Nov 16, 2009 08:20 AM
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Wed Feb 10
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Michael Moorcock's announcement that he'd be writing a Doctor Who novel for release next year has prompted all manner of questions from concerned fans wondering about his Who credentials. Thankfully, Moorcock is happy to provide what they're looking for.
Responding to questions on his messageboard, Moorcock wrote,
I've been watching Dr Who since it began. Haven't liked all the doctors and after Peter Davison stopped watching regularly until the new BBC Wales series... I share an enthusiasm for the current Dr Who broadcasts with quite a few friends who are 'literary' novelists and I sense in some of the Gallifrey remarks a suspicion of the 'outsider' which you used to get when someone with a reputation as a non-sf writer would decide to write an sf novel. All I can answer to this is 'wait and see'. I'm certainly not a non-watcher! Neither am I someone who ascribes a kind of religiosity to an enthusiasm. This phenomenon crops up a lot, these days associated with sf/fantasy, LOTR, H.Potter, Twilight and so on. I hate these presumptions of exclusivity either in my own corner of the literary world or elsewhere. Mike Kustow, once director of the Royal Shakespeare Co, described this as 'the anxious ownership syndrome', when faced with his first confrontation with sf fandom in Brighton 1968. He'd found the same sort of expression with Shakespeare fans when someone from 'outside' showed an interest. I've been asked to write Dr Who scripts or stories almost since the series began, because I was known to enjoy Dr Who. Only recently did the time feel right to me to do one. I'm going to enjoy that, too.
For those worried by his original comment that his novel wouldn't be "a tie-in," he explained,
I do have to submit it to editors so they can make sure it fits into the canon and this, of course, is understandable. By saying it wasn't a tie-in I did, of course, mean that it would be an original novel, not one which was linked to previous stories.
We admit it; we'd read a Moorcock Who even if it wasn't canon. But now we're curious who the other "'literary' novelist" fans of the show are, and how quickly the BBC can convince them to contribute a book or two, as well...
By Tardis Through The Multiverse [Multiverse] (Via)
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
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