Terrance Dicks
Encyclopedia
Terrance Dicks is an English
writer
, best known for his work in television
and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.
, and later did two years of National Service
in the British Army
. Following his discharge from the armed forces, he worked for five years as an advertising copywriter, and began writing radio
play scripts for the BBC
in his spare time.
His break in television came when his friend Malcolm Hulke
asked for his help with the writing of an episode of the popular ABC
(ITV
) action-adventure series The Avengers
, on which Dicks received a co-writer's credit on the broadcast. He also wrote for the popular ATV
soap opera
Crossroads.
's popular science-fiction
series Doctor Who
. Dicks went on to become the main script editor
on the programme the following year, and earned his first writing credit on the show when he and Hulke co-wrote the epic ten-part story The War Games
which closed the sixth season and the era of Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton
. He had, however, been the uncredited co-writer of The Seeds of Death
earlier in the season, after performing extensive work on writer Brian Hayles
' original scripts.
Dicks went on to form a highly productive working relationship with incoming Doctor Who producer Barry Letts
, working as the script editor on each of Letts' five seasons in charge of the programme from 1970 to 1974. After his departure, Dicks continued to be associated with the programme, writing four scripts for his successor as script editor Robert Holmes
: Robot
(1975, the opening story of Tom Baker
's era as the Fourth Doctor), The Brain of Morbius
(1976, broadcast under the name 'Robin Bland' after Dicks' displeasure at Holmes' rewrites to the story led him to declare that it should go out "under some bland pseudonym"), Horror of Fang Rock and State of Decay.
Dicks also contributed heavily to Target Books
' range of novelisations of Doctor Who television stories, writing more than sixty of the titles published by the company. As Dicks explains in an interview in the documentary Built for War, included on the DVD release of the serial The Sontaran Experiment
in 2006, he served as unofficial editor of the Target Books line. In this role, he would attempt to enlist the original teleplay author to write the books whenever possible, but if they could not or would not, then Dicks would often end up writing the books himself (although he also enlisted other writers including one-time Doctor Who actor Ian Marter
and former series producer Philip Hinchcliffe
). On one occasion, Dicks recalls in the documentary, he had enlisted Robert Holmes
to novelise his teleplay for The Time Warrior
, but when Holmes gave up on the project after writing only one chapter, it was left to Dicks to complete the work. Dicks would be more successful in recruiting the original teleplay writers for later serials and ultimately only had to adapt one Sixth Doctor
story (The Mysterious Planet
and again replacing Robert Holmes, who had died soon after writing the original serial) and his name appears on no Seventh Doctor
novelisations. Dicks had planned to novelise the stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
but this was never published.
It was through his work on Doctor Who books that he became a writer of children's fiction, penning many successful titles during the 1970s and 80s.
In 1980 Dicks returned to the Doctor Who fold when he wrote State of Decay
for the eighteenth season. State of Decay was in fact a rewritten version of a story entitled The Vampire Mutation which had been due for production during season fifteen, but had been hastily withdrawn and replaced with Horror of Fang Rock
when the BBC decided that its vampiric theme would clash with their high-profile adaptation of Bram Stoker
's Count Dracula
, which was due for transmission at around the same time. Dicks made his final contribution to televised Doctor Who in 1983, when he wrote the ninety-minute twentieth anniversary special episode The Five Doctors
.
During the early 1980s he worked again as script editor to Barry Letts' producer, this time on the BBC's esteemed Sunday Classics strand of period dramas and literary adaptations. When Letts departed the staff of the BBC in 1985, Dicks succeeded his colleague as the producer of the strand, overseeing productions such as Oliver Twist
, David Copperfield, and Vanity Fair
, before he himself left in 1988 and the Sunday Classics strand in that form came to an end.
During the 1990s, Dicks contributed to Virgin Publishing's line of full-length, officially-licensed original Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures
, which carried on the story of the series following its cancellation as an ongoing television programme in 1989. Dicks wrote three Doctor Who novels for Virgin, and continued to write occasionally for the franchise following the take-over of the books licence by BBC Books in 1997. He wrote the first of the Eighth Doctor Adventures
, The Eight Doctors
, which was for a time the best-selling original Doctor Who novel. His book World Game
, featuring the Second Doctor
is set during "Season 6B
", a period derived from fan theories. His most recent contributions to the range are the "Quick Reads" books Made of Steel
and Revenge of the Judoon
, both featuring the Tenth Doctor
and Martha Jones
.
