Andrew Cartmel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British script editor, author and journalist. He was the
script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...
of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' during the
Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long ...
era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television series, as a magazine editor, as a comics writer, as a
film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...
lecturer, and as a novelist.


Biography

Raised in Canada, Cartmel returned to England in order to complete his education. He took a post-graduate course in computer studies and worked on
computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
for Shape Data Ltd (now
UGS Corp UGS was a computer software company headquartered in Plano, Texas, specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. Its operations were amalgamated into the Siemens Digital Industries Software business unit of Siemens Industr ...
) in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England during the mid-1980s. He then turned more to writing and managed to gain an agent on the strength of two unproduced scripts, also attending workshops run by the
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
Drama Script Unit. In late 1986, when he was in his late twenties, Cartmel was hired as the
script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...
for the twenty-fourth season of the science-fiction programme ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', having been recommended to the producer
John Nathan-Turner John Turner (12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002), known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and the final producer of the ...
by the producer's agent, who had seen some unproduced scripts Cartmel had written. Cartmel worked on the programme for the next three years, overseeing the final three seasons of its original run on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. He brought in several young, new writers and despite declining ratings, tried to take the series in a new creative direction. The most significant legacy of this new direction might have been the so-called "
Cartmel Masterplan The twenty-fifth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' began on 5 October 1988. It comprised four separate serials, beginning with '' Remembrance of the Daleks'' and ending with '' The Greatest Show in the Galaxy''. ...
", a backstory developed with other writers that restored some of the mystery of the Doctor's background and could have explained exactly who he was. Although hints were dropped in the two final series Cartmel edited, the proposed revelations never materialised on screen because the programme was taken off the air in 1989. When production of ''Doctor Who'' was placed on indefinite hold, Cartmel became script editor on the BBC's popular medical drama series ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' for one season. In the 1990s he wrote comic strips for ''
Judge Dredd Megazine ''Judge Dredd: The Megazine'' is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in September 1990. It is a sister publication to '' 2000 AD''. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Judge Dredd's locale Mega-City One. Content L ...
'' and ''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
'' and three ''Doctor Who'' novels for
Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing ...
in their '' New Adventures'' series. This series had used elements of the "masterplan" as part of their overall story arc for the Doctor, particularly in the last Seventh Doctor novel ''
Lungbarrow ''Lungbarrow'' is an original novel written by Marc Platt and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Published in Virgin Books' '' New Adventures'' range, it was the last of that range to feature the ...
'', written by Marc Platt. In 1999 his first original novel, ''The Wise'', was published in Virgin's short-lived series of new science-fiction novels, ''Virgin Worlds''. That same year he became editor of the science-fiction magazine ''
Starburst MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers. History Founding and early su ...
'', although the appointment was a short one and he left the magazine in 2000. Since then he has written several pieces of ''Doctor Who'' fiction: in 2000 ''
Winter for the Adept ''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly subtitled as the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They are produced by Big Finish Prod ...
'', an audio drama for
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
; in 2003 '' Foreign Devils'', a
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...
for Telos Publishing; and in 2005 ''
Atom Bomb Blues The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprint. ...
'', a novel for
BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...
. He developed a script for the third series of ''
Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...
'' entitled 'The Jinx', but it was dropped when the show's format was reworked. In 2010 Cartmel worked as script editor for
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
' ''
The Lost Stories ''The Lost Stories'' is the eleventh and penultimate book in the series '' Ranger's Apprentice'' by Australian author John Flanagan. It is a collection of "lost" tales that fill in the gaps between novels. The book was released in Australia ...
'' line, overseeing the adaptation of story ideas created for ''Doctor Whos unmade 27th series into audio dramas (released in 2011). In addition to script-editing the four "Season 27" stories, Cartmel wrote two scripts (''
Crime of the Century "Crime of the century" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe particularly sensational or notorious criminal cases. Chua-Eoan, Howard (n.d.)"Crimes of the Century: The Top 25" ''Time''. Retrieved September 10, 2021. In the United States, it is of ...
'' and ''
Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
'') and co-wrote a third, ''
Earth Aid ''Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions of ''Doctor Who'' audio plays adapted from unused TV stories. Episodes Series 1 (2009–10) The first series is largely adapted from stories planned fo ...
'', with
Ben Aaronovitch Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the series of novels '' Rivers of London''. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-off novels from ''Doctor Who ...
. As well as ''Atom Bomb Blues'', 2005 saw the publication of: ''Script Doctor – The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986–89'', an account of his work on the ''Doctor Who'' television series; ''Through Time: An Unofficial and Unauthorised History of Doctor Who''; and two 2000 AD spin-off novels, ''Judge Dredd: Swine Fever'' and ''
Strontium Dog ''Strontium Dog'' is a long-running British comics series starring Johnny Alpha, a mutant bounty hunter who lives in Earth's future. The series was created in 1978 by writer John Wagner (under the pseudonym T. B. Grover) and artist Carlos Ezquer ...
: Day of the Dogs''. Cartmel has also written a novel set in the world of
Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...
's ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...
'' television series for
Powys Media Powys ( , ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerph ...
. The novel, released on 15 February 2008, is entitled ''Miss Freedom''. Common themes and techniques in Cartmel's novels include: animal rights; the use of animal perspectives; and extended metaphors of animal behaviour. These elements appear in the three Virgin New Adventures novels, the original novel ''The Wise'', the Judge Dredd novel ''Swine Fever'' and the audio play ''Animal''. In 2001 Cartmel briefly returned to television as script editor on the second season of Channel 5's fantasy / adventure series '' Dark Knight'', writing what proved to be the final episode of the series. His first stage play, ''End of the Night'', a thriller with gothic overtones, was produced by Long Shadow Productions in the summer of 2003. In 2007 Cartmel was a finalist in the Nicotinell 'Lose the Smoke Keep the Fire' Stand Up Comedy Auditions.


