Starry Eyed Press’ latest major book release comes in the form of BBV’s The Stranger franchise, a part of the Doctor Who Universe.
We had an opportunity to sit down with the book’s author, Jason Russell, to get the inside scoop on how it came to be.
Give us a little background on The Stranger and its connection to the Doctor Who Universe.
The Stranger is a Doctor Who spinoff with an origin story that should really resonate with fans of the iconic franchise. When the BBC decided it was time to give Doctor Who a rest, much to the dismay of fans, director and member of the BBC Film Club, Bill Baggs set out to do something about it. When the BBC wouldn’t budge on their stance to take a Doc Who hiatus, he used his connections and resources to keep the material coming.
Initially, The Stranger served to essentially carry on with the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) continuity just with different names to avoid licensing troubles but ended up taking on an identity of its own over time.
These days its six films and four audios have earned cult following status by Whovians and nonWhovians alike. Eventually, it even got a canonical link to the Doctor Who Universe thanks to an officially licensed piece referencing the events of The Stranger as having occurred in the same universe on a separate timeline.
How does your story fit into this?
Technically, it would be set after the events of the last film (Eye Of The Beholder) and picks up with Solomon and Meta each discovering they aren’t in our dimension anymore.
I realize that obtaining the films these days can be difficult for those of us here in the US (as they have yet to be released to streaming platforms) so I made every effort to construct the story for newcomers as well as dedicated fans.
That sounds like a difficult undertaking.
Yes and no – On the one hand, there is a rich history to draw from in putting it all together and I wanted to make certain fans who have followed along from the beginning will see In A Strange Land as just a natural extension of the story thus far. On the other, the nature of time travel and dimension hopping is such that you can pretty much get into it without alienating newcomers. Think about Doctor Who – you can pretty much sit down and watch any episode from any season, even with no prior experience, and pick it up. I tried to keep that concept in the forefront here at all times.
Plus, because getting ripped from one reality and deposited into another tends to scramble the ol memory, I had the luxury of structuring the story so that the reader discovers all of the pieces alongside the characters.
Sounds like it’s pretty different from most of your other books?
The setting certainly was – I’m rather used to having the Andromeda galaxy to play in like a giant sandbox. At the end of the day, though, I think the elements that make a story memorable or make the journey worth taking, extend well beyond the breadth of the setting.
This one forced me to focus in on emotions like the vertigo that would come with waking up in a place where everything was askew and you knew no one or the helplessness of having amnesia. For me the biggest twist in The Stranger series came when Solomon learned he was a Preceptor. To find out your very role in reality is to cause destruction and disorder when all you want is peace begs a closer examination of the nature of free will itself.
What do you think of the current state of and controversy over Doctor Who?
It’s rather sad. Fans are clearly disgruntled and leaving en masse. Fiction will always be a metaphor for the issues and struggles of the real world but there is a massive disconnect between creators and fans of late. The same thing is happening here (one need look no farther than Star Wars or Star Trek to see identical and justifiable complaints).
Why do you think this is?
I think agendas and pushing a message that not everyone agrees with has overtaken the sheer beauty of storytelling. People look to fiction to escape the nightly news, not to be reminded of current issues at every turn. I subscribe to the theory that good storytelling should be able to provide this escape without the need to push the agendas or biases of the creators. In all of these examples, the fandom can’t possibly be any more vocal about their dissatisfaction and the ratings back this up.
In closing, any other thoughts?
I’d just like to thank Bill Baggs and his crew at BBV for trusting me with their IP. It’s been a wonderful experience working with them and revisiting these great characters.
The Stranger: In A Strange Land is available now on Amazon in the following formats:
Starry Eyed Press 