Russell T Davies Writing Memoir with a Unique Twist by Theresa Gauthier

 Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook

During the writing of Doctor Who’s fourth season (starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate), Cook proposed writing an article for Doctor Who Magazine about the process of writing for the series. The pair began to refer to this endeavor as The Great Conversation, and instead of an article, the pair amassed enough information for a massive volume chronicling the fourth season of the New Doctor Who.

The book is unusual for a writing memoir as it's written in the epistolary format. Seven hundred pages of emails, text messages, illustrations and photos form this epistolary narrative between Russell T Davies, the Man Who Brought Back Doctor Who, and Benjamin Cook, a British writer, journalist, video editor, and YouTuber.

Opting to publish the emails they’d begun writing in their research, they share a unique view of the development of the ideas into what would become David Tennant’s last full season of the show before his season of specials and ultimate departure from the show. Also included are illustrations, script pages, photos, insights and in-jokes and everything a Whovian needs to know about the writing of the show. 

The book doesn’t stop at Doctor Who. It delves into the Doctor Who Spinoffs popular during David Tennant’s last episodes: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s easy as a lifelong Whovian to hope that Davies current reclaiming of the show to wonder if any of the characters from those shows might reappear in the current era.

The insights into Russell T Davies’s process was both enlightening and entertaining. Davies and Cook discuss what it’s like to deal with deadlines, casting changes, network expectations, special effects and budget issues as well as the procrastination that seems to be as much a part of Davies himself as it is a part of his process.

I found it fascinating to find that Davies had been working on another companion for the season before learning that Catherine Tate was not only interested in joining the cast, but also gave an immediate affirmative answer. Her joy at being offered a part for a full season came as a shock to Davies, who had believed they’d never get her to agree to it.

Tate’s Donna is a fan favorite companion, and it’s no wonder. Her exuberance is contagious. I’d loved her performance in The Runaway Bride, and was thrilled when I’d learned she was returning.

It seems that many actors, writers, and behind the scenes crew were overjoyed to join the cast. 

Bernard Cribbins, who played Donna’s grandfather Wilf, had been under the impression, when offered the part, that he would be joining the Doctor on the TARDIS. It’s easy to believe that Cribbins mentioning that puts the thought into Davies head and putting the beloved British icon onto the TARDIS in David Tennant’s final episodes.

There’s a lot of information in the book along with a lot of photos, and emails not only between Davies and Cook, but also conversations between Davies and producer Julie Gardner and between Davies and then incoming show runner Stephen Moffat. These moments make wading through the not inconsiderable  bulk of the book a joy rather than a labor.

It’s easy to get caught up in the minutiae of these conversations, including the entertaining and often irrelevant (and irreverent!) subject lines of the emails. As you read through how long it took Davies to find the inspiration to sit down and write, you find you’ve zipped through 100 pages!

If you’re the sort of Doctor Who fan who revels in such detail, don’t think twice. Read the book!