Andrew Cartmel: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:46, 1 November 2024

Andrew Cartmel was the script editor for the classic series of Doctor Who during its last three seasons. Raised in Canada, he took a post-graduate course in Computer Studies and worked on computer-aided design for Shape Data Ltd (now UGS Corp) in Cambridge, England during the mid-1980s, before he turned to writing and gained an agent on the strength of two unproduced scripts. He also attended workshops run by the BBC Television Drama Script Unit.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Andrew in the 80s. (DOC: Doctor Who: Endgame)

In 1987, Cartmel was hired as the script editor for the twenty-fourth season of Doctor Who. He was recommended to the producer John Nathan-Turner by the producer's agent, who had seen some unproduced scripts Cartmel had written. Cartmel worked on the programme for the next two years, overseeing the final three seasons of its original run on BBC One. He brought in new writers and took the series in a new creative direction. Although he is not credited with writing any of the serials under his watch himself, he is credited with composing the key monologue delivered by Sylvester McCoy at the end of Survival episode 3 — the final episode of the original 1963-89 series.

The most lasting legacy of this new direction was the "Cartmel Masterplan", a backstory developed with other writers that restored some of the mystery of the Doctor's background and eventually would explain exactly who he was. Unfortunately, although hints were dropped in the last two seasons, the proposed revelations never materialised on screen because the programme was taken off the airwaves in 1989.

Even if Doctor Who had not come to an end in 1989, Cartmel would have left the show; he had already been head-hunted due to his success there to take over the script editor's role on the BBC's hugely popular medical drama series Casualty.

After one season working on Casualty in 1990, Cartmel left the television industry for the rest of the decade. In the 1990s he wrote comic strips for Judge Dredd Megazine and Doctor Who Magazine and three Doctor Who novels for Virgin Publishing in their New Adventures series. This series used elements of the "masterplan" as part of their overall arc for the Doctor, particularly the last Seventh Doctor novel, Lungbarrow, written by Marc Platt.

In 1999 his first original novel, The Wise, was published by Virgin's short-lived series of new science-fiction novels, Virgin Worlds. The same year, he became editor of the science-fiction magazine Starburst. His tenure was a short one and he left the magazine in 2000. In 2001 he returned to television as the script editor on the second season of Channel 5's fantasy / adventure series Dark Knight, writing what proved to be the series' final episode. He also wrote a stage thriller with Gothic overtones, End of the Night, which was successfully staged by Long Shadow Productions in the summer of 2003.

In the 2000s he has also returned to Doctor Who fiction, writing the script Winter for the Adept for Big Finish Productions' range of Doctor Who audio dramas in 2000, a novella, Foreign Devils, for Telos Publishing in 2003, and the BBC Books novel Atom Bomb Blues in 2005.

Cartmel had several other books published in 2005. Script Doctor - The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-89 is an account of his work on the Doctor Who television series. There was also another Doctor Who non-fiction book, Through Time: An Unofficial and Unauthorised History of Doctor Who, and he contributed to the charity reference book Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who.

In 2014, he began writing comic strip stories for Doctor Who Adventures magazine, starting with stories for the Eleventh Doctor and later transitioning into Twelfth Doctor stories.

He was credited for his "invaluable assistance and generosity" in It's Even Bigger on the Inside, first published 2015, alongside many others.

In 2016, Cartmel wrote a run of DWA comics beginning with From the Horse's Mouth that gave the Twelfth Doctor a horse-like companion named Jata. Six Cartmel-written Jata comics were published; due to Doctor Who Adventures being "paused" the Jata storyline did not receive any closure.

He lives in London and is currently lecturing at Saint Mary's College, Surrey.

Script Editor credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]

Writer credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Torchwood[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Jinx (unproduced)

Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Magazine[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Magazine / Doctor Who Classic Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]

Evening's Empire

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Operation Volcano

Doctor Who Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]

Virgin New Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

BBC Past Doctor Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

Atom Bomb Blues

Novellas[[edit] | [edit source]]

Telos novellas[[edit] | [edit source]]

Foreword to Citadel of Dreams
Foreign Devils

Short Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Main Range[[edit] | [edit source]]

Winter for the Adept

The Lost Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Short Trips[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Riparian Ripper

