Doctor Who Autobiographies

[Rob McCow]

Eric Saward - " It's not my Fault"

Too true...

Although I think Ben's should be 'Ben Aaronovitch Is Unwell'.

[Rob McCow]

Her house in Devon did catch fire a few years back... she spent months fixing up all the damage, got it looking nice again and then the landlord chucked her out! How mean.

Resurrecting an ancient thread for this, because I've just finished Anneke Wills - Naked. As autobiographies go, it's everything that you'd want. Her life has been full of adventures and mishap and is completely different from anything I'm likely to get up to! You also get to feel that you really know Anneke by the end of it too and what a wonderful person she is.

There's many touching moments, but my favourite is the time she meets David Tennant and says 'Oh! Hello Doctor!' It's a bit silly but it's really sweet. Then there's all the heartache, her relationships with jealous men, the people who have become estranged or lost to her. They're a wonderful, spiritual couple of books and a breeze to read.

[Mr BHT]

Absolutely loved Naked too - one of the best books I've ever read.

[Rob McCow]

She gets mentioned a lot in the recent Peter Cook biography "So Farewell Then" as she and Michael Gough were close friends of the Cooks.

There's a sad little coda to her realtionship with Peter Cook, where she meets him in London by chance in the late 80's / early 90's and Peter's a sozzled wreck who's lost his fire.

[P-Bal]

It's still being written and the title is to be revealed this week!

"Quick Quick Miss Waterfield, Up Your Passage!" has been officially rejected.

[Rob McCow]

A title? Surely 'Dame' would be adequate?

[P-Bal]

This September, Fantom Films will be publishing Mary Tamm's autobiography 'First Generation'.


SIGNING TOUR DATES

Saturday 12th September :: Forbidden Planet
(13:00 - 14:00, Store Signing, London Mega Store)

Sunday 13th September :: Monsters & Mayhem
(Fantom Films Convention, Chiswick, London)

Saturday 19th September :: Regenerations
(Convention, Swansea, Wales)

Sunday 20th September :: Borders Cardiff
(13:00 - 14:00, Store Signing, Cardiff, Wales)

Friday 25th September :: Whoovers Group Meet
(Fan Meet, Derby)

Saturday 26th September :: Galaxy Four
(11:00 - 12:30, Store Signing, Sheffield)

Saturday 26th September :: Waterstones, Bradford
(14:00 - 15:00, Store Signing, Bradford)

Sunday 27th September :: Borders Birmingham
(14:00 - 15:00, Store Signing, Bullring, Birmingham)

Sunday 10th October :: Time & Again
(DWAS Convention, Riverside Studios, London)

Lastest information can be found here:
Fantom Films website


Drop it while it's hot!

[SiHart]

We'll be getting one signed at Monsters and Mayhem this weekend- will we see any other PS-ers there?

Si xx

[Simon R]

Alas not I but I shall be there in spirit. I'm as moist as a well made sponge to read Tamm's tome.

[Captain Tancredi]

Well, for the price of an extra pound on my bus pass next week I can go to Bradford- on her home soil, as it were.

[Captain Tancredi]

Well, great fun had this afternoon- well done to all concerned and from the glances I had on the bus home, the book will probably be quite an enjoyable read. The thought suddenly struck me in the queue that the first Who memory I have is of 'The Androids of Tara', specifically the point where Grendel and Lamia are about to cut Romana's head off, so to meet somebody who was part of that thirty-odd years on...leaves me still a bit giddy to be honest. One of the advantages of going to the Bradford signing was that the second person in the queue turned out to be one of Mary Tamm's primary school classmates who produced an old school photo- which puts a human angle on things you wouldn;t get otherwise. So well done chaps- would have stopped to have a word with the entourage, but I wasn't totally sure of my buses home and in the end only caught a 72 with about 30 seconds to spare.

[Captain Tancredi]

Not a bad write-up in tonight's T & A (I have a spare copy of the paper)
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.u...an_old_friend/

The signing also makes the day's cartoon on the letters page!

