Happy Birthday, Jonathan Morris

my own Jonathan Morris collection

 Jonathan Morris is widely regarded by Doctor Who fandom as one of the writers of original stories over the last decade. And quite frankly, he's a legend. Anyone who's listened to a decent number and variety of Big Finish's output will most likely have heard something from the keyboard of Morris, and they will most likely have really enjoyed it. As you can see from the image above, his work by no limited either Doctor Who or Big Finish audios, and I've omitted quite a few covers because I couldn't fit them on!

For a mostly complete list of Morris' work for the Whoniverse, check out his TARDIS Wiki page here. Over the past couple of months he's found particular critical acclaim with his episode of Survivors - Exodus - and Psychodrome, the first full-cast story to feature the Season 19 crew since... well since Season 19. However, his sterling reputation goes back many years, all the way to his first commission Festival of Death. This is still listed by a great many fans amongst the best not only of the range but Whodom as a whole.

Morris is a highly prolific contributor nowadays too, with approximately fifteen hours of audio drama released each month. What's especially impressive is the quality of this output. The general consensus (fan 'wisdom' if you will) is that the lowest his work can be rated is 'above average', and even then that only applies to 0.1%. To pay tribute to this great man on his birthday, I've listed my top five things he's written below - and just to annoy him I've omitted any scores out of ten.

5. Doctor Who and the Waterloo of the Daleks

Lisa Greenwood's Flip's official debut. This is a great story about identity, and has the Daleks teaming up with Napoleon!

 4. Doctor Who and the Death to the Doctor!

A hilarious, Douglas Adams-style story in which an ineffectual bunch of aliens who the Doctor's defeated get together to try and turn the tables. A bit like the Road Less Travelled episode of Hustle before its time, and a bit funnier.

 
3. Doctor Who and the Golden Ones

Axons! UNIT! Japan! 2011! Eleventh Doctor! (and Amy) A really exciting, engaging action story that was inspired by a Mika song.  What more could you ask for?

 

2. Doctor Who and the Babblesphere

A hilarious, Douglas Adams-style story in which the Fourth Doctor and the Second Romana land on a weird planet, get split up and investigate stuff. There's an ineffectual bunch of aliens who are trying to turn the tables on their robot rulers. Very funny, imaginative and pacey.

1. Doctor Who and the Protect and Survive

A very serious, straight-down-the-line serial when Hex and Ace get stuck in one of the Doctor's traps, and have to work their way out. This is a standout, even in the company of Morris' other work. It's well written, directed and scored and is considered one of the best in recent years by many and the best of recent years by me. It's one of my favourite pieces of Doctor Who and drama in general ever, featuring an '80s apocalypse. Don't be put off by the duff cover.

If I'm unsure about trying a new range, I often buy something Morris has had a hand in to see whether I'll like it or not. Inevitably his work is so good I end up getting loads of them, but it's a strategy I recommend.

I'm not just saying all this - and not because he knows where I live either (really!). I have a massive respect for this man. Not only is he a standout writer (with approaching eighty hours of entertainment commissioned from him by Big Finish) but a fine bloke too, with a wicked sense of humour to boot. For evidence of this, just watch is hilarious Now and Then and Now and Then and Now series of videos here. I've stolen some of the jokes for this post, I hope he doesn't mind.

You can do a lot worse than purchase something with 'Jonathan Morris' plastered across it and thankfully there's plenty more Morris magic (as the man himself puts it) on the way. There's two further series of his own spin-off Vienna, an adaptation of Russell T Davies' Damaged Goods (my two favourite writers in one place - consider me sold!), The Entropy Plague and no doubt tonnes more. Outside of Doctor Who, he's also working on a screenplay for the Vendetta Vette US film project, due for release next year. I'm really excited about all of these, and hope they're a massive success. Perhaps one of his sitcoms will even get made before long too..?

My best wishes to Debbie and Alex, and of course to Jonny. A hero to me, and not just for your work. Thank you for all the hours of happiness you've brought me and countless others. Have a great day, you've earned it.

ANALYSIS: Mighty 241

As a result of DWM's recent survey, I thought I'd do my own little analysis piece. What follows is hopefully quite self-explanatory, but do feel free to comment if there's something you don't understand - or (dis)agree with! Enjoy.

Some of my least favourite stories:

The Dominators, The Time Monster, The Masque of Mandragora, Underworld, Silver Nemesis, The Wedding of River Song, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, The Time of the Doctor.

Some of my top stories:

The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, The War Games, Spearhead from Space, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death, The Green Death, The Robots of Death, Image of the Fendahl, Resurrection of the Daleks, Boom Town, Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways, The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit, Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger.

As you can probably tell, I find there's a lot more to like in Who than not. Below is a comparison table of the top 25 stories in DWM's poll. I'm sure you can work out what the other columns are. Click for a larger version.

I also did comparison between the average DWM's reader top 12 Doctors and mine. That's below, alongside a companions thing.

Paul Spragg

By now, you've probably heard the tragic news. Paul Spragg has tragically flown on at the age of 38, undoubtedly extremely prematurely. I won't dwell on the details as the wonderful people at Big Finish say it much better than I ever could here. 

Although I never met Paul, I really felt I knew him from listening to the (increasingly sparse) Big Finish podcasts and his active role on the company's own forums. He was always such a warm and kind personality, there was never any indication that his famous beam was ever broken. Despite not having one of the more prolific roles with the company, he was one of a few permanent members of staff. Paul was arguably the glue that held the whole operation together, managing far-reaching aspects of their operations. Despite all this, he was always the embodiment of optimism and personability. 

