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Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-89
In this book, former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel offers a frank and revealing view of his time on the program. For fans, this book is a unique insight into an area of the show's history that has previously been shrouded in mystery. For those with a wider interest in the creative processes of television drama, it is a fascinating account of the individual's creative vision at odds with the machinery of broadcasting. It features a foreword by the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 7, 2019
A fascinating insight into the Seventh Doctor’s era of the late 1980’s as every story from the McCoy era is touched upon by the then Script Editor Andrew Cartmel.
I was lucky to meet Andrew at the recent London Film and Comic Con this summer, on his table included this reprinted expanded memoir that I’d been wanting to read for some time.
The fact that I got my copy signed was an added bonus!
I’ve always been a fan of this era of the show and the book details the ideas taken to add a bit of mystery the Doctor as the show had started to lose its way during the mid-eighties.
The BBC seem to perfect period pieces and the simple but effective way of setting more stories in the past was such a easily brilliant solution.
It’s such a shame that the show didn’t continue through the 90’s as the final three stories of this era are just brilliant, it’s fascinating the similarities between the 1989 series and the 2005 reboot has in common!
One of my favourite TARDIS teams with Seven and Ace, this a great keepsake that will be cherished in my collection.
I was lucky to meet Andrew at the recent London Film and Comic Con this summer, on his table included this reprinted expanded memoir that I’d been wanting to read for some time.
The fact that I got my copy signed was an added bonus!
I’ve always been a fan of this era of the show and the book details the ideas taken to add a bit of mystery the Doctor as the show had started to lose its way during the mid-eighties.
The BBC seem to perfect period pieces and the simple but effective way of setting more stories in the past was such a easily brilliant solution.
It’s such a shame that the show didn’t continue through the 90’s as the final three stories of this era are just brilliant, it’s fascinating the similarities between the 1989 series and the 2005 reboot has in common!
One of my favourite TARDIS teams with Seven and Ace, this a great keepsake that will be cherished in my collection.
March 6, 2009
Out of the many books I've read about Doctor Who, this is the finest memoir. Cartmel was the groundbreaking script editor of the show during the final three years of its original incarnation, and kept detailed diaries during this time. What results is a book that captures, with specificity and minute details and sensory perceptions, the production of Doctor Who from one of the most critical, if rarely seen, viewpoints.
The way the show was organized is somewhat different from current practices. The producer of the show, John Nathan-Turner, was overall in charge, but focused mainly on the technical aspects of production. The story was left to the script editor to shape and shepherd, with the producer's approval. Cartmel gives us access to this process, thanks to his copious notes, and explains the thoughts behind the creative decisions made during that time, and how the writing process unfolded, and how his unique vision of the show came to be expressed onscreen.
Cartmel's "master plan" rehabilitated the show and infused it with new life, and it's not hard to see why - Cartmel is a damn good writer. His prose is balanced and well-crafted, and conveys his analysis with clarity and humor. What he really did on Doctor Who was use the writing of the program as a platform for solving intractable problems of the production aspect, and this book stands as an enjoyable, and also instructive, analysis of that contribution.
The way the show was organized is somewhat different from current practices. The producer of the show, John Nathan-Turner, was overall in charge, but focused mainly on the technical aspects of production. The story was left to the script editor to shape and shepherd, with the producer's approval. Cartmel gives us access to this process, thanks to his copious notes, and explains the thoughts behind the creative decisions made during that time, and how the writing process unfolded, and how his unique vision of the show came to be expressed onscreen.
Cartmel's "master plan" rehabilitated the show and infused it with new life, and it's not hard to see why - Cartmel is a damn good writer. His prose is balanced and well-crafted, and conveys his analysis with clarity and humor. What he really did on Doctor Who was use the writing of the program as a platform for solving intractable problems of the production aspect, and this book stands as an enjoyable, and also instructive, analysis of that contribution.
