A Novel(ization) Idea Part 2: Doctor Who and Shada
Here’s something Doctor Who fans have wanted for 30 years: a novelization of Shada, the 1979 story featuring Tom Baker and Lalla Ward that was written by Douglas Adams. Production was only partly done when a strike killed it. It remains to be the only unfinished Doctor Who story.
Douglas Adams was asked to novelize it (and his other Doctor Who stories, City of Death and The Pirate Planet) many times throughout the 1980s but by that point he was a very famous author and the going rate for Doctor Who novelizations were a bit below his pay scale. Fans had to make do with fan novelizations produced by the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club.
Until now. Blogtor Who reports that new series writer Gareth Roberts is writing a brand new novelization of Shada that will come out in 2012.
Fans who recall Roberts’ exquisite Season 17 pastiches as part of the 1990s Missing Adventures range of novels will tell you they couldn’t have picked a better author to write this. This is sensational.
Posted by Graeme on Tuesday, March 22 at 12:11 pm
7 Comments...
And this pretty much confirms I think that BBC Books is finally going to start giving us “new” original-series Doctors novels again. Between this and the Target Books reissues I get the feeling we’re in for some really cool stuff as the 50th anniversary approaches.
Could the other “missing” novelizations be coming soon, I wonder?
Posted by Alex on 03/22 at 02:52 PM
I’m surprised and delighted that this is happening as JNT would say.
Excellent news.
Too much to ask I suppose for a vintage Target-style edition? Maybe a audiobook reading by Tom?
Presumably they will eventually follow-up with City of Death and The Pirate Planet.
So with audio and reprints of Targets and add to that the audio only release of David Fisher’s The Stones of Blood (done for Target by Terrance which annoyed Fisher because he wasn’t asked to do it and they both had the same agent!)all we need now is some movement on the Saward front from his Dalek tales.
As Alex said maybe a step towards a return for “past” Doctors for the anniversary.
Maybe a reading
Posted by Ryan on 03/23 at 09:14 AM
Considering BBC Books is releasing those old Target novels in hardcover with Target-like covers (except for the use of the current past-Doctors branding which is to be expected) I’d be surprised if Shada wasn’t done in that format too. Is Achillios still around, I wonder? And since readings of BBC novels are often released - there’s one out for the Moorcock novel, for example - I’d be surprised if they didn’t get Tom Baker to do one (though the question is whether it would be released on CD or for download only as AudioGO has started issuing download-only readings for some books which is why you haven’t seen many recent novels in that format. :(
According to discussion on another forum, the problem with Saward’s books was apparently due to Nation’s estate wanting too big a cut of royalties or something. So I guess it depends on if anything’s changed. It would be cool to have Saward be given the chance to write them, or bring back John Peel who wrote the other Dalek novelisations that came out near the end of the Target era.
Posted by Alex on 03/23 at 01:49 PM
It was Target just being cheap. They could have had them then if they would have just paid Saward the same fee as the other 4 he did do for them and then paid Nation for use of the Daleks. So Aaronovitch must have taken the cut rate deal to do Remembrance.
Virgin also wouldn’t pay to use the Daleks and BBC Books only did so through John Peel who also did the 60’s Daleks stories for Target.
The handlers of the Daleks really don’t understand the business of making a deal.
Negotiate hard but get it done.
Posted by Ryan on 03/24 at 10:35 AM
Here’s a nice news piece (with photo of Adams) from The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/24/douglas-adams-doctor-who-story-published
Posted by Andrew B on 03/28 at 06:37 AM
They’re not full novelisations, but apparently this month BBC Books is publishing a series of “photo novelisations” from Season 5 aimed at young readers. Here’s the TARDIS Library listing for The Eleventh Hour:
http://www.timelash.com/tardis/display.asp?2492
Posted by Alex on 04/10 at 04:20 PM
Wowza, plroebm solved like it never happened.
Posted by Delia on 09/08 at 12:47 PM
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