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Obverse Books Announce Black Archive Spin-Off Range, The Silver Archive

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!

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, The Silver Archive: The Stone Tape, and 100 Objects of Doctor Who.

Obverse Books Announce Black Archive Spin-Off Range, The Silver Archive

by Philip Bates time to read: 2 min
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