Gareth Roberts: Difference between revisions

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| job title        = [[Writer]]
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| birth date      = [[1968]]
| birth date      = [[1968 (people)|1968]]
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| aka              = Gareth John Pritchard Roberts
| aka              = Gareth John Pritchard Roberts
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'''Gareth Roberts''' (born [[1968]] as '''Gareth John Pritchard Roberts''') is a television writer and novelist. He has a substantial body of work related to ''[[Doctor Who]]'', across every medium in which ''Doctor Who'' fiction has appeared. Indeed, it would be fair to consider him, along with [[Paul Cornell]], as amongst the most versatile writers of ''Doctor Who'' fiction.
'''Gareth Roberts''' (born [[1968 (people)|1968]] as '''Gareth John Pritchard Roberts''') is a television writer and novelist. He has a substantial body of work related to ''[[Doctor Who]]'', across every medium in which ''Doctor Who'' fiction has appeared. Indeed, it would be fair to consider him, along with [[Paul Cornell]], as amongst the most versatile writers of ''Doctor Who'' fiction.


His work is consistently described as "witty" or "humorous" by reviewers. It betrays a desire to make less popular or under-explored characters "work". This penchant for exploring unusual character combinations has, in various media, made him an early proponent of stories featuring the teams of [[Vicki]]/[[Steven Taylor|Steven]], [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]/[[First Doctor]], [[Melanie Bush|Mel]]/[[Sixth Doctor]], [[Romana II]]/[[K9]], [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]/[[Mickey Smith|Mickey]] and [[Captain Jack Harkness|Jack]]/[[Rose Tyler|Rose]].
His work is consistently described as "witty" or "humorous" by reviewers. It betrays a desire to make less popular or under-explored characters "work". This penchant for exploring unusual character combinations has, in various media, made him an early proponent of stories featuring the teams of [[Vicki]]/[[Steven Taylor|Steven]], [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]/[[First Doctor]], [[Melanie Bush|Mel]]/[[Sixth Doctor]], [[Romana II]]/[[K9]], [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]/[[Mickey Smith|Mickey]] and [[Captain Jack Harkness|Jack]]/[[Rose Tyler|Rose]].
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=== Books ===
=== Books ===
Roberts began writing professional ''Doctor Who'' fiction in the early 1990s, when he started contributing to the [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] novel ranges. His works were generally hailed by fans for their consistent use of good humour. It has been said that his creations, the [[Chelonian]]s, were "one of the best monsters created in the novels".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whoniverse.net/discontinuity/NA11.php|title=Discontinuity Guide - The Highest Science|author=Stephen Gray|coauthors=Paul Clarke|date of source=|website name=The Whoniverse|accessdate=3rd September 2012}}</ref>
Roberts began writing professional ''Doctor Who'' fiction in the early 1990s, when he started contributing to the [[Virgin New Adventures]] and [[Virgin Missing Adventures]] novel ranges. His works were generally hailed by fans for their consistent use of good humour. It has been said that his creations, the [[Chelonian]]s, were "one of the best monsters created in the novels".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whoniverse.net/discontinuity/NA11.php|title=Discontinuity Guide - The Highest Science|author=Stephen Gray|coauthors=Paul Clarke|date of source=|website name=The Whoniverse|accessdate=3rd September 2012}}</ref>
All of his Missing Adventures were set in televised eras generally recognised for their strong use of humour. ''[[The Plotters]]'' was a [[First Doctor]] novel said to evoke the [[Dennis Spooner]] era, reminiscent of [[TV]]: ''[[The Romans]]'' and ''[[The Time Meddler]]''.{{fact}} The bulk of Roberts' prose work betrays Roberts' bias for the [[Graham Williams]]/[[Douglas Adams]] era. No other Virgin writer used the combination of the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Romana II]] and [[K9]] as much as Roberts. It has been said that Roberts' Missing Adventures were "love-letter[s] to the Graham Williams era".<ref>[http://drwhoreviews.blogspot.com/2008/05/5-doctor-who-only-human-by-gareth.html Lawrence Conquest's review of ''Only Human'']</ref> It is perhaps for this reason that Roberts was chosen to be the [[BBC Wales]] representative for the documentary about the Graham Williams era included with the UK DVD release of [[TV]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation]]''.
All of his Missing Adventures were set in televised eras generally recognised for their strong use of humour. ''[[The Plotters]]'' was a [[First Doctor]] novel said to evoke the [[Dennis Spooner]] era, reminiscent of ''[[The Romans]]'' and ''[[The Time Meddler]]''.{{fact}} The bulk of Roberts' prose work betrays Roberts' bias for the [[Graham Williams]]/[[Douglas Adams]] era. No other Virgin writer used the combination of the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Romana II]] and [[K9]] as much as Roberts. It has been said that Roberts' Missing Adventures were "love-letter[s] to the Graham Williams era".<ref>[http://drwhoreviews.blogspot.com/2008/05/5-doctor-who-only-human-by-gareth.html Lawrence Conquest's review of ''Only Human'']</ref> It is perhaps for this reason that Roberts was chosen to be the [[BBC Wales]] representative for the documentary about the Graham Williams era included with the UK DVD release of ''[[The Ribos Operation]]''.


Roberts is one of a few writers who has written for both the original Virgin lines and the [[BBC Books]] series that have accompanied the [[BBC Wales]] series of ''Doctor Who''. In fact, he and [[Justin Richards]] are the only two authors {{as of|2012|lc=y}} to write a Missing Adventure, a New Adventure, a [[BBC New Series Adventures#Ninth Doctor|Ninth Doctor novel]] and a [[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|Tenth Doctor novel]].
Roberts is one of a few writers who has written for both the original Virgin lines and the [[BBC Books]] series that have accompanied the [[BBC Wales]] series of ''Doctor Who''. In fact, he and [[Justin Richards]] are the only two authors {{as of|2012|lc=y}} to write a Missing Adventure, a New Adventure, a [[BBC New Series Adventures#Ninth Doctor|Ninth Doctor novel]] and a [[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|Tenth Doctor novel]].
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Roberts' first works in comics were ''[[Plastic Millenium (comic story)|Plastic Millenium]]'' and ''[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]'', both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. ''Millenium'', in fact, is the only appearance of [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] in comics, while "Proteus" affords a very late debut for [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], outside of cameos and parodies. It also posited a pre-''[[An Unearthly Child|Unearthly Child]]'' [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]], something that had never been considered by the comics before.
Roberts' first works in comics were ''[[Plastic Millenium (comic story)|Plastic Millenium]]'' and ''[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]'', both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. ''Millenium'', in fact, is the only appearance of [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] in comics, while "Proteus" affords a very late debut for [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], outside of cameos and parodies. It also posited a pre-''[[An Unearthly Child|Unearthly Child]]'' [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]], something that had never been considered by the comics before.


Years after this story, Roberts' work experience with Clayton Hickman in audio would help him get a steady string of work in [[2005]]. Roberts was the dominant comics writer during the [[Ninth Doctor]]'s era. Concepts in his comic work during this period would later make their way into Roberts' televised episodes of ''Doctor Who''. He was entrusted with writing "[[The Shakespeare Code|the Shakespeare episode]]" in [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|series 3]] largely on the strength of his Ninth Doctor comic, ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit]]'', in which he revealed his detailed knowledge of Shakespeare. The poisoning scene in ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' was directly lifted from one of his comic strips. {{fact}}
Years after this story, Roberts' work experience with Clayton Hickman in audio would help him get a steady string of work in 2005. Roberts was the dominant comics writer during the [[Ninth Doctor]]'s era. Concepts in his comic work during this period would later make their way into Roberts' televised episodes of ''Doctor Who''. He was entrusted with writing "[[The Shakespeare Code|the Shakespeare episode]]" in [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|series 3]] largely on the strength of his Ninth Doctor comic, ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit]]'', in which he revealed his detailed knowledge of Shakespeare. The poisoning scene in ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' was directly lifted from one of his comic strips. {{fact}}


His final comic story {{as of|2012|lc=y}}, ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]'', also featured the debut of a televised companion. He was the first author to put [[Mickey Smith]] in a comic strip.
His final comic story {{as of|2012|lc=y}}, ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]'', also featured the debut of a televised companion. He was the first author to put [[Mickey Smith]] in a comic strip.
== Selected credits ==
== Television ==
=== Television ===
{{pcred|writer}}
{{pcred|writer}}
=== Prose ===
== Prose ==
==== Novels ====
=== Novels ===
===== Virgin New Adventures =====
==== Virgin New Adventures ====
* ''[[The Highest Science]]''
* ''[[The Highest Science]]''
* ''[[Tragedy Day (novel)|Tragedy Day]]''
* ''[[Tragedy Day (novel)|Tragedy Day]]''
* ''[[Zamper (novel)|Zamper]]''
* ''[[Zamper (novel)|Zamper]]''


