Totally Tasteless: The Life of John Nathan Turner

For more than a decade, John Nathan-Turner, or 'JN-T' as he was often known, was in charge of every major artistic and practical decision affecting Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science fiction programme. Richard Marson brings his dramatic, farcical, sometimes scandalous, often moving story to life with the benefit of his own inside knowledge and the fruits of over 100 revealing interviews with key friends and colleagues, from those John loved to those from whom he became estranged. The author has also had access to all of Nathan-Turner’s surviving archive of paperwork and photos, many of which appear here for the very first time.

This edition includes a new afterword, gathering thoughts and tributes from John's friends and colleagues, along with previously unseen photographs.

What are a writer’s second-favourite words to hear? Would you like to write me a story about…? (The writer hopes that they are attached to his absolute favourite words: Here’s an inordinately large amount of money, but they so rarely are!) So, when I was asked, "Would you like to write a UNIT story, with dinosaurs in it?", how could I refuse? (As you can see, I couldn’t)

Then came the inevitable dance of what the editor liked and what I felt happiest writing. “Would you include this?” “Can I use that instead?” That continued until we were both comfortable. Then it was time to buckle down and do the actual writing – which, for the writer, is where the fun really begins. Getting into the mood, resurrecting beloved characters and doing horrible things to them…

It's simple. When UNIT calls, you answer! Honestly, what writer could resist the chance to craft their own corner of this world and leave a footprint in the sand next to the Brig? For my story I wanted to explore what happens in the aftermath of a UNIT adventure, the price paid by ordinary soldiers who defend Earth alongside the extraordinary heroes we know about, and what happens when one of them doesn't quite measure up to the high standards we expect. It’s a little dark, a little weird, but hopefully a part of the world of UNIT you’ll enjoy discovering.

Chris immediately came back with a cracking idea that put the Brigadier centre stage. It felt like I’d lit the blue touch paper – he produced the goods really quickly! As with John’s and Ian’s stories, I was also able to ensure some minor continuity between Chris’ Honourable Discharge and Martin Parker’s Old Fowlkes’ Home.

Martin had pitched a story for the Lethbridge-Stewart range, which was unused. It became clear the story could be adapted relatively simply to work as a UNIT story instead. It’s not always easy to adapt stories in this way. You’ve got two choices, basically: you adapt / re-write as you go along, leaving alone what already works – which can be fiddly and frustrating, or you put aside everything you’ve already written and start the piece again from scratch. Neither option is necessarily any quicker to deliver. But there was a lot I liked about the story as it was, and I was keen not to lose that. So, I encouraged Martin to concentrate on the aspects we agreed needed wholesale re-writes.

“Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world. No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again.”

In Vincent and the Doctor, acclaimed British screenwriter Richard Curtis sets out to right a wrong. How could it be that an artist so loved and whose paintings now sell for millions, could be so unappreciated in his lifetime? Is it right that he died not knowing how much his work has added to the pile of good things in the world?

Cue the Doctor, Amy and the TARDIS. Surely they can fix this injustice? But can time travel also be used to cure depression? One invisible monster is defeated, but when it comes to handling the troubled artist the Doctor finds himself completely out of his depth.

This Black Archive considers how the voices of the writers, the artist, the monster and the paintings combine and clash to create a living work of art in itself… one that cannot be contained within its many frames.

Paul Driscoll is a member of the Black Archive editorial team and has written two previous entries in the range, on The God Complex and the 1996 television movie, as well as a book on Stranger Things. He is also co-owner of Altrix Books.

After Candy Jar Books released my short story in late 2019, Andy got in touch when he was mapping out the latest Lethbridge-Stewart series and asked if I would like to submit a pitch for one of the stories. Vampires of the Night featured Professor Travers and was set during World War II, and I originally had a short scene thirty-odd years later with Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne, discovering something that hadn’t been quite resolved at the end of the story. The scene got cut but, about six hours after I got the initial email from Andy about the novel pitch, I think we had both reached the same conclusion – he followed up, asking if I wanted to do the sequel I had previously hinted at.

Given the United Nations is a global organisation, I wanted to create a problem that had its focus in the UK but was also happening around the world. Being an Aussie, I did throw in a couple of things from Down Under, but the core of the story is set in England’s north, so the focus remains on the Lethbridge-Stewart characters with sojourns to other countries to show similar things happening elsewhere.

When I got the brief, I decided to produce an atmospheric piece, but one that was still vibrant and colourful. I went for bright sidelights and a sunset rather than night sky, and pushing the colour on the radio telescope in a non-realist but striking way (I hope!).

It was really important to me to get Samson right on this cover. I really like his character and I wanted to create a good portrait. One of the things Candy Jar have been really successful with is introducing strong (I hate this term) minority characters but treating them in a realistic period-way without denigrating them or making them in any way ‘token’. I hope I’ve done Samson justice.

It was fun creating the other characters, too. The female character had to be fairly scary without being too gory and not falling into the titillation trap with the tears in the dress. Merrin had to look alarmed without becoming a caricature, so I hope I struck the right balance. An enjoyable commission and I’m really looking forward to the book.

• The Stones of Blood by David Fisher - An ancient stone circle becomes a battleground as the Fourth  Doctor must outwit the deadliest alien criminal this side of hyperspace. 
• The Androids of Tara by David Fisher - The Fourth Doctor and Romana’s search for the fourth segment of the all-powerful Key to Time leads them to the planet Tara. 
• The Fires of Pompeii by James Moran - It is AD 79, and the Tenth Doctor and Donna arrive in Pompeii on the eve of the town’s destruction. Mount Vesuvius is ready to erupt and bury its surroundings in molten lava, just as history dictates. Or is it? 
• The Eaters of Light by Rona Munro - The Twelfth Doctor takes Bill and Nardole back to 2nd century  Scotland to learn the fate of the ‘lost’ Ninth Legion of the Imperial Roman Army. 5,000 soldiers vanished without explanation - how? 
• The Zygon Invasion by Peter Harness - It took three Doctors to broker a fragile peace between  Zygons and Humans. Now the Twelfth Doctor must face the fallout alone. With his allies compromised and his companion believed dead, can he stop the world from plunging into war? 

I’ve been watching Doctor Who and reading the Target books for as long as I can remember. The books were an essential part of my childhood, examining the amazing cover art, and  “seeing” stories that aired before I was born. I loved learning new words from them, like  “capacious”, and am beyond thrilled to become part of this publishing legend!

My Target experience overall was happy, intense, but satisfying. Although I only ever see faults in my work, the generous feedback I’ve received over the years is very humbling. I’m very proud of my association with Doctor Who and my small contribution to its history.

I was really keen to open up my portfolio and see what fell out. We had a few disasters – I'd saved much of my original art and accompanying sketches, as well as the final products they were used on, but some of that was lost thanks to a leak in the roof!

Fortunately, the main victims were the replaceable bits: we managed to salvage all the originals, and we've worked hard to reproduce them in a high-quality that even the BBC struggled to print back in the day.

When Shaun told me Candy Jar would be working with Colin on a book of his Doctor Who art, I cleared a space on my bookshelf next to Kklak! I was eager to get my hands on a copy. Little did I realise that Shaun was actually asking me to edit it.

I grew up in the so-called ‘Wilderness Years’, and those gorgeous VHS covers were my introduction to Doctor Who in other mediums, probably before I was aware of the Target novels properly. So the videos hold a special place in my heart, and I know that’s true for so many other fans too. Naturally, I was super excited at the idea of getting to know Colin, let alone riffle through his archive – much of which many Doctor Who fans have never seen before. It’s an absolute privilege.

One of the main challenges has been deciding on the shortlist, such is the wealth of artwork in his collection. I thought I knew Colin’s portfolio well, but I was shocked to learn just how much more he’s done. The VHS covers were essential. But how do you decide which other masterpieces make the cut? I gravitate towards artworks with great stories behind them… but talking with Colin, it became clear that that’s true of all his paintings. I mean, he's got his very own ‘missing Doctor Who story’ – one of his pieces was lost in transit and has been MIA for over twenty-five years!

But I'm really happy with the final selection and I think fans will love it too. It feels representative of Col's overall artistic journey, and delivers what readers expect, but there are also some great little surprises along the way too.

Candy Jar has already set a standard for short story collections with The HAVOC Files books. The UNIT Files will continue in that vein. There are a lot of aspects – personal or otherwise – of life in UNIT that haven’t been covered on TV or within spin-off media published to date. That opens up a deep well of potential material that really suits the short story medium. I think we’ve pulled together a collection of pieces for this first UNIT Files that truly reflects that.

Everyone who was able to contribute seemed hugely fired-up by the opportunity and pitched some tremendous ideas. My story in The Benton Files book sparked an idea for a pair of linked situations within Benton’s career, so I’ve used those shorter ‘scenes’ to book-end the collection.

