A peek inside RTD's inbox
DOCTOR WHO THE WRITER'S TALE: THE FINAL CHAPTER
A peek inside PTO's inbox
Authors: Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook
Publisher BBC Books 704 pages £16.99
ISBN: 978-1-846-07861-3 OUT NOW!
★★★★★
The back of this updated version of The Writer's Tale provides a helpful capsule of our original review. "You can douse all the other books on new Who in lighter fuel and spark up your Zippo," our quote raves, "this is all you need!" What sluts.
We were right, though. There's never been a book like The Writer's Tale before - partly because no-one ever wanted to read a year's worth of some bloke's emails until now, and partly because it's the first to come close to answering that dreaded question: "Where do you get your ideas from?"
This new softback edition adds another year of exchanges between the Who showrunner and journo Cook, 352 pages worth. Familiarity with the format makes it less surprising this time around, even
Inflation is a part of life, but we never expected it to hit the fantasies in our creative ideosphere. It seems one secret fate isn't enough to be the chosen one any more. No, your average 21st century fantasy heroine (they're mostly heroines now) needs two. Yeine Darr is such a character, a minor noblewoman elevated to "heir to everything" status just in time for a murderous succession contest.
Jemisin imagines a place where, after a Luciferian battle in heaven, when Davies is being startlingly candid. The most fascinating passages concern unused ideas. For instance, one of this year's specials could have been "The Doctor On-board the Enterprise", and the Daleks almost returned, allied with the Time Lords, in "The End Of Time".
With "only" the specials to write about (and Torchwood, and SJA), there's less focus on writing and more on the surrounding rigmarole. The editing could have been more ruthless. There's too much about planning Tennant's departure announcement. And do we really need to know that Cook's mate is getting an octopus tattoo? Probably not. But then, it's these tangents that provide the satisfyingly voyeuristic feeling that you've hacked into someone's inbox.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Berriman, Ian (Apr. 2010). A peek inside RTD's inbox. SFX p. 117.
- MLA 7th ed.: Berriman, Ian. "A peek inside RTD's inbox." SFX [add city] Apr. 2010, 117. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Berriman, Ian. "A peek inside RTD's inbox." SFX, edition, sec., Apr. 2010
- Turabian: Berriman, Ian. "A peek inside RTD's inbox." SFX, Apr. 2010, section, 117 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=A peek inside RTD's inbox | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_peek_inside_RTD%27s_inbox | work=SFX | pages=117 | date=Apr. 2010 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=17 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=A peek inside RTD's inbox | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/A_peek_inside_RTD%27s_inbox | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=17 April 2025}}</ref>
