The Black Archive
Editor | Philip Purser-Hallard, Paul Simpson |
---|---|
Categories | Media studies |
Frequency | Monthly |
Company | Obverse Books |
Country | United Kingdom |
Based in | Edinburgh, Scotland |
Language | English |
Website |
www |
The Black Archive is a series of critical monographs about selected individual Doctor Who stories, from the series' earliest history to the present day.[1][2] Rather than focusing on behind-the-scenes production history as much Doctor Who fan scholarship has done, the series aims to analyse and explore the stories as broadcast.[3] It has been described by Sci-Fi Bulletin as "a fascinating series of short books",[4] and by Doctor Who Magazine as "a grandly ambitious thing to attempt with something as exhaustively detailed as Doctor Who. But they actually manage it."[5]
The series is edited by Philip Purser-Hallard and Paul Simpson, and is published by Obverse Books. It showcases the criticism of prominent Doctor Who fan authors such as Simon Bucher-Jones, James Cooray Smith, Simon Guerrier, Una McCormack, Kate Orman and Ian Potter, as well as of less established and new writers. It is named after the museum of alien artifacts seen in the Doctor Who stories "The Day of the Doctor" and "The Zygon Inversion".
History
The series was launched in March 2016 with the release of the first four books (on "Rose" (2005), The Massacre (1966), The Ambassadors of Death (1970) and "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven" (2014)), to generally positive reviews.[6][7] James Cooray Smith's book on The Massacre was singled out for particular praise for its placing the serial in its historical context, both that of its 1570s setting and that of its writing and production in the 1960s.[5][8][9]
Subsequent titles were published every two months and continued to gain consistently positive reviews.[10][11] The tenth volume, on the 2003 Doctor Who webcast Scream of the Shalka, reprinted the detailed episode breakdown treatment for "Blood of the Robots", the commissioned but unmade sequel story by Simon Clark.[12] In 2018 the series moved to a monthly publication schedule: the books for that year were announced early in 2017.[13]
Published titles
- The Black Archive #1: Rose by Jon Arnold (March 2016)
- The Black Archive #2: The Massacre by James Cooray Smith (March 2016)
- The Black Archive #3: The Ambassadors of Death by L M Myles (March 2016)
- The Black Archive #4: Dark Water / Death in Heaven by Philip Purser-Hallard (March 2016)
- The Black Archive #5: Image of the Fendahl by Simon Bucher-Jones (May 2016)
- The Black Archive #6: Ghost Light by Jonathan Dennis (July 2016)
- The Black Archive #7: The Mind Robber by Andrew Hickey (September 2016)
- The Black Archive #8: Black Orchid by Ian Millsted (November 2016)
- The Black Archive #9: The God Complex by Paul Driscoll (January 2017)
- The Black Archive #10: Scream of the Shalka by Jon Arnold (March 2017)
- The Black Archive #11: The Evil of the Daleks by Simon Guerrier (May 2017)
- The Black Archive #12: Pyramids of Mars by Kate Orman (July 2017)
- The Black Archive #13: Human Nature / The Family of Blood by Naomi Jacobs and Philip Purser-Hallard (September 2017)
- The Black Archive #14: The Ultimate Foe by James Cooray Smith (November 2017)
- The Black Archive #15: Full Circle by John Toon (January 2018)
- The Black Archive #16: Carnival of Monsters by Ian Potter (February 2018)
- The Black Archive #17: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit by Simon Bucher-Jones (March 2018)
- The Black Archive #18: Marco Polo by Dene October (April 2018)
- The Black Archive #19: The Eleventh Hour by Jon Arnold (May 2018)
- The Black Archive #20: Face the Raven by Sarah Groenewegen (June 2018)
- The Black Archive #21: Heaven Sent by Kara Dennison (July 2018)
- The Black Archive #22: Hell Bent by Alyssa Franke (August 2018)
- The Black Archive #23: The Curse of Fenric by Una McCormack (September 2018)
- The Black Archive #24: The Time Warrior by Matthew Kilburn (October 2018)
Publication schedule
- The Black Archive #25: Doctor Who (1996) by Paul Driscoll (November 2018)
- The Black Archive #26: The Dæmons by Matt Barber (December 2018)
- The Black Archive #27: The Face of Evil by Thomas L Rodebaugh (January 2019)
- The Black Archive #28: Love & Monsters by Niki Haringsma (February 2019)
- The Black Archive #29: Warriors’ Gate by Frank Collins (March 2019)
- The Black Archive #30: Survival by Craig Jones (April 2019)
- The Black Archive #31: The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon by John Toon (May 2019)
- The Black Archive #32: The Romans by Jacob Edwards (June 2019)
References
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine issue 498 p75.
- ↑ As of 2018, the earliest Doctor Who story to have a Black Archive title announced is Marco Polo (1964), while the most recent is Hell Bent (2015).
- ↑ Interview: Philip Purser-Hallard takes us to the Black Archive by Kara Dennison, (Re)Generation Who.
- ↑ Review: Doctor Who: Books: The Black Archive 3: The Ambassadors of Death by Paul Simpson.
- 1 2 Doctor Who Magazine issue 499 p72.
- ↑ The Black Archive #1 - Rose by Kieron Moore, Starburst.
- ↑ Review: The Black Archives (Dark Water/Death in Heaven) by Philip Sandifer.
- ↑ Review: Doctor Who: Books: The Black Archive 2: The Massacre by Paul Simpson.
- ↑ Black Archive 2: The Massacre by Philip Bates
- ↑ The Black Archive 10: Scream of the Shalka Reviewed
- ↑ Doctor Who Books - The Black Archive 9: The God Complex
- ↑ Doctor Who Books - The Black Archive 10: Scream of the Shalka
- ↑ Post on the official Black Archive Facebook page.