Thursday, December 24, 2015

The Book Tower Special - You And Who (Else)

So after the highs and lows of Doctor Who series nine (and with the Christmas special still to come), it's should be time to go back to a more varied selection of topics on the blog. The thing is, there is one other Doctor Who related post to come - and this one is a little different and rather special.

Normally I'd use this (somewhat infrequent) 'Book Tower' slot to review a novel I've recently read, talk about what I liked, the themes - you know the kind of stuff. This time that's somewhat harder because I'm part of it.

Yes you read that correctly, I am now a published author. What makes this even more lovely is that it's a project that I only got involved in through Doctor Who fandom and the friends I have made -  plus every penny of proceeds from sales of the book goes to a good cause. Before we get to the tome in question, perhaps I should cover a little bit of background on the "You and Who " brand.

The original concept for "You And Who" came from J.R. Southall (yes he of "Blue Box Podcast" and "Starburst" magazine). Inspired jointly by a purchase he had made on the self-publishing website lulu.com and an unsuccessful submission to Doctor Who Magazine, J.R. developed the idea of a book with a myriad of different voices of all ages revealing how and why they became fans of this very British series about a madman in a blue box that travels across all of time and space.

In a post on the Doctor Who forum 'Gallifrey Base' in early December 2010, J.R. invited fellow fans to contribute personal essays about their relationship with Doctor Who, with all profits from the book going to the "Children in Need" charity. The response was positive and immediate. Within 24 hours he had the first essay (from YouTube superstar 'Babelcolour') *and* had been contacted by small-press publisher Tim Hirst, with an offer to help with some of the more technical aspects of the project.

Over the next few months, submissions came in thick and fast from all over the world (including one from the legendary Dez Skinn, former editor and creator of Doctor Who Weekly) adding up to a total of sixty-six contributors. Seeing the quality of the finished collection, Tim Hirst decided that he wanted to publish the book himself. A release date was provisionally set for December 2011. J.R. did a local radio interview and some other promotion to publicise the book *and* got the official go-ahead for a second volume - things were really on a roll...

Sadly, it wasn't all to be plain sailing. Time marched on and communications with Tim Hurst seemed to break down. As spring 2012 turned into summer, there was still no sign of the book and J.R. began to have doubts about it's release, let alone the possibility of a sequel. It turned out that Tim Hirst had run into significant cashflow problems and was unable to fulfill any orders. Eventually in September 2012, J.R. realised that Tim was never going to be able to get the book out. What to do?

Enter Miwk Publishing. Owned and run by Matthew West and Robert Hammond, Miwk were (and continue to be) specialists in film, TV, music and drama related books and had built up a solid reputation for quality and reliability. The following month J.R. was able to announce that Miwk had stepped in and offered to publish "You And Who" instead. Tim Hirst thankfully paid across all the money he'd taken in pre-orders, so Miwk could fulfil those sales, and down to tireless efforts on everyone's part the book was finally released, albeit a year late, in December 2012.


Reviews were extremely positive. Here was a book that resonated with fans. As one put it "...an absolute and pretty much unswerving devotion to a show which, arguably, hasn’t always deserved it....and I doubt we’ll see a more passionate and enthusiastic book". Spurred on by the enthusiasm and with the stresses of the last twelve months behind him, J.R. pressed forward with activity on volume two, subtitled "Contact Has Been Made".

"Contact Has Been Made" quickly evolved into two books - requiring a second editor in the form of "Chap With Wings" blogger Christopher Bryant. The project became a massive collection of essays covering every story from "An Unearthly" Child" through to "The Snowmen", plus extras on "Torchwood", "The Sarah Jane Adventures" and other elements of the wider 'Whoniverse'. Many of the pieces only tangentially mentioned the specific story -  instead using it as a springboard for a wide mixture of  opinions, reviews, commentary and specific memories - all with that unique slant of what the story meant to each author and how it influenced and affected their lives. Thanks to a hugely swift turnaround, the companion books escaped into the wider world in June 2013. Together they formed a unique trio of collected work -  compositions as much about the fans as they were about Doctor Who.


Despite the popularity of all the books (which went to a second print), Miwk only had a limited run, and by late 2013 "Contact" Volume 1 had become unavailable and only a handful of copies of Volume 2 were for sale into early 2014. The original "You And Who" itself went out of print at around the same time. Faced with the option of reprinting all of them or letting the books go, a sudden personal disaster meant that Matt from Miwk had nowhere to store three hundred books - so sadly they slipped away.

Speed forward to 2015 and demand for "You and Who" was still high. To remedy this, J.R. created the self publishing imprint "Watching Books" with the intention of republishing the three volumes and carrying on with future "You and Who" material and other related projects. The imprints premier release was a bringing together of J.R.'s pre-Starburst Magazine Doctor Who essays and reviews entitled "The Monster Show" - which also became the first book I reviewed on this very blog (you can read that here). "Tales from the Other Side of the Page", a collection of J.R.'s fiction short stories, was next, followed at long last by the "You And Who" books. The two new "Contact Has Been Made" editions (also combined into one massive anthology) featured revised content and sixteen bonus essays which updated things to the end of the 50th anniversary.


