Burk and Smith? are at it again!

I’m going to have to start with the same confession I made when I reviewed Who is the Doctor – Robert Smith? and Graeme Burk’s massive exploration of NuWho – last year for Enlightenment.  The fact is, that I can’t hide the fact that I know both Graeme and Robert quite well through our time in DWIN together. It’s always hard on some level to remain objective when reviewing the works of people you know; if one is too critical one risks offending good friends.  On the other hand, overwhelming acclaim can also be read the wrong way; as a writer you don’t want to become too well-known for singing the praises of close compatriots.  And yet, I know I am being as objective as I can possibly be by saying that Smith? and Burk’s latest work, Who’s 50: The 50 Doctor Who Stories to Watch Before You Die is one of the most refreshing examinations of the entire history of Doctor Who I have seen in a long time. 

When I first read Who is the Doctor a year or two back, my first thought was, “I wish they could do this with Classic Who.”  But I knew taking on over twenty-five years of our beloved program would involve a much greater effort than simply examining the (then) six seasons of the New Series.  That’s not to say that it hasn’t been done before, but rarely in as much detail and with such an in-depth understanding of the popular culture of the day.  But with Who’s 50, Smith? and Burk have used the impending 50^th anniversary to cleverly create a “bucket list” of – for the most part – the 50 indispensable Who serials than every fan should watch.

In terms of organisation, Who’s 50 generally follows the same structure as Who is the Doctor.  The roots of each story are explored, as are references to popular culture.  Connections are made to other episodes, and new information about the Doctor, his companions and the TARDIS is examined.  “Stand up and cheer” flashes are celebrated, while “roll your eyes” moments are decried.  The book is also riddled with numerous essays and observations in the form of “The Psychic Papers”, which help to set the scene and scrutinise the background to each era.  One of the things that has been added to Who’s 50 is a “Tips for Newbies” column at the beginning of each chronological section.  This in particular was a stroke of brilliance; someone who has been raised on only the new series may not realize that television was made in a very different way – and, indeed, to serve a very different audience – fifty years ago.  If a modern NuWho fan were to try to race through all ten episodes of The War Games the way one might devour an entire DVD boxed set today, they probably wouldn’t know what hit them.  Early Who was meant to be episodic; only the most diehard fan can take in more than a few episodes at a time when viewing serials from the 1960, and it is very wise to point this out.

I learned a lot about people’s perceptions of Doctor Who by reading this book, and I also discovered quite a few things about its authors.  I have to admit being rather shocked by the fact that Graeme Burk does not hold two of my all-time favourite serials – Genesis of the Daleks and Logopolis – in nearly as high esteem.  Similarly, Robert Smith? does not seem to recognize the comic genius that is The Gunfighters.  But this dichotomy makes Who’s 50 all the more enjoyable; the authors often banter back and forth across their reviews of several stories, and they never get so academic as to make things tedious (although in many cases their “academic” observations are the most enjoyable).

Like Who is the Doctor, Who’s 50 is essential reading for all Who fans – new and old alike.  It is a fascinating journey through the history of the programme and, though it only covers a fraction of the stories that are out there, it offers its readers a rare glimpse of the awesome scope of the program – not just in terms of the number of stories that exist, but also how flexible the format is.  Whether one reads it from beginning to end, or in little chunks from time to time, it’s a real joy to devour.

For those of you in the Toronto area, Graeme and Robert will be officially launching Who’s 50 at Bakka-Phoenix Books, 84 Harbord St., at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, September 28, 2013.

Season Two of "Confessions" Definitely Worth the Tuppence

It’s odd thinking of Dorian Gray as a Doctor Who spinoff, of all things, which, of course, it’s not.  That’s like saying that Sherlock Holmes could be seen as a part of the Doctor Who universe just because he appeared in the novel All-Consuming Fire.  Nevertheless, it’s hard not to deny that the Dorian Gray who appears in the Big Finish download-only range The Confessions of Dorian Gray is very much the same “version” of the character who appeared in the Bernice Summerfield audio Shades of Gray (the second story in the Legion box set).  This is partially because he is played by the wonderful Alexander Vlahos (who originated the character in the Benny story), and secondly because it follows on from some of the ideas seeded in Shades of Gray.  As the Big Finish website states:

Inspired by Oscar Wilde's classic story of hedonism and corruption, The

Confessions of Dorian Gray imagines a world where Dorian Gray was real,

and his friendship with Oscar Wilde spawned the notorious novel.