Other work has included two Doctor Who stage plays (Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday
(1974) and Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
(1989)); co-creating and writing for the short-lived BBC science-fiction series Moonbase 3
(1973) and contributing to the ITV
science-fiction series Space: 1999
. He also wrote an audio drama for Big Finish Productions
called "Comeback
", which was the first to predominantly feature former companion Sarah Jane Smith
. That story was released in August 2002.
called "The Mounties" about a recruit in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
. These were followed in 1979–1983 by another Target trilogy "Star Quest", which were later reprinted by Big Finish Productions.
Starting in 1978, Dicks began a series called "The Baker Street Irregulars" which eventually ran to ten books, the last being published in 1987. In 1981, Dicks also began a series of six children's horror novels with "Cry Vampire", coinciding with his novelisation of the Doctor Who serial State of Decay
in which vampire
s also featured heavily.
1987 saw Dicks start a new series of books for very young children called "T. R. Bear", amounting to a further seven books. These were followed by the "Sally Ann" series about a determined ragdoll
, "Magnificent Max" about a cat and "The Adventures of Goliath" about a golden retriever
. The Goliath series is Dicks' largest amounting to eighteen books. Another five books about a St. Bernard
dog made up the "Harvey" series.
"Jonathan's Ghost" and three sequels were published in 1988, and the three book "MacMagic" series followed in 1990. "The Littlest Dinosaur" was published in 1993 and "The Littlest on Guard" in 1994. Other works published in 1994 include "Woof! the Never Ending Tale", the "Cold Blood" series (four books), the "Chronicles of a Computer Game Addict" (four books).
Between 1998 and 2000 Dicks produced the three novel "Changing Universe" series. Since then, Dicks has been engaged in the ongoing "The Unexplained" series with twelve books so far.
As well as the vast number of fictional works, Dicks has also written several non-fiction books for children including "Europe United", "A Riot of Writers", "Uproar in the House", "A Right Royal History" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ghastly".
, London. He is married and has three sons.
Several of Dicks' novels were reprinted in omnibus editions, such as The Adventures of Doctor Who and The Dalek Omnibus. Also in the late 1980s, Star Books issued "2-in-1" collections of selected Target novelisations, which included several of Dicks' works.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, best known for his work in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.
Early career
After leaving school, Dicks studied English at Downing College, CambridgeDowning College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
, and later did two years of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Following his discharge from the armed forces, he worked for five years as an advertising copywriter, and began writing radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
play scripts for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in his spare time.
His break in television came when his friend Malcolm Hulke
Malcolm Hulke
Malcolm Hulke was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s...
asked for his help with the writing of an episode of the popular ABC
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
(ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
) action-adventure series The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, on which Dicks received a co-writer's credit on the broadcast. He also wrote for the popular ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Crossroads.
Doctor Who
In 1968 he was employed as the assistant script editor on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's popular science-fiction
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...
. Dicks went on to become the main script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
on the programme the following year, and earned his first writing credit on the show when he and Hulke co-wrote the epic ten-part story The War Games
The War Games
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
which closed the sixth season and the era of Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
. He had, however, been the uncredited co-writer of The Seeds of Death
The Seeds of Death
The Seeds of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 25 January to 1 March 1969...
earlier in the season, after performing extensive work on writer Brian Hayles
Brian Hayles
Brian Hayles was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. His body of work as a writer for television and film, most notably for the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, lasted from 1962 to 1978....
' original scripts.
Dicks went on to form a highly productive working relationship with incoming Doctor Who producer Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
, working as the script editor on each of Letts' five seasons in charge of the programme from 1970 to 1974. After his departure, Dicks continued to be associated with the programme, writing four scripts for his successor as script editor Robert Holmes
Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)
This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
: Robot
Robot (Doctor Who)
Robot is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1974 to 18 January 1975...
(1975, the opening story of Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
's era as the Fourth Doctor), The Brain of Morbius
The Brain of Morbius
The Brain of Morbius is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1976...
(1976, broadcast under the name 'Robin Bland' after Dicks' displeasure at Holmes' rewrites to the story led him to declare that it should go out "under some bland pseudonym"), Horror of Fang Rock and State of Decay.