April 18, 2025
For the first three quarters or so of the book this is a delight: gossipy, human and insightful into BBC production in the late 80s, prior to the damaging and ill-considered Birt reforms. It’s fascinating to watch Cartmel get to grips with the series and watching his view of it and what it could achieve evolve, plus there’s his creation of a de facto writers room with them bouncing ideas off each other. It also raises the tantalising prospect of a Ben Aaronovitch script editorship if the show had continued into the early 90s: a possible lost era which would likely have pushed what we got on screen further.
The last quarter, covering perhaps the meatiest scripts of the era is a tad perfunctory compared to the earlier entries: perhaps Cartmel was less diligent with his diary keeping or entries were cut for repetition. Still, it’s always engaging and thoughtful and vital reading for anyone interested in the history of the show.
The last quarter, covering perhaps the meatiest scripts of the era is a tad perfunctory compared to the earlier entries: perhaps Cartmel was less diligent with his diary keeping or entries were cut for repetition. Still, it’s always engaging and thoughtful and vital reading for anyone interested in the history of the show.
February 12, 2023
A fascinating journal of Andrew Cartmel's tenure as Script Editor of Dr Who in the late 80s, one of my favourite eras of the show, if not my favourite overall. Hearing about how these brilliant stories came into being, the ups and downs of creating Dr Who on a low budget in a BBC that didn't care about it was brilliant. My GOD I wish I'd had this job (I hadn't been born yet but still).
Early on there's a bit of a tendancy for Cartmel to explain at great length how beautiful each actress working on the show was, how much he fancied them all and on one memorable occasion how he smooched one of them in a lift (despite having a girlfriend) which I found a bit sleazy, but thankfully this tapers off towards the middle of the book and doesn't come back. Fantastic overall.
Early on there's a bit of a tendancy for Cartmel to explain at great length how beautiful each actress working on the show was, how much he fancied them all and on one memorable occasion how he smooched one of them in a lift (despite having a girlfriend) which I found a bit sleazy, but thankfully this tapers off towards the middle of the book and doesn't come back. Fantastic overall.
May 26, 2016
I bought and read this in Nottingham in 2006. Just reread it ten years later to coincide with my complete DW rewatch finally reach the Seventh Doctor and the end of the Classic series. In 2006, I hadn't seen most of the stories Cartmel worked on. Now, of course, I have and it obviously makes a difference in how the book reads. It's a shame Cartmel and co. didn't get a fourth year on the show. The powerful 1 2 3 punch of Ghost Light, Fenric, and Survival suggest the show was really coming back to full power.
October 15, 2021
"In the last few years of classic Doctor Who, the show caught fire again. John Nathan-Turner took a mad but brilliant gamble and cast Andrew Cartmel as the Script Editor, and gave that fine old show a mighty kick up the backside. It took a moment to settle in but, before you know it, there are shows like Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy... and in every episode a new, punky sensibility that made the tired old Doctor brand new and dangerous again."
These words are from Steven Moffat's introduction to this book, and pretty much sum up my perspective on Sylvester McCoy's era as the Doctor. The book itself was foisted on me by the author at a London Comic Con a few years back, but I'd been keen to peek behind the curtain at what it had to say. It's a mixed affair, as some of the earlier chapters can read in parts as though they are little more than scattered notes lifted straight from Cartmel's notebook, whilst elsewhere there are repeated references to female cast and crew members that at best I could have done without and at worst come across as inappropriate. But, especially in reference to the later seasons, there are genuine insights into how these stories came to the screen, and tantalising glimpses at what might have been had the show continued. A mixed bag, then, and I'm not trying to be cute when I say that it would have benefitted from a tighter editing process.
These words are from Steven Moffat's introduction to this book, and pretty much sum up my perspective on Sylvester McCoy's era as the Doctor. The book itself was foisted on me by the author at a London Comic Con a few years back, but I'd been keen to peek behind the curtain at what it had to say. It's a mixed affair, as some of the earlier chapters can read in parts as though they are little more than scattered notes lifted straight from Cartmel's notebook, whilst elsewhere there are repeated references to female cast and crew members that at best I could have done without and at worst come across as inappropriate. But, especially in reference to the later seasons, there are genuine insights into how these stories came to the screen, and tantalising glimpses at what might have been had the show continued. A mixed bag, then, and I'm not trying to be cute when I say that it would have benefitted from a tighter editing process.
