New books about 80’s Doctor Who Producer John Nathan-Turner and Space: 1999 are on their way from Telos Publishing. 

Thanks to a teasing Facebook post, we already have three titles on our 2022 reading list…

The John Nathan-Turner Doctor Who Production Diary 1979 – 1990

Drawing on documentation from the late producer’s personal archive, it promises to give “… virtually a day by day breakdown of what the Producer was doing, who he met, where he went and why … and putting it all in the context of the show at the time.”

There was an excellent (and headline grabbing) biography of JNT by Richard Marson a few years ago, but we look forward to a programme-focussed take on his role. Written by Richard Molesworth, author of the fascinating Wiped!, this sounds like essential reading.

To Everything That Might Have Been: The Lost Universes of Space: 1999

Written by David Hirsch and Robert E Wood with Christopher Penfold.

Delving deep into the show’s development, the book uses “…recently discovered documentation and correspondence to provide the most detailed view yet of exactly how SPACE: 1999 came to be and how it developed.” It’s described as “book that every self-respecting SPACE: 1999 fan needs to have”.

Space: 1999 was a famously troubled production, retooled (and partially recast) between its two seasons. It will be great to get an insight how the show deviated from what was planned.

Anderson’s Supersonic Centuries: The Retrofuture Worlds of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson

Written by Fred McNamara.

The book contains a selection of critical essays and analysis looking at all the Anderson’s output from the early days of The Adventures of Twizzle (1957) right up to Thunderbirds Are Go (2015).

It’s described as “A fascinating and thought provoking insight into the worlds, the cities, the equipment, the characters, the hardware, the vehicles and the themes.”

All three of these books will be available from the Telos site in due course. The site is worth a visit for their impressive back catalogue too. We recommend The TARGET Book and Steven James Walker’s comprehensive series of Doctor Who guidebooks.