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Downtime - The Lost Years of Doctor Who
During the interregnum between the Seventh Doctor’s final adventures in 1989 and the relaunch of the series in 2005, BBC One broadcast only three new Doctor Who stories – a TV movie and two comic versions raising money for charity. Elsewhere, books and comic strips (and eventually licensed audios) kept the flame alive, but it seemed the BBC had little interest in reinvigorating the franchise on television.
Meanwhile, seemingly almost forgotten, some of the Doctor’s friends, enemies and legally dubious clones continued their adventures in the direct to video market and their own spin off audio adventures, written by and starring many of the cast/crew who had worked on the original series, and several who would work on the relaunched version.
Downtime – The Lost Worlds of Doctor Who combines archive interviews and articles along with over forty new interviews conducted by the author in order to tell the story of these dramas and their impact and influence, and to celebrate the dedication and ingenuity of fandom.
Meanwhile, seemingly almost forgotten, some of the Doctor’s friends, enemies and legally dubious clones continued their adventures in the direct to video market and their own spin off audio adventures, written by and starring many of the cast/crew who had worked on the original series, and several who would work on the relaunched version.
Downtime – The Lost Worlds of Doctor Who combines archive interviews and articles along with over forty new interviews conducted by the author in order to tell the story of these dramas and their impact and influence, and to celebrate the dedication and ingenuity of fandom.
- GenresDoctor Who
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2017
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20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 5, 2019
Rees' book is so thoroughly researched and so lovingly written that it is tempting to even recommend it to people who are not "Doctor Who" fans, clearly its intended audience. I might be wary of doing that, but let me make a case...
In no other genre fandom have the cart and the horse flipped so thoroughly as it did during "The Wilderness Years" - that period between the show's cancellation in 1986 and its rebirth in 2005. Through a combination of passionate fandom and a dispassionate BBC, young maverick artists like Bill Baggs, Nicholas Briggs, Keith Barnfather, Alan Stevens, Jim Smith, Fiona Moore, Lance Parkin, Mark Gatiss, Robert Shearman, David J Howe and a whole bunch of others picked the whole enterprise up, delicately, or occasionally indelicately, by the fringes of the rights they could secure, and redefined what Doctor Who was about, ultimately changing the show from that point on.
It is astonishing to read these stories of fans standing around with their heroes and somehow creating a whole new, completely unlicensed era that may, in many ways, be better than the licensed product to come.
If you're interested in the greatest era in any science fiction television show's fandom, read this book.
You won't believe how far these kids got.
In no other genre fandom have the cart and the horse flipped so thoroughly as it did during "The Wilderness Years" - that period between the show's cancellation in 1986 and its rebirth in 2005. Through a combination of passionate fandom and a dispassionate BBC, young maverick artists like Bill Baggs, Nicholas Briggs, Keith Barnfather, Alan Stevens, Jim Smith, Fiona Moore, Lance Parkin, Mark Gatiss, Robert Shearman, David J Howe and a whole bunch of others picked the whole enterprise up, delicately, or occasionally indelicately, by the fringes of the rights they could secure, and redefined what Doctor Who was about, ultimately changing the show from that point on.
It is astonishing to read these stories of fans standing around with their heroes and somehow creating a whole new, completely unlicensed era that may, in many ways, be better than the licensed product to come.
If you're interested in the greatest era in any science fiction television show's fandom, read this book.
You won't believe how far these kids got.
March 15, 2021
By profession I'm a corporate filmmaker, one who often wishes I was a bit more. I also love Doctor Who. So these tales of corporate filmmakers turned Doctor Who spin-off merchants feels absolutely laser targeted to my interests.
Downtime is a densely researched set of stories about Doctor Who spinoff media from between the show being cancelled and coming back in 2005. These are not stories about officially commissioned, fully funded productions, these are stories of fandom trying to fill the hole the show leaving left behind and trying to become a part of the thing they loved.
I haven't seen any of these films and I think the book does a great job of creating interesting standalone stories of film making, often with recurring behind the scenes dramas. There are enough interesting characters and frankly catty interviews from Nicholas Briggs to keep you moving and wondering what on earth is going to happen next.
You might read this because you're interested in how each of these productions came to be, but it's more likely, if you're like me, that you just love to hear tales of creativity and low budget productions all wrapped and grounded in a love for Doctor Who.
Downtime is a densely researched set of stories about Doctor Who spinoff media from between the show being cancelled and coming back in 2005. These are not stories about officially commissioned, fully funded productions, these are stories of fandom trying to fill the hole the show leaving left behind and trying to become a part of the thing they loved.
I haven't seen any of these films and I think the book does a great job of creating interesting standalone stories of film making, often with recurring behind the scenes dramas. There are enough interesting characters and frankly catty interviews from Nicholas Briggs to keep you moving and wondering what on earth is going to happen next.
You might read this because you're interested in how each of these productions came to be, but it's more likely, if you're like me, that you just love to hear tales of creativity and low budget productions all wrapped and grounded in a love for Doctor Who.
April 22, 2018
An incredibly detailed and comprehensive look at the unofficial Doctor Who spin-offs. I've been aware of these productions since I first started buying DWM in 2005, pretty much, and it's fascinating to finally read about their history. This book is an exhaustive account of the productions.
January 11, 2021
A very interesting book about all of those video and audio releases that were made in the Doctor Who 'wilderness years' ... with tales of how to not run a business, and what does and doesn't work when producing unofficial kind-of-spin-offs.
February 18, 2021
Fascinating and well researched. It’s interesting that since this was published We got a Sil story, and Anomaly has been advertised as coming soon for ages. So looks like there’s still hope for more. Just wish Shakedown would get a DVD release!
January 22, 2023
Really good, in-depth examination of the unlicensed Doctor Who spinoff scene during the wilderness years. It’s sending me down a rabbit hole of all the stuff I missed!
September 15, 2024
Invaluable, warmly written and packed with riveting research.
October 6, 2019
A warm tribute to semi professional and borderline illegal productions dedicated to keeping the concepts alive between old and new series
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews