The Lexicon Presents: An Interview with Rob Shearman

[ethsnafu]

Dear friends,

Matt Allair was kind enough to bring to my attention the latest interview from the X-Files Lexicon. The gentleman, Rob Shearman, is no stranger to me as he has written for Britiain's Doctor Who (including the fine television episode "Dalek" as well as the undeniably superb "Chimes of Midnight" for Big Finish) and more recently turned his attention Ten Thirteen by writing Wanting To Believe: a critical guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen." I have to give Matt kudos for what is an absolutely super interview and one which is no doubt going to divide opinion with regards some of the observations Mr. Sherman makes about our beloved show but it is absolutely essential reading and I urge all of you to check it out here. As Matt also thanks Libby (I guess that must be our Libby) for helping him secure this exclusive then I guess we have another reason for supporting it, head on over folks, you won't regret it.

Eth

[ethsnafu]

I am bumping this on the off chance it has been missed by any of you but please do check this out. It is a superb interview, really it is, and I can say that after doing many myself which are nowhere near as good as this one.

Go read Rob's thoughts and see how many times you shake your head or nod emphatically during it.

Sterling stuff!

Eth

[Libby]

Yes, I'm the Libby in question. He refers to meeting me at my daughter's wedding, but I hope nobody hates me for what I said! (Though I'm not sure I actually used the precise words he quoted.)

A very interesting interview, and one worth reading, especially for his views on Millennium.

I'm pleased that Matt put in an explanation of who Enid Blyton was. I also loved her books when I was young.

Edited to add: I almost forgot. He added me as a friend on Facebook!

[ethsnafu]

What surprised me about the interview was Rob speaking about the lack of interest in a guide book when he first touted the idea to his publishers. Given that Doctor Who was off air for years and still proved extremely lucrative for those involved with continuing its legacy in other formates I surprised to see that Brand X-Files hasn't been able to retain the interest of people in the same way. It was arguably bigger in its heyday than Classic Who was (globally that is) and its fanbase were equally as passionate as Whovians so that came as a complete surprise to me. I know when I tried to get Big Finish to consider continuing Millennium in audio book format I was informed that they had investigated the possibility of XF and MM as audio ranges but concluded it would not be financially worthwhile to do so.

Just thinking aloud.....

Eth

[The Old Man]

Superb, I have a lot to catch up with this weekend!

That really is a superb and refreshingly frank read.

By the way, the first books I read were Enid Blyton's and I remember them fondly.

[ethsnafu]

It is a great read and he is refreshingly honest in it. I didn't always agree with all his points but it's nice to see the not-we cast a critical, and professional, eye over Millennium and the rest of the Ten Thirteen Canon. I was delighted that he spoke highly of Chip Johanessen and Darin Morgan's work on the show and couldn't agree with him more.

The book is well worth the money if anyone has yet to treat themselves.

Eth

[XFLexiconMatt]

Hi Everyone,

Again, all I can say to Ethsnafu is thank you for the heavy support in plugging this interview. For anyone, who agrees with Mr. Shearman, or likes the book, please remember to pick it up or order it via Amazon, we have affiliate links at the Lexicon so you could buy the book. My hope in getting this interview was to generate, or boost sales of this book. My feeling, my hunch, is that if Mr. Shearman sees a boost in sales, he'll smile kindly on the Millennium and X-Files fan base in the future, so keep that in mind.

My feeling is that Mr. Shearman might make an interesting guest speaker at the future convention, and so I'm hoping he can be warmed up to that possibility.

[ethsnafu]

My pleasure Matt. The interview was surprisingly crammed with Millennium as I very much expected that a vast portion of it would be give over to the X-Files so on the behalf of Millennium fans may I thank you for thinking of us and our beloved show. I am sure there is something of interest in the interview for any fan on any of Ten Thirteen's franchises and it is a pleasure to do my little bit to help draw attention to it.

British forum members can purchase this for only £7.99 from Amazon at the moment and I really can recommend it to you. A very interesting read.

Eth

[Guest Reynard]

It's brilliant seeing this type of unofficial guide again. Robert Shearman remarks about it himself as there not being this type of book around as much as now, what with the majority of unofficial publications relating to television and films taking the form of published essays. I prefer this type of guide book, as a teenager I bought copious amounts of unofficial guides to The X Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and 24. Here in the UK only Doctor Who and Torchwood get this sort of treatment, and it's great to be able to buy a book like this that not only covers the exploits of Mulder and Scully, but Frank Black as well. As a fan of many of the things Chris Carter did, this book is a must have. Brilliant.

Edited April 4, 2010 by Reynard

[ethsnafu]

Reynard,

Have you ever happened upon X-Treme Possibilities: A Comprehensively Expanded Rummage Through Five Years of the X-Files? It was my bible when that show was on air, I can't tell you how well read it was and I am still saddened that they didn't continue to the guide into the sixth season and beyond but they were, at that point, becoming disillusioned with the show and declined to continue. What's interesting to note about the book is that one of the three contributors is Paul Cornell who, like Rob Shearman, worked on Doctor Who spin-off media before writing for the show when it returned in 2005.

Well worth a look as it simply is the best of the fanbooks IMHO.

Eth