‘There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea’s
asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke and cities made of
song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, and
somewhere else the tea’s getting cold. Come on, Ace – we’ve got work to
do!’
Andrew Cartmel was the script editor on Doctor Who from 1986 to 1989.
During his time on the show, he introduced the seventh Doctor
(Sylvester McCoy) and his companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) and oversaw 42
scripts written by eight writers new to the series.
With a clear mission to bring proper science fiction back into Doctor
Who, he formulated what was later termed ‘The Cartmel Masterplan’,
reintroducing the mystery to the character of the Doctor as the series
celebrated its 25th anniversary and beyond.
Script Doctor is his memoir of this time, based on his diaries
written sometimes on set and sometimes not even in the diary itself but
on the backs of script pages.
With an introduction by modern-era Doctor Who showrunner Steven
Moffat, a foreword by Sylvester McCoy, and an afterword by Sophie
Aldred, this book is illustrated with 32 pages of photographs, many
never published before. It is a vivid account of life in the Doctor Who
production office in the late eighties.
