The concept of this amazing book is simple: the book records a series of emails between Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook written for about a year during series four. It's a very candid look into television production and the writing process, with Davies discussing broad writing issues, such as the evolution of ideas and the creation/development of characters. But it's also a fantastic look into the making of Doctor Who -- we get to read series breakdowns, first rough drafts, details about casting and script meetings, and see cartoon sketches by Davies himself. One of the highlights for me was reading the development of the Bad Wolf bay scene from episode 4.13, "Journey's End." By including several drafts of the script, along with Davies' thoughts, we're able to see the thought processes involved in the full evolution of the scene. This is truly THE book to get if you are a fan of Doctor Who. ( )

The first thing that makes this book interesting is the format.. a series of emails (and the occasional text) between Russell T Davies, and Benjamin Cook, a journalist who writes many of the Doctor Who articles. This communication continues over a year, whilst the scripts for series 4 are being written, and many aspects were hitting the news, such as David Tennant leaving to play Hamlet, and Steven Moffat taking over from Russell.

The emails are pretty much unedited, and they give quite an interesting insight into Russell himself, and fans of his writing will enjoy references to his other shows, such as Queer As Folk, and Bob and Rose.

It’s also a book about writing and story telling - if you ever thought that script writing in particular is easy, prepare to think again!

Above all though, this is of course a book about Doctor Who - it’s just fascinating, as a fan, to see the series change and develop; to see Russell change his ideas; and to see how changing circumstances affect the scripts.

Throughout the book are photos, many of which are stills from the show, and cartoon sketched by Russell. As well, of course, as snippets of the scripts.

This isn’t really a book for the younger fans, but is, at last, one for the adults. Whether you want to learn more about the man, the writing, or the show, there is plenty to keep you reading.

For fans, it’s an absolute must-read!

This book comprises a series of emails exchanged between television writer Russell T Davies and magazine writer Benjamin Cook during the year that the former was working on series four of Doctor Who. That makes it sound a bit dull. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love Davies's writing-- not just in Doctor Who, but in other shows such as Casanova, The Second Coming, and Bob & Rose. He's got such a first grasp of character-- everyone in his stories always feels like real people caught up in these extraordinary events. This book, oddly, is just the same way. You feel Davies as a person, in all his ups and downs, in all his sad moments and funny moments, in all his triumphs and disasters. It's an extraordinary insight into the way the mind of one writer works. I don't write like this man does. I don't think I could. He's mad. But then, that's presumably the reason he's winning BAFTAs and I'm not. Like everything Davies rights, this book is funny and heartrending at the same time. And it's also supremely candid; this is certainly the best "making of" book we've gotten about the new Doctor Who so far. Filled with fun facts you can pester your friends with while watching "Partners in Crime"! Oh, and did I mention that it's also filled with Davies's own cartoons, which are extraordinarily cute?

Russell T Davies (known to many sci-fi geeks as the man responsible for bringing back Doctor Who so fabulously) and journalist Benjamin Cook, have created a delightful book based on their e-mail correspondence during production of Doctor Who, from February 2007 to March 2008.

The large textbook sized tome of 500+ pages filled with pictures, drawings, and yes, script pages. It all sprung from the idea of writing a magazine article on writing a Doctor Who script. What came out is a peak into the crazy world of making Doctor Who. You can almost hear the ‘great big stew’ in Russell’s head as you read his e-mails to Ben. How does the man sleep with all those thoughts running around inside of his head? You will get a glimpse of what Russell’s life is like as he worries his way through the season, not in retrospect but AS he goes through it. It is Russell as Russell, not Russell the public persona. It is not a light fluff piece; it is nuts and bolts on how a real writer writes. It is a must read for any fan of Doctor Who. ( )