By Frank Collins

Obverse Books, out 1 May

Frank Collins takes a look at Stephen Gallagher’s Season 18 Doctor Who story and reveals as much drama happening behind the scenes as what made it to the screen.

Some Doctor Who stories improve with age, the maturity of the viewer being as much a influence as the show’s. When I watched this serial on first transmission in January 1981 I genuinely didn’t have a clue what was going on in Stephen Gallagher’s story, and as Collins’ books reveals, to a large extent neither did producer John Nathan-Turner, script editor Christopher H Bidmead and director Paul Joyce. And depending on who you are prepared to believe (there are contrasting versions of the events) the involvement of any one of this quartet either improved or hobbled the production.

Some of the best titles in Obverse’s Black Archive range are those that go deep into troubled productions, and this is no exception. Not only were the aforementioned quartet all new to role, but were jockeying for position in making their mark. All believed that what they were doing was for the best, and Collins is very even-handed in presenting the opposing views and allowing responses to disputed versions. Nobody comes across as a villain; indeed one might criticise them for caring too much. What’s clear is that writing books and radio plays is very different to writing for TV and that it’s difficult to make apply film techniques to multi-camera studio recording.

We explore the different versions of the scripts, identifying the changes being made by the script editor and director at each stage. It’s also interesting to read that Nathan-Turner rejected Gallagher’s first Target novelisation as it strayed too far from the final televised version. This has been rectified by the April 2019 release of the audiobook based on that original manuscript.

As well as the behind the scenes shenanigans Collins also explores the themes and styles of the material – characters Aldo and Waldo are identified as being characters who’d be at home in Waiting for Godot – and we also get some insight into influences by director Cocteau. There are plenty of other nuggets of info that you’ll discover, thanks to the author’s exploration of archive material. I certainly didn’t know that the Bridge set repurposed parts of Vogon ship from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which in turn was repurposed from pallets in Ridley Scott’s Alien. Who said we weren’t green in the 80s?!

Verdict: With the recent Blu-Ray release of Season 18 and audiobook version of Stephen Gallagher’s original scripts this is the ideal time to re-evaluate this unloved (by me at least) story. Frank Collins’ detailed study reveals a turbulent environment where the fact that anything made it to the screen was the greatest achievement. Arty, extended New Romantic pop video or serious sci-fi trying to break with complacent traditions? Yes to both. Maybe. 8/10

Nick Joy