Dicks also contributed heavily to Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
' range of novelisations of Doctor Who television stories, writing more than sixty of the titles published by the company. As Dicks explains in an interview in the documentary Built for War, included on the DVD release of the serial The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment
The Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on 22 February and 1 March 1975.-Synopsis:...
in 2006, he served as unofficial editor of the Target Books line. In this role, he would attempt to enlist the original teleplay author to write the books whenever possible, but if they could not or would not, then Dicks would often end up writing the books himself (although he also enlisted other writers including one-time Doctor Who actor Ian Marter
Ian Marter
Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...
and former series producer Philip Hinchcliffe
Philip Hinchcliffe
Philip Hinchcliffe is a British television producer, who brought shows including Private Schulz and The Charmer to the screen, probably best known for the overseeing of British television series Doctor Who from 1974-1977...
). On one occasion, Dicks recalls in the documentary, he had enlisted Robert Holmes
Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)
This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
to novelise his teleplay for The Time Warrior
The Time Warrior
The Time Warrior is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from December 15, 1973 to January 5, 1974. This serial introduced Elisabeth Sladen as new companion Sarah Jane Smith. It also marked the debut of the Sontarans...
, but when Holmes gave up on the project after writing only one chapter, it was left to Dicks to complete the work. Dicks would be more successful in recruiting the original teleplay writers for later serials and ultimately only had to adapt one 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...
story (The Mysterious Planet
The Mysterious Planet
-Preproduction:In February 1985, the BBC announced that the planned twenty-third season of Doctor Who had been cancelled. After vocal protests by the press and Doctor Who fans , the BBC announced that the programme was merely on "hiatus", and would return in September 1986...
and again replacing Robert Holmes, who had died soon after writing the original serial) and his name appears on no Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
novelisations. Dicks had planned to novelise the stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure was a 1989 stage play, written by Terrance Dicks based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
but this was never published.
It was through his work on Doctor Who books that he became a writer of children's fiction, penning many successful titles during the 1970s and 80s.
In 1980 Dicks returned to the Doctor Who fold when he wrote State of Decay
State of Decay
State of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
for the eighteenth season. State of Decay was in fact a rewritten version of a story entitled The Vampire Mutation which had been due for production during season fifteen, but had been hastily withdrawn and replaced with Horror of Fang Rock
Horror of Fang Rock
Horror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 September to 24 September 1977.-Synopsis:...
when the BBC decided that its vampiric theme would clash with their high-profile adaptation of Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's Count Dracula
Count Dracula (1977)
Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the famous novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It first aired in December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book...
, which was due for transmission at around the same time. Dicks made his final contribution to televised Doctor Who in 1983, when he wrote the ninety-minute twentieth anniversary special episode The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
.
During the early 1980s he worked again as script editor to Barry Letts' producer, this time on the BBC's esteemed Sunday Classics strand of period dramas and literary adaptations. When Letts departed the staff of the BBC in 1985, Dicks succeeded his colleague as the producer of the strand, overseeing productions such as Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1985 TV miniseries)
Oliver Twist is a 1985 BBC TV serial. It was directed by Gareth Davies, and adapted by Alexander Baron from the novel by Charles Dickens. It follows the book very closely.- Cast :*Eric Porter - Fagin*Michael Attwell - Bill Sikes...
, David Copperfield, and Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (1987 TV serial)
Vanity Fair was a BBC Pebble Mill Production consisting of 16 half-hour episodes. Shot on location and in studio. Locations included Winchester and Thetford. Virtually all the interiors where shot in Studio A at Pebble Mill....
, before he himself left in 1988 and the Sunday Classics strand in that form came to an end.
During the 1990s, Dicks contributed to Virgin Publishing's line of full-length, officially-licensed original Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
, which carried on the story of the series following its cancellation as an ongoing television programme in 1989. Dicks wrote three Doctor Who novels for Virgin, and continued to write occasionally for the franchise following the take-over of the books licence by BBC Books in 1997. He wrote the first of the Eighth Doctor Adventures
Eighth Doctor Adventures
The Eighth Doctor Adventures are 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. 73 books were published overall...
, The Eight Doctors
The Eight Doctors
The Eight Doctors is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was the first of the Eighth Doctor Adventures range and features the Eighth Doctor and introduces his new companion, Sam Jones.The novel...
, which was for a time the best-selling original Doctor Who novel. His book World Game
World Game (Doctor Who)
World Game is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Second Doctor and the Lady Serena and is set during "Season 6B"...
, featuring the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
is set during "Season 6B
Season 6B
Season 6B is a fan theory related to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It constitutes a hypothetical series of adventures undertaken by the Second Doctor between his final regular appearance in season 6 and the Third Doctor's debut in season 7...