September 6, 2016
A wonderfully engaging, inside look behind the scenes of Doctor Who in the late 80s. Andrew Cartmel writes a fantastic peek at what was. Unfortunately the tone of the first half of the book is very matter of fact, chaotic production notes and bits of exchanged dialogue from the principles associated with the shows being produced. It's the second half of the book that contains the meaty stories and thoughts of what was trying to be accomplished and wether or not Mr. Cartmel thought they succeeded. While I miss the factoids in the second half of the book, I wish the first half was written with this kind of open honesty and optimism. Cartmel believed then (and now) that they were doing GOOD science fiction and GOOD Doctor Who at the time, and it's a joy to read his insights on the matter. (For the record, I agree with his assessment.) I just wish the tone of the book was constant throughout. If I were to be so bold, I'd suggest a special edition may be in order, to beef up and marry the two styles together.
Regardless, it's an entertaining read, and provides a rare look at a unique time in the shows history.
Regardless, it's an entertaining read, and provides a rare look at a unique time in the shows history.
November 28, 2015
As someone who was obsessed with watching Doctor Who on my local PBS station every Saturday night as a kid, I've always been interested in reading behind-the-scenes accounts of the production. I was particularly inspired creatively by Andrew Cartmel's three seasons as script editor, so I was excited to read this book. It doesn't disappoint. Some people will be looking for more gossip than what is given. I'm glad it doesn't sink too far into that sort of thing. A quick interesting read for anyone who was a fan of the show in the 80s and interested in how the stories developed from conception to screen.
February 8, 2014
If you like the final years of a certain show then you'll be equal parts intrigued and amused at this book, which lapses into a milder more heterosexual version of that JNT book at times ("and then I snogged a Red Kang in the BBC lift"), made me think about how good some of the scripts were and how the execution was a big issue, and how Pip & Jane were really as bad as we thought they were all along. A pretty good account of those years of Doctor Who.
May 12, 2015
I'm not a die hard Who fan, but I liked MIWK's JNT book a lot, so thought I would give this a go. Unfortunately its a big disappointment. The book goes thru each story of the 86-89 series, but doesn't really settle into a style - its neither biography or behind the scenes - but a mish-mash of both. And it does neither very well. The anecdotes are tame, or teased at and not revealed - almost as if the author is saving the good stuff for another book.
February 26, 2024
Script Doctor is an invaluable document for any fan of the Doctor Who era it covers. There's great insight into people fandom thinks it has pegged (John Nathan-Turner is depicted very sympathetically) and a spotlight on people fandom is largely unfamiliar with (production secretary Kate Esteal is a near constant presence). It's thus completely unreviewable from an objective stance, either you've seen the stories it covers or you've no hope of following along to the stereotypically dweeby beat of the exceptionally self-sure and slightly letcherous young Cartmel. Rather than attempt to overcome that obstacle, I've taken down a fact new to me for each story:
• Joanna Newbery, assistant floor manager for Time and the Rani, was the daughter of Barry Newbery, designer of the second TARDIS prop, and she took pride in telling Cartmel so.
• The two older women living together in Paradise Towers coming off as a lesbian couple wasn't a mistake, a fact used as a bargaining Chip by Stephen Wyatt to JNT!
• The shooting of Delta and the Bannerman had a rather goofy aura to it, including kids on BMX bikes chasing Sylvester McCoy down for his autograph (to be signed on photos leaned against their own foreheads) and a two-man comedy routine presented by McCoy and Don Henderson.
• A cocktail mentioned in Dragonfire, Astral Cascade, was named through a fifteen-minute brainstorming session between Andrew Cartmel, Stephen Wyatt, and Ben Aaronovitch.
• Cartmel considered Destiny of the Daleks to be the only Dalek story to have made Daleks look sinister and had Andrew Morgan, director of Remembrance of the Daleks, watch it for inspiration.
• The reason Greatest Show in the Galaxy was shot in an actual tent was not to the credit of artistic choices, but to the presence of asbestos in the studios. They thus had to shoot in the parking lot, at one point leading to an impromptu party with firemen and the cast of 'Allo 'Allo.
