Post by foefromthefuture on Jun 18, 2024 11:11:14 GMT
I hope I’m posting this question in the right place (if not, I can certainly post elsewhere if necessary). I’m a big fan of the “About Time” series of books published by Mad Norwegian Press and originally written by Lawrence Miles and Tat Woods. The series has been around for a long time and is still being published sporadically; just last year they published a two-part Second Edition of Volume 4.
However, Lawrence Miles does not appear to have been i writing for the series for some time now. There have been a few volumes that have addressed the New Series of Doctor Who that he has had no involvement with, which is not surprising. However, Miles’ connection with the series ended long before it began exploring the New Series; he was not listed as an author for Volume 6 (which covers seasons 22 to 26, plus the TV movie), and his name was removed from the second edition of Volume 3, which was published some time ago.
Something I noticed when reading both Part One and Part Two of the Second Edition of Volume 4 is that it consists of exclusively all-new material. Lawrence Miles’ relationship with the series appears to have been all but expunged. Not only does it include all-new essays, but even the regular sections that address the intricacies of each story have been COMPLETELY rewritten when, all things considered, there was no reason to do so (updated information could have just been added, and original information could have been retained).
For those who don’t know, “About Time” is an absolutely exhaustive examination of Doctor Who, story-by-story. Each entry includes sections like “Firsts and Lasts”; a section on “The Continuity” which examines “The Doctor”, “the TARDIS”, “the Supporting Cast” and“History”; a section on “The Analysis” which includes entries like “Where Does This Come From?”, “Things That Don’t Make Sense”, and a “Critique”. There’s also a “Lore” section for each story. When the first books appeared (it was published out of order - Volumes 3 and 4 were the first few, I believe), each volume also contained a smattering of essays throughout. Eventually, however, the essays became an integral part of the series, and later volumes contained one essay attached to every single story. As a result, the later volumes (particularly the ones about the New Series) were much larger, even though they covered fewer stories.
My question is this: does anyone know exactly both when and WHY Lawrence Miles’ involvement was terminated? In addition, is the complete rewriting of these Second Editions being done to completely remove Miles’ name from the series? Of course, it doesn’t surprise me that he would have nothing to do with any examination of the New Series, but why was his connection terminated way back in Volume 6? I don’t know a lot about Tat Wood, although I'm aware of some of the many things he’s written over the years. Were he and Miles friendly with each other when working on the project? Did they have some sort of falling out?
Like most people on this site, I’m very interested in any information that might exist about Lawrence Miles’ doings in recent years, and this appears to be one of the last “official” projects he worked on. I’m just interested in any information anyone might have.
However, Lawrence Miles does not appear to have been i writing for the series for some time now. There have been a few volumes that have addressed the New Series of Doctor Who that he has had no involvement with, which is not surprising. However, Miles’ connection with the series ended long before it began exploring the New Series; he was not listed as an author for Volume 6 (which covers seasons 22 to 26, plus the TV movie), and his name was removed from the second edition of Volume 3, which was published some time ago.
Something I noticed when reading both Part One and Part Two of the Second Edition of Volume 4 is that it consists of exclusively all-new material. Lawrence Miles’ relationship with the series appears to have been all but expunged. Not only does it include all-new essays, but even the regular sections that address the intricacies of each story have been COMPLETELY rewritten when, all things considered, there was no reason to do so (updated information could have just been added, and original information could have been retained).
For those who don’t know, “About Time” is an absolutely exhaustive examination of Doctor Who, story-by-story. Each entry includes sections like “Firsts and Lasts”; a section on “The Continuity” which examines “The Doctor”, “the TARDIS”, “the Supporting Cast” and“History”; a section on “The Analysis” which includes entries like “Where Does This Come From?”, “Things That Don’t Make Sense”, and a “Critique”. There’s also a “Lore” section for each story. When the first books appeared (it was published out of order - Volumes 3 and 4 were the first few, I believe), each volume also contained a smattering of essays throughout. Eventually, however, the essays became an integral part of the series, and later volumes contained one essay attached to every single story. As a result, the later volumes (particularly the ones about the New Series) were much larger, even though they covered fewer stories.
My question is this: does anyone know exactly both when and WHY Lawrence Miles’ involvement was terminated? In addition, is the complete rewriting of these Second Editions being done to completely remove Miles’ name from the series? Of course, it doesn’t surprise me that he would have nothing to do with any examination of the New Series, but why was his connection terminated way back in Volume 6? I don’t know a lot about Tat Wood, although I'm aware of some of the many things he’s written over the years. Were he and Miles friendly with each other when working on the project? Did they have some sort of falling out?
Like most people on this site, I’m very interested in any information that might exist about Lawrence Miles’ doings in recent years, and this appears to be one of the last “official” projects he worked on. I’m just interested in any information anyone might have.