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4.51 AVERAGE
4.51 AVERAGE
As a whovian (and lover of the Tenth Doctor/David Tennant), this book was a perfect insight into Russell T Davies and his writing of his last series of Doctor Who as showrunner.
I absolutely loved this book. When I bought it, I was expecting a behind-the-scenes look at Doctor Who (one of my favorite shows), but was pleasantly surprised with how personal and emotional it turned out to be. Throughout the book - written as emails between Davies and Cook - you really got to see inside Davies' head and experience his happiness, joy, sorrow, and turmoil as he wrote for Doctor Who. I laughed and cried (sometimes I cringed) and genuinely hated finishing it.
This was a frustrating book to read. I'm a Doctor Who fan, and I grew up on this era of the show, everything that would indicate that I would love this. But... not really. There are certainly parts I found interesting, and enjoyable to read, the behind the scenes of filming/production and some of the events that happened throughout that were really interesting to read.
However, the format of the book really annoyed me a bit... it is a series of emails between the two authors. This isn't helped by the fact that sometimes it is just 3 or 4 pages of one email, leading to a ridiculous amount of tangents. There are also emails, which I'm really surprised everyone went 'yep that is good enough to publish'—I really don't need to hear the lead writer talking semi-constantly about fancying cast members, or racist jokes. It's not as bad as it could have been, especially for 2007/2008, but still there should have been someone going 'do we really need to publish that email?', can people be flawed and show their flaws, yes, but it went far too overboard.
It also sometimes doesn't seem to know what it is, is it a book about writing? The first around 100 pages make it look like that, or is it a book about Doctor Who production (including writing), which is what the last maybe 150 pages make it seem like. It can feel like two books in one sometimes.
I was very tempted to give it a 2/5
However, the format of the book really annoyed me a bit... it is a series of emails between the two authors. This isn't helped by the fact that sometimes it is just 3 or 4 pages of one email, leading to a ridiculous amount of tangents. There are also emails, which I'm really surprised everyone went 'yep that is good enough to publish'—I really don't need to hear the lead writer talking semi-constantly about fancying cast members, or racist jokes. It's not as bad as it could have been, especially for 2007/2008, but still there should have been someone going 'do we really need to publish that email?', can people be flawed and show their flaws, yes, but it went far too overboard.
It also sometimes doesn't seem to know what it is, is it a book about writing? The first around 100 pages make it look like that, or is it a book about Doctor Who production (including writing), which is what the last maybe 150 pages make it seem like. It can feel like two books in one sometimes.
I was very tempted to give it a 2/5
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is a chunky beast at over 700 pages but it’s a book that is truly fascinating and I could’ve read hundreds of pages more of the emails between Davies and Cook. While my love and interest in Doctor Who has waxed and waned over the year, the Ninth and Tenth Doctor’s era of Doctor Who made up a huge part of my childhood and I’m still incredibly fond of it. So, reading Russell T Davies’ thoughts on that era and how he went about planning and writing the last series and the specials that rounded out that era of Doctor Who was so interesting.
Seeing how story arcs and character motivations were developed over time, with some being clearly planned out while others seemed to appear out of nowhere but make perfect sense was fascinating. As I had (re)watched all of Doctor Who last year, the episodes talked about were fresh in my memory so it was fun comparing what ended up being shown on TV and all the drafts Davies went through to get there. There were certain episodes that Davies would talk about struggling to write and then seeing how he solved those problems was really interesting, especially how he sometimes used the email correspondence as like a sounding board, working through the problem until a solution presented itself.
Naturally I think The Writer’s Tale will be interesting to any Doctor Who fan, but I also think it is the kind of book that would be appealing to anyone who has an interest for writing and TV in general. Seeing that peak behind the curtain of how a big British TV show is made, the highs and lows, the what could’ve been scenarios in terms of casting or story, how there’s so many people that make shows like this happen who the average viewer wouldn’t have heard of or wouldn’t really know what their job title actually means, it’s just a really interesting experience. In some ways The Writer’s Tale made me think of all the behind-the-scenes stuff from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those appendices were captivating and in a similar way so was The Writer’s Tale. Both productions often had a lot working against them but the teams behind them made them work.
The discussions on writing are interesting and super personal and Davies says multiple times that he doesn’t necessarily want people to take how he writes as the law on writing, that everyone approaches it differently and the way he does it perhaps isn’t always healthy with the number of cigarettes he smokes and how he leaves things close to the deadline and gets incredibly stressed. The process of rewriting and others making edits or comments on your work is prevalent throughout and if one thing comes across in The Writer’s Tale it’s that you have to have a lot of confidence and self-belief in your work to make it in that industry. As well as a lot of luck and some good connections too.
In fact, reading The Writer’s Tale now, a few months away from the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who and then a whole new series where Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner, I was left wondering why on earth he came back. It’s clear he loves the show and the people involved with making it but he was ready to let it go after over five years of being in charge. As mentioned, the late nights, smoking, stress, how the show affected his personal life and was like an all-consuming presence for months on end – it was somewhat overwhelming as a reader, never mind the person who was living through all of that. I’d be fascinated the hear why or how he decided to return to the show now, over a decade since he left it. I wonder if he has more healthy coping mechanisms or a better work/life balance today compared to then.
The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is a fascinating look at scriptwriting, what to do and perhaps what not to do, as well as all the production issues that can go into making a big show like Doctor Who. Also, as it’s really a continuous email correspondence between two people who have respect for each other and their work, it’s an accessible text that often has humour and heart to it, making it all the more easy to be immersed in Davies’ writing process.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
So glad I took the risk and grabbed this. Slightly intimidated by the size and my lack of Doctor Who knowledge but once I started I couldn't stop; Russell and Ben worked perfectly together.
Steven Moffat's foreword of "if you read this and still want to be a writer, you will be" is slightly scary but I completely related to Russell from the start, and you'll understand why Moffat says that as you get into the book. All writers (and Whovians) should read this. It's funny and honest and I loved the email/text format (and the drawings, cheeky Russell) and shows you an imperfect but, I think, a very good view into the head of such an amazing writer like Davies.
Steven Moffat's foreword of "if you read this and still want to be a writer, you will be" is slightly scary but I completely related to Russell from the start, and you'll understand why Moffat says that as you get into the book. All writers (and Whovians) should read this. It's funny and honest and I loved the email/text format (and the drawings, cheeky Russell) and shows you an imperfect but, I think, a very good view into the head of such an amazing writer like Davies.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced