Writer, blogger, convention organizer and drummer Alan Siler is a lifelong Whovian who has taken his passion for the BBC series to the next level by writing his first book, Doctor Who’s Greatest Hits.
In it the Atlanta based author recommends 55 stories from both the classic and new series and tells you, with his easily jocular style, why they are special must watch episodes.
Initially the process of sifting through the density of episodes may appear to be a daunting task. With Siler’s book we travel with him through time and space to cull the from over five decades of Doctor Who. It’s a journey of pure fun filled with respect, knowledge, love and affection for the source material.
In many ways he’s done our homework for us by tackling what makes Doctor Who great? What makes an episode memorable? and what episodes stand out? His selections range from the obvious to the obscure and his essays on each episode are richly crafted opinions from a dedicated fan.
The book examines the entire catalogue of this venerated BBC classic and provides a concise overview of the show that serves as a starting point for new fans and a must-read for longtime fans of the show the book also is a personal journey of one fans lifelong love of all things Doctor Who.
(photo credit: J. Daniel Pierce)
Although Doctor Who’s Greatest Hits is Siler’s first book, he is no stranger to the world of fandom. A regular moderator and panelist at several conventions, including Dragoncon, he also is the chief bottle washer and head honcho at Timegate, an annual convention in Atlanta which currently focuses primarily on the Doctor Who Universe.
Siler took time out from his busy schedule to talk to us about his new book and life as a serious Doctor Who fan.
1. Can you go through the process of writing the book from start to finish?
AS: It all started back in 2013. I decided to write a series of posts on my Facebook page, picking my top 50 Doctor Who stories each day, leading up to the 50th Anniversary. I had so much fun doing that I decided to expand upon it. I revisited the original list, revised it, made a few changes, and wrote a book.
2. What was the hardest part?
AS: Probably just coming up with a list of the ideal 50. What would make the cut? What wouldn’t? What order should they appear in? Which is better, “Genesis of the Daleks,” “Blink” or “Caves of Androzani”? So many of the stories are so vastly different, not only in tone and content but right down to the way that they were made, that it’s sometimes hard to judge one against the other. And there’s one story in particular, that when I the book was completely done and dusted, and I was doing the last round of edits, I suddenly thought, “Does that story really need to be ranked that high in the list?” So right up to the very end, I kept rethinking it. But that’s the way it is – my list changes every day.
3. What episodes didn’t make the cut that were really hard to not include?
AS: So many! If I had decided to do a list of 75, there would still be ones that I’d wrestle with whether to include or not. I came up with a way to include additional ones, by making an “Also Recommended” section in each chapter, where I got to talk about many of the ones that didn’t make the original Top 50 cut (as well as some of the novels and Big Finish audios). One that really stands out is “The Stolen Earth” 2-parter, which originally was on the list, but I was talking to a friend one day who had just seen “Silence in the Library” for the first time, and her exuberance for that one got me really fired up about it, and I ended up putting it on the list in place of “The Stolen Earth.” Then there are other places where I combined two stories into one chapter just to be able to squeeze one more onto the list.
4. What episode were you the most surprised that you liked after seeing it again?
AS: “Inferno.” I hadn’t seen it in a really long time. It always gets talked up as one of the best Pertwee stories, but when I first saw it a million years ago, I wasn’t as impressed with it. I thought the faux werewolf subplot wasn’t that good. I loved the alternate Earth scenes a lot, but I thought the Primords were kind of awful. I thought to myself that I really needed to revisit it with a fresh eye and give it another chance, and it completely blew me away. Parts 5 and 6, which deals with the death of the alternate Earth, are incredibly gripping, and the end of Part 6 is one of the greatest Doctor Who cliffhangers ever.
5. Do you think the dynamic between the Doctor and his companion(s) affected the quality of the story?
AS: In some ways, yes. I think a strong Doctor/Companion can “sell” a weaker story and make it better than it has a right to be. But at the same time, a good quality story is usually going to have the companion written for well. There are a few exceptions to that, of course. “Earthshock” is one. Fantastic story, but I don’t think Nyssa was written for especially well, and Adric only nominally so. But certain pairings, like the Tenth Doctor and Donna, or the Fourth Doctor and Leela, are so strong that even the less-good stories seem great, to some extent.
6. In writing the book did you discover that you had a fondness for one particular era of the show?
AS: Not really. I love everything about Doctor Who, and I love every era of it. There is good and bad in every period of the show.
7. How did you arrive at 55 stories?
AS: When I was putting together my initial list of 50, I wanted to make sure that every Doctor was represented fairly. The book took longer to write than I’d planned, and by the time I was nearing the end, a full season of Capaldi had aired and we were coming up on a second. So I expanded to 55 for a couple of reasons: One, I wanted to include a couple of Capaldi stories, Two, I thought that Sylvester was a tad under-represented, so I wanted to work in one additional McCoy story.
8. Since the reboot in 2005 there have been scores of books on Doctor Who, How do you think your book differs from most that are out there?
AS: I think because I’m writing purely from a fan perspective out of love for the show. My intention was to celebrate every era of the show and to give a new viewer a good introduction to each Doctor. I draw upon my own experiences of being a fan. I tried to capture the feeling of watching Who in the 80s on PBS, what being a fan was like prior to the internet, etc.
9. Ok I am going to randomly give you the name of an episode. Give the one word answer that pops into your head.
Attack of the Cybermen
AS: Continuity
Image of The Fendahl
AS: Wanda Bentham
Frontios
AS: Turlough
The Gunfighters
AS: Mr. Wearp!
