Ian Stuart Black

Ian Stuart Black was a British screenwriter and novelist who wrote for some of the most popular British television programmes of the 1960s, including Doctor Who. His novelisation Doctor Who: The Macra Terror is based on the classic 1967 serial featuring the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton, in a story about a seemingly idyllic human colony that is secretly controlled by giant crab-like creatures called the Macra. Black wrote two serials for Doctor Who, The Savages and The War Machines, as well as The Macra Terror, contributing to the programme during one of its most creative periods. His television writing career also included work on other popular series of the era. The Macra Terror is notable in Doctor Who history as one of the serials whose original video recordings were destroyed by the BBC, making the novelisation and audio recordings important preservation of a lost story. The animated reconstruction of The Macra Terror has introduced the story to new audiences. The audiobook edition preserves Black's contribution to the Doctor Who literary universe for listeners who appreciate the programme's rich storytelling tradition.