The random witterings of Jonathan Morris, writer.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Magic Moments

Out now is the Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition, commemorating the fact that there have been (approximately) 200 Doctor Who stories with a guide to 200 Golden Moments. The end result is extraordinarily thick, heavy and impressive, and I suspect anyone who attempted to read all 100,000 words in one sitting would be reduced to a quivering delirium, such is the overwhelming affection and enthusiasm on display. There’s even a photo of Cassandra from The Myth Makers!

A dozen or so entries were written by yours truly. Wherever possible, I tried to avoid describing the ‘Golden Moment’ and instead go off on as interesting a tangent as possible. I didn’t always succeed but I’m proud of the 500 words on Game Theory I wrote for Destiny Of The Daleks and my article for The Creature From The Pit; a dialogue between Douglas Adams, the story’s script editor and David Fisher, its writer. Quite sensibly, it was edited down, but in the spirit of re-heated left-overs, here’s what was cut:

DOUGLAS ADAMS: Just a couple of little wrinkles to smooth out first. The bit where the Doctor’s falling down the pit, page thirty. Seems a bit ordinary, a bit we’ve-seen-this-all-before. Maybe we could thrown in some comedy business?

DAVID FISHER: Er... how about, he’s hanging onto the side for dear life –

DOUGLAS ADAMS: And a sofa appears out of thin air. A Chesterfield sofa!

DAVID FISHER: Good, yes. Or maybe... he pulls out a book on mountaineering –

DOUGLAS ADAMS: ‘How I Scaled the North Face of the Megapurna! By Oolon Colluphid!’

DAVID FISHER: Yes... or ‘Everest in Easy Stages’. But it’s no good, because...

DOUGLAS ADAMS: It’s in Tibetan!

DAVID FISHER: Yes! So he pulls out... ‘Teach Yourself Tibetan’, and then...

DOUGLAS ADAMS: And then falls into the pit! Tremendous!