• John Nathan-Turner refused the inclusion of Nazis in Silver Nemesis. The search-and-replace of the word Nazi to 'Paramilitary' was enough to placate him.
• Cartmel told Graeme Curry to avoid mentioning the obvious parallel in interviews between The Happiness Patrol's Helen A as played by Sheila Hancock and Margaret Thatcher. Hancock, who had figured the connection out instantly, proceeded to mention it in interviews herself.
• The Doctor's reveal of being Merlin in Battlefield was in his own future not because of an inspired notion, but because Aaronovitch had done a reveal about The Doctor's past in his last script and didn't want to repeat himself.
• Cartmel almost managed to convince Alan Moore to write a Doctor Who script. Whilst that never panned out, Alan Moore's water vampire concepts from Swamp Thing did make it into the script of The Curse of Fenric in the form of Haemovores.
• The BBC Gramphone Library "took pains to provide the perfect piece" for Ghost Light and produced an actual 19th-century period track, "That's the Way to the Zoo".
• Survival was originally called "Cat-Flap", based on the 'phenomenon' of uninvited creatures coming through the doors of cat owners. (Yes, Cartmel wasn't on set much for the last season...)
• Joanna Newbery, assistant floor manager for Time and the Rani, was the daughter of Barry Newbery, designer of the second TARDIS prop, and she took pride in telling Cartmel so.
• The two older women living together in Paradise Towers coming off as a lesbian couple wasn't a mistake, a fact used as a bargaining Chip by Stephen Wyatt to JNT!
• The shooting of Delta and the Bannerman had a rather goofy aura to it, including kids on BMX bikes chasing Sylvester McCoy down for his autograph (to be signed on photos leaned against their own foreheads) and a two-man comedy routine presented by McCoy and Don Henderson.
• A cocktail mentioned in Dragonfire, Astral Cascade, was named through a fifteen-minute brainstorming session between Andrew Cartmel, Stephen Wyatt, and Ben Aaronovitch.
• Cartmel considered Destiny of the Daleks to be the only Dalek story to have made Daleks look sinister and had Andrew Morgan, director of Remembrance of the Daleks, watch it for inspiration.
• The reason Greatest Show in the Galaxy was shot in an actual tent was not to the credit of artistic choices, but to the presence of asbestos in the studios. They thus had to shoot in the parking lot, at one point leading to an impromptu party with firemen and the cast of 'Allo 'Allo.
• John Nathan-Turner refused the inclusion of Nazis in Silver Nemesis. The search-and-replace of the word Nazi to 'Paramilitary' was enough to placate him.
• Cartmel told Graeme Curry to avoid mentioning the obvious parallel in interviews between The Happiness Patrol's Helen A as played by Sheila Hancock and Margaret Thatcher. Hancock, who had figured the connection out instantly, proceeded to mention it in interviews herself.
• The Doctor's reveal of being Merlin in Battlefield was in his own future not because of an inspired notion, but because Aaronovitch had done a reveal about The Doctor's past in his last script and didn't want to repeat himself.
• Cartmel almost managed to convince Alan Moore to write a Doctor Who script. Whilst that never panned out, Alan Moore's water vampire concepts from Swamp Thing did make it into the script of The Curse of Fenric in the form of Haemovores.
• The BBC Gramphone Library "took pains to provide the perfect piece" for Ghost Light and produced an actual 19th-century period track, "That's the Way to the Zoo".
• Survival was originally called "Cat-Flap", based on the 'phenomenon' of uninvited creatures coming through the doors of cat owners. (Yes, Cartmel wasn't on set much for the last season...)
Read
August 22, 2021Let me state from the outset that I am a huge admirer of Andrew Cartmel, both as a writer and as the script editor who oversaw what is to my mind as accomplished and brilliant an era of Doctor Who as the considerably-more-lauded Hinchcliffe years. In spite of which, Cartmel's analysis of his achievements has always been ruthlessly objective, modest and unpretentious, laced with good humour and praise where it is due.