Documentary appearances[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{real world}}
 {{Infobox Person
-| name             = Andrew Cartmel
 | image            = Andrew Cartmel.jpg
 | job title        = [[Script editor]], [[Writer]]
@@ Line 9: / Line 8: @@
 | non dwu          = ''Rivers of London''
 | imdb             =
+| twitter          = andrewcartmel
 }}
+'''Andrew Cartmel''' was the [[script editor]] for the classic series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' during its last three seasons. Raised in [[Canada]], he took a post-graduate course in Computer Studies and worked on computer-aided design for Shape Data Ltd (now UGS Corp) in [[Cambridge]], [[England]] during the mid-1980s, before he turned to writing and gained an agent on the strength of two unproduced scripts. He also attended workshops run by the [[BBC Television]] Drama Script Unit.
-'''Andrew Cartmel''' was the script editor for the classic series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' during its last three seasons. Raised in [[Canada]], he took a post-graduate course in Computer Studies and worked on computer-aided design for Shape Data Ltd (now UGS Corp) in [[Cambridge]], [[England]] during the mid-1980s, before he turned to writing and gained an agent on the strength of two unproduced scripts. He also attended workshops run by the [[BBC Television]] Drama Script Unit.
 == Biography ==
-[[File:Andrew_Cartmel_80.jpg|thumb|left|Andrew in the 80s. ([[DOC]]: ''[[Doctor Who: Endgame]]'')]]
+[[File:Andrew Cartmel 80.jpg|thumb|left|Andrew in the 80s. ([[DOC]]: ''[[Doctor Who: Endgame]]'')]]
-In 1987, Cartmel was hired as the [[script editor]] for the [[Season 24|twenty-fourth season]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. He was recommended to the producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] by the producer's agent, who had seen some unproduced scripts Cartmel had written. Cartmel worked on the programme for the next two years, overseeing the final three seasons of its original run on [[BBC One]]. He brought in new writers and took the series in a new creative direction. Although he is not credited with writing any of the serials under his watch himself, he is credited with composing the key monologue delivered by [[Sylvester McCoy]] at the end of ''[[Survival]]'' episode 3 — the final episode of the original 1963-89 series.
+In 1987, Cartmel was hired as the [[script editor]] for the [[Season 24 (Doctor Who 1963)|twenty-fourth season]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. He was recommended to the producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] by the producer's agent, who had seen some unproduced scripts Cartmel had written. Cartmel worked on the programme for the next two years, overseeing the final three seasons of its original run on [[BBC One]]. He brought in new writers and took the series in a new creative direction. Although he is not credited with writing any of the serials under his watch himself, he is credited with composing the key monologue delivered by [[Sylvester McCoy]] at the end of ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'' episode 3 — the final episode of the original 1963-89 series.
 The most lasting legacy of this new direction was the "[[Cartmel Masterplan]]", a backstory developed with other writers that restored some of the mystery of the Doctor's background and eventually would explain exactly who he was. Unfortunately, although hints were dropped in the last two seasons, the proposed revelations never materialised on screen because the programme was taken off the airwaves in 1989.
@@ Line 21: / Line 20: @@
 Even if ''Doctor Who'' had not come to an end in 1989, Cartmel would have left the show; he had already been head-hunted due to his success there to take over the script editor's role on the BBC's hugely popular medical drama series ''Casualty''.
-After one season working on ''Casualty'' in 1990, Cartmel left the television industry for the rest of the decade. In the 1990s he wrote comic strips for ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' and ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' and three ''Doctor Who'' novels for [[Virgin Publishing]] in their ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' series. This series used elements of the "masterplan" as part of their overall arc for the Doctor, particularly the last [[Seventh Doctor]] novel, ''[[Lungbarrow]]'', written by [[Marc Platt]].
+After one season working on ''Casualty'' in 1990, Cartmel left the television industry for the rest of the decade. In the 1990s he wrote comic strips for ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' and ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' and three ''Doctor Who'' novels for [[Virgin Publishing]] in their ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' series. This series used elements of the "masterplan" as part of their overall arc for the Doctor, particularly the last [[Seventh Doctor]] novel, ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]'', written by [[Marc Platt]].
