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4.51 AVERAGE
4.51 AVERAGE
This giant, doorstopping, potential lethal weapon of a book documents the creation of the current version of Doctor Who from the very beginning of the writing process of Season 4 up through the Specials and the end of Russell T. Davies' time as writer, producer, and show-runner. The story is told by verbatim reprintings of the email correspondence between Davies and Doctor Who Magazine writer Benjamin Cook, and the effect is twofold: first, it's like a really nerdy version of Dear Mr Henshaw; and second, it's about as close to watching the entire process unfold in real time as any of us who aren't directly involved are ever going to get. It can get quite dense and detail-laden at times, but if you're a fan of the show, it's fascinating to read how everything came together, and often much differently than was originally planned. And if you're just curious to see how a television series is made, this is probably just about the most in-the-trenches look as has ever been published.
I am worried this will turn into just a gushing session, so I apologise in advance. This book is definitely my favourite book I've read this year so far, I found the entire thing so enjoyable to read and incredibly hard to put down.
This is probably the most honest book I've ever read. I've read quite a few autobiographies, but none of those have ever made me feel like I really understand the person I'm reading about, and this isn't even really an autobiography. Russell T Davies seemed to pour himself entirely into the emails, and whilst some people were probably annoyed by the constant complaining, I liked it because it showed that writing isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
A majority of this book contains emails between Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook about the writing of series 4 of Doctor Who . I knew of both Davies and Cook before reading this, Davies obviously from writing Doctor Who and more recently Cucumber , and Cook from such works as Becoming YouTube , so knowing of both writers made me feel more connected to this book, and I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it had just been Davies and any old journalist. Whilst Davies contributes the most to this book with his long responses, Cook asks the thought provoking questions to elicit those fantastic responses.
It was exciting reading this and knowing where his writing was going to go. He would be discussing how to make something work in an episode script, and I got to sit there with the answer he was so desperately looking for, and then watch as he figured out how to get to that answer. I loved learning about the amount of work that goes into Doctor Who and I am excited to watch series 4 again having read the book, I imagine it might make it a different experience.
This is a book where I couldn't mark specific pages to return to later, because every page was brilliant and I just want to go back and re-read the entire thing. I don't think you have to be a fan of Doctor Who to read this, if you have a strong enough interest in writing this book is a great way to look at one persons approach to writing, I haven't ever seen Queer as Folk and I didn't feel too lost when they began discussing that, but who knows?
Ok I think I've said enough! This is a fantastic book and I worry for the next book I read, it has a lot to live up to.
This is probably the most honest book I've ever read. I've read quite a few autobiographies, but none of those have ever made me feel like I really understand the person I'm reading about, and this isn't even really an autobiography. Russell T Davies seemed to pour himself entirely into the emails, and whilst some people were probably annoyed by the constant complaining, I liked it because it showed that writing isn't all sunshine and rainbows.
A majority of this book contains emails between Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook about the writing of series 4 of Doctor Who . I knew of both Davies and Cook before reading this, Davies obviously from writing Doctor Who and more recently Cucumber , and Cook from such works as Becoming YouTube , so knowing of both writers made me feel more connected to this book, and I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it had just been Davies and any old journalist. Whilst Davies contributes the most to this book with his long responses, Cook asks the thought provoking questions to elicit those fantastic responses.
It was exciting reading this and knowing where his writing was going to go. He would be discussing how to make something work in an episode script, and I got to sit there with the answer he was so desperately looking for, and then watch as he figured out how to get to that answer. I loved learning about the amount of work that goes into Doctor Who and I am excited to watch series 4 again having read the book, I imagine it might make it a different experience.
This is a book where I couldn't mark specific pages to return to later, because every page was brilliant and I just want to go back and re-read the entire thing. I don't think you have to be a fan of Doctor Who to read this, if you have a strong enough interest in writing this book is a great way to look at one persons approach to writing, I haven't ever seen Queer as Folk and I didn't feel too lost when they began discussing that, but who knows?
Ok I think I've said enough! This is a fantastic book and I worry for the next book I read, it has a lot to live up to.
I really loved this book -- enough that I stayed up too late several nights because I just wanted to read a few more pages -- but I think that says a great deal about my level of Doctor Who fandom, as opposed to whether it is intrinsically a great book.
I can imagine it also being of interest to someone contemplating a career as a writer, or especially specifically as a screenwriter. But for me, the primary joy of it was reading the descriptions of work in progress on specific scripts, knowing how they ended up, and learning about the initial (sometimes wildly different!) ideas and how things changed along the way.
I also personally found the email-epistolary format fairly charming. This may be because I'm a long-time email user, so it feels very natural. And, it may also be that I've seen so many DVD commentaries and special features with Russell T Davies that I already knew his voice, in a manner of speaking. (I did tend to find myself wondering, "who is this other guy?", and eventually looked him up on wikipedia which helped a little).
All in all -- if you are a fan of the "new" Doctor Who, and think you might enjoy reading hundreds of pages of Russell T Davies' email correspondence (interleaved with a few photos, captures of text messages, and the odd quoted magazine article just for luck), then this is for you.
Note: I actually read the second edition, called "The Final Chapter", which I gather is about twice the length of the original. I may have picked the wrong one on Goodreads, but I am too busy to try to figure out if I can fix that (any way other than starting over).
