I have been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a young child in the 1970s and over the years, I have read probably hundreds of Doctor Who related books - biographies, autobiographies, novelisations and so on. But I can honestly say, The Writer's Tale is the best Doctor Who book I have ever read!
It ... Read review
Advantages: Informative, fun, witty, warm book Disadvantages: Long scripts can be a bit tiring to read
...have been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a young child in the 1970s and over the years, I have read probably hundreds of Doctor Who related books - biographies, autobiographies, novelisations and so on. But I can honestly say, The Writer's Tale is the best Doctor Who book I have ever read!
It is written by Russell T Davies (who has also written such famous television series as Queer as Folk and The Second Coming, as well as the new ... ...about the process of writing Doctor Who from the initial ideas through the casting process, script writing, filming and editing. This is the side few of us see. We sit there enjoying the final television programme, blissfully unaware of all the hours of toil behind each one. I certainly found the book revealing, enlightening, informative and compelling reading.
We follow Russell from February 2007 until April 2008. This concentrates ... more
I have been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a young child in the 1970s and over the years, I have read probably hundreds of Doctor Who related books - biographies, autobiographies, novelisations and so on. But I can honestly say, The Writer's Tale is the best Doctor Who book I have ever read!
It is written by Russell T Davies (who has also written such famous television series as Queer as Folk and The Second Coming, as well as the new Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures) and Benjamin Cook. The project began as a series of emails between Russell and Ben and this format is the basis of The Writer's Tale.
Ben wanted to find out more about the process of writing Doctor Who from the initial ideas through the casting process, script writing, filming and editing. This is the side few of us see. We sit there enjoying the final television programme, blissfully unaware of all the hours of toil behind each one. I certainly found the book revealing, enlightening, informative and compelling reading.
We follow Russell from February 2007 until April 2008. This concentrates on Series Four of Doctor Who and the 2007 Christmas special which guest starred Kylie Minogue.
When Russell first starts writing for this series, the companion has not been cast and he writes her as a character called Penny Carter. Partway through this process, Catherine Tate says she would like to do a full series, so the companion role is changed to her as returning character Donna Noble.
In each chapter, there are revelations which I found fascinating. It took me quite a while to read the book, because I wanted to take everything in and savour it. My husband, however, breezed through the 512 pages in a weekend. He loved it too.
The writing style is easy to read and mostly light-hearted, fun and witty. You can really see the rapport that Russell and Ben have and it makes their words a joy to read. Occasionally though, we see Russell's darker moments and these can be quite upsetting and moving. He takes his writing extremely seriously and works his whole social life out around his job (not the other way round) and can become very intense. This just made me love him more, as you can see how important things are to him, but it can be hard to read these parts and some of them are not suitable for young children. (Teens and above only!)
We met Russell and Ben when they did the book signing tour recently and this is where we bought our copy of The Writer's Tale from (Borders, Bristol), plus one for my Dad for Christmas. We got ours signed and both Russell and Ben were wonderful, absolutely fantastic! We really enjoyed meeting them and presumably they enjoyed meeting us too, as I got name-checked in Russell's column in the following issue of Doctor Who Magazine! Wow!
I would definitely recommend the book, as it offers something that no other Doctor Who book has to date. It really makes you appreciate how much work goes into the programme and how many people are involved. One of the most moving parts is when the actor who plays Donna's father becomes increasingly ill and then dies. They change the role to Donna's grandfather and recast Bernard Cribbins in the part.
Despite the sad parts, the tone of the whole book is one of fun and humour and - like Russell T Davies himself - it's large, warm and big-hearted with oodles of affection for Doctor Who, its cast, crew and history.
If it has any disadvantages, they are small. For me, I found reading pages of script tiring at times, so had to break it up into shorter reading sessions for those bits. It did add something to my enjoyment of the final televised stories though and I was pleased our Series Four DVD boxset arrived shortly after, so I could reacquaint myself with the stories, after reading The Writer's Tale.
Overall, this is an excellent book. It has charm and offers something brand new. I think few of us reading this would envy Russell his job or fail to understand why he decided to leave. There are a few contributions from incoming Doctor Who guru Steven Moffatt, but no mentions of who David Tennant's replacement will be. (Though rumours lean very strongly towards Paterson Joseph.)
While you're eagerly awaiting the 2008 Doctor Who Christmas Special, buy The Writer's Tale and enjoy!
The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook has a cover price of £30 for the hardback, but Amazon are currently selling it for £15.76.
KarenUK 28.11.2008 (28.11.2008)
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Review of Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook
Advantages: Insightful, sharp witted, easy to read Disadvantages: Quite heavy and bulky to hold while reading
...is DTChick and I'm a Doctor Who fan. I love it. The stories, the characters, the CGI, the entire concept, everything, and especially David Tennant's performance as the Doctor.
I've recently finished reading Russell T Davies' book, The Writer's Tale. Russell has been the Exec Producer on DW since its return to our screens in 2005 and the book follows a year in the life of the writer through a series of emails to Benjamin Cook, journalist and regular ... ...just a passing interest in Doctor Who (like those purchases won't already have been made!) but also for anybody who has aspirations of becoming a writer as it gets down to the nuts and bolts of television production, handling the media, script drafting and just what makes good TV drama.
Buy it and buy one for your friend too. You won't regret it ...
DTChick 13.02.2009 (19.02.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook
Advantages: Really honest and insightful Disadvantages: None
Originally posted on dooyoo. Before buying this I read the write ups and they all said something like "Any aspiring writer should read this book" or "Any Who fan should read this book" And yes, they should, but The Writers Tale is just as relevent for anyone who has ever wondered what goes on in TV, or is simply interested in the way other people think. This is one of those all too rare books where you get true insight into not just a person but ... ...I have ever read being as it is just a collection of emails sent between Ben Cook and Russell T Davies. Davies pulls no punches when talking about the processes of writing, admitting that there is no right way to write, and expressing his dislike of those who say that there is. It is fascinating to see TV royalty struggle with the same doubts that we all have, and wrestle with his perpetual procrastination, and google himself to be met with spirit-sapping ...
rhiannonalwen 05.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook
Product Information for "Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook" »
Product details
EAN
9781846075711
Type
Fiction
Genre
Science Fiction
Title
Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale
Author
Russell T. Davies & Benjamin Cook
Release Date
26-Sep-12
ISBN
1846075718
Manufacturer's product description
Writing isn' 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 scene; 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 Ben'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 and 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.
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