In all honesty, then, this book is a bit of a disappointment - not because Cartmel's perspectives and anecdotes are anything less than fascinating, but because the presentation is so haphazard. Over half of this book is clearly drawn from the diaries he kept while working on the show, all breathless excitement and chaotic non-sequitur. It's a shame that they're not presented as such, properly laid out by date and transcribed as written; instead they have been tinkered with, arranged by story and put in the past tense, though little else has been done to sort out the repetitions, the inconsistencies and the inaccuracies that are entirely forgivable in a diary but don't make a lot of sense in a retrospective. It's confusing and more than a little frustrating to read about arguments or people that have already been encountered, only to re-encounter them actually happening in a different chapter because of the way the chronology has been messed about with.
At the point where he says he began to take a more hands-off approach to the actual filming of stories, the diary entries give way to a more prosaic, analytical style (presumably because he was doing less standing around during shooting days and didn't find the time to make journal entries). Whilst his observations in this latter section are as astute and interesting as ever, it is strange to go from the energy of a contemporary account (the excitement and frustration writ large as it actually happens) to a more retrospective (and perhaps uncoincidentally more critical) perspective, in which he quotes other people involved almost as often as he tells his own story. To be honest, that material is available elsewhere. Not that these chapters suddenly achieve greater coherence - there is an undisciplined stream of consciousness feel to the whole thing, and the tenses are still all over the place. Also, given that I am reading a copy that was part of the third print run of this edition (the Ten Acre Productions reprint), it is a little bit annoying that so many glaring typos remain uncorrected.
Overall, then, it feels as though this potentially great read is let down because, irony of irony, it needed a better editor.
In all honesty, then, this book is a bit of a disappointment - not because Cartmel's perspectives and anecdotes are anything less than fascinating, but because the presentation is so haphazard. Over half of this book is clearly drawn from the diaries he kept while working on the show, all breathless excitement and chaotic non-sequitur. It's a shame that they're not presented as such, properly laid out by date and transcribed as written; instead they have been tinkered with, arranged by story and put in the past tense, though little else has been done to sort out the repetitions, the inconsistencies and the inaccuracies that are entirely forgivable in a diary but don't make a lot of sense in a retrospective. It's confusing and more than a little frustrating to read about arguments or people that have already been encountered, only to re-encounter them actually happening in a different chapter because of the way the chronology has been messed about with.
At the point where he says he began to take a more hands-off approach to the actual filming of stories, the diary entries give way to a more prosaic, analytical style (presumably because he was doing less standing around during shooting days and didn't find the time to make journal entries). Whilst his observations in this latter section are as astute and interesting as ever, it is strange to go from the energy of a contemporary account (the excitement and frustration writ large as it actually happens) to a more retrospective (and perhaps uncoincidentally more critical) perspective, in which he quotes other people involved almost as often as he tells his own story. To be honest, that material is available elsewhere. Not that these chapters suddenly achieve greater coherence - there is an undisciplined stream of consciousness feel to the whole thing, and the tenses are still all over the place. Also, given that I am reading a copy that was part of the third print run of this edition (the Ten Acre Productions reprint), it is a little bit annoying that so many glaring typos remain uncorrected.
Overall, then, it feels as though this potentially great read is let down because, irony of irony, it needed a better editor.
March 10, 2021
I will hold my hands up and say that there is probably a great deal of bias at play in regards to my thoughts on this book. This era of Doctor Who was my first and it is my favourite to revisit, so I was always going to find the inner workings of the show incredibly fascinating. Script Doctor is like an 80's version of modern Who's Doctor Who confidential, but in book form.
I think it's safe to say that this era of Doctor Who isn't known for being its strongest. Despite this, I have watched Remembrance of the Daleks so many times I can practically recite it by heart. I never tire of watching Ace running around avoiding Cybermen blasts while firing gold at them with a slingshot in Silver Nemesis. And don't get me started on the scene in The Curse of Fenric when the Doctor has to shatter Ace's faith in him *chef's kiss*
Because of this, I found reading Cartmel's experience behind the scenes incredibly fascinating. It gives a new perspective to those flaws that people saw in the series, and how they had tried their hardest to fix it but sometimes just couldn't achieve what they wanted.
