BLACK ARCHIVE: SCREAM OF THE SHALKA

By JON ARNOLD

Intended as the first in a series of online animated dramas, ‘Scream of the Shalka’ (2003) was the first attempt to redefine Doctor Who for the 21st century. Produced by BBCi and written by Doctor Who novelist (and later scriptwriter on the revived series) Paul Cornell, it maintains a traditional feel while rethinking the roles of Doctor, companion and villain.

Richard E Grant’s Doctor is characterised as aristocratic and aloof, drawing on models from the past such as Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor, Sherlock Holmes and even Dracula. The story, in which the Doctor must accept military assistance to foil an alien invasion beginning in an isolated English village, adheres to a venerable formula. Nevertheless, ‘Scream of the Shalka’ anticipates its successor in perceptive ways – featuring a Doctor who is ‘an emotional island’ numbed by recent trauma, a companion who must choose between a predictable life with her boyfriend and the joys and dangers of travel with the Doctor, and a Master humiliated by the Doctor’s duty of care.

A victim of timing as much as of its own flaws, ‘Scream of the Shalka’ remains a fascinating glimpse into an alternative vision for Doctor Who. This Black Archive volume publishes for the first time the detailed episode breakdown for Simon Clark’s ‘Blood of the Robots’, originally commissioned to follow Scream of the Shalka as the second in BBCi’s Doctor Who webcast series. Jon Arnold has edited fanzines including Shooty Dog Thing: 2th and Claw, and is a major contributor to Hating to Love: Re-evaluating the 52 Worst Doctor Who Stories of All Time. He wrote The Black Archive #1: Rose.

SCREAM OF THE SHALKA will be published on 1 March 2017.

DOWNTIME – THE LOST YEARS OF DOCTOR WHO

By DYLAN REES

Obverse Books is proud to announce the publication of the first in depth study of the so called Wilderness Years – the period between 1989 and 2005 when Doctor Who was in hiatus.

With no new official Doctor Who, it fell to the fans to safeguard the legacy of the show – fans who, in many cases, would go onto work on the new iteration after its relaunch by Russell T Davies. By licensing individual characters and monsters and hiring actors – including all the surviving Doctors and many of his companions – who had appeared on the show, the likes of Bill Baggs, Alan Stevens, Nick Briggs, Mark Gatiss and Keith Barnfather created something more than ersatz Doctor Who – they created a whole industry which kept the Who flame alive when it might otherwise have died completely.

With forty new interviews with key members of the teams behind such companies as BBV, Magic Bullet and Reeltime, author Dylan Rees investigates and analyses every Who-linked unofficial release from War Time all the way to The Minister of Chance, and speaks to all of the major creative talent involved in each project. Asked what drew him to this all but forgotten era, Rees said, “The book is really the story of fan ingenuity and creativity, and the careers that were forged or failed through these productions.”

Dylan Rees has a background in film and television production, and has written for a variety of music publications as well as articles for various Doctor Who magazines. Downtime is his first book. DOWNTIME was published on 7 February 2017.

TIME'S MOSAIC 5: DAVISON, SARAH-JANE AND ERIMEM

By FINN CLARK

Imagine a Story fifty years in the telling.

That’s a long time to maintain consistency. Storylines clash, continuity dies and contradictions flourish as one decade bleeds into the next, and one editor replaces another, each with their own idea of how the Story should be told. Add to that a veritable flood of formats – big screen, television, novels, audios, comics, short stories, cartoons – and what seemed at first to be merely difficult rapidly becomes all but unmanageable.

Now imagine if one man were to attempt to consider it all. One man reading the short stories and the novels, watching the movies and the box sets, listening to radio plays and compact discs…taking it all in so that you don’t have to…

Join Finn Clark on an epic journey through the Whoniverse, as he reviews every single Doctor Who story in every single format. From ‘An Unearthly Child’ and TV Comic throwaways to Capaldi and IDW, with sidesteps into influences and spin-offs, he’ll tell you, the reader, what he thinks of it all, good and bad… In this volume Clark examines the Peter Davison era, plus the Sarah Jane Adventures – with a quick check on the Egyptian Pharaoh Erimem – truly the ultimate review guide to Doctor Who!