I’ve loved writing for the Brigadier, and when the opportunity came to contribute a story involving more of the UNIT family I leapt at it. Sergeant Benton was, for me, the obvious choice to focus on as an ordinary squaddie facing extraordinary foes.

I grew up with the original UNIT stories, and later spent a fair proportion of my law enforcement career alongside serving and former special forces soldiers. Some of the tales they shared about their training made me wonder about the adventures prospective UNIT soldiers might face and what qualities the organisation would look for in new recruits.

My dad was a staff sergeant, so I’ve always been hugely fond of the UNIT stories on TV. That also means that any time there’s a chance to do a UNIT or Brigadier story I’m happy to join up and do my duty.

My contribution, Shadow, is set early in Benton’s time with UNIT. He’s still learning how things work and the brass at UNIT are still getting to know him. I wanted to do a story that gave him a chance to show there was a lot more to him than just snapping to attention and saying ‘Sir’. He wouldn’t survive – and indeed thrive – in UNIT if he wasn’t resourceful and capable as well as brave. It let me have a bit of a delve into what Benton thought he was getting into in those early days.

I approached James just as he was completing work for Andy Frankham-Allen on The Overseers. He was very buoyed up from the experience and eager for the next challenge.

When Tim kindly asked me to contribute to the first UNIT adventures at Candy Jar, my head flooded with bonkers ideas for the Brig and Benton. Where I ended up was Bong Joon Ho’s The Host in West Wales and the most fun I've had writing a story in a long time. I can't wait to see what my fellow writers have in store for the team too!

I was delighted to be asked to contribute to The UNIT Files and to have the opportunity to write for the Brigadier once again. Not only that, I got to write for one of my favourite characters from Doctor Who – Sergeant Benton – in a story that explores just how the members of UNIT are considered by their armed forces peers.

It’s always a pleasure working with Martin. His creativity is second-to-none and our readers seem to appreciate his style.

As always Richard has done us proud. His work just gets better and better.

From the first time I read James’ first short story, Piece of Mind, I knew I had found a very good author. And it was after his second short, Latent Image for The Laughing Gnome anthology, that I knew it was time to test him on a novel. By that point plans were underway for the final eight Lethbridge-Stewart novels, which meant if I was going to use James, there would be no better time. James’ inventiveness is matched easily by his enthusiasm, and that shows in his writing. It took a few attempts to break his story, slotting in a few new elements and characters, but when the idea was locked down, James’ true skills came on full display.

I’ve loved spending time reading about these characters over the past few years and was thrilled to be able to write a couple of short stories featuring some of them. I was then asked to pitch a story for a full novel, and was quite overwhelmed to be selected. This will be my first published novel. Nothing quite prepares you for the task, so I’m grateful for the guidance Andy has provided throughout.

It had been some time between finalising the outline and the first pass edit of the completed novel, time during which I had worked on a lot of other projects, so in many ways it was a nice surprise to read James’ book. I recalled only bits of the outline. What I discovered was some very sharp writing, in a book that exemplifies the what Lethbridge-Stewart (and indeed Doctor Who) does best, telling a good adventure story by playing on common fears and issues with modern culture. An even more clever task, considering the book is set in 1971.

Chapter planning was a great intermediate stage, although I’ve learned that these have to evolve as things progress and new ideas emerge. Spending an even more immersive time with these characters has been a pleasure. They have always felt so real, especially in the face of extraordinary things, and I feel privileged to have contributed one of their full adventures, especially as the series heads to its conclusion.

I’ve taken the chance with The Overseers to show off (and embellish!) some of our own local history here on the South Coast of England, while also exploring some very contemporary debates about surveillance and control. A few news stories have even broken during the time I’ve been writing that seem frighteningly close to the fiction. That blurry boundary between reality and speculation is an ideal one for our team of familiar characters to navigate. Likewise, the point between the past and the future, where each exerts a pull, is a great one to have taken them, and I hope readers enjoy going there too.

I loved the ICUs the moment I read the brief – it's such a brilliantly simple idea, yet incredibly creepy: big brother on legs. I felt there should be a big bold drawing of an ICU with gun arm raised to catch the readers eye, whilst the rest of the montage hinted at scenes from the story. The speeding Volkswagen T2 Camper gave the cover a sense of movement, and all that was needed was Anne and Lethbridge-Stewart to complete the design.