James Edward Cooray Smith (born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

in 1978) is a British writer, critic and columnist. He has written for journals including ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' and '' Prospect''. He has also contributed to the ''

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 ...

'' audio and DVD range.

Career

Cooray Smith is of patrilineal Indian descent. A graduate of

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, he has written radio drama and comedy, and has contributed to numerous news, film and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

magazines. He has a specific interest in British television history. Asked about his long-term habit of co-writing with a variety of people, Cooray Smith commented: "I've written things with a lot of different people, partially because I'm a great believer in third brain theory, and partially as a series of attempts to disguise my own lack of talent!" In 2017, he responded to the casting of

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

in ''

'' by writing an article saying those who disagreed with the lead character's sex change were misogynistic. His article was entitled "Uncomfortable with a female Doctor Who? It’s time to admit your real motives".

Bibliography

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
Columns

http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/321282

Hero Collector Writer's Page

http://herocollector.com/en-gb/About/james-cooray-smith

Non-Fiction Books

* ''The Life and Trials of Ally McBeal'' (2000) (with

Mark Clapham Mark Clapham (born 1976) is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular relating to ''Doctor Who'' (and its spin-offs) and Warhammer 40,000. Writing Clapham started out writing ''Doc ...

) * ''Manhattan Dating Game: Sex and the City'' (2002) * ''Tim Burton'' (2002) (with J Clive Matthews) * ''Bond Films'' (2003) (with Stephen Lavington) * ''George Lucas'' (2003) * ''Gangster Films'' (2004) * ''The Lord of the Rings: The Books, the Films, the Radio Series'' (2005) (with J Clive Matthews) * ''Quentin Tarantino'' (2005) * ''Who's Next? A Guide To Broadcast

'' (2005) (with

and Eddie Robson) * '' The Black Archive #2:

The Massacre ''The Massacre'' is the second studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released on March 3, 2005, via Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. With production from Dr. Dre, ...

'

(2015) * '' The Black Archive #14:

The Ultimate Foe ''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as '' The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadc ...

'

(2017) * '' The Silver Archive #3:

Sapphire and Steel Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

Assignments 5 &

(2018)

Short fiction

* "A Gallery of Pigeons"' (2009) in ''

Secret Histories Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

'' * "'Excalibur of Mars" (2009) in '' Present Danger'' * "The Found World" (2010), in '' Miss Wildthyme and Friends Investigate''

Radio and Audio work

''
That Mitchell and Webb Sound ''That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' is a comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 28 August 2003. A second series was broadcast in 2005 with a third starting on 24 May 2007. The radio programme, which itself followed the 2001 ...
''

Series Four (2009) (sketch writer)

Bernice Summerfield Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply Benny, is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length ''Doctor Who'' novels, the '' New Ad ...

* '' The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel'' (2008)

''
Kaldor City ''Kaldor City'' is a series of radio drama, audio plays using elements from the British TV series ''Doctor Who'' and ''Blake's 7''. Many of the elements borrowed from these series for use in ''Kaldor City'' were originated by Chris Boucher (write ...
''

* ''Occam's Razor'' (2000) (with Alan Stevens) * ''Hidden Persuaders'' (2003) (with Fiona Moore)

Doctor Who DVD Production History Notes

* ''

The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the Doctor Who season 21, 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 to 30 March 1984. It was ...

'' (2009) * '' The Space Museum'' (2010) * '' Underworld (Doctor Who)'' (2010) * ''

Kinda Kinda or Kindah may refer to: People Given name * Kinda Alloush (born 1982), Syrian actress * Kinda El-Khatib (born 1996 or 1997), Lebanese activist Surname * Chris Kinda (born 1999), Namibian para-athlete * Gadi Kinda (1994–2025), ...

'' (2011) * '' Snakedance'' (2011) * ''

The Ark (Doctor Who) ''The Ark'' is the sixth serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 to 26 March 1966. The serial is set at least ten million years in th ...

'' (2011) * '' The Sun Makers'' (2011)

References

External links

Steven Poole's 'Non Fiction Choice' Review of 'Tim Burton' from 'The Guardian'

Shiny Shelf website
(No Longer Updated)
Kaldor City website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Cooray 1978 births Alumni of University College London British biographers British dramatists and playwrights British film critics British male dramatists and playwrights British male novelists British science fiction writers Living people People from Solihull British male biographers