Is There Life Outside the Box: An Actor Despairs
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His fans have spoken, but despite their requests, Peter Davison has gone ahead and written his autobiography anyway. It wasn’t the book they tried to stop – it was more like the book they didn’t want him to start.
Despite displaying unspectacular scientific aptitude at school – he even managed to fail CSE woodwork, eliciting a lament from his astonished teacher (‘All you have to do is recognise wood!’) – Peter has secured his place in science fiction history, becoming the fifth Doctor Who, although he nearly turned down the role. The Time Lord connection continued with the marriage of his daughter Georgia to Dr Who number ten, David Tennant.
The artist formerly known as Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett has also starred in a number of television series including Love for Lydia, A Very Peculiar Practice, At Home with the Braithwaites and The Last Detective and became a national treasure for having his arm up a cow in his role as Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small. He was also in a Michael Winner movie…
He made his first tentative steps on stage in true am-dram style, but the Byfleet Players’ loss was the West End’s gain, after appearing in Legally Blonde, Chicago, Spamalot and the record-breaking Gypsy, where he rubbed shoulders backstage with Dames Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith and Judi Dench – all asking for directions to Imelda Staunton’s dressing room. One thing is for sure: of all the British screen and stage actors of the last fifty years, Peter Davison is certainly one of them and, within these pages, intrepid readers will at last have the dubious honour of sharing in his life and times – as he despairs over whether there truly ever can be life outside the box.
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Additional information
| Publisher | John Blake Publishing Ltd, Reprint edition (10 Aug. 2017) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 288 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1786062909 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1786062901 |
| Dimensions | 12.7 x 2.54 x 20.32 cm |
by Mary Ellen Daugherty
Foreword: David Tennant
Published by: John Blake Books Publishing Ltd
Release date: 6 October 2016
“Be afraid. Be very afraid.” Those comforting words are Peter Davison’s tweeted response to his publisher’s photo of the newly prepared proof copy of his autobiography, “Is There Life Outside the Box?”. The self-deprecating humor is typically Davison. So is the air of anxiety.
At a convention in March 2016, when asked about his book, he responded in tones of panic-stricken dismay, “Well… I’m writing it now. I’m downstairs. I’ve got to deliver it by the end of April! What am I going to do? I’ve still got twenty years of my life unaccounted for!” Then, shifting gears, the consummate professional, survivor of innumerable conventions, panels and interviews, was back to continue his response in detail, intertwined with his trademark humor and charm. This is also the tone of his quite intriguing life story, and that same humor and charm are mainstays of the book.
A familiar face on British television for over 40 years, Peter Davison has acted in two iconic series, “All Creatures Great and Small” as the incorrigible yet lovable Tristan Farnon, and “Doctor Who” as the dashing Fifth Doctor. He has also had the lead in numerous other popular series, from comedies to dramas, including “Sink or Swim”, “A Very Peculiar Practice”, “Campion”, “At Home with the Braithwaites”, and “The Last Detective”. Guest appearances on other series, audio/radio work, and stage productions, including his Olivier Award nominated performance in the recent West End musical production of “Gypsy”, have filled his very busy acting career.
Outside the box, he has had three marriages, resulting in one daughter, two sons, one son-in-law (actor David Tennant), and four grandchildren who are all now busily growing the Davison-Tennant acting dynasty.
Detailed with honesty and wrapped with humor, the evolving story of this mix of career and personal provides the substance for the book.
Unlike many “auto”-biographies which are actually written by ghostwriters after interviewing their subjects, “Is There Life Outside the Box?” is indeed self-written by Peter Davison. This aspect gives his book a pleasant, intensely personal feel that greatly adds to its overall reading texture, laced with expected laughter and unexpected depth as well. It’s not just the same old thing, and has obviously been a labor of love, as well as an exercise in reassembling the story of a actor’s jumbled life frequently lived in the goldfish bowl of celebrity.
ITLOtB refrains from kiss-and-tell tabloid journalism or venomous personal outbursts. It’s not that Peter D. is perfect, something he is quick to admit in the book. But innate personal kindness is reflected as he relates sometimes harsh experiences with minimal barbs. The target of most of his humor-diffused barbs is usually himself. Targets of the few other barbs likely deserve them.
In his Preface, Peter explains his decision to focus on the “outside the box” aspect of his life rather than just repeating the same “inside the box” stories which would likely primarily pertain to “Doctor Who” or “All Creatures”. He’s told some anecdotes many times, and they’ve already been duly recorded and put into many books, videos, magazines and blogs. This may be a disappointment for some, but for space alone, it seems a necessary decision. There are some of those tales of course, for flavor, but just not an overwhelming number of them. There are plenty of newly told tales, and the resulting balance of old standards mixed with new material works well.
Structurally, the book reflects the jigsaw puzzle of this amazingly busy actor’s life by intercutting between “as it’s being written” moments with flashbacks to more detailed memories of some part of his earlier life to which that particular moment connects. For someone used to popping through time in a Tardis or figuring out continuity in a tv script, this is most likely a commonplace way of living, but in his preface, Peter credits Mark Twain for the concept.