Bibliography


Comics

*Doctor Who (in ''
Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
'' #164–166, 175–178, 180 & 188–190, 1990–92) *Doctor Who: ''Evening's Empire'' (in ''
Doctor Who Classic Comics Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
'' Autumn Holiday Special 1993) *Judge Dredd (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' vol.3 #11–12, 1995) *Doctor Who: Phantom Freight (in Doctor Who Fan Fiction Illustrated as a special guest author, upcoming) *
Rivers of London Rivers of London may refer to * Blue Ribbon Network, a policy element of the London Plan relating to the navigable waterways of London * ''Rivers of London'' (novel), a 2011 urban fantasy novel by Ben Aaronovitch ** ''Rivers of London'' (book se ...
: :* ''Body Work'' #1-5 (2015) :* ''Night Witch'' #1-5 (2016) :* ''Black Mould'' #1-5 (2016-2017) :* ''Detective Stories'' #1-4 (2017) :* ''Cry Fox'' #1-4 (2017) :* ''Water Weed'' #1-4 (2018) :* ''Action at a Distance'' #1-4 (2018) :* ''The Fey and the Furious'' #1-4 (2019-2020) :* ''Monday, Monday'' #1-4 (2021)


Novels

*Doctor Who: '' Cat's Cradle: Warhead'' (1992) *Doctor Who: ''
Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver". The term came to apply special ...
'' (1995) *Doctor Who: '' Warchild'' (1996) *''The Wise'' (1999) *Judge Dredd: ''
Swine Fever Classical swine fever (CSF) or hog cholera (also sometimes called pig plague based on the German word ) is a highly contagious disease of swine (Old World and New World pigs). It has been mentioned as a potential bioweapon. Clinical signs Swin ...
'' (2005) *Strontium Dog: ''
Day of the Dogs ''Day of the Dogs'' is an original novel written by Andrew Cartmel and based on the long-running British science fiction comic book, comic strip ''Strontium Dog''. Synopsis Johnny Alpha and Middenface McNulty are hired by wealthy wild west afic ...
'' (2005) *Doctor Who: ''
Atom Bomb Blues The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprint. ...
'' (2005) *The Prisoner: ''Miss Freedom'' (Published February 2008) *The Rupert Hood Spy Thrillers: ''Operation Herod'' (2012) *The Rupert Hood Spy Thrillers: ''Event Driven'' (2012) *''The Vinyl Detective: Written in Dead Wax'' (2016) *''The Vinyl Detective: The Run-Out Groove'' (2017) *''The Vinyl Detective: Victory Disc'' (2018) *''The Vinyl Detective: Flip Back'' (2019) *''The Vinyl Detective: Low Action'' (2020) *''The Vinyl Detective: Attack and Decay'' (2022) *''The Paperback Sleuth: Death in Fine Condition'' (2023) *''The Vinyl Detective: Noise Floor'' (2024) *''The Paperback Sleuth: Ashram Assassin'' (2024) *''The Vinyl Detective: Underscore'' (2025)


Novellas

*Doctor Who: '' Foreign Devils'' (2002)


Audio stories

*Doctor Who: ''
Winter for the Adept ''Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures'', formerly subtitled as the ''Main Range'', is a series that consists of full-cast audio dramas based on the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They are produced by Big Finish Prod ...
'' (2000) *Doctor Who: ''
Crime of the Century "Crime of the century" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe particularly sensational or notorious criminal cases. Chua-Eoan, Howard (n.d.)"Crimes of the Century: The Top 25" ''Time''. Retrieved September 10, 2021. In the United States, it is of ...
'' (2011) *Doctor Who: ''
Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
'' (2011) *Doctor Who: ''
Earth Aid ''Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions of ''Doctor Who'' audio plays adapted from unused TV stories. Episodes Series 1 (2009–10) The first series is largely adapted from stories planned fo ...
'' (2011) co-written with
Ben Aaronovitch Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the series of novels '' Rivers of London''. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-off novels from ''Doctor Who ...
.


Television

*'' Dark Knight'': "Shameer" (2002)


References


External links


Interview with Cartmel on the BBC ''Doctor Who'' website
(via
archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...
)
''Andrew Cartmel Interview'', by David Bishop (''Time Space Visualiser'' issue 40, July 1994)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartmel, Andrew Living people 1958 births Writers of Doctor Who novels British comics writers British science fiction writers 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers British male television writers Starburst (magazine) editors