The Writer's Tale

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale is a 2008 book collecting e-mail correspondence between Russell T Davies, executive producer and head writer on the revived Doctor Who, and Benjamin Cook, a journalist and writer for Doctor Who Magazine. The e-mails date between February 2007 and April 2008 and cover the period of broadcast of Series 3, and preparation and production of Series 4, linking in with Davies' decision to move on from Doctor Who after the 2009 Specials. Interspersed are photos, illustrations, and script excerpts.

Although widely referred to simply as The Writer's Tale, the official title of the book incorporates Doctor Who.

The book includes a foreword by Phillip Pullman, writer of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Introductions by both Davies and Cook outline the concept of the book, and also reference the success of the Journey's End season finale, which occurred after the final e-mail exchanges in the book.

A second edition, adding more than 300 pages of new material covering the production of the 2009 Specials, has been announced for publication in January 2010.

Publisher's Summary
"It's such a hard job. Writers never talk about how hard it is, out of the fear of being pretentious. 'Try being a nurse or a teacher,' people say. No - try being a writer! Try sitting with every doubt and fear about yourself and everyone, all on your own, with no ending or help or conclusion... At the same time, writing can be the most wonderful job in the world. When I'm happy with a script, I'm happier than you can ever imagine. Delicious! What I mean is, writing is never easy."

Main Focus
A behind-the-scenes look into the production of Doctor Who in 2007 and 2008, told through correspondence between the show's executive producer and a journalist.

Notable Features

 * Many excerpts from Davies' scripts for Series 4, including scenes not broadcast and early concepts.
 * Details of characters and plots never realized on screen, including aborted plans for a new companion in Series 4, and a season outline featuring storylines not used.
 * A number of original illustrations by Davies.