Cartmel's love for sciene fiction and Doctor Who resonated with me. Doctor Who is my childhood, teeangehood and adulthood. I greatly respect his desire to help create the best possible show he could. He cared about the show, and that's so important to me.
I'll admit, I haven't been too keen on the show from about 2013 onward, and I've always been very vocal about that. But reading the part where John Nathan Turner was sat at his desk, miserable and depressed about a petition to have him removed from the show, actually made me pause for thought and reflect on my own behaviour. How my vocalness could affect those who are just trying their best to produce a good show. I've always tried to be respectful in my opinions, but it still struck me as poignant.
The anecdotes about the antics on and off set were fun too and I can't wait to watch series' 24, 25 and 26 with this new perspective Andrew Cartmel has given me. Being able to recognise and understand the thought processes behind decisions and props and costumes will make rewatching what I already find an incredibly enjoyable era of Doctor Who even more so.
I can't wait to do so.
I think it's safe to say that this era of Doctor Who isn't known for being its strongest. Despite this, I have watched Remembrance of the Daleks so many times I can practically recite it by heart. I never tire of watching Ace running around avoiding Cybermen blasts while firing gold at them with a slingshot in Silver Nemesis. And don't get me started on the scene in The Curse of Fenric when the Doctor has to shatter Ace's faith in him *chef's kiss*
Because of this, I found reading Cartmel's experience behind the scenes incredibly fascinating. It gives a new perspective to those flaws that people saw in the series, and how they had tried their hardest to fix it but sometimes just couldn't achieve what they wanted.
Cartmel's love for sciene fiction and Doctor Who resonated with me. Doctor Who is my childhood, teeangehood and adulthood. I greatly respect his desire to help create the best possible show he could. He cared about the show, and that's so important to me.
I'll admit, I haven't been too keen on the show from about 2013 onward, and I've always been very vocal about that. But reading the part where John Nathan Turner was sat at his desk, miserable and depressed about a petition to have him removed from the show, actually made me pause for thought and reflect on my own behaviour. How my vocalness could affect those who are just trying their best to produce a good show. I've always tried to be respectful in my opinions, but it still struck me as poignant.
The anecdotes about the antics on and off set were fun too and I can't wait to watch series' 24, 25 and 26 with this new perspective Andrew Cartmel has given me. Being able to recognise and understand the thought processes behind decisions and props and costumes will make rewatching what I already find an incredibly enjoyable era of Doctor Who even more so.
I can't wait to do so.
April 28, 2019
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3183264.html
I found this a really refreshing book. It's fascinating to read it in contrast with Matthew Waterhouse's account of the early days of the John Nathan-Turner era, and indeed Richard Marson's account of JNT's career and life. Like Matthew Waterhouse, Cartmel was already a fan before being recruited as the script editor for the last three years of Old Who, coinciding with Sylvester McCoy's time as the Doctor. But he was a bit older, he wasn't as invested in it, and although this was his first job in television, he already had had a bit of a career and also had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do with Who.
Most of the Who first-person books I have read situate the writer's experience on the programme in the context of a longer (and often happier) career; this one is unusual in that we get little insight into Cartmel's life before 1986 or after 1989. But it pays off in terms of interesting detail. One person who looms very large in Cartmel's narrative who I don't think I had even heard of before is Kate Easteal, the production secretary, who was clearly crucial to keeping the show together and is almost unmentioned in other writing.
Cartmel gets very much into the weeds of the production of each of the twelve stories produced on his watch, including some interesting gossip on the personal frictions (not least in his own love life), but more particularly on the challenges posed by an unsympathetic BBC hierarchy and a political situation where Cartmel was doing his best to displace various established writers and other stakeholders. Each story is taken as a narrative unit, which means that the book ends up being not completely sequential, as in real life the production of various stories often overlapped. But the payoff is that we follow each story from start to finish, and basically we fans are more interested in how The Happiness Patrol came to be than in knowing exactly what was in the production office in-tray in July 1988.