TIME'S MOSAIC 5 was published on 12 February 2017.

We’re very excited to announce these novellas, a way to tell stories that may not necessarily work as full-length works, giving us a chance to explore different corners of the Lethbridge-Stewart universe. We’re launching this new range with three very special releases, all with very specific goals.

I always had a plan to develop Evans beyond the obvious cliches of his television appearance, but it turned out to be one-too-many character arcs for the series. As such Evans disappeared after 2016’s The Grandfather Infestation. Fortunately, the idea of the novellas came along, and due to the popularity of Evans, I decided it made sense to explore Evans’ character arc in the first novella. John Peel was the obvious choice; he writes quickly, and works very well to spec, and since we’ve had a lot of readers ask for more Peel, it seemed the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. And, naturally, John nailed it.

Part of the fun of writing this kind of story is inventing new menaces. This time I got to create two – only one of which was alien. Another part of the fun is doing terrible things to our favourite characters, and I certainly put poor old Evans through the wringer. I think he'll survive it.

I contacted Glen McCoy in 2016 about using the characters from his Doctor Who adventure, and after a lovely phone call with me explaining my ideas for the series, he was more than happy with what he called ‘a wicked imagination’. Once that was settled, it was just a case of finding the right person to launch the series, so I turned to Robert as I was very impressed with his speed and level of excellence when he wrote us a Halloween story last year.

When Andy and I were chatting on Skype about the upcoming novellas it suddenly dawned on him we could set up the range with a prequel short story. I immediately said yes and then knuckled down to getting the ideas, themes and plot straight. I didn’t want the story to be a direct sequel to Timelash, but I did want to take elements from that story as a way of looking at how those who assume authority after toppling a dictatorship can end up aping some of the actions of those overthrown. And despite the melancholy tone, it was an exciting project to work on – be faithful to the source material, but broaden and deepen the themes to bring them up-to-date with 21st Century sensibilities. I hope everyone enjoys it and stays for the ride that is about to begin!

Time Shadows 2 Doctor Who short-story anthology

Over 2,000 years, the Doctor has worn many faces and led many lives. He has confronted some of the most dangerous creatures in the universe, and fought the demons that lurk within his own soul. Some fights he was won. Others have left his hearts broken.

The Doctor has held the Key to Time in his hands, and wielded a weapon that ended billions of lives in a single Moment. But he has also stopped to comfort a crying child, argued the virtue of a well-prepared meal, fallen in love, and experienced cities made of song.

An impossible man living an impossible life, running away from responsibility and into danger.

The stories of Time Shadows 2 will explore the past actions and future consequences of the Doctor, his friends and his enemies, and reflect on how they lived to fight another day.

We always enjoy putting these collections together, but we’re nearing a point where we have less previously-released short stories. Fortunately, this gives us the opportunity to release brand new material, making this latest collection an even more sought after product.

It was inevitable that Tim would write for us, as he’s already sent us a short story previously and even a novel pitch. So, now that’s finally being published by us, I find myself in the odd position of a fictional character based on one of our authors. As such, part of The Lost Skin’s objectives is to write the character out of the series. Fortunately, he’s not appeared in the narrative of the novels since last year’s Moon Blink, which makes writing him out relatively easy.

