry. I tried, I really tried. The first half of this novel is fun and light. The second half of the book involved me wishing for something less light and more fun; in short, it seemed to consist of a number of secondary characters from past Virgin New Adventures getting drunk and making gratuitous appearances.

This is what "The Name of the Doctor" would have been if they stretched that awesome sequence at the beginning over 40 minutes; or, more specifically, this is what that episode would have been for the casual watcher of "Doctor Who" (the "Not We", as some like to call it). I am a casual reader of the VMAs, so the joy experienced by the writers as well as most of the readers was last on me. Sorry, Paul, Cornell, it's not you, it's me.

It's not all bad, though, and it is fun while it lasts. I found the Brigadier and Doris very endearing (spoiler: he's suffering from some sort of brain disease and has been given weeks to live) and there's some trickery regarding Steel Farm that I loved. Also, my favorite returning characters were Sherlock Holmes and Watson...but, again, maybe it's because I read "All-Consuming Fire".

There are people that will place this writing on a plinth and worship it. Go ahead and read it if you think you're one of those, although I'm sure you already have. I'm sadly not a member of that club.

[Richard]

I'm not quite sure why I found this novel so compelling as there's very little in the way of a recognisable Doctor Who narrative. In fact, it veers at times into soap opera. And yet...

And yet Cornell manages to include references to pretty much the entire New Adventures run of stories, with a cast of returning and new characters the vast number of which the cover only hints at. Not only does he pull this off without the whole thing coming apart at the seams, he manages to develop and provide closure on many of the story arcs and threads that had been left dangling including, one of my personal bug bears, the alternate universe TARDIS.

It's tongue is firmly planted in its cheek and yet Cornell respects the seriousness of some of the story links by providing some suitably profound and dramatic scenes. There's just so much going on, its compellingly readable just to see if Cornell can manage to keep all the plates spinning in the air to end. I think he does this with aplomb.

A suitably self-referential novel for those of us who've read the whole New Adventures run up to this point. Would it ever work again? Probably not. 2008's 'Journey's End' is most likely the closest the programme has ever got to doing the same and I'm really not a fan of its bloated self-indulgence. For the nineties novels, however, it worked this one glorious time.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2238154.html[return][return]Happy Endings was the 50th New Adventure overall, and the 41st with Benny. It's a rave-up celebration of the series so far: Bernice is marrying Jason in the village of Cheldon Bonniface, and many characters from previous Who stories, particularly the New Adventures, turn up either as guests or as potential spoilers. Paul Cornell is always great when expressing his love for Who (or indeed other things that he loves) and this is awfully good fun, particularly for the further characterisation of Benny as uncertain bride.

[Robert Wright]

If you can stomach a Dr. Who story that revels in it's own silliness, is amazingly self-referential, funny in a sitcom kind of way, and focuses on the annoying Bernice & Jason Kane, you may find this the bee's knees.

But great Dr. Who this isn't.

Still, beloved characters return. It is amusing at bits. Everything there is to love and hate about the New Adventures series is here between two covers.

For: die-hard fans and collectors.
Not For: people who like good Doctor Who or who haven't followed this series.

[Shannon Appelcline]

A very unusual novel — as it's about the New Adventures continuity, not about plot — but ultimately an enjoyable one ... at least if you've read and enjoyed the New Adventures.

The best elements of the book are the attention paid to certain characters (particularly Ace) and the closing of loose ends from the series. The worst are the lack of much anything happening ... but as long as you're an NA fan you'll like it anyway.

[Daniel Kukwa]

An anniversary team-up book of ridiculously wonderful proportions. The plot is best ignored...enjoy this for what it is: one of "Doctor Who's" most pleasant literary love-in's. Sherlock Holmes gets a few choice moments, but the party chapter written by committee could disappear without harming the novel.

[Nicholas]

It's very, very self-indulgent, and even as someone who's read more New Adventures than should be allowed there's still a lot that I felt was unnecessary. BUT - the ending, as are all of Cornell's endings, is note-perfect.

[Harrison]

The first half and last half of this book is an absolute joy. Like a warm summer evening with grapes and solitaire. The atmosphere and structure of this story feel like a toned down Paul Magrs Novel, but with the stakes of The Roman’s part 1, or The Also People. Said two stories being other examples in Doctor Who where there isn’t a villain or generic sci-fi plot. This story commits to being a sit-com family reunion wedding and some that I’m very grateful.

These characters, who have been tortured, drugged and turned into murderous soldiers, are finally allowed to chill out. Although, I am getting sick of Chris Cwej’s unrelenting pheromonal side plots every week! Strangely, I’m finding the Rebecca Leveene era of VNAs to be full of more sex and murder than the Peter Evan’s era, but what separates the two is Rebecca commissions these rest stop stories. Head Games felt more creative and explosive being read after The Also People, in the same way Twice Upon Time feels so tame after The Doctor Falls.

All the returning guest cast here or glorious. Did I have to Google who some of them were because of my failing memory - yes, but luckily I did remember them once I had the help. Specially, I loved seeing Kadiatu meeting Alistiar (which felt like such a satisfying finale well-rounded moment, despite the fact the idea of them meeting didn’t enchant me. But their scenes together were fun. And I love her robot Owl whose name I won’t be spelling here.)

Now, I said the first half and last half, what of the middle then? Well, the middle is good however, it feels as though it’s been padded out. Having the cricket match is a great idea, but as someone who doesn’t know a thing about cricket, I was lost for what was happening. Visually, the town vs the sci-fi people would look great, but on the page less so. Plus, this section largely revolves around Ace and Jason’s affair which OMG I HATED. Even if there is a coincidental clone of Jason, it infuriated me. I had gotten through the VNAs largely surprised at people’s reaction to New Ace. I found her so dramatic and rich. But here she is everything wrong with New Ace - she’s selfishly horny, a bad friend, and the plot thinks we like her? The scenes between her and Benny on their pub crawl are spectacularly great, but this affair ruins it for me. And Bernice’s lack of reaction, again, makes her feel kinda weak. I love Bernice but OMG SHE DOESNT STICK UP FOR HERSELF. Death and Diplomacy’s only enjoyable parts were Benny and Jason’s scenes. It wasn’t spectacular but it was fine. Here, they seem to hate it each - SO WHY GET MARRIED? I’m utterly confused at everybody’s need to force them together. And, just as the Jason clone rung my ‘new series stolen plot line from the books’ alarm (e.g. rose gets her Doctor clone), the romance in this revealed to me a thought: the way romantic releationships are written her really reminds me of Steven Moffat’s relationships. The constant bickering and betrayals of trust, it’s all very Amy, Rory / Clara, Danny.

Anyway, rant over. It’s still a great read. Plus, there is a villain reveal at the end, which was a hoot! It felt forced but it did give Roz something to do. It feels pantomime in the best way!

[David Layton]

Paul Cornell goes all out on fan pandering in this "novel." The occasion of Bernice's marriage to scruffy Jason (because the sex is so good, you know) provides the rationale for a couple dozen cameo appearances from both classic DW and the New Adventures novel series. So, Happy Endings has two identities. First, it is the equivalent of one of those old throwaway sweeps week specials from TV of the 70s and 80s. Second, it is an attempt at a Shakespeare sex romp like Much Ado About Nothing. In the first instance, Happy Endings works all to well because it does everything that makes those sweeps week specials so unbearable to watch. In the second instance, it fails on nearly every front. To make it Doctor Who, Cornell throws in a preposterous and silly plan by The Master, more belittling of this character that in the 80s was more of a fool than a serious villain. There are a couple of good jokes in the book, but overall I found it nearly unreadable.

[Herb Costello]

After finishing the Game of Thrones books I was looking for some light reading. Happy Endings was next on the list. The fiftieth and my fiftieth book in the series. The underlying story was very good, the wedding, the cricket match, the reintroduction of many loved characters from all over the Whoniverse, the copious amounts of sex and alcohol, the pub brawl, the surprise baddie (typical Who and well recieved), et al... This sort of satisfied the light reading and it and was thoroughly entertaining. The endless novel references were a little distracting and a lot of effort (impossibly so) was needed to follow the relevance of a lot of scenes. Overall it was a good read, a must read for lovers of the Virgin novels and Authors. Time to move on to Book 51.

[Kris]

I am likely to be less well disposed to this than others, for two reasons which Benny articulates:

1. I think Jason is a "total git"
2."I don't like the self-referential crap"

However, I still found myself enjoying it. Basically every sentence is a continuity reference but it is done with such love I can appreciate.

[Arthur B]

Extremely self-indulgent, and probably very meaningful to those who were there at the time, but this is deeply inessential otherwise. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Sammy]

An utterly absorbing confection! For longtime readers only, as this book is essentially one giant party bringing together characters and concepts from all previous 49 books (as well as much of the TV series). But what a party. Delightful, moving, witty, outrageous, sweet, inventive, and just downright charming.