Anyway, I enjoyed this more than I expected, and learned more than I expected as well, so we can score that as a win.
I found this a really refreshing book. It's fascinating to read it in contrast with Matthew Waterhouse's account of the early days of the John Nathan-Turner era, and indeed Richard Marson's account of JNT's career and life. Like Matthew Waterhouse, Cartmel was already a fan before being recruited as the script editor for the last three years of Old Who, coinciding with Sylvester McCoy's time as the Doctor. But he was a bit older, he wasn't as invested in it, and although this was his first job in television, he already had had a bit of a career and also had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do with Who.
Most of the Who first-person books I have read situate the writer's experience on the programme in the context of a longer (and often happier) career; this one is unusual in that we get little insight into Cartmel's life before 1986 or after 1989. But it pays off in terms of interesting detail. One person who looms very large in Cartmel's narrative who I don't think I had even heard of before is Kate Easteal, the production secretary, who was clearly crucial to keeping the show together and is almost unmentioned in other writing.
Cartmel gets very much into the weeds of the production of each of the twelve stories produced on his watch, including some interesting gossip on the personal frictions (not least in his own love life), but more particularly on the challenges posed by an unsympathetic BBC hierarchy and a political situation where Cartmel was doing his best to displace various established writers and other stakeholders. Each story is taken as a narrative unit, which means that the book ends up being not completely sequential, as in real life the production of various stories often overlapped. But the payoff is that we follow each story from start to finish, and basically we fans are more interested in how The Happiness Patrol came to be than in knowing exactly what was in the production office in-tray in July 1988.
Anyway, I enjoyed this more than I expected, and learned more than I expected as well, so we can score that as a win.
Read
August 26, 2021The last script editor of classic Who tells his story. Not the best written memoir to be honest. It's clear that he kept a diary at the time and has mostly just repurposed that into a book (evidenced by occasional accidental slips between past/present tense).
1 or 2 chapters are dedicated to each of the stories in his tenure, and as he goes on the chapters get shorter. The longer he was in the role, the less time he spent actually going on shoots and being in studio and the more and more disillusioned he became with the organisation he was working for (mostly around special effects and interpretation of the scripts he oversaw). There's not much else there either apart from the show itself; like he doesn't provide much preamble about himself and gives a pretty brief description of how he got the job. There's no wrapping up or reflection after the show got cancelled either, just reference to some later non-Who work he'd done.
The transposed diary approach makes it all a bit scattered, with random flow-of-consciousness descriptions cutting into the 'narrative' proper. Cartmel also comes across as a bit of a skeeze talking about his girlfriend but then word-humping every other female he'd worked with and hooking up for a snog with at least one actress.
1 or 2 chapters are dedicated to each of the stories in his tenure, and as he goes on the chapters get shorter. The longer he was in the role, the less time he spent actually going on shoots and being in studio and the more and more disillusioned he became with the organisation he was working for (mostly around special effects and interpretation of the scripts he oversaw). There's not much else there either apart from the show itself; like he doesn't provide much preamble about himself and gives a pretty brief description of how he got the job. There's no wrapping up or reflection after the show got cancelled either, just reference to some later non-Who work he'd done.
The transposed diary approach makes it all a bit scattered, with random flow-of-consciousness descriptions cutting into the 'narrative' proper. Cartmel also comes across as a bit of a skeeze talking about his girlfriend but then word-humping every other female he'd worked with and hooking up for a snog with at least one actress.
April 2, 2023
A fascinating insight into the work that goes into pulling together the scripts for a season of Dr Who. Although not quite to the depths I was hoping for, this is occasionally brutally honest about the shortcomings and the differences between the intention on the page and the realisation on the screen. Maybe more of a book to dip in and out of rather than read like a novel, I can understand the rationale for splitting each chapter between the stories, but this does then entail an element of jumping around and repetition. A valuable resource though for fans looking for a peek behind the curtain of late 80s Who.