I can imagine it also being of interest to someone contemplating a career as a writer, or especially specifically as a screenwriter. But for me, the primary joy of it was reading the descriptions of work in progress on specific scripts, knowing how they ended up, and learning about the initial (sometimes wildly different!) ideas and how things changed along the way.
I also personally found the email-epistolary format fairly charming. This may be because I'm a long-time email user, so it feels very natural. And, it may also be that I've seen so many DVD commentaries and special features with Russell T Davies that I already knew his voice, in a manner of speaking. (I did tend to find myself wondering, "who is this other guy?", and eventually looked him up on wikipedia which helped a little).
All in all -- if you are a fan of the "new" Doctor Who, and think you might enjoy reading hundreds of pages of Russell T Davies' email correspondence (interleaved with a few photos, captures of text messages, and the odd quoted magazine article just for luck), then this is for you.
Note: I actually read the second edition, called "The Final Chapter", which I gather is about twice the length of the original. I may have picked the wrong one on Goodreads, but I am too busy to try to figure out if I can fix that (any way other than starting over).
Finished part two in a day on Kindle. Want my own hardcover/paperback badly
I was pretty disappointed with this. The parts about development and storylining of Doctor Who were really interesting - exactly the sort of behind-the-scenes insights I'd been hoping for. Sadly, they were few and far between. The vast bulk of the book comprised Russell T Davies moaning about how hard it is being a writer, and salivating over Russell Tovey. It's actually pretty weird how much he goes on and on about the incidental character Midshipman Frame, who had, what, four minutes of screen time? Just because he fancied the actor. I did enjoy Benjamin Cook's replies to his emails, which were couched in nicer language, but essentially asking throughout '"Russell, why are you being such a prick?".
The book felt really padded out, too. Four scripts were included in full, though two of Russell's scripts from the series were missed out entirely, with the emails just alluding to them. It made the content feel really unbalanced. If they'd just included the pertinent parts of each script, the size of the book would have been much less monstrous. Russell's little illustrations were very amusing - I didn't know he was an artist, too - but on the whole I felt let down. 5/10.
The book felt really padded out, too. Four scripts were included in full, though two of Russell's scripts from the series were missed out entirely, with the emails just alluding to them. It made the content feel really unbalanced. If they'd just included the pertinent parts of each script, the size of the book would have been much less monstrous. Russell's little illustrations were very amusing - I didn't know he was an artist, too - but on the whole I felt let down. 5/10.
I liked this just a touch more than The Writer's Tale. No scripts are included in full, so it feels less unbalanced, and RTD isn't quite as irritating, and doesn't salivate over Russell Tovey quite as much. I really liked the insight into the development of Tennant's final episodes, particularly the plots and casting that could have been. A good read for any fan, if you can tune out RTD's background whining.
Le meilleur livre que j'ai lu sur DW. Cette correspondance moderne est pleine d'information, d'humour et de "what if?" qui ravirons tout les fans du Docteur et même les autres!
Toute sentimentale que je suis, j'ai même eu les larmes aux yeux vers la fin, c'était presque comme quitter le 10ème Docteur une nouvelle fois, toute en ayant l'excitation pour le prochain. Je n'avais même pas encore regardé la série aux moments décrit et grâce à ce livre, c'est comme si j'y étais!
Toute sentimentale que je suis, j'ai même eu les larmes aux yeux vers la fin, c'était presque comme quitter le 10ème Docteur une nouvelle fois, toute en ayant l'excitation pour le prochain. Je n'avais même pas encore regardé la série aux moments décrit et grâce à ce livre, c'est comme si j'y étais!
What a unique insight into what is probably my favorite show of all time.
Pretty much the strengths and weaknesses you would expect. Interesting reading about BBC TV production, which is not as different from US production as I'd expect -- it seems to end up with the same crazed rush at (and well past) deadlines despite the apparently more sensible schedule and more limited seasons.
Davies is surprisingly oblivious to some of his own prejudices/carelessness -- I'd have expected the awareness of how gay men are stereotyped in the media (he complains, understandably, about how often his interviews camp him up) to lead to some self-consciousness about casting women as "bulldyke prison guards," but apparently not. What has a bigger effect on his writing, though, is his complete lack of awareness re: savior figures and the Doctor -- he appears to think he's writing against messianic figures, which I do not find a credible analysis of the text (Doctor Who, not The Writer's Tale).
I am probably annoyed by his working methods and self-obsessive introspection far more than is warranted; he reminds me far too much of me.
Davies is surprisingly oblivious to some of his own prejudices/carelessness -- I'd have expected the awareness of how gay men are stereotyped in the media (he complains, understandably, about how often his interviews camp him up) to lead to some self-consciousness about casting women as "bulldyke prison guards," but apparently not. What has a bigger effect on his writing, though, is his complete lack of awareness re: savior figures and the Doctor -- he appears to think he's writing against messianic figures, which I do not find a credible analysis of the text (Doctor Who, not The Writer's Tale).
I am probably annoyed by his working methods and self-obsessive introspection far more than is warranted; he reminds me far too much of me.
This was so neat to be able to read about the process of making my favorite show. I know a lot of people don't like RTD, but i think he's funny. My favorite part was the sample of the scripts and seeing how they evolved.