", a period derived from fan theories. His most recent contributions to the range are the "Quick Reads" books Made of Steel
Made of Steel (Doctor Who)
Made of Steel is a BBC Books original novella written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha. This paperback is part of the Quick Reads Initiative sponsored by the UK government, to encourage...
and Revenge of the Judoon
Revenge of the Judoon
Revenge of the Judoon is a BBC Books original novella written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and his companion Martha Jones. This paperback is part of the Quick Reads Initiative sponsored by the UK...
, both featuring the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
and Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
.
Other work has included two Doctor Who stage plays (Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday was a stage play based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The play ran at the Adelphi Theatre in London, England for four weeks, beginning on 16 December 1974...
(1974) and Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure
Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure was a 1989 stage play, written by Terrance Dicks based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
(1989)); co-creating and writing for the short-lived BBC science-fiction series Moonbase 3
Moonbase 3
Moonbase 3 is a British science fiction television programme that ran for six episodes in 1973. It was a co-production between the BBC, 20th Century Fox and the American ABC network...
(1973) and contributing to the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
science-fiction series Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
. He also wrote an audio drama for Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
called "Comeback
Sarah Jane Smith: Comeback
Sarah Jane Smith: Comeback is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It stars Elisabeth Sladen reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith.- Plot :...
", which was the first to predominantly feature former companion Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
. That story was released in August 2002.
Children's author
In 1976, Dicks wrote a trilogy of books published by Target BooksTarget Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
called "The Mounties" about a recruit in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. These were followed in 1979–1983 by another Target trilogy "Star Quest", which were later reprinted by Big Finish Productions.
Starting in 1978, Dicks began a series called "The Baker Street Irregulars" which eventually ran to ten books, the last being published in 1987. In 1981, Dicks also began a series of six children's horror novels with "Cry Vampire", coinciding with his novelisation of the Doctor Who serial State of Decay
State of Decay
State of Decay is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 22 November to 13 December 1980. The serial was the second of three loosely connected serials known as the E-Space trilogy...
in which vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s also featured heavily.
1987 saw Dicks start a new series of books for very young children called "T. R. Bear", amounting to a further seven books. These were followed by the "Sally Ann" series about a determined ragdoll
Ragdoll
The Ragdoll is a cat breed with blue eyes and a distinct colorpoint coat. It is a large and muscular semi-longhair cat with a soft and silky coat. Developed by American breeder Ann Baker, it is best known for its docile and placid temperament and affectionate nature...
, "Magnificent Max" about a cat and "The Adventures of Goliath" about a golden retriever
Golden Retriever
The Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
. The Goliath series is Dicks' largest amounting to eighteen books. Another five books about a St. Bernard
St. Bernard (dog)
The St. Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the Italian and Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its large size.-Appearance:The St. Bernard is a large dog...
dog made up the "Harvey" series.
"Jonathan's Ghost" and three sequels were published in 1988, and the three book "MacMagic" series followed in 1990. "The Littlest Dinosaur" was published in 1993 and "The Littlest on Guard" in 1994. Other works published in 1994 include "Woof! the Never Ending Tale", the "Cold Blood" series (four books), the "Chronicles of a Computer Game Addict" (four books).
Between 1998 and 2000 Dicks produced the three novel "Changing Universe" series. Since then, Dicks has been engaged in the ongoing "The Unexplained" series with twelve books so far.
As well as the vast number of fictional works, Dicks has also written several non-fiction books for children including "Europe United", "A Riot of Writers", "Uproar in the House", "A Right Royal History" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ghastly".
Personal life
Dicks currently resides in HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London. He is married and has three sons.
