Gareth Roberts: Difference between revisions

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'''Gareth Roberts (Disgusting TERF)''' (born '''Gareth John Pritchard Roberts''') wrote for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' on television, the [[Virgin New Adventures]], [[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]] and [[New Series Adventures]] novels, [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]] audios, the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' comic strip, short stories published by [[Virgin Books]], [[BBC Books]], Big Finish and [[Panini Comics]], and the interactive [[BBC Red Button]] adventure ''[[Attack of the Graske (video game)|Attack of the Graske]]''. He also novelised the unfinished ''Doctor Who'' television story ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]'' and Roberts' own script for ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' television story ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (novelisation)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]''.
'''Gareth Roberts''' (born '''Gareth John Pritchard Roberts''') was a writer for [[Doctor Who]] and several of its spin-offs.


Before joining [[Upper Boat Studios|Upper Boat]], he was heavily involved in writing for British soap operas including ''Brookside'', ''[[Coronation Street]]'' and ''[[Emmerdale]]''.
His first contributions to Doctor Who, in the early 1990s, were several novels in [[Virgin Books]]' ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' and ''[[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]]'' lines; these books were generally well-received by fans, with four of them eventually being adapted by [[Big Finish]] in their [[Novel Adaptations]] range. Roberts went on to contribute to a wide variety of other Doctor Who ranges and media, including novels for subsequent Doctors and several episodes of the television show.


== ''Doctor Who'' ==
As a fan of the [[Graham Williams]]/[[Douglas Adams]] era, he used the [[Fourth Doctor]], [[Romana II]], and [[K9]] TARDIS team more than any other Virgin writer; years later, he 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 (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'', and he would later novelise the unfinished Douglas Adams script ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]''.
=== 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>
All of his Missing Adventures were set in televised eras generally recognised for their strong use of humour. ''[[The Plotters (novel)|The Plotters]]'' was a [[First Doctor]] novel said to evoke the [[Dennis Spooner]] era, reminiscent of ''[[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]]'' and ''[[The Time Meddler (TV story)|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 (TV story)|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|2017|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' debut in comics was [[1994 (releases)|1994]]'s ''[[Plastic Millenium (comic story)|Plastic Millenium]]'', which was the first appearance of [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] in comics. He went on to be a recurring comics writer during the [[Ninth Doctor]]'s era, and he would often reuse ideas from his comics for his television episodes: he showed the Ninth Doctor visiting [[William Shakespeare]] in ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'' before writing the episode ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]''; the poisoning scene in ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp (TV story)|The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' was directly lifted from one of his comic strips{{fact}}; and his [[series 5 (Doctor Who)|series 5]] episode ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'' was an adaptation of his 2006 [[The Lodger (comic story)|comic of the same name]].


In June 2019, Roberts wrote in an article that a ''Doctor Who'' story he had written for a then upcoming anthology would not be published by BBC Books, however that he would still receive payment for it. The reason was due to other contributing authors threatening to withdraw from the publication due to the discovery of tweets by Roberts from September 2017 that they deemed were considered to be transphobic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a|title=Statement on BBC Books and Transgenderism|publisher=medium.com|date=2019-04-06|accessdate=2019-04-03|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20190604101854/https://medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a|archivedate=2019-06-03}}</ref>
In September 2017, Roberts posted a tweet on his Twitter account that gained some media attention for being trans-misogynistic.<ref>[https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/09/04/gareth-roberts-trans-misogyny-twitter/ Bleeding Cool: Doctor Who Writer Gareth Roberts Tweets Trans-Misogynistic Remarks]</ref><ref>[https://www.themarysue.com/doctor-who-writer-gareth-roberts-talks-vile-ignorant-trash-about-trans-women/ The Mary Sue: Doctor Who Writer Gareth Roberts Talks Vile, Ignorant Trash About Trans Women]</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/09/05/doctor-writer-criticised-tweeting-jokes-trannies/ Telegraph.co.uk: Doctor Who writer criticised for tweeting jokes about 'trannies']</ref><ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/09/04/doctor-who-writer-hits-out-at-trannies-and-rainbow-cult/ Pink News: Doctor Who writer hits out at ‘trannies’ and ‘rainbow cult’]</ref> In early [[May (production)|May]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]], [[BBC Books]] released details about an upcoming Doctor Who anthology that would include a short story by Roberts;<ref>[https://www.blogtorwho.com/coming-soon-doctor-who-the-target-storybook/ Coming Soon announcement on Blogtor Who]</ref> a month later, Roberts announced in an article that his story would not be included in the anthology after other contributing writers threatened to withdraw from the publication due to Roberts' tweets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a|title=Statement on BBC Books and Transgenderism|publisher=medium.com|date=2019-04-06|accessdate=2019-04-03|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20190604101854/https://medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a|archivedate=2019-06-03}}</ref>


=== Audios ===
Outside of official Doctor Who, Roberts contributed to the [[charity publications|charity]] reference book ''[[Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who]]'', and he was interviewed in [[DWM 485|issue 485]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' for the revival series' tenth anniversary.
He has exclusively used companion [[Melanie Bush]] in his audio plays, once with the [[Sixth Doctor]] and once with the [[Seventh Doctor|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.
 
Beginning in 2014, some of his novels from [[Virgin Books]] were adapted for audio for [[Big Finish Productions]]' Novel Adaptations range.
 
=== Comics ===
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 debuts 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 (TV story)|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 (TV story)|the Shakespeare episode]]" in [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|series 3]] largely on the strength of his Ninth Doctor comic, ''[[A Groatsworth of Wit (comic story)|A Groatsworth of Wit]]'', in which he revealed his detailed knowledge of Shakespeare. The poisoning scene in ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp (TV story)|The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' was directly lifted from one of his comic strips. {{fact}}
 
In 2006, Roberts wrote ''[[The Lodger (comic story)|The Lodger]]'', which featured the comic debut of televised companion [[Mickey Smith]]. He would later adapt this story for [[The Lodger (TV story)|a television episode of the same name]].
 
== Other work ==
He also contributed to the charity reference book ''[[Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who]]''.
 
He was interviewed in [[DWM 485|issue 485]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' for the revival series' tenth anniversary. He commented that he always believed that the show would return to TV.


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==

Revision as of 19:57, 4 June 2019

RealWorld.png

Gareth Roberts (born Gareth John Pritchard Roberts) was a writer for Doctor Who and several of its spin-offs.

His first contributions to Doctor Who, in the early 1990s, were several novels in Virgin Books' New Adventures and Missing Adventures lines; these books were generally well-received by fans, with four of them eventually being adapted by Big Finish in their Novel Adaptations range. Roberts went on to contribute to a wide variety of other Doctor Who ranges and media, including novels for subsequent Doctors and several episodes of the television show.

As a fan of the Graham Williams/Douglas Adams era, he used the Fourth Doctor, Romana II, and K9 TARDIS team more than any other Virgin writer; years later, he 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, and he would later novelise the unfinished Douglas Adams script Shada.

Roberts' debut in comics was 1994's Plastic Millenium, which was the first appearance of Mel in comics. He went on to be a recurring comics writer during the Ninth Doctor's era, and he would often reuse ideas from his comics for his television episodes: he showed the Ninth Doctor visiting William Shakespeare in A Groatsworth of Wit before writing the episode The Shakespeare Code; the poisoning scene in The Unicorn and the Wasp was directly lifted from one of his comic strips[source needed]; and his series 5 episode The Lodger was an adaptation of his 2006 comic of the same name.

In September 2017, Roberts posted a tweet on his Twitter account that gained some media attention for being trans-misogynistic.[1][2][3][4] In early May 2019, BBC Books released details about an upcoming Doctor Who anthology that would include a short story by Roberts;[5] a month later, Roberts announced in an article that his story would not be included in the anthology after other contributing writers threatened to withdraw from the publication due to Roberts' tweets.[6]

Outside of official Doctor Who, Roberts contributed to the charity reference book Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who, and he was interviewed in issue 485 of Doctor Who Magazine for the revival series' tenth anniversary.

Bibliography

Television

Doctor Who

Documentaries

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Comic Relief Special

Interactive Red Button story

Prose

Novels

Virgin New Adventures
Virgin Missing Adventures
BBC New Series Adventures
BBC New Series Adventures - Quick Reads
BBC Books Doctor Who novelisations
The Sarah Jane Adventures novelisations

Short fiction

Doctor Who Magazine
Brief Encounter
Virgin Decalogs
Short Trips
Doctor Who annuals
Doctor Who Yearbooks
Doctor Who Storybooks

Audio

Big Finish Main Range

Novel Adaptations

Comics

DWM comic stories

Doctor Who Magazine (special issues)

Stage play

External links

References

  1. ↑ Bleeding Cool: Doctor Who Writer Gareth Roberts Tweets Trans-Misogynistic Remarks
  2. ↑ The Mary Sue: Doctor Who Writer Gareth Roberts Talks Vile, Ignorant Trash About Trans Women
  3. ↑ Telegraph.co.uk: Doctor Who writer criticised for tweeting jokes about 'trannies'
  4. ↑ Pink News: Doctor Who writer hits out at ‘trannies’ and ‘rainbow cult’
  5. ↑ Coming Soon announcement on Blogtor Who
  6. ↑ Statement on BBC Books and Transgenderism. medium.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-03. Retrieved on 2019-04-03.
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