[Simon R]

I finished the book last night. It's a good read and I whizzed through it in a few days.

I liked the bit about the Who Cruise and the Estonia stuff is genuinely interesting.

I want book two and I want it now!

[P-Bal]

My favourite parts were the specifics.

The tour comes to an end this weekend at Riverside at the DWAS event. Though there are two little encores in Manchester and Birmingham.

It's been great to see everyone who's come along!

[Si Hunt]

What with the "Key to Time" re-release this November, her book and the 'Enders doh-rey-mee, it's going to be "money in the bank Zilda" for Tamm this Christmas. She'll be shopping at Harrods for her crimbo gifts!

Si.

[Jon Masters]

What with the "Key to Time" re-release this November,
Si.

Is that a definite , Si ? Is it as the hugely expensive boxset again, or are they releasing individual stories ? And all at the same time ?

Dammit, man, we need answers !

ETA: Ah.....there appears to be a thread in the DVD section ....OK, move along now, nothing to see here.

[Si Hunt]

Sorry I appear to have caused a mild Fan Attack in Jon there! Deep breaths fella!

Si.

[Simon R]

The tour comes to an end this weekend at Wembley Stadium. Though there are two little encores in Manchester Evening News Arena and Birmingham NEC.

Thus it should it be.

[Rob McCow]

And you too will be able to say: "She's scraped her pointy marker across my hardback."

And also: "This is the bottom of the barrel for double entendres."

[Rob McCow]

As I said elsewhere, I've caught up with the first half of Mary Tamm's life now. It was a great little autobiography, thanks for the team for putting it together and getting it out there!

There was loads of interesting stuff in there, but I'd like to pick out her experiences on the Odessa File, especially the frightening prospect of violent sabotage from people opposed to the film's ideas. Then there was the making of Rampage, which sounds quite incredible! Even if the film is generally unavailable.

It was fascinating looking back to Estonia in 1990 and the difference in the standard of living between then and now. It's amazing to think how far the Eastern European countries have changed in the last two decades.

It was a thoroughly great read, highly recommended

[Pip Madeley]

Frazer Hines is getting in on the act:

A revised autobiography of Frazer Hines's autobiography (originally published as "Films, Farms and Fillies" by Boxtree in 1996) entitled Hines Sight is being released; the hardback book is being published by Frazer Hines himself, with assistance from David Howe and Sam Stone, and also features 16 pages of photos from the actor's own collection covering his life and career, plus a foreword by variety entertainers Ian and Janette Krankie.



For full details and ordering information visit the Frazer Hines website.

£25 (plus p&p) - ouch!

[Captain Tancredi]

I once picked up a copy of the first version of Hines's book about ten years ago- as I recall, the first line was something like "I was born in a place called Horsforth, which nobody has ever head of". Since I'd moved out of a house in Horsforth about a fortnight previously, I didn't consider the book worth carrying on with.

[Andrew Curnow]

What I'd really love to see would be a biography of Bob Holmes, but I guess that's not on the cards really. And arguably many of the contributors to it (certainly from his Who era) are no longer with us anyway.

[SiHart]

This tome is on the way:

When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered in the series' history. The coming years would see her traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, whilst a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, man-eating alien flora, Egyptian mummies, extras in Bubble Wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster. By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age. But that wasn't the end of Sarah Jane. Since then Elisabeth has reprised the role many times appearing in anniversary specials; a 1981 spin-off with robotic sidekick K-9; radio plays; and for the BBC's Children in Need. She's toured the weird, wide and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and regularly tops polls of fans' all time favourite companions. So when TV wunderkind Russell T. Davies approached her to come back again, this time to a Doctor Who backed by multi-million pound budgets and garlanded with critical plaudits, how could she possibly say no? Now Elisabeth Sladen tells the story of her remarkable career: a unique, insider's view of the world's longest running science fiction series; and of British television yesterday and today. Funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining hers is the story of another girl, another planet. Elisabeth Sladen plays companion Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. She has also appeared in Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do Ave Em and Z-Cars.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

I hope that's a draft cover. It's very cheap-looking.