What makes this loss all the more devastating is that it came totally out of the blue. As Paul's girlfriend Natalie explains at the link above, he'd been minorly ill for a short time. When I first read the news part-way through my review of Andrew Smith's The Brood of Erys, I was in shock for a long while. Initially, I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't go so far as to say I thought it was a joke, but as I scanned the opening paragraph, all sorts of explanations were running through my mind as to what was really going on. Such a kindly and amiable soul, who always wanted the best for others. His tireless dedication and passion for life was tangible, even from the slight podcasts. I was always yearning for the next one, not to hear trailers of upcoming releases (in fact, I usually skip them) but for the chattering between Nick Briggs and Paul. I think it's a testament to Paul that even 'casual' Big Finish listeners knew who he was. Countless more have had their lives touched by his work and influence, even if they don't know it.

There has of course been an outpouring of affection from the Big Finish family. Perhaps my favourite is this from Nick Briggs:-

To the many who say you felt you knew Paul Spragg through podcasts and emails, even tho you never meet him. You did know him. You did. :-)
— Nicholas Briggs (@BriggsNicholas) May 12, 2014

There have been many tributes paid to Paul, but I'll just highlight two here: one from his best friend of 27 years and editor of DWM, Tom Spilsbury; the other from his younger brother Nick. These are both touching and only serve to reinforce the loving memories we all have of Paul.

Although I've not dwelled much on Paul's past, the touching words laid out by the three above people say it all. Paul was never one to focus on the negatives, but emphasised all the positives of life. There's a lovely piece written by him for Geek Speak magazine here, which really melts the heart reading it back now. I think all that's left to say to Paul is thank you for all you've done for the world, you really did make a difference to my life. I am still distraught, and my thoughts are with his close family and friends. I only hope you can manage to do as he always did and focus on the best bits of life.

Paul Spragg:

Always Looking Fo'ward

LIST: Nine's 9

To celebrate the birthday of Christopher "One Series" Eccleston, my favourite (and first) Doctor, I thought I'd compose a list similar to the one I did for Matt Smith, here. The score is this: I pick my favourite nine episodes (not stories) from Nine's era and sum up my thoughts on them in nine words.

9. Rose
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Keith Boak

Snappy, stylish introduction to the Doctor and Rose's worlds.

8. The End of the World
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Euros Lyn

Outrageous fun with impressive direction and an enormous budget.

7. Aliens in London
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Keith Boak

One of the best-plotted and -paced episodes this century.

6. The Empty Child
written by Steven Moffat | directed by James Hawes

Creepy atmospheric wartime thriller, just what the Doctor ordered.

5. The Unquiet Dead
written by Mark Gatiss | directed by Euros Lyn

Ghosts, Victorian times, dark cellars? It's gotta be Gatiss.

4. Bad Wolf
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Joe Ahearne

A fusion of great ideas, writing, direction and acting.

3. The Doctor Dances
written by Steven Moffat | directed by James Hawes

Moffat used all his best ideas first, simply superb.

2. The Parting of the Ways
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Joe Ahearne

The greatest finale so far, it cements Eccleston's legacy.

1. Boom Town
written by Russell T Davies | directed by Joe Ahearne

Eccleston, Piper, Barrowman, Clarke, Badland, Davies and Ahearne.

UNIT

Time Heals
Snake Head
The Longest Night
The Wasting

Dominion i
Dominion ii
Dominion iii
Dominion iv

Extinction:
Vanguard
Earthfall
Bridgehead
Armageddon

Shutdown:
Power Cell
Death in Geneva
The Battle of the Tower
Ice Station Alpha

Silenced

Iris Wildthyme

Wildthyme at Large
The Devil in Ms Wildthyme

The Sound of Fear
The Land of Wonder
The Two Irises
The Panda Invasion

The Claws of Santa

The Iris Wildthyme Appreciation Society
Iris Rides Out
Midwinter Murders

Whatever Happened to Iris Wildthyme?
Iris at the Oche
A Lift in Time

Comeback of the Scorchies
Dark Side
Oracle of the Supermarket
Murder at the Abbey
The Slots of Giza
High Spirits
An Extraterrestrial Werewolf in Belgium
Looking for a Friend

Graceless

The Sphere
The Fog
The End

The Line
The Flood
The Dark

The Edge
The Battle
Consequences

Dalek Empire

Invasion of the Daleks
The Human Factor
"Death to the Daleks!"
Project Infinity

Dalek War i
Dalek War ii
Dalek War iii
Dalek War iv

The Exterminators
The Healers
The Survivors
The Demons
The Warriors
The Future

The Fearless i
The Fearless ii
The Fearless iii
The Fearless iv

The Confessions of Dorian Gray

This World Our Hell
The Houses In Between
The Twittering of Sparrows
The Heart That Lives Alone
The Fallen King of Britain

Ghosts of Christmas Past

The Picture of Loretta Delphine
The Lord of Misrule
Murder on 81st Street
The Immortal Game
Running Away With You

The Prime of Deacon Brodie

The Mayfair Monster

Blank Canvas
The Needle
We Are Everywhere
Echoes
Pandora
Heart and Soul
Displacement Activity
The Darkest Hour

Frostbite

The Enigma of Dorian Gray
Freya
Human Remains
His Dying Breath
Banshee
The Abysmal Sea
Inner Darkness
The Living Image

Desperately Seeking Santa
All Through the House

One Must Not Look at Mirrors
Angel of War
The Valley of Nightmares
Ever After

Films

Focus (Ryan Wigley)
Mad Max: Fury Road (Rob Manns)
Inside Out (Ryan Wigley)
London Has Fallen