Doctor Who
Script Books: Television Stories: BBC Books
Somewhat surprisingly, it wasn't until 1988 — the penultimate year of Doctor Who's original television life — that the first script book based on the series was released. Even more surprising for many fans was the fact that for the first time a Doctor Who story would see print from a company other than WH Allen/Target, who had been publishing novelisations and factual books based on the series since 1973.

The story chosen to launch Titan Books' range of Doctor Who scripts was 100,000 BC, published under the title The Tribe of Gum. Written by Australian writer Anthony Coburn, this was the very first script to be produced for the television series way back in November 1963.

Titan's irregular series of releases eventually ran to ten volumes — the final title published, in November 1994, being The Crusade.

However, while Titan's script books had enabled fans to see the occasional story which had been out of circulation for decades — the novelisation of Power of the Daleks only being published four months after the release of the script book — it really was a missed opportunity as only the scripts to The Masters of Luxor, The Crusade and Galaxy 4 were as originally written. All others in the series were edited to reproduce exactly what was spoken on screen. Rather a silly decision as, by this time, the BBC had started to release the programme on video...

No further scripts were published until May 1996 when BBC Books decided to capitalise on the new Paul McGann TV movie by issuing a script book to accompany the novelisation and obligatory video.

Things then fell silent again until 2001 when BBC Books released The Scripts — Tom Baker 1974/5, the first in what was hoped would be a series of hardback volumes, each of which would contain the scripts to a complete season of the television series.

Unlike the Titan script books, this also included scenes which were edited prior to transmission and comprehensive background notes which were based on Andrew Pixley's in-depth articles which had previously been published in Doctor Who Magazine.

Unfortunately, despite reports that a volume containing the scripts to Season Seven was planned, nothing further was to be released.

More recently, in October 2005 BBC Books released The Shooting Scripts which collected together all thirteen scripts that had been produced for Season Twenty-Seven of Doctor Who earlier in the year. Like the earlier Tom Baker 1974/5 volume from BBC Books, the book failed to sell in sufficient quantities for a second volume to be released.

Doctor Who: The Script of the Film

Doctor Who: The Script of the Film cover image
by Matthew Jacobs
  • UK
  • Paperback
  • BBC Books
  • May 1996
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Back Cover Blurb
HE'S BACK...AND IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Late December, 1999: the brink of a new millennium. The TARDIS crashlands in San Fransisco's Chinatown and a horrific shooting forces the Doctor to regenerate.

But the Doctor is not the only time-traveller in San Fransisco. His oldest adversary, the Master, is there as well, desperately trying to steal the Doctor's newly-regenerated body. And soon, the Doctor is faced with a choice: to save his own life, or the billions of people who have no future unless the Master is stopped. If only the Doctor could remember how...

Read the complete script of the long-awaited new Doctor Who film, a co-production between BBC Worldwide and Universal Television starring Paul McGann as the Doctor, Eric Roberts as the Master and Daphne Ashbrook as Grace. With an introduction by the Executive Producer, Philip Segal and featuring eight pages of colour photographs.
Television Story
Doctor Who
27/05/96 / 90 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour

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The TV movie was released on video prior to transmission in the UK and was issued on DVD in 2001. Rights problems currently prevent it from being released on DVD outside of the UK, although it is dual coded for Region 2 and Region 4, so fans in New Zealand and Australia should have no problems in playing the disc.
Regular Characters
Seventh Doctor / Eighth Doctor

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Master
Book Contents
  • Introduction
    By Philip Segal.
  • Cast / Production Credits
  • Complete camera script.
Notes
  • Paul McGann's voiceover from the start of the TV Movie is not included in the script book as it was only added during post-production and wasn't in the original camera script.

    Despite this being McGann's only appearance on screen in the role, the Eighth Doctor was to go on to feature as the lead character in a series of original novels titled the Eighth Doctor Adventures from BBC Books between June 1997 and June 2005, as well as appearing in Doctor Who Magazine's comic strip for a similar length of time.

    In 2000 it was announced that Paul McGann would be recording a number of audio plays for Big Finish Productions as the Eighth Doctor, and these continue to the present day — even resulting in a series of eight new stories being produced for broadcast on the BBC's digital radio station BBC7 from New Years' Eve 2006.
  • The full story behind the development and production of the 1996 TV movie was chronicled in Philip Segal and Gary Russell's Doctor Who: Regeneration, published in 2000 by HarperCollins Entertainment.
  • A novelisation, written by Gary Russell and simply titled Doctor Who, was also released in May 1996.
Doctor Who: The Scripts — Tom Baker 1974/5

Doctor Who: The Scripts - Tom Baker 1974/5 cover image
by Various
  • UK
  • Hardback
  • BBC Books
  • October 2001
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Back Cover Blurb
The actual scripts for Doctor Who — available for the first time in their original form.