===== Virgin Missing Adventures =====
==== Virgin Missing Adventures ====
* ''[[The Romance of Crime]]''
* ''[[The Romance of Crime]]''
* ''[[The English Way of Death]]''
* ''[[The English Way of Death]]''
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* ''[[The Well-Mannered War]]''
* ''[[The Well-Mannered War]]''


===== BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels =====
==== BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels ====
* ''[[Only Human]]''
* ''[[Only Human]]''


===== BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels - Quick Reads =====
==== BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels - Quick Reads ====
* ''[[I am a Dalek]]''
* ''[[I am a Dalek]]''


===== BBC Books ''Doctor Who'' novelisations =====
==== BBC Books ''Doctor Who'' novelisations ====
* ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]''
* ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]''


===== ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' novelisations =====
==== ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' novelisations ====
* ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (novelisation)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''
* ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (novelisation)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''


==== Short fiction ====
=== Short fiction ===
===== ''Doctor Who Magazine'' =====
==== ''Doctor Who Magazine'' ====
* ''[[Prelude The Highest Science]]''
* ''[[Prelude The Highest Science]]''
* ''[[Prelude Tragedy Day]]''
* ''[[Prelude Tragedy Day]]''
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* ''[[Voice from the Vortex! (short story)|Voice from the Vortex!]]''
* ''[[Voice from the Vortex! (short story)|Voice from the Vortex!]]''


===== ''Brief Encounter'' series in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' =====
==== ''Brief Encounter'' series in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' ====
* ''[[Anti-Matter with Fries]]''
* ''[[Anti-Matter with Fries]]''


===== Virgin Decalogs =====
==== Virgin Decalogs ====
* ''[[Vortex of Fear]]''
* ''[[Vortex of Fear]]''
* ''[[Fegovy (short story)|Fegovy]]''
* ''[[Fegovy (short story)|Fegovy]]''


===== ''Short Trips'' series =====
==== ''Short Trips'' series ====
* ''[[Return of the Spiders]]''
* ''[[Return of the Spiders]]''
* ''[[Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge (short story)|Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge (short story)|Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[The Brain of Socrates]]''
* ''[[The Brain of Socrates]]''


===== ''Doctor Who'' annuals =====
==== ''Doctor Who'' annuals ====
* ''[[Doctor vs Doctor (short story)|Doctor vs Doctor]]''
* ''[[Doctor vs Doctor (short story)|Doctor vs Doctor]]''


===== Doctor Who Yearbooks ===== <!--NOT Brief Encounter series. See page for more info.-->
==== Doctor Who Yearbooks ==== <!--NOT Brief Encounter series. See page for more info.-->
* ''[[The Changeling Years (short story)|The Changeling Years]]''
* ''[[The Changeling Years (short story)|The Changeling Years]]''
* ''[[The Hungry Bomb (short story)|The Hungry Bomb]]''
* ''[[The Hungry Bomb (short story)|The Hungry Bomb]]''


===== Doctor Who Storybooks =====
==== Doctor Who Storybooks ====
* ''[[The Cat Came Back (short story)|The Cat Came Back]]''
* ''[[The Cat Came Back (short story)|The Cat Came Back]]''
* ''[[The Body Bank (short story)|The Body Bank]]''
* ''[[The Body Bank (short story)|The Body Bank]]''
* ''[[Bing Bong (short story)|Bing Bong]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[Bing Bong (short story)|Bing Bong]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])


=== Audio ===
== Audio ==
==== Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories ====
=== Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories ===
* ''[[The One Doctor]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[The One Doctor]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[Bang-Bang-A-Boom!]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])
* ''[[Bang-Bang-A-Boom!]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]])


=== Comics ===
== Comics ==
==== ''DWM'' comic stories ====
=== ''DWM'' comic stories ===
* ''[[The Lunar Strangers (comic story)|The Lunar Strangers]]''
* ''[[The Lunar Strangers (comic story)|The Lunar Strangers]]''
* ''[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]''
* ''[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]''
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* ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]''
* ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]''


==== ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (special issues) ====
=== ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (special issues) ===
* ''[[Plastic Millenium (comic story)|Plastic Millenium]]''
* ''[[Plastic Millenium (comic story)|Plastic Millenium]]''
* ''[[The Seventh Segment (comic story)|The Seventh Segment]]''
* ''[[The Seventh Segment (comic story)|The Seventh Segment]]''


=== Stage play ===
== Stage play ==
* ''[[Doctor Who: The Monsters Are Coming!]]'' (with [[Steven Moffat]])
* ''[[Doctor Who: The Monsters Are Coming!]]'' (with [[Steven Moffat]])


=== Video game ===
== Video game ==
* ''[[Attack of the Graske (video game)|Attack of the Graske]]''
* ''[[Attack of the Graske (video game)|Attack of the Graske]]''


Revision as of 03:49, 9 December 2013

RealWorld.png

Gareth Roberts (born 1968 as Gareth John Pritchard Roberts) is a television writer and novelist. He has a substantial body of work related to Doctor Who, across every medium in which Doctor Who fiction has appeared. Indeed, it would be fair to consider him, along with Paul Cornell, as amongst the most versatile writers of Doctor Who fiction.

