elenasquareeyes's review against another edition
5.0
The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is a chunky beast at over 700 pages but it’s a book that is truly fascinating and I could’ve read hundreds of pages more of the emails between Davies and Cook. While my love and interest in Doctor Who has waxed and waned over the year, the Ninth and Tenth Doctor’s era of Doctor Who made up a huge part of my childhood and I’m still incredibly fond of it. So, reading Russell T Davies’ thoughts on that era and how he went about planning and writing the last series and the specials that rounded out that era of Doctor Who was so interesting.
Seeing how story arcs and character motivations were developed over time, with some being clearly planned out while others seemed to appear out of nowhere but make perfect sense was fascinating. As I had (re)watched all of Doctor Who last year, the episodes talked about were fresh in my memory so it was fun comparing what ended up being shown on TV and all the drafts Davies went through to get there. There were certain episodes that Davies would talk about struggling to write and then seeing how he solved those problems was really interesting, especially how he sometimes used the email correspondence as like a sounding board, working through the problem until a solution presented itself.
Naturally I think The Writer’s Tale will be interesting to any Doctor Who fan, but I also think it is the kind of book that would be appealing to anyone who has an interest for writing and TV in general. Seeing that peak behind the curtain of how a big British TV show is made, the highs and lows, the what could’ve been scenarios in terms of casting or story, how there’s so many people that make shows like this happen who the average viewer wouldn’t have heard of or wouldn’t really know what their job title actually means, it’s just a really interesting experience. In some ways The Writer’s Tale made me think of all the behind-the-scenes stuff from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those appendices were captivating and in a similar way so was The Writer’s Tale. Both productions often had a lot working against them but the teams behind them made them work.
The discussions on writing are interesting and super personal and Davies says multiple times that he doesn’t necessarily want people to take how he writes as the law on writing, that everyone approaches it differently and the way he does it perhaps isn’t always healthy with the number of cigarettes he smokes and how he leaves things close to the deadline and gets incredibly stressed. The process of rewriting and others making edits or comments on your work is prevalent throughout and if one thing comes across in The Writer’s Tale it’s that you have to have a lot of confidence and self-belief in your work to make it in that industry. As well as a lot of luck and some good connections too.
In fact, reading The Writer’s Tale now, a few months away from the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who and then a whole new series where Russell T Davies is back as the showrunner, I was left wondering why on earth he came back. It’s clear he loves the show and the people involved with making it but he was ready to let it go after over five years of being in charge. As mentioned, the late nights, smoking, stress, how the show affected his personal life and was like an all-consuming presence for months on end – it was somewhat overwhelming as a reader, never mind the person who was living through all of that. I’d be fascinated the hear why or how he decided to return to the show now, over a decade since he left it. I wonder if he has more healthy coping mechanisms or a better work/life balance today compared to then.
The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter is a fascinating look at scriptwriting, what to do and perhaps what not to do, as well as all the production issues that can go into making a big show like Doctor Who. Also, as it’s really a continuous email correspondence between two people who have respect for each other and their work, it’s an accessible text that often has humour and heart to it, making it all the more easy to be immersed in Davies’ writing process.
richardwiggins's review against another edition
4.0
What a wonderful read. A mammoth read, mind. I read this as part of my Doctor Who marathon, which has been going on for years now, but includes (on top of the show itself) back issues of Doctor Who Magazine, commentaries, podcasts, DW Confidential, spin offs (including the Australian one) and even fan made productions. I’m doing this comprehensive marathon once, so I can truly say I’ve watched and fully considered everything. As a result, I can only review this book as “that” kind of obsessive fan.
I love Russell T Davies with all my heart. He is my hero. No stranger has changed my life more than him. Ben Cook is a journalist who both in and outside of this book has contributed huge, fearless additions to fandom. We are so lucky to have him. Together they give an unbeatable insight into what it’s like to write Doctor Who, straight from the horse’s mouth. I felt the full gamut of emotions reading this, which is amazing considering it’s essentially just a bunch of emails. It proves the level of clarity and beauty in Russell’s writing that he could make magic out of what others would find an inherently limited format.
If you want to learn how to write, you’ll pick up handy tips. If you want to know how Russell made the show between 2007 to 2009, then this will unveil a serious number of delicious secrets. This is the full story.
I love Russell T Davies with all my heart. He is my hero. No stranger has changed my life more than him. Ben Cook is a journalist who both in and outside of this book has contributed huge, fearless additions to fandom. We are so lucky to have him. Together they give an unbeatable insight into what it’s like to write Doctor Who, straight from the horse’s mouth. I felt the full gamut of emotions reading this, which is amazing considering it’s essentially just a bunch of emails. It proves the level of clarity and beauty in Russell’s writing that he could make magic out of what others would find an inherently limited format.
If you want to learn how to write, you’ll pick up handy tips. If you want to know how Russell made the show between 2007 to 2009, then this will unveil a serious number of delicious secrets. This is the full story.
c_salako's review against another edition
5.0
So glad I took the risk and grabbed this. Slightly intimidated by the size and my lack of Doctor Who knowledge but once I started I couldn't stop; Russell and Ben worked perfectly together.
Steven Moffat's foreword of "if you read this and still want to be a writer, you will be" is slightly scary but I completely related to Russell from the start, and you'll understand why Moffat says that as you get into the book. All writers (and Whovians) should read this. It's funny and honest and I loved the email/text format (and the drawings, cheeky Russell) and shows you an imperfect but, I think, a very good view into the head of such an amazing writer like Davies.
Steven Moffat's foreword of "if you read this and still want to be a writer, you will be" is slightly scary but I completely related to Russell from the start, and you'll understand why Moffat says that as you get into the book. All writers (and Whovians) should read this. It's funny and honest and I loved the email/text format (and the drawings, cheeky Russell) and shows you an imperfect but, I think, a very good view into the head of such an amazing writer like Davies.
morganl_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
finnianwills's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
My favourite book.
theteaisaddictive's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
I absolutely adored this book. First of all, as a look ‘behind the curtain’ into what it was like scripting and exec producing Doctor Who this really was invaluable — I had no idea how gruelling and stressful it was to showrun. Secondly, as an insight into RTD both as a person and professionally — for instance, I now have a list of shows to check out, the vast majority of which I had never heard of (the curse of being a millennial/zoomed cusp). Thirdly, for all the ruminations on why and how one writes; the drive behind it, the craft behind it, and what is or isn’t bullshit. I suspect if my personal philosophy on writing differed wildly from RTD’s I might have found these sections frustrating to sit through, but as our opinions largely seemed to align I found myself nodding along and thinking ‘Yes, exactly, that’s exactly what it feels like.’
inareskai's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Borrowed this book from a friend, and read it aloud to my husband so we could both enjoy it. Really interesting and super fun to hear insights from the production and writing processes.