Forging ahead with more all-new material, we next got the excellent "Blake's Heaven" (edited by John Davies) a story-by-story look at - what else - Blake's 7. Finally we come to the latest release - "You And Who Else", which is where I enter the picture.

Launching on the evening of the 26th March 2015, the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who's return to our television screens, the book was to be in a similar vein to it's predecessors - as much about the people who watched the programmes as it was the shows themselves -  but this time focussing on British science fiction and fantasy television through the decades. The beneficiary charity was also new - the Terrence Higgins Trust.

I had been a long-time listener to the "Blue Box Podcast" and through chats with J.R. and other podcasters, I became aware of the history of the You And Who franchise and the re-release of the previous books. With an interest in writing re-kindled by the creation of this blog, and having missed out on being part of the other projects, the news that there was to be a new book was music to my ears. Here was my chance to be part of something important  - a 'social and historical record' of British telefantasy. But which series to choose?

There were so many excellent shows. Should I pick "Ivor The Engine" or "The Clangers" from my childhood? What about "Children of the Stones" or "King of the Castle" - which scared me so much that they left a lasting impression to this day. Then there was "A Very Peculiar Practice", or "The Adventure Game" or "Star Cops" or "Life on Mars" or... well you get they idea. The choice was seemingly infinite. In the end it came down to one series: six episodes of a quirky detective drama from mid-1992 titled "Virtual Murder".

So why this one programme above all the others? Well it was really for two main reasons:

Firstly it was a show that very few people had probably even heard of let alone seen. This meant there was an extremely good chance I would have it to myself.

Secondly, apart from the strong memories I had about the show and my life at that time (and I won't repeat those here because they form the core of my essay) it had also been the subject of one of my first e-mails with the original hosts of the "Diddly Dum" podcast back in March 2014. There are a number of Doctor Who connections and one of the episodes of the podcast had dredged "Virtual Murder" from my memory. Those e-mails would be the start of a fundamental change in the way I interacted with fellow fans. Who would have expected that within the next 21 months I would have appeared on a podcast myself, interviewed two authors, developed the blog into something that others actually seemed interested in reading and most importantly, met up and become firm friends with several people who were originally just voices in my ears. My life has changed immeasurably for the better.

So, when it came to picking a show to write about from the hundreds out there, it seemed that there really was only one choice - it was almost fated. Here was a chance to have this strange little show -  mostly unloved and forgotten by the world at large -  preserved forever in the pages of a book alongside essays from fellow telefantasy enthusiasts, many of whose work, both vocal and written, I respected and admired. How could I resist? It was the first time I had done anything like this but the words flowed fairly easily and by late May 2015 I submitted my prose for J.R.'s expert editing. Now I just had to wait...

A quick jump cut to November and here we are - "You And Who Else" is out ! 62 years of British science fiction and fantasy. 150 shows. 175 different essays. 790 pages. There are so many amazing, well written, insightful and personal stories - and there I am on pages 562-565. I can scarcely believe it. You can buy it on Amazon right now !

It's an incredible book and I'm very, very proud to be a tiny part of it. I urge anyone who has the slightest interest in British TV shows to go and buy a copy, either physically or on e-book. Not only is it outstanding value, not only will all the proceeds go to a worthwhile cause but you will also get a fascinating, varied and detailed look at why these programmes mean so much to so many people. There is some amazing, personal and often heart-wrenching writing within these pages. I can't stress enough how happy I am to have been included.


Here's the official blurb from the "Watching Books" website:

Television is the route by which we map our lives. From the day we are old enough to understand words and pictures it is a constant companion, educating and entertaining us, helping us to understand the world around us – and firing our imaginations off into the far reaches of an infinitely varied universe.

From Ace of Wands to Worzel Gummidge, from Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) to Red Dwarf, from the moment Professor Quatermass' rocket ship returned to Earth, to the moment Ian and Barbara entered the Doctor's Ship, fantasy television has had an extraordinary effect on our emotions and our intellect. Whether it be exploring space or travelling through time, surviving the aftermath of some Earthbound disaster or creating new worlds in uncharted territories, the writers and producers of speculative television have used the format to reflect and inform the world in which we live. And whether it be through horror, science fiction or imaginative fantasy – or a combination of all three – we have all been touched in some way by the creativity and insight provided by such visionaries as Gerry Anderson, Nigel Kneale and Douglas Adams. 

You and Who Else is a unique history of  sixty years of British fantasy television, and a definitive record of its place in our lives – as told by the people who saw it: the viewers.


Further information about all the books and where to buy them, can be found at the "Watching Books" website. Their  Facebook page is at facebook.com/watchingbooks.

If you want to stay up to date with future projects in the You and Who series (and maybe feel like contributing yourself), then bookmark the You and Who page here.


For myself, I've already committed to writing another essay for the next book in the series - which is all about the Doctor Who target novelisations - and there is another new project due to start in 2016 (but you can find out about that one in the back of  "Your And Who Else".



All that remains is to say please, please, please buy a copy of this book - no wait - buy a copy of ALL of the books. You won't regret it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all !

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