Carnival of Monsters
AS: Chickens
World War Three
AS: “Narrows it down!”
Vampires of Venice
AS: Croatia
Waters of Mars
AS: Bowie
The War Machines
AS: Boxes
The Krotons
AS: Zoe
Survival
AS: “ANIMALS!!”
10. Does running a convention give you a different perspective for writing the book?
AS: In some ways, because I’ve met so many of the people involved in the show, from actors to writers to directors to composers to costume and prop designers. I’ve had a lot of wonderful opportunities to get to know some extraordinarily talented and wonderful people, and it’s made my connection to the show more personal.
14. What advice can you give to someone who is watching the classic series for the first time as well as the new series for the first time?
AS: I guess my advice would be the same either way: Start with an open mind and take the show for what it is; in other words, take it in the context of the time it was made. Don’t judge a 60s serial by 80s standards, and don’t judge an 80s serial by 2010s standards. The beauty of Doctor Who is that its been around long enough to have built up its own massive history, fleshed out its own world. But it’s not only a great in-story history, it’s also a history of the way television is made. Yes, the black and white era, stylistically speaking, is drastically different from today’s productions – or even those of 2005, or the 80s, or even the 70s – but it’s all Doctor Who and it’s all magical. There’s good and bad in every era, as I said before, and you have the opportunity to take a fun and rewarding journey of discovery!
15. If you had a TARDIS of your own and it would only take you to and from one place and time where you go?
AS: Wow, only one place? I guess my first pick would be to go back to dinosaur times, as that’s something I’ve been fascinated by ever since I was a little kid. And then maybe I could be there at the time Adric crashes.
16. What do you think of the show’s progression as a cult TV favorite into a worldwide phenomenon?
AS: It’s really pretty amazing. Back in the mid-80s when I became a fan, there was no Doctor Who club near me. I had one friend who watched the show, so my progressive love for it was pretty solitary. And of course, there was no internet in those days. Everything I knew about the show came to me once a month in the Whovian Times, the newsletter of the Doctor Who Fan Club of America. Doctor Who Magazine wasn’t sold anywhere near me at the time, so it was a while before I discovered it. But these days, can you imagine only getting Doctor Who news once a month, instead of knowing instantly every move the production team makes? And back in 1985, 1986, when it was a shock to find anything Doctor Who related even in a comic book or collectibles store, I could never in a million years have predicted there would be a day when you could walk into a Walmart or Target and find Doctor Who DVDs. To see so many people of all ages enjoying the show and the phenomenon that I’ve loved for 30+ years is kind of staggering. And there are so many fan clubs around! There was nothing like that in my area growing up, or if there was I didn’t know how to find them. Now there are thousands of online fan communities and podcasts and people expressing their love creatively with artwork and crafts and costumes. It’s incredibly gratifying. The internet is a magical place!
17. If you could give a free copy of the book to only one person associated with the entire run of the show whom would it be?
AS: If I’m allowed to give one of those “living or dead” answers to this, then it would be Verity Lambert. I think the show owes its success and longevity to her vision and her belief in it and her tenacity than possibly any other factor. She was an amazing woman who understood the show’s concept and its potential more than probably anyone else did. I’m so glad that she lived long enough to see the show come back in 2005 and grow into the worldwide juggernaut it became.
18. Which of the missing episodes would you most like to see?
AS: Of course the answer is “all of them!” But if I had to pick one serial to “save” it would be “The Daleks’ Master Plan.” The main reason is that, it being the longest, it would ensure the biggest number of recovered episodes. But also, the three episodes that do exist are extremely good! And Hartnell is incredible in it, especially in episode 10 in that standoff with the Daleks, negotiating the return of their prisoners (Steven, Sara Kingdom and the Meddling Monk); he’s absolutely riveting in that scene. Plus, we’d get to see all those amazing delegates. Plus, we’d get to finally see the deaths of Katarina and Sara. If you listen to the audio recordings or watch the reconstructions, you’ll know that this is an incredibly strong story, But that’s not enough, because you don’t get to see the actors’ performances and the gorgeous sets and Douglas Camfield’s creative directing. If, for whatever reason, that one wasn’t able to return, then my second pick would be “Power of the Daleks,” which is Troughton’s debut. The story is superb with really strong concepts.
19. The new series has tackled some social issues and broken some boundaries that the classic series never broached. Did the social commentary of a particular story (i.e. The Happiness Patrol, The Sunmakers) effect your rankings?
AS: Not really. The main things I looked for were a solid, cohesive story, good performances by the actors, well-written characterizations, excellent direction, great set design and costumes, etc.
21. Now that the book is done and out there for the masses what would you like to do next?
AS: Well, I’m currently blogging through the history of Sci-Fi Cinema, watching the great SF movies in chronological order and reviewing each one, starting with Le Voyage Dans La Lune (www.thesumofalan.com), and who knows, maybe that’ll get turned into a book one day. I’ve also got a number of other books planned; a couple other Doctor Who ones, possibly a Star Trek one similar to this one to tie in with Star Trek’s 50th anniversary in 2016, and one Saturday Night Live book that’s been percolating in my brain for the past year or so.
For more info on Alan Siler’s book go here: www.kozmicpress.com
For info on Timegate: http://timegatecon.org
His blog: www.thesumofalan.com
The post Doctor Who’s Greatest Hits: An Interview with Author Alan Siler appeared first on Tardistopia.net.
