A bit of The Other
Column 1: Marked for destruction
27th March 2011
Where was Ian Levine when I really needed him?
Fans of a certain age, or indeed anyone who’s just watched their Kinda bonus features, will remember Levine. He wasn’t just John Nathan-Turner’s unofficial and un-credited continuity advisor... The way he tells it, Levine was partially responsible for Paula Moore’s Attack of the Cybermen. Just don’t ask Eric Saward to back him up on that. No such disputes over ownership of the irrepressibly jaunty theme for K9 & Company though.
Putting these (ahem) achievements in the shade was Levine’s determination in tracking down so many missing episodes. One of the foremost raiders of the lost archives, Levine famously rescued all seven episodes of The Daleks on his very first visit to the BBC. There they were, “all taped up and marked for destruction”. A day; perhaps even a couple of hours later, and they’d have been gone for good. You might want to offer a little prayer of thanks the next time you watch it.
I used to think that every Doctor Who fan needed her (or mostly his) own little Ian Levine. An Aunty Vanessa sized pocket pal; someone to turn to in times of crisis. My own ‘Little Ian’ would have been largely concerned with making sure I looked after my collection – Doctor Who Pattern Book and all.
If I ever tried to do something stupid – like sell a prized copy of Timewyrm: Revelation, an apoplectic ‘Little Ian’ would intervene. He’d tell me I really didn’t want to see Paul Cornell’s first Who go the same way as John Lucarotti’s debut. And if he felt like that about one book, imagine how he’d have felt about a big box full of them …
So quite how I managed to place an online ad, accept an offer and package up all of my Virgin New Adventures without ‘Little Ian’ giving me an earful, I don’t know. I couldn’t even summon up Ian’s ire when I took the box to the post office. It looked, to all intents and purposes, like it was all taped up and marked for destruction. Or Dorking, I can’t remember now.
The New Adventures weren’t the only casualties. There were comics. Lots of comics. Big long boxes full of them. But they hardly ever saw the light of day. There were videos too. But that was okay. Everything was going to be re-released on DVD. Eventually.
But the New Adventures? No, I still can't quite come to terms with letting them go. With no reprints and, at the time of writing, no definite plans for any, they’re among the few Who cash cows that haven't been milked dry.
Learning to let go was tough. Without wishing to sound trite, there’s something about a book that captures the experience of reading it. I can vividly remember reading Revelation on a crisp Christmas Eve, right through the night and into Christmas Day. I read most of Genesys on my first night in Halls, and I read most of Iceberg on trains.
I can remember shopping for the latest releases and seeing whether they’d been lumped in with the Target reprints again, or given their own little bit in the SF section. And most of all, I remember the sense that the books had become Doctor Who. Not an off-shoot or an alternative, but proper, actual Doctor Who.
When I sold them, it felt like I’d turned my back on an era of Doctor Who. An era that was, in its way, just as important as the Lambert, Letts or Hinchcliffe years.
Still, not to worry, they’d be re-released in a few years. Right?
Oh well. While the DWRS chivvies things along, I’ve been dipping into the online auctions and picking up a few old favourite along the way. Not Revelation though. Not yet. One day I should like a shiny new copy of that, thank you very much. For old times’ sake. But I think the fact that so many of us want to read (or re-read) these stories proves that we’re not just peddling nostalgia. There were some genuinely wonderful books among them. The sort of stories that expanded Doctor Who’s horizons a little bit. Some of them paved the way for 21st century Doctor Who; some of them went much further than that. But they all had big ideas, lots of heart and chutzpah – just like Doctor Who always should. And my collection just doesn’t feel complete without them.
Sorry Ian! It looks like there are rather more than 108 missing episodes for you still to find…
Happy Endings
In case you’re wondering – and apologies if you’re not – I put the combined proceeds from my sales into a trip to teach in Japan. This, as it turned out, was officially a very good idea. I fell for the girl next door, we came home a year later, and well, you can probably guess the rest. She didn’t have any Virgin New Adventures. I checked. But she did used to work for Virgin. Oh, and our little boy loves Daleks. So, I can’t really complain can I?
Epilogue
‘Little Ian’ didn't ever show up. And that’s probably just as well. Can you imagine what a gooseberry he’d have been?