This reflective, episodic technique works quite well for a complex life that’s being recalled in bits and pieces, including a fascinating chapter entitled “A Short History of the World Before I Arrived In It” which tells of his family’s history. There could be an entire book written there on its own.
Although ITLOtB generally flows from days past to days present, like some meandering river sporadically filled with curves, conflicting currents, rapids, and falls, the specific flow of time often becomes non-linear as it progresses, becoming, as Doctor Who might say, “a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey … stuff.”
I don’t quite know how that works, but the end result is feeling that one has personally experienced a firsthand journey following the evolution of a young, unfocused, somewhat rebellious youth into a mature man who has developed, deepened and honed his own creative skills, and finally has found the balance needed between love and family and creative work. They say nice guys finish last. In this case, it’s good to see that this nice guy has finished first. He asks at the start, “Is There Life Outside the Box?” An enlightening book later, with the love of his life at his side and his family around him, the answer is, “Yes.”
As to “despair”… well, he is an actor, after all…
This entertaining and skillfully woven book is a must read for all Peter Davison fans, for Doctor Who fans of the Classic Series, for All Creatures devotees, for anyone at all who wants to be an actor or who is interested in that profession, and for everyone else who just likes to see how a very intricate and interesting life has taken shape over a lifetime. Job well done, Peter.
Peter Davison is far from retiring. His career is still going strong with tv, film, and audio work ongoing. Volume II, perhaps?
~ Mary Ellen Daugherty
(This unpaid review is based on an uncorrected review copy provided by John Blake Books.)
by janice W
I liked learning about this actor’s life. His background is interesting and I feel he is genuinely honest about his failings. I was interested in reading about him because of his being in “All Creatures Great and Small” for so many years. I have watched the entire series more than once in fact. Also I do like his sense of humour which is evident in the book. However, I don’t plan to keep the book in my sizeable library because of the ‘strong’ language content, which is a shame, as I enjoyed it otherwise.
by Ben Brown
Yes, I’m a Dr Who fan (probably no shock) but having met Peter at various events, including a rather ‘enthusiastic’ few laps on go karts at Longleat House many years ago, I knew this should include it’s fair share of interesting stories. It didn’t disappoint!
Peter doesn’t shy away from embarrassing himself, candidly describing his highs and not so glamorous low points. I like his ability to be self deprecating, to find ways of relating different periods of his life and to keep the reader engaged! I literally read it over two days, getting annoyed at my requirement to sleep meaning I couldn’t finish it in one.
You absolutely don’t need to be a Dr Who buff to enjoy this. Aside from knowing the show exists you won’t be subjected to yet another Dr Who book disguised as a biography which is something Peter actively wanted to avoid. As a fan if you wanted to get to know ‘that vet who became the 5th Dr’, to see how Dr Who fitted into his life and, for better or worse influenced things for him afterwards, you really couldn’t ask for a more enjoyable read!
by Genevieve
I’ve been a Peter Davison fan since the days of Tristan Farnham, followed by Sink or Swim and then … heaven … Dr Who. I read this autobiography expecting to not like him as much at the end as I did before since often it’s best not to get to know your heroes. But I loved this book from start to finish – he’s honest and funny and tells us about his life and career with a sort of “this happened, then I fell into that role, then someone liked me in that so they put me in this” attitude that is utterly charming. I may be biased (I was 12 and he was Dr Who so we were made for each other) but I think anyone who doesn’t like Peter Davison should be forced to read a chapter or two so that they can change their minds. It’s made me want to buy Campion, The Braithwaites and A Very Peculiar Practice all over again!
by Tony N
A great read and couldn’t put it down, except for going to bed. Lots of entertaining stories and a must for anyone, you don’t have to be a fan of Dr Who to enjoy this. Thank you Peter Davison for having such great life
by Paul Butler
There’s a chapter in Peter Davison’s wonderfully funny and entertaining autobiography where he talks about Doctor Who conventions and the alarming number of fans who met him for the first time in the ’80s. Well, Peter, I grew up on the outskirts of Knaphill, shopped in Woking and Guildford, attended the infamous BBC Enterprises ‘ Longleat 20th Anniversary Celebration (I was even at the tennis court press call on the Saturday afternoon before it opened ) and finally our paths crossed in an auction room in Chichester where you stood with your then wife Sandra Dickinson and a small girl in a pushchair who I can only surmise was the future Mrs David Tennant. Despite this, and it definitely being the 1980s, we never met. This has always been a disappointment because you always seem open, humorous and a decent human being (I’m sure you have off days too!). This book does nothing to dispel that feeling. Fascinating and honest but never scandalous it is simply a great read.
I hope, one day, I can meet Peter Davison, if only so I can tell him how we didn’t first meet in the 1980s.