I thought I’d write a few lines about the current series of Confessions because—although it is not yet complete (there is one more episode due in the second season at the time of writing, plus Big Finish’s upcoming adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s original novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.  There’s also a Halloween special coming out in October)—it has offered a delightful new morsel each week, and I’d love to expose some of you to this wonderful range before its second season winds down.

Even more so than Season One, the current series has offered a myriad of possibilities in the current stories.  A dark psychological thriller one week, a lighter comedy the next, The Confessions of Dorian Gray plays with its format almost as much as Doctor Who does.  Interestingly, in the first season of Confessions, the stories progressed through the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st centuries, so that each tale took place at a later date than the previous one.  The final story, The Fallen King of Britain, thus took place in modern times.  Season Two follows a similar trend, but is working its way backward; The Picture of Loretta Delphine therefore takes place in the summer of 2012, and the next story, The Lord of Misrule is set in March of 1964.  The remaining tales progress further and further into the mists of history.  (There is some indication that the final episode, Running Away With You, will play with this movement a bit.  We’ll see next Friday).

As I’ve mentioned, the jump from genre to genre is even more evident in the current series than it was in Season One, which had more of an overall darkness pervading its stories.  That’s not to say that the stories aren’t in infused with a basic level of horror—they are—and this is most evident in the season opener.  After an exploration of Dorian’s own mythology in last Christmas’s holiday special The Ghosts of Christmas Past, we are treated to yet another example of an image holding the soul or essence of an individual in The Picture of Loretta Delphine.  One of the darker stories this season, and closer in tone to the last series, Loretta Delphine is a psychological thriller that makes excellent use of its setting (the Florida Everglades).  In fact, I have to confess that in earthbound audio stories, I often don’t think of the setting as being a hugely important aspect of the storytelling.  I don’t know why that is; I suppose I simply think of some of my favourite audio stories as being more plot or character driven.  The Picture of Loretta Delphine, however, is very much a product of its setting, and the chilling twist at the end seems to grow organically from the swamps and bogs of the deepest American south.  This is not to say that writer Gary Russell’s characterization is anything but superb; Dorian Gray has the opportunity to observe tales as they unfold across generations, and we learn that they people he has touched—in this case the character of Kayla Grant, mysteriously played by Katharine Mangold—are often hiding secrets as dark as his own.

The second story in season two is Simon Barnard’s The Lord of Misrule.  I like to think of it as Dorian Gray Does “Quadrophenia”, as it explores many of the same themes and events as The Who’s famous rock opera, albeit with a more supernatural background.  Given particular attention is the escalating violence between the Mods and the Rockers, who represented the two juxtaposing modern musical visions in 1960s Britain.  In addition to a fascinating story involving an other-worldly entity, The Lord of Misrule also features an amazing soundscape, including new songs by Ioan Morris and Rhys Downing.

I expected much more of a Agatha Christie-style whodunit from the season’s third outing, David Llewellyn’s Murder on 81^st Street, but I was pleasantly surprised by a much more comic outing than previous audios.  Sarah Douglas is enchanting as Dorothy Parker, an old acquaintance of Dorian’s and the action of the story—while certainly grotesque and bizarre (it wouldn’t be Dorian Gray otherwise!)—is much lighter than on previous occasions.  The chemistry between Vlahos and Douglas is wonderful, and the banter between them adds a unique facet to this audio adventure.

Which brings us to this previous week’s installment, and probably one of my favourite stories in the range, Nev Fountain’s The Immortal Game.  Although the story is largely narrated—particularly the first half—and is performed by only two actors (Vlahos as Dorian, and Counter-Measures’ Hugh Ross as the Montague brothers).  There’s so little I want to reveal about this story, as the shocking twist at the end (which I do admit, I saw coming—but only when it was too late) is something not to be missed.  Needless to say, it starts with an ongoing chess match between two estranged brothers, and ends in a realm which makes perfect sense, given Dorian Gray’s source material.

