Doctor Who at 60

Today is the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, first broadcast on Saturday 23rd November 1963.

I’ve always been a fan. How lucky I am since 1996 to have written professionally published Doctor Who novels, short stories and audio plays. And more recently, to produce and script edit Doctor Who Short Trips audios for Big Finish Productions

Half Doctor Who‘s lifetime ago, I contributed to a collection called Drabble Who. David J Howe and David B Wake commissioned 100 short stories each of exactly 100 words (a drabble), to celebrate the programme’s 30th anniversary and to raise money for the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) Talking Books Fund.

It was published at a time when Doctor Who was off the air, kept alive by fans and fanzines and conventions, reruns and video releases, and a series of original fiction published by Virgin Books to which I would later contribute.

It seemed appropriate that Drabble Who was written by a large representative group of those people: fans, researchers, TV actors and writers and production team, novel writers and editors.

To my delight, two of my drabbles were included. Better still, each shared a page with a contribution written by an actor from the TV series: Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) and Louise Jameson (Leela). What a delight it has been to work with them subsequently on Big Finish audios that I produced and script edited.

The print run for Drabble Who was limited to 1,000 copies, and thirty years later the book is long out of print. So as my celebration for this year, here are my two contributions to that publication.

If you would like to contribute to the RNIB, their online donation page is here.

INITIAL PARAGRAPHS FROM A DRAFT LETTER TO MY OLDEST COMPANION

PETER ANGHELIDES
(Writer/Researcher)

Theft and disguise started my career, I suppose, though appearing first on that monochrome world Earth established my distinctive style.

Afterwards, my look changed several times – shifting shades of light and dark, subtle variations of line and effect, though I could on occasion transform completely, be unrecognisable or obvious, camouflaged or transparent even to you.

Recognition’s rarely a problem now in our spins around the universe.

Doubtless my looks belie my age, but then I transcend more than expectations.

I’ve known many of your friends, Doctor, yet remain your truest companion.

Sharing the changing times is what keeps us close.

MARK FOUR

PETER ANGHELIDES
(Writer/Researcher)

Working from memory isn’t always easy, but working from reports is perhaps more difficult. A few months’ effort though, and you’d have thought I’d had blueprints.

One last minor adjustment, and the lights blinked on. The tail aerial wagged a wary greeting. The radar sensors pricked into life.

I flicked briefly over the tongue of ticker tape.

“Old technology. You’re a collector’s item already.” It hummed, a mechanical question in a rising note.

“I hardly suppose I need to introduce myself,” I murmured, running a clean finger along the burnished black casing.

“Affirmative, Master,” whirred K-9. “I will obey you.”