When the Lethbridge-Stewart range was first announced I was really excited. There had been a decline in the volume of Doctor Who novels since 2005 and I welcomed anything else within that universe to help fill the void. I started to follow Andy and Candy Jar on social media to see if there might be opportunities to become involved somewhere along the line. As I recall Andy put out a Twitter request for any of his followers who would like to put their name to a character in a forthcoming book – Beast of Fang Rock as it turned out. I thought to myself ‘yeah, why not?’ and shoved my moniker in the mix. Some months later Tim Gambrell was in print as a scientist at the Vault. As time went on I realised that I’d been a bit hasty – Candy Jar were encouraging new writers to contribute to the range through their short story initiative; here was I, looking for opportunities and my name was already connected through a fictional character. Tim Gambrell couldn’t be both sides of the pen, could he? Andy was brilliant though. He allowed me to submit a story which, thankfully, he liked enough to ask me to develop further story ideas – one of which became The Bledoe Cadets and the Bald Man of Pengriffen. Aware of the conflict of names, I originally offered to use a pseudonym (which I’ve done in the theatre before) but he came up with another solution.

The germ of The Bald Man of Pengriffen was Andy looking for a Famous Five-type story featuring a young Alistair and the Bledoe Cadets (as mentioned in The Forgotten Son). Conveniently enough I’d recently revisited Enid Blyton’s Adventurous Four books from childhood so I knew the kinds of japes and scrapes to aim for – although I was keen for the story to be less cosy than those of Blyton’s world. We discussed a few story ideas but the Bald Man seemed to tick the most boxes – particularly because Andy likes fougous! And by writing a story about the Brigadier as a small boy, I totally avoid any times and situations that could potentially include my namesake.

I'm old enough now to appreciate the importance of family history, of roots and echoes, and genes at work in lives. For every great black-and-white hero that passed away there's a living successor, connected by love and spirit but completely herself. In this story we see an old man who wasn't much good at family, but who recognises a direct line to a curly-haired, fearless little girl hungry for stories of aliens. And we meet Lucy Wilson, who has been denied his name along with the truth about who her beloved grandad used to be. Now, before he dies, Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart needs to make sure Lucy understands both her heritage and her extraordinary future.

After prodding Andy for information about Candy Jar's method for soliciting writers and clumsily inserting myself into said method with a few pitches that he quite rightly shot down, he suggested writing something with Professor Travers returning to Det-Sen. With the professor rapidly became my one of my favorite supporting characters from the series, how could I say no? It was fun inserting him into the thick of James Bond-style danger, watching as he – just as clumsily as my initial pitch – is ensnared by nefarious villains. When Andy told me my short would form the opening prologue for his next novel, I was beyond ecstatic… And immediately began to worry about the safety of the professor. After all, he's getting up there in years now, and just what did I set him up for?

Originally it was planned to be a straight-up novella, not a part-work. I’m not sure I’m keen on this way of writing, as I like to edit and polish as I go along. Since episode one was published months ago, I no longer have the luxury of editing the first third of the story. It presents a unique challenge for me, one I’m taking by the horns. As a result some of my original plans for the story have changed, but luckily the characters are happy to help me along and take the story in surprising paths.

I also had an idea to write a couple of scenes to show what our other regulars were up to while the Brigadier was enjoying Christmas with Sally. And after writing a couple of scenes, a new thought came to me. Wouldn’t it be fun to get as many of our authors involved as possible? I sent out an email, asking for those free to send me a scene, and many responded. Bit by bit the story became longer.”

Back in 2004 I was lucky enough to write for the older Brigadier in Big Finish’s UNIT series. That was an absolute joy. It was an older, wiser but always resolute Brig. Passing years hadn’t diminished his sense of duty or his willingness to risk everything to do what needed doing and do what was right. Writing those scripts was as big a buzz for me as writing for the Doctor. Hearing Nick be complimentary about how we had handled the Brig was one of the happiest moments of my career. Writing a younger version of the Brigadier was something I had pondered, but I didn’t see how I could do it… until news of the Lethbridge-Stewart books came along. When I had the chance to pitch I jumped at it, just for the chance to spend some time with a character who feels like an old friend.