 In 1999 his first original novel, ''The Wise'', was published by Virgin's short-lived series of new science-fiction novels, ''Virgin Worlds''. The same year, he became editor of the science-fiction magazine ''Starburst''. His tenure was a short one and he left the magazine in 2000. In 2001 he returned to television as the script editor on the second season of Channel 5's fantasy / adventure series ''Dark Knight'', writing what proved to be the series' final episode. He also wrote a stage thriller with Gothic overtones, ''End of the Night'', which was successfully staged by Long Shadow Productions in the summer of 2003.
-In the 2000s he has also returned to ''Doctor Who'' fiction, writing the script ''[[Winter for the Adept]]'' for [[Big Finish Productions]]' range of ''Doctor Who'' audio dramas in 2000, a novella, ''[[Foreign Devils]]'', for [[Telos Publishing]] in 2003, and the [[BBC Books]] novel ''[[Atom Bomb Blues]]'' in 2005.
+In the 2000s he has also returned to ''Doctor Who'' fiction, writing the script ''[[Winter for the Adept (audio story)|Winter for the Adept]]'' for [[Big Finish Productions]]' range of ''Doctor Who'' audio dramas in 2000, a novella, ''[[Foreign Devils (novel)|Foreign Devils]]'', for [[Telos Publishing]] in 2003, and the [[BBC Books]] novel ''[[Atom Bomb Blues (novel)|Atom Bomb Blues]]'' in 2005.
 Cartmel had several other books published in 2005. ''[[Script Doctor - The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-89]]'' is an account of his work on the ''Doctor Who'' television series. There was also another ''Doctor Who'' non-fiction book, ''[[Through Time: An Unofficial and Unauthorised History of Doctor Who]]'', and he contributed to the charity reference book ''[[Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who]]''.
-In 2014, he began writing comic strip stories for ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' magazine, including stories for the [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] and [[Twelfth Doctor]]s.
+In 2014, he began writing comic strip stories for ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' magazine, starting with stories for the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and later transitioning into [[Twelfth Doctor]] stories.
+He was credited for his "invaluable assistance and generosity" in ''[[It's Even Bigger on the Inside]]'', first published 2015, alongside many others.
+In 2016, Cartmel wrote a run of DWA comics beginning with ''[[From the Horse's Mouth (comic story)|From the Horse's Mouth]]'' that gave the Twelfth Doctor a horse-like companion named [[Jata]]. Six Cartmel-written Jata comics were published; due to ''Doctor Who Adventures'' being "paused" the Jata storyline did not receive any closure.
 He lives in [[London]] and is currently lecturing at Saint Mary's College, Surrey.
-== Bibliography ==
+== Script Editor credits ==
+=== Television ===
+==== Doctor Who ====
+* ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]''
+* ''[[Paradise Towers (TV story)|Paradise Towers]]''
+* ''[[Delta and the Bannermen (TV story)|Delta and the Bannermen]]''
+* ''[[Dragonfire (TV story)|Dragonfire]]''
+* ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]''
+* ''[[The Happiness Patrol (TV story)|The Happiness Patrol]]''
+* ''[[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|Silver Nemesis]]''
+* ''[[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (TV story)|The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]''
+* ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]''
+* ''[[Ghost Light (TV story)|Ghost Light]]''
+* ''[[The Curse of Fenric (TV story)|The Curse of Fenric]]''
+* ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]''
+== Writer credits ==
+=== Television ===
+==== Torchwood ====
+* ''[[The Jinx (TV story)|The Jinx]]'' (unproduced)
 === Comics ===
-==== ''DWM'' comic stories ====
+==== Doctor Who Magazine ====
-* ''[[Fellow Travellers]]''
+* ''[[Fellow Travellers (comic story)|Fellow Travellers]]''
-* ''[[The Good Soldier]]''
+* ''[[The Good Soldier (comic story)|The Good Soldier]]''
-* ''[[Ravens]]''
+* ''[[Ravens (comic story)|Ravens]]''
-==== ''Doctor Who Magazine''/''Doctor Who Classic Comics'' ====
-* ''[[Evening's Empire]]''
+==== Doctor Who Magazine / Doctor Who Classic Comics ====
+* ''[[Evening's Empire (comic story)|Evening's Empire]]''
+==== Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor ====
+* ''[[Operation Volcano (comic story)|Operation Volcano]]''
 ==== Doctor Who Adventures ====
@@ Line 49: / Line 76: @@
 * ''[[From the Horse's Mouth (comic story)|From the Horse's Mouth]]''
 * ''[[Fear Buds (comic story)|Fear Buds]]''
+* ''[[Royal Wedding (comic story)|Royal Wedding]]''
+* ''[[Night of the Worms (comic story)|Night of the Worms]]''
+* ''[[Wings of the Predator (comic story)|Wings of the Predator]]''
+* ''[[Killer App (comic story)|Killer App]]''
 === Novels ===
 ==== Virgin New Adventures ====
-* ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]''
+* ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]''
 * ''[[Warlock (novel)|Warlock]]''
-* ''[[Warchild]]''
+* ''[[Warchild (novel)|Warchild]]''
 ==== BBC Past Doctor Adventures ====
-* ''[[Atom Bomb Blues]]''
+* ''[[Atom Bomb Blues (novel)|Atom Bomb Blues]]''
 === Novellas ===
 ==== Telos novellas ====
 * Foreword to ''[[Citadel of Dreams (novel)|Citadel of Dreams]]''
-* ''[[Foreign Devils]]''
+* ''[[Foreign Devils (novel)|Foreign Devils]]''
-=== Short stories ===
-==== DWM short stories ====
+=== Short Stories ===
+==== Doctor Who Magazine ====
 * ''[[Meridians (short story)|Meridians]]''
 ==== Short Trips ====
-* ''[[Certificate of Destruction]]'' (in ''[[Short Trips: Time Signature]]'')
+* ''[[Certificate of Destruction (short story)|Certificate of Destruction]]'' (in ''[[Short Trips: Time Signature]]'')
-* ''[[Christmas in Toronto]]'' (in ''[[Short Trips: Christmas Around the World]]'')
+* ''[[Christmas in Toronto (short story)|Christmas in Toronto]]'' (in ''[[Short Trips: Christmas Around the World]]'')
-==== BBC ''Torchwood'' novels ====
+==== The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who ====
-* ''[[The Wrong Hands (short story)|The Wrong Hands]]'' (in ''[[Consequences (anthology)|Consequences]]'')
+* ''[[The Girl Who Stole the Stars (short story)|The Girl Who Stole the Stars]]''
 ==== Big Finish Bernice Summerfield anthologies ====
 * ''[[Bernice Summerfield and the Library of Books (short story)|Bernice Summerfield and the Library of Books]]'' (in ''[[Missing Adventures (anthology)|Missing Adventures]]'')
-==== The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who ====
+==== BBC Torchwood ====
-* ''[[The Girl Who Stole the Stars (short story)|The Girl Who Stole the Stars]]''
+* ''[[The Wrong Hands (short story)|The Wrong Hands]]'' (in ''[[Consequences (anthology)|Consequences]]'')
 === Audio ===
-==== Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories ====
+==== Doctor Who Main Range ====
-* ''[[Winter for the Adept]]''
+* ''[[Winter for the Adept (audio story)|Winter for the Adept]]''
 ==== The Lost Stories ====
-* ''[[Crime of the Century]]''
+* ''[[Crime of the Century (audio story)|Crime of the Century]]''
 * ''[[Animal (audio story)|Animal]]''
-* ''[[Earth Aid]]'' (with [[Ben Aaronovitch]])
+* ''[[Earth Aid (audio story)|Earth Aid]]'' (with [[Ben Aaronovitch]])
 ==== Short Trips ====
 * ''[[The Riparian Ripper (audio story)|The Riparian Ripper]]''
-=== Television ===
+== Documentary appearances ==
+* ''[[Holiday Camp (documentary)|Holiday Camp]]''
+* ''[[Showman - The Life of John Nathan-Turner (documentary)|Showman - The Life of John Nathan-Turner]]''
-==== ''Torchwood'' ====
-* ''[[The Jinx (TV story)|The Jinx]]'' (unproduced)
 == External links ==
-* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/01/01/13691.shtml Interview with Cartmel on the BBC ''Doctor Who'' website]
+{{imdb name|id=0142083}}
-{{imdb name|id=0142083|name=Andrew Cartmel}}
 {{twitter|andrewcartmel}}
+{{facebook|andrew.cartmel.3}}
+* [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv40/andrewcartmel.html Andrew Cartmel Interview By David Bishop]
+* [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv46/andrewcartmel.html Cartmel Speaks: Andrew Cartmel interviewed by David Bishop and Felicity Scoones]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050312230505/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/01/01/13691.shtml BBC.co.uk website interview with Andrew Cartmel, 01 January 2004]
 {{NameSort}}
 [[fr:Andrew Cartmel]]
 [[Category:Articles that were originally Wikipedia forks]]
 [[Category:Doctor Who script editors]]
-[[Category:Audio writers]]
 [[Category:Reference writers]]
 [[Category:Telos novella foreword writers]]
-[[Category:Doctor Who novelists]]
 [[Category:Doctor Who short story writers]]
 [[Category:Torchwood short story writers]]
 [[Category:Bernice Summerfield short story writers]]
 [[Category:Comic writers]]
+[[Category:People interviewed on Toby Hadoke's Who's Round]]
+[[Category:Main Range writers]]
+[[Category:Short Trips audio writers]]
+[[Category:The Lost Stories writers]]
+[[Category:Telos Doctor Who novelists]]
+[[Category:Behind the Sofa contributors]]
+[[Category:Big Finish script editors]]
+[[Category:DVD commentary moderators]]
+[[Category:Audiobook readers]]
+[[Category:Doctor Who novelists]]
+[[Category:People thanked by Miwk Publishing]]

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Andrew Cartmel: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:46, 1 November 2024

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Script Editor credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]

Writer credits[[edit] | [edit source]]

Television[[edit] | [edit source]]

Torchwood[[edit] | [edit source]]

Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Magazine[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Magazine / Doctor Who Classic Comics[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]

Virgin New Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

BBC Past Doctor Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]

Novellas[[edit] | [edit source]]

Telos novellas[[edit] | [edit source]]

Short Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Magazine[[edit] | [edit source]]

Short Trips[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]

Big Finish Bernice Summerfield anthologies[[edit] | [edit source]]

BBC Torchwood[[edit] | [edit source]]

Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]

Doctor Who Main Range[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Lost Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Short Trips[[edit] | [edit source]]

Documentary appearances[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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