One more episode in this season remains—next Friday’s Running Away With You (which features none other than Lalla Ward as Constance Harker).  I’ll be back to post a short review of this season finale, but if you haven’t had a chance to listen to this wickedly delicious addition to the Big Finish canon, I highly recommend it.  On top of everything, Big Finish is also releasing this month a full adaptation of the novel that inspired it all, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.  And I couldn’t be happier: Dorian Gray is on the syllabus for one of the English Lit. classes I’m teaching next semester, and what better way to introduce my students to it…

Interview With Obverse's Stuart Douglas

I know I'm going to be spending a lot more time writing about the intricacies of the Faction Paradox and Iris Wildthyme universes in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, just a reminder that my recent interview with Stuart Douglas of Obverse Books is running in the current issue of Enlightenment - the fanzine of the long-running Doctor Who Information Network.

For further information on the issue, check out http://dwin.org/home/enlightenment/article/issue_170 .  To get your hands on a copy, check out the DWIN homepage at http://www.dwin.org/ .

Welcome to the Uptime Gate!

The thing I like most about Doctor Who is how much of it there is.  I read an interesting post on Twitter today that got me to thinking.  The context is unimportant (I think it had something to do with the recipient taking a shot at NuWho fanboys and fangirls) but the important thing is that the post ended with the accusation, “What’s wrong with you?  Did you like the wilderness years??”  That got me to thinking.

Hello.  My name is Peter McAlpine, and I liked the Wilderness Years.

For those of you who don’t know, the phrase “Wilderness Years” refers to the period, roughly between 1989 and 2005, where Doctor Who was off the air (barring a one-off television movie in 1996).  During that time, it was the fans that kept the show alive, through the creation of many different forms of alternative and spin-off media.  Much of this – such as the Virgin and BBC novels, and the Big Finish audios – was officially licenced by the Beeb, but others – such as a lot of BBV’s output – was not (although BBV did licence individual characters and monsters from their original creators).

Now don’t get me wrong.  I enjoy the current incarnation of Doctor Who (the show – not the Doctor – though I love him too) as much as anything.  Personally, I try not to distinguish between New and Old Who at all; I’ve always seen the “new series” as a direct continuation of the “original series”.  So of course I adore it.  I couldn’t be happier that the greatest show in the world returned to my television screen in 2005, and has taken the world by storm.

But to this day, I still love the spinoff media.  A huge amount of it came out during the Wilderness Years, while a lot of it is the direct product of groups founded during that much-maligned period.  There are many reasons I go to the spinoff media as much as I do.  In some cases, it’s simply because I love the medium involved; I adore audio as a storytelling vehicle, so of course my addiction to the audio companies has always been obvious: Big Finish, BBV, Magic Bullet, Bafflegab (formerly Cosmic Hobo) and Radio Static (not to mention the BBC itself – in the form of AudioGo).  I’ve also been impressed with the few companies that have been brave enough to attempt visual stories, such as Reeltime and BBV.

But some of the greatest spinoffs have appeared in print media instead.  Obverse, Mad Norwegian Press, Telos, Random Static and many others have produced Doctor Who spinoff media.

Many spinoffs have appeared in multiple mediums.  But whatever you consider to be a “spinoff”, the fact is that they are everywhere: Faction Paradox (my all-time favourite), Iris Wildthyme, Jago and Litefoot, The Forge, Bernice Summerfield, Torchwood, Kaldor City, Gallifrey, Dalek Empire, Sarah Jane Smith (both the Big Finish audio series and The Sarah Jane Adventures), Time Hunter, The Minister of Chance, Counter-measures, P.R.O.B.E., K9, Cybermen, Graceless, and yes, even Dorian Gray (who appeared in a Bernice Summerfield audio before starring in his own range).  Some ranges are more linked to Who through the actors and producers involved, such as The Scarifyers, Pisces, The Stranger and Soldiers of Love, while others, such as Blakes 7, The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Dark Shadows and Sapphire and Steel have no connection to our beloved series at all, other than the fact that they may share some writers and the occasional actor.

So that’s what’s this blog is – partly – going to focus on.  Now I can’t promise that I’m not going to review the latest TV episode or give my thoughts on Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.  In fact, I’m sure I’m going to be doing a lot of that.  But I also want to give some healthy exposure to that other part of the Doctor Who universe:

The part without the Doctor.


Follow me on Twitter at @peterwmcalpine