Fandom nothing to joke about

George Rainsford as Dr Ethan Hardy as Doctor Who in Casualty

One of the joys of writing is entering other people’s worlds and then trying to give the audience an insight into those worlds too. It’s therefore especially gratifying to be told you’ve done a good job by those very same people. In this case it’s Doctor Who fans and the wider SF (science fiction) community.

In ‘Casualty’s Heart Warming Doctor Tribute’, Peter Nolan writes:

“…this week’s episode went beyond giving Doctor Who fans a covert wink. It established popular consultant Ethan as one of us, complete with closet cosplay. But is also effectively acted as a love letter to the Time Lord’s positive effect on the real world.”

The article goes on to say:

“This episode of Casualty stands out among other attempts to highlight a character as a fan of science fiction. It shows fandom as something that’s inspired them in a positive way, rathan than a fun quirk or even a point of mockery. It helps that new writer Tim Stimpson obviously knows his Sontaran from his Sensorites”

I have to admit that the Doctor Who team did help me get my Whoovian law right. If they happened to be watching, I hope it’s clear I’d love to write for the show…

In the meantime I’m glad I did SF fans proud. And bow ties are very definitely cool!

First trip to Casualty

It’s six months now since I delivered the shooting script, and after various calamities it seemed it might never make it on air. However, I’m delighted to say my first episode of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday night on BBC One.

Filming took place in Cardiff in February, just as Storm Dennis was leaving parts of South Wales underwater. I had to drive along flooded roads just to get to the studio. Meanwhile, at the location shoot, the high winds threatened to blow the set, as well as several extras, away. We thought that was as crazy as things could get, but then COVID-19 came along, shutting down production and delaying broadcast for several weeks.

What a thrill then to finally see it on screen! I am hugely grateful to my script editor and the rest of the production team for making writing such an enjoyable and collaborative experience. Having not dealt with location scouts and stunt coordinators before, I felt genuinely supported – which you can’t always say in this industry. Writers don’t normally attend filming, but invited myself along and was made incredibly welcome by the director and the rest of the crew.

Finally, an enormous thank you to several medic friends who I tapped up for research and insight into what life’s really like on the NHS frontline. Fiction can’t compare with the heroic work they’ve been doing through this pandemic. I was humbled before I started writing and I’m even more humbled now.

Episode 38 (Series 34) is available for twelve months on BBC iPlayer.