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Book Description
The final word on the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who - revised and updated with over 300 pages of new material.
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For this new edition of The Writer’s Tale, Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook expand their in-depth discussion of the creative life of Doctor Who to cover Russell’s final year as Head Writer and Executive Producer of the show, as well as his work behind the increasingly successful Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-offs. Candid and witty insights abound throughout two years’ worth of correspondence, covering David Tennant’s last episodes as the Doctor and the legacy that Russell and David leave behind as a new era of Doctor Who begins.
With over 300 pages of new material, and taking in events from the entire five years since the show’s return in 2005, The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is the most comprehensive – and personal – account of Doctor Who ever published.
With over 300 pages of new material, and taking in events from the entire five years since the show’s return in 2005, The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is the most comprehensive – and personal – account of Doctor Who ever published.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A review of the second edition paperback,
By Ian (Walsall, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter (Paperback)
I loved the original Writer's Tale - lovingly presented and fantastic content - and it became one of my very favourite non-fiction books, so I was eagerly looking forward to this extension of the correspondence. When flicking through, my first feeling was slight disappointment - but I'll come back to that.Firstly, to put that bit about "300 new pages" in context. In its new paperback form, the original book runs to 340 pages, and there's 340 of new stuff in addition - so you've got a new book's worth on top! But, I do feel that it loses something in a black and white paperback edition. The original was vibrant, with illustrations by RTD dotted throughout plus lots of little photos - so when you read a piece of correspondence or a script extract you could instantly relate it to what you saw on screen. This reprint of book one loses a lot of that. More than that though, most of the actual scripts that were dotted through the correspondence in book one have been removed in the reprint 'to make space'. (These were the RTD first drafts - you can now get the final versions for some free online.) I felt they added a lot in explaining the development of episode ideas and scripts. For these reasons, if you're new to this (and can afford the considerable extra expense) I'd recommend buying the beautifully presented original and then this in addition for the new stuff. As to the new stuff - well the correspondence is as revealing, intimate, witty and fascinating as before. There's no sign that the comments are more self-conscious given the knowledge this time around of their ultimate publication. So, overall, a slight sense of initial disappointment in the cheaper paperback - I'd have happily paid for a shiny hardback volume two - but the brilliance of the correspondence has to win out overall, so it stays five stars for me.
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the ultimate window into the frantic world of Doctor Who,
By
This review is from: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale (Hardcover)
There's no shortage of glossy "Doctor Who" books on the shelves but this is by far the most revealing. It digs deep and gives the reader a fascinating insight into the exhaustion, exhileration and relentless hard slog that goes into the flagship show. Read it, even if you don't care for DW, if you want to know the truth about a writer's life. It's very warts-and-all, at times very funny, and always comes over as being honest. You won't get closer than this to finding out why things turned out the way they did. In particular, RTD's thoughts on "Journey's End", the S4 finale, are intriguing and reveal how he copes with the inevitable gulf between his first concept of how a story should end and the version that reaches the screen, subject to the limitations of budget, time, actor availability and overall tone.Like the Doctor himself, RTD clearly feels under pressure as the man everyone looks to for answers, he finds it almost impossible to relinquish control of his beloved show, yet a part of him longs for a break from the constant creative demands on his energies, preferably before the stress kills him. There are certainly a few dark nights of the soul here, but also complete versions of the scripts of "Voyage of the Damned", "Partners in Crime" and the explosive two-parter finale, including the early drafts and absorbing explanations for the way things changed later. An extra bonus is a plethora of photographs, some from deleted scenes, and RTD's unexpectedly witty and professional cartoons of cast and characters.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Insight Into the Making of Doctor Who,
By
This review is from: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter (Paperback)
The idea behind the original 'Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale' hardback was simple - head writer and executive producer Russell T Davies corresponded with journalist Benjamin Cook over the course of a year or so, the end result being a kind of diary of the process of writing and overseeing such a large-scale and complex show. The paperback edition, 'The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter', retains this correspondence, but also continues it, almost doubling the page count and bringing the story up to July 2009, effectively the end of Russell's time on the programme. So, as well as getting the inside story of episodes from the Kylie-starring Christmas special 'Voyage of the Damned' right up to the end of Series Four, this edition includes the 2009 specials, David Tennant's departure, and the making of the 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' mini-series amongst other things.Unlike a lot of the 'Doctor Who' tie-ins (and frankly, TV tie-ins in general), this is a pretty frank account of the nuts-and-bolts of a writer's life - struggling to come up with fresh ideas, the long, hard process of writing and rewriting according to the needs of the production, as well as the mayhem that comes from being a very visible presence at the heart of the media circus surrounding the programme. It's often surprising to see Russell T Davies, who often comes across in interviews as supremely confident and in control, plagued by self-doubt and finding himself staring at an empty page with time running out. Benjamin Cook's involvement is as part-interviewer, part-sounding board - at times he's responding to Russell's comments and suggestions (sometimes in a negative manner, and in at least one instance, prompting a complete rethink on the part of the production team as to the ending of an episode), at others leaping in with great questions for Russell about his life and work, which help to make the book less 'The Thoughts of Chairman Davies'. As someone who had read the original hardback, I was unsure about the prospect of an expanded paperback edition - but the sheer amount of new material here means that this feels more like two books in one, a sequel of almost equal length bundled with the original. As such, it's well worth a read even for those who've got the hardback - the new stuff is particularly fascinating as it tells a slightly different story, not so much the production of a series that has, to an extent, settled down to a regular kind of schedule, but a mad scramble to assemble and write a series of specials whose format seems to be constantly in flux in the run-up to production, owing to concerns about scheduling, budgets, the logistics of production and so on. Add to this the cloak-and-dagger activity of announcing David Tennant's departure, and innumerable public appearances including the promotion of the original 'Writer's Tale' book, and it becomes a considerably more varied volume than the original. Both fascinating for would-be writers or 'Doctor Who' fans alike, 'The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter' is probably the most enjoyable book on either subject that I've ever read. It's refreshingly frank, full of insight, and is terrific value. Whether you've got the original or not, this really is essential reading.
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