Novelisations
Note: Most of Dicks' Doctor Who novelisations used a 'Doctor Who and' prefix before the title, as did almost all of the novelisations before 1981.- The Auton Invasion (1974)
- The Day of the Daleks (1974)
- Terror of the Autons (1975)
- The Planet of the Spiders (1975)
- The Three Doctors (1975)
- The Planet of the Daleks (1976)
- The Carnival of Monsters (1977)
- The Claws of Axos (1977)
- The Mutants (1977)
- The Time Warrior (1978) (with Robert HolmesRobert Holmes (scriptwriter)This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
who is uncredited) - Death to the Daleks (1978)
- The Monster of Peladon (1980)
- Inferno (1984)
- The Mind of Evil (1985)
- The Time Monster (1985)
- Ambassadors of Death (1987)
- The Abominable Snowmen (1974)
- The Web of Fear (1976)
- The Krotons (1985)
- The Faceless Ones (1986)
- The Seeds of Death (1986)
- The Wheel in Space (1988)
- The Space Pirates (1990)
- The Giant Robot (1975) (retitled Robot for the 1992 edition) - Dicks also wrote a version for younger readers published as Junior Doctor Who and the Giant Robot published in 1980
- The Loch Ness Monster (1976) (retitled Terror of the Zygons for the 1993 edition)
- The Pyramids of Mars (1976)
- The Revenge of the Cybermen (1976)
- The Genesis of the Daleks (1976)
- The Face of Evil (1977)
- The Brain of Morbius (1977) - Dicks also wrote a version for younger readers published as Junior Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius published in 1980
- The Planet of Evil (1977)
- The Deadly Assassin (1977)
- The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977)
- The Horror of Fang Rock (1978)
- The Android Invasion (1978)
- The Hand of Fear (1979)
- The Invisible Enemy (1979)
- The Robots of Death (1979)
- The Image of the Fendahl (1979)
- The Destiny of the Daleks (1979)
- The Underworld (1980)
- The Invasion of Time (1980)
- The Stones of Blood (1980)
- The Androids of Tara (1980)
- The Power of Kroll (1980)
- The Armageddon Factor (1980)
- The Nightmare of Eden (1980)
- The Horns of Nimon (1980)
- The State of Decay (1981)
- The Keeper of Traken (1982)
- The Sun Makers (1982)
- Meglos (1983)
- The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1977)
- An Unearthly Child (1981)
- The Smugglers (1988)
- Planet of Giants (1990)
- Four to Doomsday (1983)
- Arc of Infinity (1983)
- The Five Doctors (1983)
- Kinda (1983)
- Snakedance (1984)
- Warriors of the Deep (1984)
- The Caves of Androzani (1984)
- The Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time LordThe 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 Mysterious Planet (1987) - Sarah Jane Adventures - Invasion of the Bane (2007)
Several of Dicks' novels were reprinted in omnibus editions, such as The Adventures of Doctor Who and The Dalek Omnibus. Also in the late 1980s, Star Books issued "2-in-1" collections of selected Target novelisations, which included several of Dicks' works.
Original novels
- Timewyrm: ExodusTimewyrm: ExodusTimewyrm: Exodus is an original Doctor Who novel, published by Virgin Publishing in their New Adventures range of Doctor Who novels...
(1991) - Blood HarvestBlood HarvestBlood Harvest is an original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features vampires in common with Dicks' 1980 television serial State of Decay and makes reference to that story's events as well as to those of The...
(1994) - ShakedownShakedown: Return of the SontaransShakedown: Return of the Sontarans is a film spin-off of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was released direct-to-video in 1995 and was produced by the independent production company Dreamwatch Media, a division of Dreamwatch magazine...
(1995) - Mean StreetsMean Streets (Bernice Summerfield)Mean Streets is an original novel by Terrance Dicks featuring the fictional archaeologist Bernice Summerfield. The New Adventures were a spin-off from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-External links:*...
(1997) - The Eight DoctorsThe Eight DoctorsThe Eight Doctors is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was the first of the Eighth Doctor Adventures range and features the Eighth Doctor and introduces his new companion, Sam Jones.The novel...
(1997) - CatastropheaCatastropheaCatastrophea is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Third Doctor and Jo....
(1998) - PlayersPlayers (Doctor Who)Players is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Sixth Doctor and Peri meeting Winston Churchill during the Boer War and prior to the abdication of the would-be king Edward VIII...
(1999) - EndgameEndgame (Doctor Who)Endgame is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Eighth Doctor, as well as the Players.-External links:*...
(2000) - WarmongerWarmonger (Doctor Who)Warmonger is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(2002) - Deadly Reunion (2003) (with Barry LettsBarry LettsBarry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
) - World GameWorld Game (Doctor Who)World Game is a BBC Books original novel written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Second Doctor and the Lady Serena and is set during "Season 6B"...
(2005) - Made of SteelMade of Steel (Doctor Who)Made of Steel is a BBC Books original novella written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and Martha. This paperback is part of the Quick Reads Initiative sponsored by the UK government, to encourage...
(2007) "Quick Reads" - Revenge of the JudoonRevenge of the JudoonRevenge of the Judoon is a BBC Books original novella written by Terrance Dicks and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Tenth Doctor and his companion Martha Jones. This paperback is part of the Quick Reads Initiative sponsored by the UK...
(2008) "Quick Reads"
Non fiction
- The Making of Doctor Who (1972, with Malcolm HulkeMalcolm HulkeMalcolm Hulke was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s...
) - updated edition published in 1976.