It’s with great excitement that we announce an upcoming range from Obverse Books, The Silver Archive – a spin-off from the publisher’s Black Archive books.
Whereas The Black Archive is a series of critical assessments of Doctor Who serials, The Silver Archive takes the same approach to other cult shows – from early BBC science fiction, through the folk horror specials of the 1970s and the conspiracy theories of the 1990s, all the way to world of streaming.
And you’ll spot a few DWC contributors also writing for the range!
Range editor, Stuart Douglas says:
“There’s such a rich history of genre television, and yet discussion of individual series still tend to concentrate on a few big names while the rest are effectively ignored, usually on the basis that there simply isn’t a large enough fanbase to justify a full length analysis.
“The Silver Archive, by allowing writers to narrow their focus to one season or serial, or even a single episode, transcends that problem, and lets us open windows on a wide range of shows, some fondly remembered, some almost forgotten and in need of rehabilitation.
“The Black Archive demonstrated that there is a readership out there eager for our type of detailed story analysis – the Silver Archive will build on that and will, I hope, be equally well received.”
The range launches in March with three books dedicated to the entire Sapphire and Steel TV series, before quarterly releases delve into other sections of genre television.
Here’s the schedule up until the end of 2020:
2018
Volume 1: Sapphire and Steel: Assignments 1 & 2 – David and Lesley McIntee
Volume 2: Sapphire and Steel: Assignments 3 & 4 – Cody Schell
Volume 3: Sapphire and Steel: Assignments 5 & 6 – James Cooray-Smith
Volume 4: Stranger Things – Paul Driscoll
Volume 5: The Strange World of Gurney Slade – Andrew Hickey
Volume 6: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Innocence – Jon Arnold
2019
Volume 7: Dark Skies – Matthew Kresal
Volume 8: A for Andromeda – Michael Seely
Volume 9: The Prisoner: Free for All – Jonathan Dennis
Volume 10: Quatermass and the Pit – Tony Jones
2020
Volume 11: A Series of Unfortunate Events – Kara Dennison
Volume 12: The Stone Tape – Philip Bates
Volume 13: Millennium: Season 2 – Robert Smith
Volume 14: Children of the Stones – Nick Campbell
Specials
The Christmas Box – Paul Magrs
How Old is Harold Steptoe? – James Cooray-Smith
As you can see, there are a number of familiar names, some from The Black Archive (including James Cooray-Smith, Andrew Hickey, and Paul Driscoll), and others from the world of Doctor Who (like Paul Magrs and David McIntee).
I’m very pleased to say that three DWC contributors are also there.
Jon Arnold opened The Black Archive with Rose and further wrote an examination of Scream of the Shalka, the process of which he explained on the DWC.
Tony Jones will be working on an assessment of Quatermass and the Pit; aside from reviews and features for The Doctor Who Companion, Tony has also written for Big Finish and blogs at Red Rocket Rising.
And finally, there’s me. I’m writing Volume 12, focusing on The Stone Tape. The 1972 horror story was screened on Christmas Day, and was written (as with Quatermass) by the legendary Nigel Kneale. Unlike Quatermass, however, this TV show is less well-known, but I aim to prove how important a production it is, talking about the scientific secrets behind it, the link between ghost stories and Christmas, and how The Stone Tape has inspired Doctor Who.
Thank you to Stuart for this amazing opportunity.
Suffice to say, DWC readers should stay tuned for more about The Silver Archive!
