Frayed
So this is how it starts. Sort of.
The first entry is not actually part of the televised series at all but a novella published by Telos Publishing in 2003. Telos got into the business of publishing Doctor Who novellas when the BBC was still keen to hand out licenses for such things, but after a short run of 14 books the license was not renewed and an interesting new foray into Doctor Who was cut tragically short. I and many others like me feel that this was, well, a stupid move, seeing as the BBC's own novel series has started to get a bit dry in places, with a different book being cranked out every month by pretty much the same authors all working under a guideline set down for them. Okay, Telos, like Big Finish, also have guidelines to follow like no regenerating the Doctor, no making the companions into gun toting vigilantes, not making the Daleks gay, and essential things that would really clash with the series, but in reading the Telos books you get a sense of a whole new style of storytelling that Doctor Who hasn't had before.
Novellas, as it is widely known, are short, which means that the Doctor and company would probably already be immersed in an adventure on page 1 and the readers would follow along what would hopefully be a fast-paced yet coherant story. I've got my copy of Frayed by Tara Samms sitting right here beside me, and once I finish this little preamble I'm diving in, and my thoughts will come in another day or so.
Where does Frayed fit into the Whoniverse? There are those who will scream that it doesn't, and that there is only the televised series and any effort to integrate the TV series with the stories from any other medium is crazy, insane, herecy! Screw that, especially when it comes to this story. Frayed takes place before the televised series actually begins, with the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan travelling together in the TARDIS to other worlds. Being pre-series, the TARDIS still has a functioning chameleon circuit and thus does not look like a London police box from 1960's Earth; it can change its shape and blend in with its surroundings. There was a long debate over what the series would be like without the old blue box, so here's a chance to see, in print anyways.
So. The Doctor. Susan. Another planet, sometime before they arrive on Earth in 1963 and set the events of the actual series in motion. Going into this one I am wondering how well Tara Samms is going to capture the dynamic of the Doctor and Susan, will she do it justice, am I going to enjoy this peek into their lives before that fateful day when Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright will follow Susan home and have their lives changed forever?
I'll tell you in a couple days. Frayed is 134 pages long, I have nothing else to do for a while except my school work, this shouldn't take long.
The first entry is not actually part of the televised series at all but a novella published by Telos Publishing in 2003. Telos got into the business of publishing Doctor Who novellas when the BBC was still keen to hand out licenses for such things, but after a short run of 14 books the license was not renewed and an interesting new foray into Doctor Who was cut tragically short. I and many others like me feel that this was, well, a stupid move, seeing as the BBC's own novel series has started to get a bit dry in places, with a different book being cranked out every month by pretty much the same authors all working under a guideline set down for them. Okay, Telos, like Big Finish, also have guidelines to follow like no regenerating the Doctor, no making the companions into gun toting vigilantes, not making the Daleks gay, and essential things that would really clash with the series, but in reading the Telos books you get a sense of a whole new style of storytelling that Doctor Who hasn't had before.
Novellas, as it is widely known, are short, which means that the Doctor and company would probably already be immersed in an adventure on page 1 and the readers would follow along what would hopefully be a fast-paced yet coherant story. I've got my copy of Frayed by Tara Samms sitting right here beside me, and once I finish this little preamble I'm diving in, and my thoughts will come in another day or so.
Where does Frayed fit into the Whoniverse? There are those who will scream that it doesn't, and that there is only the televised series and any effort to integrate the TV series with the stories from any other medium is crazy, insane, herecy! Screw that, especially when it comes to this story. Frayed takes place before the televised series actually begins, with the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan travelling together in the TARDIS to other worlds. Being pre-series, the TARDIS still has a functioning chameleon circuit and thus does not look like a London police box from 1960's Earth; it can change its shape and blend in with its surroundings. There was a long debate over what the series would be like without the old blue box, so here's a chance to see, in print anyways.
So. The Doctor. Susan. Another planet, sometime before they arrive on Earth in 1963 and set the events of the actual series in motion. Going into this one I am wondering how well Tara Samms is going to capture the dynamic of the Doctor and Susan, will she do it justice, am I going to enjoy this peek into their lives before that fateful day when Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright will follow Susan home and have their lives changed forever?
I'll tell you in a couple days. Frayed is 134 pages long, I have nothing else to do for a while except my school work, this shouldn't take long.
Labels: Susan Foreman, The 1st Doctor
posted by Sean Hoover @ 7:39 PM
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