I'd already written three New Adventures, and couldn't face a fourth!

http://cuttingsarchive.org/images/9/9e/1995-11_TV_Zone_p22.jpg

Publication: TV Zone
Date: issue 72 (November 1995)
Author: Andy Lane, Ben Aaronovitch
Page: 22
Language: English

SO replied Andy Lane, when asked why he was tackling a Missing adventure with November's Empire of Glass. "I fancied a change, and I Felt I'd gone about as far as I could with the Seventh Doctor; after you've created two new companions, what can you do next?"

Why did he choose the First Doctor? "I didn't — he was chosen for me. I wanted to write a Third Doctor MA, but I was starting to plot it out when Rebecca [Levene, series editor] pointed out that they had a plethora of Pertwees, and asked me to rewrite it for Hartnell. Initially I was less than enthralled, but I quickly came to love the idea. After all, he is the original! Once you get past the superficial mannerisms, there's a depth of character to explore. I was discussing this with author Nigel Robinson, and we agreed that there were two different First Doctors: the crotchety, crabby old bugger of the first two seasons, and the jovial, mercurial and rather forgetful character of the third season. I think too much attention has been paid to the former to the detriment of the latter. And given that I wanted to write for this latter Hartnell, I didn't have much choice over companions. Since there is only one gap during Ben and Polly's adventures into which a MA could fit, and that would have meant setting it entirely on 1960's Earth, I was forced to use Steven and Vicki — possibly the blandest companions of all time!"

Seventeenth Century Venice is the backdrop; did it require much research? "Loads of it, and I enjoyed every single moment! I had the same experience as I did with All-Consuming Fire: I was sucked into the bizarre historical facts and stories of the time and wanted to include them all in the book!"

From the past to the future. "Justin Richards and I are editing the third Decalog collection, and are currently sifting through the proposals. And I can guarantee that, as well as some straightforward stories, it will also push the boundaries of Doctor Who fiction in unexpected directions. I'm also hoping to write a novelization of the BBC's Bugs series between now and Christmas, and then I'd like to write something original?'

THE Also People is Ben Aaronovitch's latest New Adventure. What inspired the bizarre civilization he created?

"The whole setup was influenced by kin M Banks's Culture novels; people who are machines and machines who are people, a truly advanced society whose aim is to improve the quality of life so that everybody has as good a time as possible. This explains the lack of technobabble: the technology is so advanced that its incomprehensible!"

How did Ben find fledgling companions Cwej and Forrester? "It was very difficult to have three companions, with none of them from the Twentieth Century. I had to think out Cwej and Forrester's background, and then think of corresponding Twentieth Century references so that their experiences would be intelligible from our point of view — especially since they're in a totally alien environment. It helped that they're recognizable types — the world-weary street cop and her idealistic partner — actually, Cwej was a lot of fun to write for, wandering around like a tourist.

Would they have worked on television? 'They would have been easier to write for, because I wouldn't have needed to know their backgrounds. Then again, I would have preferred only one companion on television; it wasn't so bad in The Also People, since it's mainly about the companions."

Having written for both, is the Doctor different from his television incarnation? "It's really the translation from television to text; in a book, you can give the Doctor a lot more depth and a greater sense of 'alieness'. You can explore the more alien aspects of his personality, whereas, on television, it's up to the actor to deliver this. And he can't come out and say it very often without it getting repetitive.

"The Doctor has changed as a character, but it's a logical development from the television series; after The Curse of Fenric he was definitely heading in that direction — part of Andrew Cartmel's plan to make him more alien and more terrifying, going back to the original concept of the character."

In development is another New Adventure called So Vile a Sin, in which Forrester leaves the series.

I'd already written three New Adventures, and couldn't face a fourth!

Navigation menu

Page actions

Page actions

Personal tools

Navigation

Search

External links

Tools