Terrance Dicks.

So sorry to hear about Terrance Dicks passing away. it is so genuinely sad to think that this wonderful man who made such a significant contribution to Doctor Who and its evolution into the beloved institution it has become, is no longer with us. He entered that world at a time of great change and some of those very changes he spearheaded himself, turning startling and imagination expanding ideas into treasured canon. and if I sound a bit goofy there i cannot help it. The man deserves all the respect and affection he earned over the years. The established history and lore of Doctor who owes so much to him one could not help but feel respect,and even a bit of awe, at the creations and talent he brought to the table. From introducing the Timelord race to The Master and way beyond. It all seems so long ago and far away it is perhaps difficult to appreciate the casuality of his inspiration. He made it all seem so easy and even that so much of that lore had already been there, lurking beneath the surface, unspoken and unseen. It is that spirit of invention and innovation that is such a component of the ongoing and unfolding text of The Not Quite Last Of The Timelords. And when reinvention and innovation are required how handy it was to have him on hand..
             Nothing accidental about that. It was all hard work and determination to deliver clever and inspired scripts full of memorable characters and situations, events that push The Doctor and his companions to be the best they can be.Terrance Dicks was part of a wonderful team of creative folk, in front off, behind and on top of the cameras, during an era when the BBC put entertaining its viewers above all else. Able to strike the balance between entertaining and subtlely informing, celebrating the human family.
             Looking around my shambles of a home I can think of no other writer I have more books written by than Terrance Dicks, all those Doctor Who novelizations, years of them. Except perhaps Agatha Christie. Between them they fill shelves. Its Harry Halls all over.
             There are many, many such book collections all over the world. In a pre-video, pre-pre DVD era, or the pre-pre-pre Bluray era it was the only way to experience the classic adventures of Doctor Who. All transcribed for us by a man who understood why we loved it so much and who never failed to deliver, his words playing out vividly , and budgetlessly, in the theaters of our minds.I was fortunate enough to meet him and he signed my doctor Who Monster Book vol#2.. When I was a boy, living in the attic of my folks old home, that book was my Tardis and through its pages I travelled through all of time and space with him as my guide.
              Hurrah for Terrance Dicks and everything he shared with us.