Reproduced in this volume are the complete scripts for Tom Baker's first ground-breaking series of Doctor Who.

Fight with UNIT and the Doctor to defeat the giant Robot.

Travel to the The Ark in Space and save the last survivors of the Human Race from the Wirrn.
Visit the abandoned Earth far in the future and discover the secrets of The Sontaran Experiment.
Share the Doctor's dilemma as he meets Davros for the first time and struggles to prevent the Genesis of the Daleks.
Then return to Nerva Beacon in time to save the Vogans from the Revenge of the Cybermen.

  • An introduction by Doctor Who script editor and writer Terrance Dicks
  • Extensive production notes for each story
  • Comprehensive annotations that detail how the programme was made
  • Deleted scenes and altered sections — available in print for the first time
  • Original production documents and designs
  • A wealth of additional supplementary material including the BBC's own audience research data, how the Doctor was screened in the USA, production notes for an unmade mid-seventies Who documentary, and much more...
A comprehensive guide to how television was really made in the mid-seventies... A complete companion to the twelth season of Doctor Who... Five fantastic adventure stories gathered together in a single volume... Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it here.
Television Stories
20 × 25 Minutes / BBC1 / Colour

28/12/74 — 18/01/75 Robot
25/01/75 — 15/02/75 The Ark in Space
22/02/75 — 01/03/75 The Sontaran Experiment
08/03/75 — 12/04/75 Genesis of the Daleks
19/04/75 — 10/05/75 Revenge of the Cybermen

Robot (DVD) Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com HMV.com

The Ark in Space (DVD) Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com HMV.com

The Sontaran Experiment (DVD) Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com HMV.com

Genesis of the Daleks (DVD) Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com HMV.com
All episodes have been released on bothe Region 2 DVD in the UK and Region 1 DVD in the United States, apart from Revenge of the Cyberman which has only been released on video.
Regular Characters
Fourth Doctor / Sarah Jane Smith / Harry Sullivan

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart / Sergeant Benton / The Sontarans / The Daleks / Davros / The Cybermen / Cybermats
Notes
  • This was the first in what was hoped would be an ongoing series of Doctor Who script books. Sadly, the second volume — expected to cover Season Seven — was never given the official go-ahead. What made this doubly unfortunate was that this is probably one of the best examples published of how such a script book should be written.
  • The background information in the book was mainly compiled by Andrew Pixley, for years the writer of the extremely detailed "Archive" features which had appeared in Doctor Who Magazine.
  • Revenge of the Cybermen started life under the title The Return of the Cybermen. The original versions of the scripts were published in Issue 97 (January 1992) of the DWB fanzine, and then reprinted in the DWB Compendium the following year.
Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts

Doctor Who: The Shooting Scripts cover image
by Various
  • UK
  • Hardback
  • BBC Books
  • October 2005
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Back Cover Blurb
The planet Earth drifting in space, silent, serene. Suddenly — the beep-beep-beep of an alarm clock.

With these words — the opening stage directions from Episode 1, 'Rose' — Doctor Who returned to our screens after an absence of 16 years. And what a return! The new series of Doctor Who has thrilled and captivated millions of viewers, with a fabulous cast, led by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, stunning sets and visual effects, and above all, wonderful scripts.

Filled with drama and emotion and crackling with wit and energy, the stories that launched Doctor Who into the twenty-first century are published here for the first time. This book presents the final shooting scripts for all 13 episodes, enabling you to relive the Doctor's encounters with the monstrous Slitheen, Rose's disastrous attempt to save her father's life, the apocalyptic showdown with the Daleks, and all the other great moments from the 2005 series.

The scripts also give a unique insight into how the writers visualised their stories, with descriptions of sets, hints about the characters' emotions, and ideas for specific shots. Introductions by the scriptwriters reveal their inspirations for each episode, as well as the practicalities of working to budgets and schedules, and any changes they had to make to bring their words to the screen.

With a foreword by lead writer Russell T Davies, explanatory notes on the scriptwriting process, and over 1000 screen grabs and photographs, this book is an essential companion to the 2005 series and a must for all fans of the new Doctor Who.
Television Stories
13 × 45 Minutes / BBC One / Colour

Script Writers: 1) Russell T Davies, 2) Mark Gatiss, 3) Robert Shearman, 4) Paul Cornell, 5) Steven Mofatt

26/03/05 Rose 1
02/04/05 The End of the World 1
09/04/05 The Unquiet Dead 2
16/04/05 Aliens of London 1
23/04/05 World War Three 1
30/04/05 Dalek 3
07/05/05 The Long Game 1
14/05/05 Father's Day 4
21/05/05 The Empty Child 5
28/05/05 The Doctor Dances 5
04/06/05 Boomtown 1
11/06/05 Bad Wolf 1
18/06/05 The Parting of the Ways 1

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All episodes exist and have been released on Region 2 DVD in the UK, and on Region 1 DVD in the United States.
Regular Characters
Ninth Doctor / Rose Tyler / Captain Jack Harkness

Familiar Faces / Returning Characters
The Nestene Consciousness / The Autons / The Slitheen / The Daleks / Harriet Jones MP
Notes
  • Of the five writers who contributed to Season Twenty-Seven of Doctor Who in 2005, four of them had written Doctor Who stories for Virgin Publishing in the 1990s.

    Russell T Davies, who was responsible for bringing the series back to the screen, wrote the controversial Damaged Goods for the New Adventures range back in 1996.

    Mark Gatiss wrote the extremely popular Nightshade for the New Adventures range in 1992. He's since written three more Doctor Who novels including Last of the Gadarene and is now best known for being one of the League of Gentlemen.

    Paul Cornell was the first of the fan writers to be commissioned with Timewyrm: Revelation in 1991. He's subsequently moved into TV and has written a further seven Doctor Who novels including the recent novelisation of Scream of the Shalka. Love and War in 1992 saw the introduction of Bernice Summerfield. In 2007 he adapted his 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature as a two-part story for the television series.

    Steven Moffat is best known for writing the children's drama series Press Gang and the comedies Joking Apart and Coupling. He had a Seventh Doctor and Bernice story included in the Decalog 3 anthology in 1996 and also contributed to The Dead Men Diaries anthology. In 1998 he wrote the four-part Doctor Who story Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death for that year's Comic Relief event on BBC One.

    Robert Shearman was best known to Doctor Who fans for his audio scripts such as The Holy Terror and The Chimes of Midnight, but has also contributed to two of the Doctor Who anthologies from Big Finish.
  • As well as winning numerous television awards in the UK (including Best Drama Series at the 2005 BAFTA TV Awards) the series also achieved success in the science fiction world.

    Steven Moffat's The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances won the prestigious Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form award at the 2006 Hugo Awards.

    Earlier winners of what is generally regarded as being one of the most prestigious awards in science fiction include episodes of The Twilight Zone in the early 1960s, the legendary The City on the Edge of Forever from Star Trek in 1968, and The Coming of Shadows and Severed Dreams from Babylon 5 in 1997 and 1998.

    Amazingly the runners-up were Dalek and Father's Day, with the highly-regarded Battlestar Galactica episode Pegasus only managing to finish fourth.

    And as if that triumph wasn't impressive enough, Moffat repeated the feat the following year, when The Girl in the Fireplace topped the same category!
  • Rose is the first television story to feature the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), although we never get to find out how he regenerated. The story also introduces the characters of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), her boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), and Rose's mother Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri).

    Unlike earlier seasons, the stories would frequently see the TARDIS landing back in London on the Powell Estate so as to involve Mickey and Jackie in the stories.
  • The Empty Child saw the introduction of a second companion in the form of Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman). The character was written out at the conclusion of The Parting of the Ways although, unbeknownst to Rose and the newly-regenerated Tenth Doctor, he was still alive. The character returned to the screen in the BBC Three spin-off series Torchwood in October 2006, before re-appearing in the parent show during Season Twenty-Nine in 2007.
  • Like many earlier stories, the new series included some old enemies.

    The very first episode, Rose, saw the re-appearance of the Nestene Consciousness and the Autons who had first appeared in the series in Robert Holmes' Spearhead from Space in 1970.

    Dalek, unsurprisingly, saw the return of the Doctor's most famous adversaries although, for this outing only, just one of them would be seen. According to the script the Daleks and the Time Lords fought a massive war with the end result being the destruction of both species. As the season ending two-parter Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways was to reveal, the Daleks aren't that easy to get rid of...