The style of this book reminds me of a scrap book someone might
have lovingly compiled about a treasured period of their life, littered
with photos and cuttings. That's were the resemblance ends. There are no
curling edges or glue stiffened pages, of coarse, but most of all it's
a work that can be enjoyed by more than the compiler or interested friends
and relatives.
The
bulk of the book focuses on each of the serials that Sophie appeared in
from the last two seasons of Doctor Who, ordered as they were produced
instead of when they were transmitted. Each serial has a cast and
production list followed by the two authors memories of their involvement. |
At first,
reading one of Mike's segments, I thought that I would soon grow bored
of his detailed descriptions of effects and models. I'm the sort of person
who can go to a magic show and watch the performance without trying to
figure out how the illusions were really achieved. I'm the same with special
effects, so it came as a slight surprise that he was holding my attention.
I'm fairly sure that there's not much chance of just anyone being able
to learn what the effects department does like a trade; it's probably like
being an artist - you either have the imagination and skill or you don't.
Many of the effects were limited by cost or time or by the restrictions
of the format of the show. It's probably the balance of what they would
have liked to achieve against what they eventually had to settle for that
makes these segments so fascinating, that and the enthusiasm of a man who
clearly enjoys his job.
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Sophie's segments are completely different. She recounts her time on the
show with a series of anecdotal stories, filling the gaps with her feelings
and thoughts of the time. There is a real sense of what it must have been
like for a relatively unknown young woman suddenly landing a lead role
in one of the most famous t.v. series of all time. She writes amusingly
and well.
The
contrast of the subject matter and writing styles of the two authors enhances
the book. Contributions from the production team and to a much smaller
degree by the cast are included as insets alongside Mike and Sophie's writings,
most notably John Nathan-Turner and Sylvester McCoy.
I earlier
compared the book to a scrap book and perhaps the wealth of photographs
included on every page was the reason why. Like their writing styles even
the photographs take on the personalities of the owners; Mike's are more
focused on the different stages of the effects and models being constructed
whereas Sophie's are of people and herself. Sophie can be seen mugging
for the camera, striking silly poses or catching the other members of the
cast and crew in either candid or posed shots. I've read a lot of other
Doctor Who books and magazines and usually the same pictures are rolled
out again and again which isn't the case here; the majority of photographs
are totally unique to this book. There are so many that each serial has
a double page spread devoted to just pictures and insets, and some serials
have two.
All
good things come to an end, they say, and this proved to be the case eventually
for Doctor Who. The book ends with a look at what life has been like for
Sophie, Mike and Ace after the show was axed and includes Doctor Who spin
offs, conventions and a look at the further adventures of Ace in books
and comics. On the whole the book is an excellent tribute to a show that
is no more but still lives on in the hearts of the fans and the memories
of the people who worked on it. |