Forget the Shooty Dog Thing.

This historic document came into my possession many years ago.  Note item four!

Going to Gallifrey (literally).

I can finally announce that I will be writing the fourth and final episode of Big Finish Productions' latest Gallifrey series of audio dramas.  "Gallifrey" is a "Doctor Who" spin-off, and it's basically "The West Wing" with Timelords.  The series features three of my favorite classic companions: Romana (Lala Ward), the only Timelord ever to travel with the Doctor, and Leela (Louise Jameson), amazonian warrior of the Sevateem Tribe, as well as the one and only K-9, voiced by the one and only John Leeson.  Writing dialogue for characters I've loved for almost 30 years is a huge thrill for me, and I only hope I don't screw it up too badly!

Current reading. (Like you were really interested.)

Recently:

Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher. (Research.)

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath by H.P. Lovecraft. (The old Ballantine Adult Fantasy edition from 1970 – and it’s the first time I’ve read it!)

The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas.

Gothic! (YA short-story collections; more research and a MAJOR slog.)

The Writer’s Tale by Russell T. Davies. The Doctor Who writing process, by a genius who’s not afraid to burn his bridges.

Currently:

Ophelia Speaks by Sara Schandler. (More research.)

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. (Yet more research.)

About Writing by Samuel R. Delany. (Chip’s astounding knowledge, erudition, and writing chops have always been a source of profound irritation for me.)

The Jewish War by Josephus. Found my father’s copy of this old Penguin – printed in Isreal! – last June in NYC. You can only read a few pages at a time. Dense, but chock full of violence, treachery, depravity, and other Roman goodness, written by one of the most fascinating characters in literature – a Jewish historian and commander of the Jewish army in Galilee who became a Roman citizen; upholder of Jewish tradition to the Romans, Roman apologist to the Jews, and a guy for whom the phrase “You can’t please everybody” apparently held no terror. I am reading his famous account preparatory to reading Lion Feuchtwanger’s novel Josephus.

A bucketload of plays by my friend Rob Shearman.

The first draft of Audry’s novel.

Next from the stack:

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead. (That I might better understand what flips Audry out.)

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. (Penguin Read Red, loaded with win!)

Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenter & Seymour by J.D. Salinger. (Can’t believe I never read this one.)

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link.

Ridiculous! The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam by David Kaufman.

…unless I change my mind and grab something else instead.

Dude! I have a "Doctor Who" connection!

...Aside, that is, from putting the phrase "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" into virtually every TV series  I've written since 1978* and having a bunch of Decepticons running around screaming "Exterminate!" in an episode of Transformers.

According to this entry in the Transformers Wiki, the BBC sound effect for the Dalek control room was used in one of my Transformers episodes!

I'm such a hopeless Doctor Who geek that this discovery completely made my day.


"Are you aware that we've been making threats to a test pattern all this time!?"


* Okay, I didn't use it in "Zorro" or "Conan & The Young Warriors," but it is in most of them.

Cardiff, center of the SF universe.

Yesterday, Audry and I took a high-speed train from Paddington to Cardiff. At the end of the two-hour trip, we made an immediate beeline for the Red Dragon Centre, which is sort of like a mall, only more entertainment-oriented (restaurants, arcades, a multiplex). It also seems to play host to a swap meet.


Our destination, however, was the massive Doctor Who exhibition in the middle of the centre.




As always, click on the photos for a full-sized view.





A Weeping Angel from "Blink."


"You've got something on your back." Donna Noble's costume (and giant time-sucking bug) from "Turn Left." As in the episode, she's surrounded by the time-mirrors that Rose Tyler and U.N.I.T. use to set the timelines aright.


Tick-tock robot from Stephen Moffat's classic episode, "The Girl in the Fireplace."


Giant wall-mural photo of David Tennant on location at Cinecitta in Italy during the shooting of "The Fires of Pompeii."


L to R: Early Rose Tyler costume; Christopher Eccleston's leather jacket and 9th Doctor clothes; David Tennant's robe and jimjams from "The Christmas Invasion," Martha Jones' trademark purple leather jacket and jeans.


Captain Jack Harkness' costume, complete with stain on lapel.


Rose Tyler's whacking big gun from "Journey's End."


Cybermen!! "Prepare to be upgraded or face deletion!"



Daleks with Emperor Dalek. Exterminate!




"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" A victim of the Vashta Narada from Moffat's "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" episodes.


K-9! I have one of these at home.


The Ood pose with Donna's costume from "Planet of the Ood."


Ood brain and assorted props, along with a quote from "The Impossible Planet."


Spoiler alert! River Song's sonic screwdriver and copy of the Doctor's Diary from "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead."


Robot angel from "Voyage of the Damned."


A scarecrow from Paul Cornell's "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood."


Emerging from the exhibition, we managed to escape the Who shop without spending a penny, and promptly hoofed it over to Cardiff Bay and the Millennium Centre -- home to Torchwood and the Rift.






The mirrored waterfall facing the Centre -- and the secret entrance to Torchwood.


Audry in front of the Centre...


...And the waterfall.  (Note the fob watch!)


We then walked a couple of miles down Lloyd George Road to central Cardiff.


At the end of this street we visited Cardiff Castle -- but that's another two dozen photos I'm too lazy to post just now!

Guess where we went today?

London at last.

Later that day, we arrived in London, and had dinner with our dear friend Rob Shearman (writer of the superb Doctor Who episode, "Dalek.") Afterward, we went to a pub for a pint of nice, rich Badger Ale. Very good to be in London, with such good company.

Is this where Stephen Moffat got it from?

Fans of the Doctor Who two-parter "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" will know what I'm talking about.

Seriously, "River Song" (by Beach Boy and Brian brother Dennis Wilson) is one of my favorite songs of all time -- it easily eclipses anything the Beach Boys did post-"Heroes & Villains," with great BB harmonies and an awe-insiring arrangement that washes over you with crescendo after crescendo. You can listen to it below. (And I bet it is where Moffat got the name from!)

This is my desk.

(Click on images for full-size versions, if you must.)
Stare really hard at the above picture. Then get a knot in your stomach about all the bills you have to pay. Voila! Now you know what it's like to be me! (Don't thank me all at once.)

(Above) On the platform, L to R: Extremely tiny Godzilla; four "Soul of Bullmark" gashapon toys from Japan depicting Ultraman monsters; Star Trek communicator (with phaser behind it); Radio City Music Hall; "Wizard of Oz" ornament that talks, moves, and other obnoxious things. On the desktop, L to R: Red and blue Seagate drives (one has all the video I've shot in the past 10 years on it, the other has my complete music collection); another Ultraman monster; mini R/C K-9; a piece of asphalt from King Philip Road on Cape Cod; a white rock from Chagrin Falls, OH; sonic screwdriver; Italian blue glass doodad from the 1950's.

(Above) The left side of the desk is getting crowded, what with all the Doctor Who stuff, Galactus, a couple of Enterprises, Mechagodzilla, and giant flying turtle Gamera (the friend of children everywhere), etc.

(Above) Yeah, I'm re-reading Salinger. (I'll find a use for the orange hard drive someday.)

Davros sez: "You -- will -- work -- HARDER!!!"

Exterminated!

They found a Dalek in a swamp.



Here's the full scoop.