His work is consistently described as "witty" or "humorous" by reviewers. It betrays a desire to make less popular or under-explored characters "work". This penchant for exploring unusual character combinations has, in various media, made him an early proponent of stories featuring the teams of Vicki/Steven, Susan/First Doctor, Mel/Sixth Doctor, Romana II/K9, Rose/Mickey and Jack/Rose.

He has written for the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. For the latter program, he was Head Writer for the first series.

Before becoming a fixture at Upper Boat, he was heavily involved in writing popular British soap operas from 1997 to 2003. Brookside, Coronation Street and Emmerdale have all employed his services.

Doctor Who

Books

Roberts began writing professional Doctor Who fiction in the early 1990s, when he started contributing to the Virgin New Adventures and Virgin Missing Adventures novel ranges. His works were generally hailed by fans for their consistent use of good humour. It has been said that his creations, the Chelonians, were "one of the best monsters created in the novels".[1] All of his Missing Adventures were set in televised eras generally recognised for their strong use of humour. The Plotters was a First Doctor novel said to evoke the Dennis Spooner era, reminiscent of The Romans and The Time Meddler.[source needed] The bulk of Roberts' prose work betrays Roberts' bias for the Graham Williams/Douglas Adams era. No other Virgin writer used the combination of the Fourth Doctor, Romana II and K9 as much as Roberts. It has been said that Roberts' Missing Adventures were "love-letter[s] to the Graham Williams era".[2] It is perhaps for this reason that Roberts was chosen to be the BBC Wales representative for the documentary about the Graham Williams era included with the UK DVD release of The Ribos Operation.

Roberts is one of a few writers who has written for both the original Virgin lines and the BBC Books series that have accompanied the BBC Wales series of Doctor Who. In fact, he and Justin Richards are the only two authors as of 2012 to write a Missing Adventure, a New Adventure, a Ninth Doctor novel and a Tenth Doctor novel.

Audios

He has exclusively used companion Melanie Bush in his audio plays, once with the Sixth Doctor and once with the Seventh. His work with co-writer Clayton Hickman was amongst the very first to employ Mel in audio, and can therefore be said to have been instrumental in redefining the generally fan-disliked companion for audio.

Comics

Roberts' first works in comics were Plastic Millenium and Operation Proteus, both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. Millenium, in fact, is the only appearance of Mel in comics, while "Proteus" affords a very late debut for Susan, outside of cameos and parodies. It also posited a pre-Unearthly Child TARDIS, something that had never been considered by the comics before.

Years after this story, Roberts' work experience with Clayton Hickman in audio would help him get a steady string of work in 2005. Roberts was the dominant comics writer during the Ninth Doctor's era. Concepts in his comic work during this period would later make their way into Roberts' televised episodes of Doctor Who. He was entrusted with writing "the Shakespeare episode" in series 3 largely on the strength of his Ninth Doctor comic, A Groatsworth of Wit, in which he revealed his detailed knowledge of Shakespeare. The poisoning scene in The Unicorn and the Wasp was directly lifted from one of his comic strips. [source needed]

His final comic story as of 2012, The Lodger, also featured the debut of a televised companion. He was the first author to put Mickey Smith in a comic strip.

Television

Prose

Novels

Virgin New Adventures

Virgin Missing Adventures

BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels

BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels - Quick Reads

BBC Books Doctor Who novelisations

The Sarah Jane Adventures novelisations

Short fiction

Doctor Who Magazine

Brief Encounter series in Doctor Who Magazine

Virgin Decalogs

Short Trips series

Doctor Who annuals

Doctor Who Yearbooks

Doctor Who Storybooks

Audio

Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories

Comics

DWM comic stories

Doctor Who Magazine (special issues)

Stage play

Video game

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Gray; Paul Clarke. Discontinuity Guide - The Highest Science. The Whoniverse. Retrieved on 3rd September 2012.
  2. ↑ Lawrence Conquest's review of Only Human
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