Fans of a certain age, or indeed anyone who’s just watched their Kinda bonus features, will remember Levine. He wasn’t just John Nathan-Turner’s unofficial and un-credited continuity advisor... The way he tells it, Levine was partially responsible for Paula Moore’s Attack of the Cybermen. Just don’t ask Eric Saward to back him up on that. No such disputes over ownership of the irrepressibly jaunty theme for K9 & Company though.
Putting these (ahem) achievements in the shade was Levine’s determination in tracking down so many missing episodes. One of the foremost raiders of the lost archives, Levine famously rescued all seven episodes of The Daleks on his very first visit to the BBC. There they were, “all taped up and marked for destruction”. A day; perhaps even a couple of hours later, and they’d have been gone for good. You might want to offer a little prayer of thanks the next time you watch it.
I used to think that every Doctor Who fan needed her (or mostly his) own little Ian Levine. An Aunty Vanessa sized pocket pal; someone to turn to in times of crisis. My own ‘Little Ian’ would have been largely concerned with making sure I looked after my collection – Doctor Who Pattern Book and all.
If I ever tried to do something stupid – like sell a prized copy of Timewyrm: Revelation, an apoplectic ‘Little Ian’ would intervene. He’d tell me I really didn’t want to see Paul Cornell’s first Who go the same way as John Lucarotti’s debut. And if he felt like that about one book, imagine how he’d have felt about a big box full of them …
So quite how I managed to place an online ad, accept an offer and package up all of my Virgin New Adventures without ‘Little Ian’ giving me an earful, I don’t know. I couldn’t even summon up Ian’s ire when I took the box to the post office. It looked, to all intents and purposes, like it was all taped up and marked for destruction. Or Dorking, I can’t remember now.
The New Adventures weren’t the only casualties. There were comics. Lots of comics. Big long boxes full of them. But they hardly ever saw the light of day. There were videos too. But that was okay. Everything was going to be re-released on DVD. Eventually.
But the New Adventures? No, I still can't quite come to terms with letting them go. With no reprints and, at the time of writing, no definite plans for any, they’re among the few Who cash cows that haven't been milked dry.
Learning to let go was tough. Without wishing to sound trite, there’s something about a book that captures the experience of reading it. I can vividly remember reading Revelation on a crisp Christmas Eve, right through the night and into Christmas Day. I read most of Genesys on my first night in Halls, and I read most of Iceberg on trains.
I can remember shopping for the latest releases and seeing whether they’d been lumped in with the Target reprints again, or given their own little bit in the SF section. And most of all, I remember the sense that the books had become Doctor Who. Not an off-shoot or an alternative, but proper, actual Doctor Who.
When I sold them, it felt like I’d turned my back on an era of Doctor Who. An era that was, in its way, just as important as the Lambert, Letts or Hinchcliffe years.
Still, not to worry, they’d be re-released in a few years. Right?
Oh well. While the DWRS chivvies things along, I’ve been dipping into the online auctions and picking up a few old favourite along the way. Not Revelation though. Not yet. One day I should like a shiny new copy of that, thank you very much. For old times’ sake. But I think the fact that so many of us want to read (or re-read) these stories proves that we’re not just peddling nostalgia. There were some genuinely wonderful books among them. The sort of stories that expanded Doctor Who’s horizons a little bit. Some of them paved the way for 21st century Doctor Who; some of them went much further than that. But they all had big ideas, lots of heart and chutzpah – just like Doctor Who always should. And my collection just doesn’t feel complete without them.
Sorry Ian! It looks like there are rather more than 108 missing episodes for you still to find…
Happy Endings
In case you’re wondering – and apologies if you’re not – I put the combined proceeds from my sales into a trip to teach in Japan. This, as it turned out, was officially a very good idea. I fell for the girl next door, we came home a year later, and well, you can probably guess the rest. She didn’t have any Virgin New Adventures. I checked. But she did used to work for Virgin. Oh, and our little boy loves Daleks. So, I can’t really complain can I?
Epilogue
‘Little Ian’ didn't ever show up. And that’s probably just as well. Can you imagine what a gooseberry he’d have been?