I wanted the book to start with a bang – and so we go straight into the Brig being sent to jail. From there… well, life inside Britain’s prison system wasn’t easy. I’d read about Wormwood Scrubs having been used as a military installation during WW2 and that helped me shape the story and plan how it would unfold. Using the Scrubs made me think of TV and films from the ‘60s and ‘70s that had a real edge. McVicar, Get Carter, Target, The Long Good Friday… suddenly the Brig in jail had some edge, and it was the kind of situation we’d never seen him in before. But he’s clever and he’s resourceful… the Brigadier isn’t Colonel Blimp. He’s a damned good soldier, and he’s a dangerous man in the right situation. I hope that’s the Brig you see in this book. As an outline it went through a few revisions, as most books do. But through the writing and the rewriting, the joy at the heart of it is the Brigadier having new adventures. Taking this wonderful character, putting him in situations he needs to resolve and writing dialogue people will read in Nick’s wonderful, rich voice… that’s an honour and a pleasure. Nick and the Brigadier? Splendid fellows, both of them.

This was a fun story to break. The idea of Lethbridge-Stewart serving time in prison came from Shaun; it was of the earlier ideas we discussed. I personally wanted to bring back both Captain Knight and Colonel Pemberton, who have both been mentioned several times in the series. Indeed both have appeared in some of our short stories, so it was nice to bring them into the novels properly. I approached Iain after he was recommended by a friend, although I was aware of his work I had forgotten he’d written for the Brigadier back in 2004. Iain was up for it, and took on board the small ‘shopping list’, building a very solid story from the initial ideas.

I thought it would be great idea putting Lethbridge-Stewart in prison, so it was a lot of fun to finally read the book (by the time I read them, at the formatting stage, these books are fully written). It was just as I hoped it would be. It combines the tough storytelling of The Sweeney, with comedy elements of Porridge. Iain has really done a fantastic job on this book, bringing some much-needed comedy touches to the Brigadier’s time inside.

I really enjoyed bringing Captain Knight to the fore, as I particularly like the performances that actor Ralph Watson brought to both The Web of Fear and Horror of Fang Rock, and he deserves such a homage. Andy knows my strength, and gave me a brief that really brings out the best in me.

I first met Sharon via the wonderful world of social media back in, I think, 2009. I was very impressed with her work, and soon enlisted her for my Space: 1889 & Beyond series. Her work ethic was proven to me when a novella fell through at the last minute and she agreed to co-author a replacement with me – which we did, in only two weeks! Sharon’s first drafts are often better than a lot of published works out there, and from the off I told her that I would get her writing for the Lethbridge-Stewart series. She resisted for all of five minutes.

I've written for and with Andy before with great success, so I was not entirely surprised when he got in contact about his latest project. For one thing, he'd been 'hinting' for some time that he wanted to rope me in and Andy isn't someone who understands no as an answer.Whenever I hear from Andy, I never know whether to cheer or groan. All those who write novels for well-known television shows now have my utmost respect. Some find it easy; for others the experience feels difficult and involves a lot of angst. I'm one of those worriers. Despite the responsibility, Andy has dragged me into incredible worlds and stories that are part of history and there's no way not to be grateful for that.Invariably the experience of writing for Lethbridge-Stewart was, for me, daunting, exciting, fun, and adventurous…a bit like the character himself.

Sharon was an unknown quantity for me, but I knew that Andy had worked with her before, so I was more than happy to see what she’d come up with. Having read her short story, and looked up her other work, I now believe she’s going to be a wonderful addition to our stable of authors on this series.

I adore working with Candy Jar, and their cover briefs are always so specific, but this one was rather ambiguous as there were several elements that I could have used on the cover. I decided to concentrate on the alien of the piece.One passage of the story mentioned its burning eyes. Using a combination of traditional drawing and then colourisation in Photoshop (to really get the blazing eyes right), this is what I came up with.And I'm pleased to say everyone loved it.