What do you think?
Rate this book
The Black Archive #14
The Ultimate Foe
‘You are dead, Doctor. Goodbye.’
After almost 18 months off-air Doctor Who returned to television in September 1986 with the 14-episode The Trial of a Time Lord, an epic serial intended by its production team as a grand statement about both the programme and its lead character.
Its final two episodes, ‘The Ultimate Foe’, would prove to be the climax, if not the resolution, to the longest ever Doctor Who serial and to behind-the- scenes issues, both inside and outside the programme’s own production office, that had dogged the series for over a year.
Suffering from unprecedented scripting issues, including the death of its original writer and the withdrawal of his successor’s replacement script for the final episode after it had been issued to the cast and crew, this serial, while not intended as such, also came to serve as the finale for Colin Baker’s interpretation of the Doctor on television.
This Black Archive examines multiple drafts of both episodes’ scripts to look at creative conflicts behind the conclusion to this epic adventure, and the clash of intentions and interpretations that resulted in what was seen in the final transmitted programmes.
James Cooray Smith has written for The New Statesman and Radio 4 and contributed the production subtitles to several BBC Doctor Who DVD release. He is the author of Black Archive #2: The Massacre .
After almost 18 months off-air Doctor Who returned to television in September 1986 with the 14-episode The Trial of a Time Lord, an epic serial intended by its production team as a grand statement about both the programme and its lead character.
Its final two episodes, ‘The Ultimate Foe’, would prove to be the climax, if not the resolution, to the longest ever Doctor Who serial and to behind-the- scenes issues, both inside and outside the programme’s own production office, that had dogged the series for over a year.
Suffering from unprecedented scripting issues, including the death of its original writer and the withdrawal of his successor’s replacement script for the final episode after it had been issued to the cast and crew, this serial, while not intended as such, also came to serve as the finale for Colin Baker’s interpretation of the Doctor on television.
This Black Archive examines multiple drafts of both episodes’ scripts to look at creative conflicts behind the conclusion to this epic adventure, and the clash of intentions and interpretations that resulted in what was seen in the final transmitted programmes.
James Cooray Smith has written for The New Statesman and Radio 4 and contributed the production subtitles to several BBC Doctor Who DVD release. He is the author of Black Archive #2: The Massacre .
- GenresDoctor WhoNonfiction
174 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 2, 2018
An extremely well written and researched book covering the turbulent final TV story of the Sixth Doctor era.
Nobody is painted as the villain, just a number of TV professionals trying to do a hard job in difficult circumstances. Bad decisions are made by several of them, but you can see what they were all aiming for.
I'm not a fan of the era but it's given me a new appreciation for the people working on the show, especially the 3 Bakers: Colin, Pip and Jane (sounds like a folk group!).
Nobody is painted as the villain, just a number of TV professionals trying to do a hard job in difficult circumstances. Bad decisions are made by several of them, but you can see what they were all aiming for.
I'm not a fan of the era but it's given me a new appreciation for the people working on the show, especially the 3 Bakers: Colin, Pip and Jane (sounds like a folk group!).
June 18, 2019
A superb Black Archive. Oozing with interesting content
January 31, 2024
This is an excellent insight into the process of this story, covering the hiatus of 1985, and the lingering consequences which ended with part 14 being written in 3 days. Exactly what I wanted from the Black Archive entry.
Having enjoyed the author’s previous book on The Massacre, I eagerly look forward to his next one.
Having enjoyed the author’s previous book on The Massacre, I eagerly look forward to his next one.
June 29, 2020
For readability and enjoy-ability I would give this book 5 stars. It only loses a star be cause it's a slim read. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews