Gareth Roberts: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Actor | {{Infobox Actor | ||
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| name = Gareth Roberts | | name = Gareth Roberts | ||
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Prior to becoming something of a "fixture" at [[Upper Boat Studios|Upper Boat]], he was heavily involved in writing popular British soap operas from about 1997-2003. ''Brookside'', ''[[Coronation Street]]'' and ''Emmerdale'' have all employed his services. | Prior to becoming something of a "fixture" at [[Upper Boat Studios|Upper Boat]], he was heavily involved in writing popular British soap operas from about 1997-2003. ''Brookside'', ''[[Coronation Street]]'' and ''Emmerdale'' have all employed his services. | ||
==''Doctor Who''== | == ''Doctor Who'' == | ||
===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". | 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". | ||
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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 [[2008]] 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]]. It's a club so exclusive that only [[Steve Lyons]] has the potential to join them. | 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 [[2008]] 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]]. It's a club so exclusive that only [[Steve Lyons]] has the potential to join them. | ||
===Audios=== | === Audios === | ||
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. | 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. | ||
===Comics=== | === Comics === | ||
Roberts' first works in comics were "[[Plastic Millennium]]" and "[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]", both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. "Millennium", 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 Millennium]]" and "[[Operation Proteus (comic story)|Operation Proteus]]", both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. "Millennium", 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. | ||
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As of [[2008]], his final comic strip, "[[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. | As of [[2008]], his final comic strip, "[[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== | == Selected Credits == | ||
===Television=== | === Television === | ||
====''[[Doctor Who]]''==== | ==== ''[[Doctor Who]]'' ==== | ||
*''[[Attack of the Graske]]'' | * ''[[Attack of the Graske]]'' | ||
*''[[The Shakespeare Code]]'' | * ''[[The Shakespeare Code]]'' | ||
*''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' | * ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' | ||
* ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story) | Planet of the Dead]]'' (with [[Russell T Davies]]) | * '' [[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'' (with [[Russell T Davies]]) | ||
* ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'' | * ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'' | ||
* ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'' | * ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'' | ||
====''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''==== | ==== ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' ==== | ||
*''[[Invasion of the Bane]]'' (with [[Russell T Davies]]) | * ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]'' (with [[Russell T Davies]]) | ||
*''[[Revenge of the Slitheen]]'' | * ''[[Revenge of the Slitheen]]'' | ||
*''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'' | * ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'' | ||
*''[[Secrets of the Stars]]'' | * ''[[Secrets of the Stars]]'' | ||
*''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' | * ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' | ||
*''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' | * ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' | ||
*''[[The Empty Planet]]'' | * ''[[The Empty Planet]]'' | ||
*''[[Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]]) | * ''[[Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]]) | ||
*''[[The Man Who Never Was]]'' | * ''[[The Man Who Never Was]]'' | ||
===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]]'' | ||
*''[[The Plotters]]'' | * ''[[The Plotters]]'' | ||
*''[[The Well-Mannered War]]'' | * ''[[The Well-Mannered War]]'' | ||
=====[[BBC New Series Adventures#Ninth Doctor|BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels]]===== | ===== [[BBC New Series Adventures#Ninth Doctor|BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels]] ===== | ||
*''[[Only Human]]'' | * ''[[Only Human]]'' | ||
=====[[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels]]===== | ===== [[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels]] ===== | ||
*''[[I am a Dalek]]'' | * ''[[I am a Dalek]]'' | ||
====Short fiction==== | ==== Short fiction ==== | ||
=====''[[Brief Encounter]]'' series in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''===== | ===== ''[[Brief Encounter]]'' series in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' ===== | ||
*''[[Anti-Matter with Fries]]'' | * ''[[Anti-Matter with Fries]]'' | ||
=====''Decalog'' series===== | ===== ''Decalog'' series ===== | ||
*''[[Vortex of Fear]]'' | * ''[[Vortex of Fear]]'' | ||
*''[[Fegovy (short story)|Fegovy]]'' | * ''[[Fegovy (short story)|Fegovy]]'' | ||
=====''[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]'' series===== | ===== ''[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]'' series ===== | ||
*''[[Return of the Spiders]]'' | * ''[[Return of the Spiders]]'' | ||
*''[[Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]]) | * ''[[Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge]]'' (with [[Clayton Hickman]]) | ||
*''[[The Brain of Socrates]]'' | * ''[[The Brain of Socrates]]'' | ||
:''List TBC'' | :''List TBC'' | ||
===Audio=== | === Audio === | ||
====[[Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories|Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' audio stories]]==== | ==== [[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]]) | ||
==References== | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Gareth}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Gareth}} | ||
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[[fr:Gareth Roberts]] | [[fr:Gareth Roberts]] | ||
{{NameSort}} | {{NameSort}} | ||
[[Category:Prose writers|Roberts, Gareth]] | [[Category:Prose writers|Roberts, Gareth]] | ||
[[Category:Audio writers|Roberts, Gareth]] | [[Category:Audio writers|Roberts, Gareth]] | ||
Revision as of 07:14, 4 November 2011
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, and betrays a desire to make less popular or under-explored characters "work". Indeed, 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 both the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. For the latter program, he was Head Writer for the first series.
Prior to becoming something of a "fixture" at Upper Boat, he was heavily involved in writing popular British soap operas from about 1997-2003. 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".
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 DW: The Romans and The Time Meddler.[source needed] But 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".[1] 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 DW: 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 2008 to write a Missing Adventure, a New Adventure, a Ninth Doctor novel, and a Tenth Doctor novel. It's a club so exclusive that only Steve Lyons has the potential to join them.
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 Millennium" and "Operation Proteus", both of which featured the comic first appearances of televised companions. "Millennium", 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. Meanwhile, the poisoning scene in The Unicorn and the Wasp was directly lifted from one of his comic strips.
As of 2008, his final comic strip, "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
Doctor Who
- Attack of the Graske
- The Shakespeare Code
- The Unicorn and the Wasp
- Planet of the Dead (with Russell T Davies)
- The Lodger
- Closing Time
The Sarah Jane Adventures
- Invasion of the Bane (with Russell T Davies)
- Revenge of the Slitheen
- Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?
- Secrets of the Stars
- The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith
- The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
- The Empty Planet
- Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith (with Clayton Hickman)
- The Man Who Never Was
Prose
Novels
Virgin New Adventures
Virgin Missing Adventures
BBC New Series Adventures - Ninth Doctor novels
BBC New Series Adventures - Tenth Doctor novels
Short fiction
Brief Encounter series in Doctor Who Magazine
Decalog series
Short Trips series
- Return of the Spiders
- Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge (with Clayton Hickman)
- The Brain of Socrates
- List TBC
Audio
Big Finish Doctor Who audio stories
- The One Doctor (with Clayton Hickman)
- Bang-Bang-A-Boom! (with Clayton Hickman)
References
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