June 17, 2020
A wonderfully described insight into the last few years of Doctor Who in the late 80s. Cartmel plops you right down in the offices and studios of TV Centre, and has your feet slipping in wet, gravely quarries with such detail that you can hear the sound of the clapperboard frantically snapping shut as time gets short for filming. It shows us how close they came to making the best version of 80’s Doctor Who right up to the point when the plug was pulled. Be prepared, your geek heart will break all over again. Brilliant!
February 17, 2022
Great insight into the nuts-and-bolts creation of the Sylvester McCoy seasons of classic Doctor Who. I have read other reviews that weren't happy with the format but I personally enjoyed the fact that the book was divided into sections for each story. You get a sort of beginning/middle/end process for each one -finding the writer, developing the plot, organising the music/props/locations, shooting etc - interspersed with various 'this was at the same time we were doing some other episode' asides.
All in all, highly entertaining stuff, and very 80s.
All in all, highly entertaining stuff, and very 80s.
June 29, 2024
As a fan of Sylvester McCoy’s era of Doctor Who, and Andrew Cartmel’s novels, I found this a really interesting read. It was fascinating to find out about what went into to bringing new writers to the show and crafting the stories of 1987-89, and how despite a lack of love from the BBC, the creative teams did their best to make it another golden era. It was perhaps not quite as insightful as RTD’s The Writer’s Tale, but had its own style with a mix of diary entries from the time and Andrew’s later reflections.
October 6, 2019
Written in a wonderfully engaging style this is a fascinating insight into this period of Doctor Who. Cartmel writes in almost a stream of consciousness, picking up the tiny little details to go along with the bigger themes. The photos are a great touch (some of the moustaches would have made decent Doctor Who villains) and you really feel for them trying to stage SF stories in the time before CGI!
October 28, 2021
A fascinating account of Andrew Cartmel's tenure as Doctor Who script editor in the last days of the Classic era.
It was terrific to get a behind the scenes insight into both the stories I have watched and those I have not.
Cartmel writes in an open, honest way which I really appreciated as sometimes these sort of memoirs are sanitised for fear of offending those involved.
I've really enjoyed this book and it has really put me in the mood for a marathon of McCoy's era.
It was terrific to get a behind the scenes insight into both the stories I have watched and those I have not.
Cartmel writes in an open, honest way which I really appreciated as sometimes these sort of memoirs are sanitised for fear of offending those involved.
I've really enjoyed this book and it has really put me in the mood for a marathon of McCoy's era.
November 7, 2022
Absolutely fantastic book which I devoured in no time, easily the fastest I have ever read a book in my life. Andrew writes in such an engaging way and his passion for "Doctor Who" and his job leapt off the page. I'll definitely be rereading this in the future and each chapter encouraged me to rewatch the episodes again. Thank you so much Andrew for writing this book and to Ten Acre Films for reprinting it.
July 18, 2024
A thin book, short on interesting anecdotes and full of praise for the inappropriate production team that triggered the shelving of Doctor Who for many years. We don't learn much more than that the author was very pleased with his work on the programme.
June 22, 2025
A fascinating insight to my favourite era of Doctor Who that pulls the curtain back on the behind the scenes and inner works of the Cartmel Masterplan - for the most part. It starts comprehensive and triumphant, but falters for the last four episodes that feel underbaked and unfinished.
March 28, 2021
A fascinating read for any fan of '80s Doctor Who.
December 27, 2016
An entertaining and informative look at the writing and filming of "Doctor Who" during the Sylvester McCoy years. Andrew Cartmel was the script editor for all three seasons, and tells lots of fun stories. He does assume that the reader is a fan of the show, and thus glosses over some of the important issues (such as the cancellation of the series), but there's plenty of meaty inside tales.
October 11, 2014
Very insightful and evocative inside account of how Doctor Who became fresh and imaginative again and in tune with '80s pop culture, in the face of institutional indifference. It's like you're actually there. A fascinating chapter in the series' evolution, brought to life.
December 11, 2013
A great book, and an interesting view into what was imo some of the best but underrated of this classic TV series, would love to see more from Mr Cartmel :)
February 5, 2016
Great read and freak details. Got my copy from the author himself ar Gallifrey One!
March 25, 2016
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13921259
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13921259
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