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Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale
 
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Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale (Hardcover)

by Russell T. Davies (Author), Benjamin Cook (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
RRP: £30.00
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Frequently Bought Together

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale + Doctor Who - The Complete Specials [DVD] [2009] + Hamlet [DVD]
Total RRP: £89.98
Price For All Three: £58.94

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: BBC Books; 1st ed. edition (25 Sep 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1846075718
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846075711
  • Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 19 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 17,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #6 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > Film Genres > Science Fiction
    #15 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Television > TV Genres > Science Fiction
    #18 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Media > Doctor Who

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Product Description

Product Description

Writing isn't just a job that stops at six-thirty... It's a mad, sexy, sad, scary, obsessive, ruthless, joyful, and utterly, utterly personal thing. There s not the writer and then me; there's just me. All of my life connects to the writing. All of it.'

A unique look into the BBC's most popular family drama, Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale is a year in the life of the hit television series, as told by the show's Head Writer and Executive Producer. A candid and in-depth correspondence between Russell T Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook, the book explores in detail Russell's work on Series Four, revealing how he plans the series and works with the show s writers; where he gets his ideas for plot, character and scenes; how actors are cast and other creative decisions are made; and how he juggles the demands of Doctor Who with the increasingly successful Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-offs.

Russell's scripts are discussed as they develop, and Russell and Benjamin's wide-ranging discussions bring in experiences from previous series of Doctor Who as well as other shows Russell has written and created, including Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose, and The Second Coming. The reader is given total access to the show as it s created, and the writing is everything you would expect from Russell T Davies: warm, witty, insightful, and honest.

Fully illustrated with never-before-seen photos and artwork including original drawings by Russell himself The Writer's Tale is a not only the ultimate Doctor Who book, but a celebration of great writing and great television

About the Author

Russell T Davies is one of the UK's foremost writers of television drama, creating groundbreaking shows such as Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose and The Second Coming. He has been the Head Writer and Executive Producer of Doctor Who since it returned to the BBC in 2005 and has written many of the new series' most memorable episodes. He was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to drama. He divides his time between Cardiff and Manchester.

Benjamin Cook is a journalist and regular contributor to Radio Times and Doctor Who Magazine. He has also been published in TV Zone, Cult Times, TV Times and The Stage, and is the author of Doctor Who: The New Audio Adventures The Inside Story. He lives in London.

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Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale
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Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale 4.7 out of 5 stars (26)
£18.98
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Doctor Who: The Last Voyage 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£4.98
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A review of the second edition paperback, 16 Jan 2010
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.
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the ultimate window into the frantic world of Doctor Who, 1 Oct 2008
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.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, 28 Sep 2008
An astonishingly enjoyable read. If you've ever even toyed with the idea of writing, this gives you huge insights into the sheer grind and self doubt that goes into trying to get a script out, and it's a fascinating read. The email exchange structure gives a frankness that any other style would probably skirt around and you get a feeling of a genuine professional friendship between the authors. Some of the content might be a little too frank if you were thinking of buying a "Doctor Who" book for the kiddies, because it's not really a "Doctor Who" book - it's a book about writing, and the writing happens to be "Doctor Who". You do end up worrying if Russell EVER sleeps and whether this writing lark is good for his health, you do wonder how anyone finds the time to do that job, and you do get to see another side to the cheery upbeat soul who appears on TV, but that just makes it all the more intriguing. And on top of all his other work, Russell's found time to provide a large number of very inventive cartoons to illustrate the text - you'd have to hate the guy if he wasn't so good at it. The book looks fantastic, too, beautifully laid out. All in all, a big fat Hooray!!

The paperback edition THE WRITERS TALE: THE FINAL CHAPTER followed in January 2010, and all that I said in my review of the original remains pretty true, although the format has been changed radically for that edition. It is a smaller book format and whilst there are full colour photo inserts, the bulk of the reprinted text pages are now black and white, so maybe whilst it's not quite so beautiful to look at as the original, the written content is still as great as it ever was. The biggest surprise with the paperback edition is the addition of 300+ pages of brand spanking new content - making it a stonking doorstop of a book - which covers the period from the end of the last book to the end of Russell's time working on the show - the production of the 5 specials and all the surrounding Who-hah! - which actually quite probably makes it very worth buying all over again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book
This book is great for any Doctor Who fan wanting to know more about the behind the scenes stuff and how Russell writes his episodes but is also a good read for anyone who is... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Mr. H. Ward

5.0 out of 5 stars Into a Writers Mind - A Must Read
This is such a fantastic book on so many levels. It is a brilliant charting of the development of the last season of the most recent Dr. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mr. Andrew Higgins

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Insight Into the Making of Doctor Who
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... Read more
Published 22 days ago by A. Foxley

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Tale - a Very True Story
Are you a fan of Russell T Davies scripts? If you are buying this book you'd better get ready to know some things about him you maybe never want to know. Read more
Published 2 months ago by V. Kakin

5.0 out of 5 stars "Aih, You're Cleaning The Oven"
I am not a conventional reader. Page 1 does not usually get read, by me, before page 25, but then time is not supposed to be a linear progression in the world of Doctor Who, so... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sam Fenton

5.0 out of 5 stars I've really, really, really enjoyed this one
Review of hardback "The Writer's Tale":

'The Untold Story of the BBC series' is what the cover says this book is, but I don't think that quite does it justice. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jimternet

2.0 out of 5 stars Self-important
At the risk of setting myself up to be shouted down by all the millions of RTD fans out there... I hated this. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Anonymous

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book About Doctor Who And A Book About Writing = Heaven!
I got this book for my birthday and I almost couldn't stop reading since then. This is a book I'd love to have given 6 stars out of 5 because it's just brilliant. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Claudia Sieber

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
This book is fantastic. Simple as that. A must for any fan of Doctor Who, it is a brilliant insight into the creation of the stories, focusing on Voyage Of The Damned, Partners... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rich Westman

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must for all Doctor Who lovers
Very revealing insight into the background, script writing and production of the Doctor Who programme. Read more
Published 11 months ago by The Good Shepherd Crew

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