Now We Are Six Hundred is a set of fifty Doctor Who poems over 118 pages, loosely based upon AA Milne’s Now We Are Six.
Thus we have titles such as Contents (after “Happiness”) and The Five Doctors (after “The Three Foxes”). However I found this difficult, myself. I’m not sure that you can understand the full context and fully appreciate the play on the prose if you don’t know the original. For example, compare these two:
Dalek Furry Bear (original)
If I were a Dalek If I were a bear
And a big Dalek too And a big bear too
I shouldn’t much care I shouldn’t much care
If it froze or snew. If it froze or snew.
Admittedly, some of these poems are more complex than the above example would suggest: Here’s one, for example:
RETIRING
On days I don’t want to Doctor much
I worry that I shall lose my touch
All that running down those corridors
Thwartings of tyrants and dreadful bores
Brave rescues from the Foul Monster’s Lair
And firm trouncing all the Demons There.
Chaos never ends, oh that’s the shame
So yes I tire of just one more game.
Sometimes when the same old fight begins
I fear, just once, I’ll let Evil win.
And then, on second thought, perhaps I won’t
Because they’re Monsters, and so I don’t.
On days like that I don’t think at all
That being the Doctor’s so bad after all.
Which is based on this AA Milne poem (Knight in Armour):
Whenever I’m a shining Knight,
I buckle on my armour tight;
And then I look about for things,
Like Rushings-out, and Rescuings,
And Savings from the Dragon’s Lair,
And fighting all the Dragons there.
And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I’ll let the Dragons win …
And then I think perhaps I won’t,
Because they’re Dragons, and I don’t.
Is it clever? Possibly. Does it work? Hmm. I suspect that, as ever with these things, you will either be left amused by the poem’s riffing off the original, bemused by its content or, alternatively left wondering what all the fuss is about.
Some will appreciate that, whatever their original inspiration, the content of the poems is all Doctor, from the first incarnation until the twelfth. As well as the Doctor in most of his guises, there are poems that reference Daleks (see above example), The Master, the Adipose, The Toymaker and lots of others.
The poems are accompanied with a number of original illustrations by Russell T. Davies, the writer and former Executive Producer who brought the series back to life in its modern form in 2005. This was a little surprising, although evidently Russell spent much of his youth (when not watching Doctor Who) developing his comic artist skills. It was his colour-blindness that steered him away from a job of Graphic Design and instead led him to the role of Executive Producer of Doctor Who that he became.
As before, I think you will be either impressed or left nonplussed by his work. Generally the drawings, all in black and white, are very good, although not really to the standard of Milne’s artist E. H. Shepard.
In summary, how much you know Doctor Who or Now We Are Six will determine how much enjoyment you get from this book. I’m not sure if I can see fans quoting this at conventions myself, but you never know! I think you will need to either know, or have a copy of the Milne alongside, in order to get the full impact of this collection.
Whilst I think I know a fair bit about Doctor Who, even for me this was a bit of a curate’s egg. It’s quaint, charming and all rather whimsical, but not for everyone. A collection for hard-core DW fans with a knowledge of AA Milne, perhaps. Or, as National Poetry Day is due on 28th September, a convenient and amusing trifle that could provide an entertaining hour or so for a Doctor Who fan.
Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1114071/doctor-who-now-we-are-six-hundred/#h8ooB08l30HCvl5l.99
Now We Are Six Hundred
A Collection of Time Lord Verse by James Goss
Illustrated by Russell T. Davies
Published September 2017
Published by BBC Books / Ebury Publishing
118 pages
What a strange idea!
I wouldn’t call myself a die hard fan, but I do love Dr who, I grew up quoting now we are six poems, so rushed to buy this book. I’ve read it cover to cover three times now and c love it. At times funny and a real tribute to the original. Some poem moved me to tears, but in a heartfelt way, the way the doctor can with his cleverness.
You probably do need to know the original to fully appreciate this book but I think every whovian should at least give it a go.
Brilliant!!!
Hi Lesley: thanks for your comment. I must admit that I did think about that point you’ve made when writing the review – like Dr. Who, AA Milne is a peculiarly British institution (and Winnie the Pooh especially.) As a result, it may be that other readers don’t get the importance of both, who have been brought up with both.
It is clearly a work of love and written by someone with a love of both. But it does seem (to me, anyway!) still remarkably niche.