Doctor Who: Shooting Scripts - BBC Books

...in 2005 with our ninth Doctor portrayed by the fantastic Chris Eccleston, alongside companion Rose Tyler played by Billie Piper. Series two saw the tenth Doctor in the form of David Tennant, still alongside Piper, and later companions Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Now we are approaching the end of Tennant's reign with a regeneration into eleventh Doctor Matt Smith in a few months – a very sad episode it will be, ...
...from the first series of Doctor Who. It can be recognised amongst the other books by its attractive blue colour, a blended fuzzy pattern. Mounted on the front is a picture of Eccleston and Piper, bodies turned to one another to show the connection between the two. The Doctor is dressed in black, complete with his leather jacket, and Rose in her denim jacket and jeans. Just looking at this shows straight away how much Rose changed when Tennant came ... more

Its coming up for four years since I first fell in love with BBC family sci-fi show 'Doctor Who'. Though the newer series had aired on and off since the show started in the 1960s with William Hartnell as the first Doctor. The show, which revolves around the antics of the Time Lord, began again in 2005 with our ninth Doctor portrayed by the fantastic Chris Eccleston, alongside companion Rose Tyler played by Billie Piper. Series two saw the tenth Doctor in the form of David Tennant, still alongside Piper, and later companions Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate). Now we are approaching the end of Tennant's reign with a regeneration into eleventh Doctor Matt Smith in a few months – a very sad episode it will be, I'm sure. So it's time to make the best of the past series' before the show ends after a disastrous fifth series!

Even if Smith's series does bring on the end of the show (I have my suspicions), nothing will take away the success that the show has been to date. It gained a lot of new fans, many younger but quite a few more mature fans too. To cater for the wide audience a variety of merchandise was released to suit the needs for many. Action figures and interactive toys became available for children (and myself), and special collectibles and books for the adult fan. The books always seemed to be quick thick and heavy, packed full of information. This is all well, but I found the variety of books to contain pretty much the same information inside them. I was looking for something a bit different, a bit special. That's when I came across the 'Shooting Scripts' book.

'Shooting Scripts' is a book simply full of the scripts from the first series of Doctor Who. It can be recognised amongst the other books by its attractive blue colour, a blended fuzzy pattern. Mounted on the front is a picture of Eccleston and Piper, bodies turned to one another to show the connection between the two. The Doctor is dressed in black, complete with his leather jacket, and Rose in her denim jacket and jeans. Just looking at this shows straight away how much Rose changed when Tennant came along. The Doctor Who logo is stretched across the middle of the picture to indicate the show (though it is pretty clear from the picture!). Removing the sleeve you will find the same design on the hardback cover underneath.

The cover is very eye catching and attractive, but it is what is on the inside that I care about most! Once opening the book you will find 511 pages of script after script, taking you through all thirteen episodes of Doctor Who Series One, from 'Rose' to 'The Parting of the Ways'. What I like best about it is the fact that it is laid out like a script too, with stage directions too. Each page is tastefully decorated with pictures from the episodes of the script. It definitely makes it more attractive to look at, and it also helps you visualise the set and the scene if you are acting out the script.

Script Example (11: Boom Town)
16 INT. TOWN HALL CORRIDOR #1 day
ROSE on her mobile -
Rose On my way -
And she starts running...

17 INT. TOWN HALL CORRIDOR #2 day
CAPTAIN JACK on his mobile -
Captain Jack Over and out -
And he starts running...

18 INT. TOWN HALL CORRIDOR #3 day
MICKEY on his mobile -
Mickey Oh my God!
And he starts running...

19 EXT. LORD MAYOR'S OFFICE day
The DOCTOR goes to get out of the window, but IDRIS is thee, faithful to his boss, throwing himself halfway out of the window, grabbing the Doctor – a tussle. CUT TO MARGARET, further down, running. At the same time, she's intent on her brooch, taking it off, fumbling -

Straight away you can see there that there is quite a bit of jargon used, so you really have to know how to read a script before this is going to make much sense to you. This is fine for me, but perhaps for a younger fan who is not familiar with a script and just wants to act out scenes with friends, this is all going to be a little bit of a kerfuffle to them. Though the fact that it is like a proper script is handy as it helps you visualise what is happening, informing you of what actions to take and where to manoeuvre the camera if filming.

This is definitely a handy book to have if you are a Doctor Who fan, but it will set you back a bit. It has an RRP of £18.99, which is the price you should expect to pay in stores such as Waterstones and WHSmith. However if you go to Amazon.co.uk you can buy it for around £10, which is quite a bit less. Its definitely worth getting online rather than in a store if you can wait for it to arrive (though with the postal strikes at the moment, the Royal Mail are never going to get anything done!).

I adore Series One, of course I do, and love this book to bits, however I wish that there was a Series Two options. I adore Tennant and Piper side by side, and most of my favourite episodes are in Series Two. I'd give anything to act out New Earth or Girl in the Fireplace, and have even taken to typing up the scripts myself whilst watching the episodes. It's just not the same though, so BBC – please release Season Two Shooting Scripts, and then the rest! The book itself is is foreword by Russell T Davies, then executive producer, though since he has stepped down it is now up to Steven Moffat to sort it out now. But for the moment I shall make do with the first series scripts.

This is an exciting and attractive book that will provide you with hours and hours of entertainment. It is perfect for any fan of Doctor Who to truly get into the character's shoes, and perfect for allowing me to feel more like Piper! It is definitely worth the money if you buy online, and is an item well worth owning by any fan. If this is not on your bookshelf I suggest you buy it as soon as – you won't regret it!

Amy 2009 

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