In 2003, Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier reintroduced the world to Doctor Omega, a sort of proto-Doctor Who that first appeared in France in 1906. It’s always been viewed as a bit of an oddity, although the book has attracted attention off and on over the years.
There was also an audio adaptation in 2014, narrated by John Guilor (who delivered The Day of the Doctor‘s additional First Doctor dialogue). Doctor Omega can travel through time and dimensions, and his creator Arnould Galopin certainly seems to have predicted a few things that were later (separately) adopted in Doctor Who, not least the main character’s (original) appearance.
I initially thought Doctor Omega to be an elaborate hoax, and had the chance to ask Jean-Marc Lofficier (who had translated the book) about it back in 2005, to which he responded:
“An entire novel as a hoax? That would be rather time consuming, wouldn’t it?”
(You can read the full exchange on Kasterborous.)
Fair point.
Since then, a series of adventures has been published, written by various authors working with the Lofficiers and published through their Black Coat Press imprint. The latest of these is a Doctor Omega prequel, by Brian Gallagher.
Doctor Omega – His First Adventure
Brian tells us that his novel, Doctor Omega – His First Adventure, has just been published by Jean-Marc Lofficier’s Black Coat Press, and is “a prequel, telling Doctor Omega’s first adventure in a partial origin story.”
‘A mysterious elderly traveler in space and time, accompanied by his granddaughter, arrives in Paris in 1900, seeking refuge from unidentified pursuers. However, he is soon drafted by the Castle, an entity that monitors extra-dimensional conflicts, to thwart a planned invasion of Earth by the Universal Monarchy, a parallel reality where Napoleon has conquered the world.
With the help of British agent Violet Musketeer and Professor Helvetius, the traveler who has adopted the identity of “Doctor Omega”, seeks first to stop Napoleon from invading Russia in 1812, then to prevent his descendant from launching his attack.
This novel serves as a prequel to Arnould Galopin’s 1906 sci-fi classic which introduced the character of Doctor Omega. It is also a fascinating glimpse of another parallel history, first described by Louis Geoffroy in his 1836 novel, The Apocryphal Napoleon.’
Brian notes: “Neither Jean-Marc or I believe this inspired Doctor Who, but the similarities are interesting nonetheless.”
You can order your copy of Doctor Omega – His First Adventure from Black Coat Press. It is also available in print from Amazon US and Amazon UK.
