Before Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir Wrote Fan Fiction For A Long-Running Sci-Fi Series
by Witney Seibold · /FilmIt may be predictable that author Andy Weir, the writer of the hit novels "The Martian" and "Project Hail Mary," is a Whovian. I mean, it seems logical. The writer's good humor, intellect, and clear passion for the scientific realities embedded in the sci-fi genre suggest he would also be a fan of the long-running British series "Doctor Who." He was either going to be a Whovian, a Trekkie, or both. All the best nerds are either Whovians or Trekkies.
"Doctor Who," for those unlucky enough not to know about it, is a sci-fi series that debuted on BBC1 way back in 1963 and concerns the efforts of the unnamed Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor is a bemused traveler who soars through the space-time continuum in a time machine called a Tardis. The Tardis just happens to look like a British police box and, thanks to advanced alien technology, is much larger on the inside than on the outside. The Doctor typically sails about with a companion or two from Earth and likes to visit historical figures as well as distant planets.
Time Lords are able to regenerate; that is, when one body dies, he simply respawns as a new person. This has allowed nearly 20 actors, of different ages, races, and genders, to play the same role over the decades. As of this writing, there have been 892 episodes of "Doctor Who." Sadly, many of the earlier episodes are missing.
Andy Weir talked about his "Doctor Who" obsession a year ago on the video podcast "A Night In," and he pointed out the Tardis he keeps in his office. He is not shy about his love of "Doctor Who," and even wrote fan fiction about it.
Unsurprisngly, Andy Weir loves Doctor Who
A brief bit of editorializing: "Doctor Who," along with "Star Trek," might be responsible for introducing the soap opera notion of TV canon to the sci-fi world. Thanks to those two shows, it could be considered that fantastical technology rules established in one episode would remain embedded in the next. "Doctor Who" ran regularly from 1963 to 1989, went off the air, returned for an American TV movie in 1996, and then was relaunched in earnest in 2005. It's been running steadily ever since.
In the "A Night In" video, Weird pointed out that he had a Tardis in his office and declared that he had seen every episode of "Doctor Who" ever made, except for the ones the BBC lost. It's well known that the BBC lost many, many episodes of "Doctor Who" back in the day. Sometimes they are discovered. Andy Weir knew all of this and went on a tear. He explained:
"Every now and then, they'll recover one. Recently, one of the serials was recovered because an Algerian TV stattion happened to have a copy. It'll be like that."
When asked whether he had ever written for "Doctor Who," Weir had to admit he hadn't in any official capacity ... but he had penned some fanfic. As he put it:
"I've never written for anything officially for 'Doctor Who,' but I've written fan fiction. Does that count? And I have hassled Chris Chibnall. I habve said 'Hey! I wan to write for 'Doctor Who!' I'll do it for free! Or I'll do it for one pound. And he hasn't let me yet."
Chris Chibnall was the showrunner for "Doctor Who" at the time of the interview, having taken over from Steven Moffat in 2018.
Andy Weir would love to write for Doctor Who, so write your local MP
Andy Weir was serious, by the way. He knows he's American and that "Doctor Who" is a British TV series, but he still feels he could be a good writer for it. He said:
"To my British fans, I know America lets you down when it comes to 'Doctor Who.' In 1996, we made a really crappy TV movie out of it. And I know you're reluctant to let Americans at 'Doctor Who' again. But please, trust me. I have all of the canon. I haev the total respect. I could make some good 'Who.' I could make some good 'Who.' So write your MP and start a campaign! Weir for Who!"
His favorite Doctor was the fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. As all Whovians can say, your first is usually your favorite.
And about that fan fiction. What sort of unauthorized, non-professional "Doctor Who" stories did Weir write? Well, some resourceful Reddit users have discovered that he wrote stories about the character Romana (played by Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward), a Time Lady from Gallifrey who served as the companion to the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Romana appeared mainly from 1978 to 1981. One can read his Romana Chronicles — under the title "The Xoloans" — on the Galactanet website. Weir, like many authors before him, also wrote Sherlock Holmes fan fiction — specifically, Moriarty fan fiction — which is available on that website.
Reddit users, who know way more about "Doctor Who" than I do, discuss the details of a Romana-oriented story and Weir's strengths and weaknesses as an author. At the very least, one cannot ever deny Weir's fandom.