Pratchett and Who: A Missed Opportunity
Guest contributor Connor Farley pays tribute to the late fantasy & sci-fi author who passed this week.
The world of science fiction and fantasy literature is in mourning this week after the death of the creator of the long-running Discworld book series Sir Terry Pratchett passed away aged 66. Pratchett, whose career as an author began in 1971 with the children’s novel The Carpet People and began his ventures on Discworld in 1983, had written over 70 books in his career. Notwithstanding his battle with Alzheimer’s, which he eventually submitted to, Pratchett remained a critical piece of the science fiction and fantasy literary jigsaw.
Sir Terry Pratchett’s style of prose was suited to the essence of Doctor Who. He mixed fantasy and science fiction together well into his books, and further added a generous dollop of comedy on top. Even when Pratchett was delving into more serious subjects such as morality, he would intertwine a hefty amount of laughs into his narrative. The key example of this being the creation of the character Death in the Discworld novels. As the equation to the writing of a real outstanding episode of Doctor Who is usually science fiction + fun + comedy. I am inclined to believe that Terry Pratchett would have indeed been an unforgettable contributor to the world of Doctor Who had he had the chance to write for the series.
A good friend and collaborator to familiar Doctor Who writer Neil Gaiman (The Doctor’s Wife, Nightmare in Silver), Pratchett was never one to mince his words regarding the show. In 2010, the author had described Doctor Who as ludicrous and that it broke most laws of narrative, also adding that it was ‘pixel thin’ as plausible science fiction. That was not all the whimsical man himself had to comment on Doctor Who. Several days before the 50th anniversary episode was aired, Pratchett claimed that Doctor Who was a safe option for Saturday teatime entertainment. He even called everyone’s favourite tin dog K-9 ‘a hilariously dreadful prop of Doctor Who tradition’.
However, readers can breath a sigh of relief because Pratchett shared his love for the Doctor Who companion show Torchwood in the very same interview. While promoting his novel Dodger in 2012 at least said that David Tennant was the best incarnation of the Doctor because David Tennant was the definitive Tennant (a very Pratchett-esque reasoning). Would the heavy blows that Pratchett took to Doctor Who in any way affect the view of Pratchett being someone who could write wonderful Who? Certainly not for me.
Pratchett once said that there is ‘so much universe and so little time’. And while, I don’t believe this is something that would ever occur to the Doctor when he is exploring new alien planets and new species. By writing for Who, Pratchett could have contributed to the expansion of the universe inside all Whovians minds alike.
Now with Pratchett no longer on this mortal coil. I believe that it was an enormous missed opportunity for the Doctor Who team at the BBC to not even ask Sir Terry if he wanted to write for Doctor Who. I am also under the impression, that the possible input of this ‘god’ of the science fiction world could have only made the slightly questionable writing of the past few series a lot better. Pratchett’s range of imagination, coupled with his style of narrative was something Doctor Who missed out on at crucial periods of time.
And while some of Sir Terry’s fiction was not always areas in which Doctor Who would explore in a literal way, such as wizards, witches, and goblins. Seeing what he could come up with for a script would have been quite something. His twists on the weird and wonderful, his dialogue and the actions he gives his less than ordinary characters. Then incorporated into someone as influential and as current as the Doctor would have been magical for the ears and the eyes. A refreshing and much-needed change up for Doctor Who.
R.I.P. Sir Terry Pratchett 1948-2015.
