The Time Travelling Book Shop (Television Series)

The Time Travelling Book Shop is a British science fiction television programme originally created for Granada Television by F.R. Whitby and John Marshall in 1964.

The programme depicts the adventures of a mysteriously gifted humanoid initially known only as "The Bookseller" in the original series and its subsequent one-off specials, however in the relaunched series The Bookseller refers to themselves as Sawyer Parker, a name that was given to another significant character in the original run.

The Bookseller explores the past and the future of planet Earth using a time machine disguised as a book shop.

The show is a significant part of British pop culture, and has achieved cult status outside of the UK. The programme originally produced by Granada TV in Manchester and ran on ITV and its regional affiliates from June 22nd 1964 to July 19th 1988, returning briefly in 1989, 1994 and 1999. The programme was relaunched in 2007 by Channel 4, who acquired the rights after they became available in 2004 after a contract dispute with John Marshall and ITV led to the studio losing the broadcast rights as a result of Marshall becoming the sole rights holder after F.R. Whitby's death in 2003.

The show resumed production in Manchester in May 2006 and began broadcasting again on January 1st 2007, and has been on air since.

In 2010, a spin-off was launched, entitled "Bookshop 3000", which focuses on The Bookseller's former travelling partner and friend Sophie-May and her daughter running a duplicate bookshop in the far future while protecting Earth from alien invaders.

Fifteen actors have headlined the series as The Bookseller. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of show as "Rejuvenation", where The Bookseller transforms into a new body after being too severely harmed to heal normally. Each actor has had a unique approach to portraying The Bookseller, but all share a long-term narrative. The current Bookseller is portrayed by Emily Fortune, who has played the role since 2019 after taking over from Orville Manning at the end of the 2018 Christmas Special.

Premise
The Time Travelling Book Shop follows the adventures of the owner of the titular book shop, The Bookseller, who is a mysterious humanoid creature (their origin is never addressed on screen), and his travels through time, and later space, in his time machine that also serves as the titular bookshop.

The Bookseller rarely travels alone, and has regular customers who accompany them on their travels, there have been 38 regular customers since the show's inception. While these companions are mostly human, notable companions have also included a robot, an alien freedom fighter from Earth's far future, and a talking monkey.

The Bookseller has also acquired many recurring enemies over their travels, notable enemies include the entire congregation of The Cult of Tomorrow, who have appeared in all but 5 series of the show, and The Author, who was once a friend of The Bookseller but after going rogue, became sworn enemies. Much like The Bookseller, The Author's appearance has changed over the course of the show.

History
The Time Travelling Book Shop premiered in the UK on June 22nd 1964 at 6pm. It was an instant success and launched its lead actor, Harris Wallace, into national stardom.

The series had been initially conceived as a series of children's books by popular author F.R. Whitby in 1962, but Whitby discarded the idea in favour of continuing his popular children's book series The Boy With Four Brains. At a lunch with old school friend and head of light entertainment at Granada Television, John Marshall in 1963, Whitby casually mentioned the concept and joked that it would make a good television programme. Marshall, much to Whitby's surprise, agreed. The pair then worked on a pilot script throughout the winter of 1963 and had the project prepared for production for a summer 1964 launch.

London stage actor Harris Wallace, who had just reached his 60th birthday, was approached by Whitby to take on the role. Wallace, who had limited television experience, reluctantly agreed to participate in the pilot after being promised a large pay packet at the end of the initially ordered 4-week run.

After the huge success of episode 1, entitled "The Mysterious Bookseller", the show was expanded and an additional 12 episodes were called for. Travelling companions were introduced for The Bookseller, most notably was Harris Wallace's wife and frequent co-star Patricia Wallace as Mrs Morden, the series' first "Customer". Patricia Wallace left the series at the end of it's first run to participate in a play in New York, a role she would go on to achieve a Tony award for. Mrs Morden's departure was unprecedented by the writers, and they promptly killed the character off in the final episode, which also served as the debut of The Cult of Tomorrow. Both Mr and Mrs Wallace were reportedly angry and disheartened by the decision to write the character out permanently, and it was suggested that Harris Wallace's pay was doubled for the second run.

In the Autumn of 1965, just weeks after the conclusion of series 2 of the show and a month before production was due to start on series 3, Harris Wallace was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Wallace informed Granada staff that he intended to leave the series after series 3, which he was contractually obliged to participate in, thus ending the show.

As series 3 was wrapping production, F.R. Whitby and John Marshall were examining ways in which the show could potentially continue, and the pair consulted with Wallace on who he would like to be his potential successor if the bookshop were to get a new bookseller. Wallace recommended his former stage co-star and popular soap actor Morton Bowes, who was also considerably younger than Wallace, being 28 to his 63. It was then that Harris Wallace suggested to the writing duo that perhaps The Bookseller was some sort of supernatural/extra-terrestrial being who could change his appearance when fatally injured, thus the bookshop staying in the hands of the same bookseller, but with a different face. Whitby and Marshall liked this idea, and approached Morton Bowes just a week before the final episode of series 3 was set to shoot. Bowes, who had just departed the soap opera serial Dimbleby Place, agreed to replace Harris Wallace and signed a contract to appear in the final episode of series 3 and the subsequent fourth series the following year. In January 1967, Harris Wallace was knighted by the Queen for services to drama.

Morton Bowes' debut as The Bookseller was the most-watched programme of 1967, and much like Harris Wallace before him, Bowes became an instant star in the UK. He continued in his role as The Bookseller until 1970, when he was offered a starring role in the Hollywood picture Candlelight. In 1970, he opted not to renew his contract to appear in series 8 in 1971 in favour of relocating to Los Angeles. Bowes won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Actor for Candlelight, and thanks F.R. Whitby and John Marshall in his speech, while also dedicating the award to Sir Harris Wallace, who had died over Christmas in 1971. Morton Bowes' successor was named as veteran comedian and television actor Henry Wells, who was 72 at the time of his casting.

Henry Wells notoriously hated his time on the series, and quit midway through his second run, the show's ninth overall, for the remainder of the series, vast rewrites were made and The Bookseller was absent until Wells agreed to return to shoot a departure sequence, which revealed popular British movie actor Maury Bowerman as his replacement. Wells refused to discuss his time on the series in interviews and dismissed any fan mail he received about his time on the show. He famously quipped about the show's cancellation in 1988, stating that he could "now die happy", before dying a week later. In a posthumously released collection of memoirs, it was revealed that Wells had been the subject of homophobic abuse by crew members, and this was what prompted his swift departure, John Marshall issued a sincere apology to any crew member or actor who had been subjected to his staff's abuse during the show's run shortly after the revelation in 1990.

Maury Bowerman revitalised the series and provided a fresh and acclaimed portrayal of The Bookseller. During Bowerman's run, the series was sold to be broadcast internationally, after demand abroad to see the work of Morton Bowes. Bowes returned briefly to the series during the show's eleventh series to star alongside Bowerman in the series' tenth anniversary special. The serial, which was broadcast over three weeks, saw the two Booksellers battling the infamous Cult of Tomorrow once again. Bowerman continued in the role for four whole series, deciding at the beginning of his fourth run that he would not return to the series in 1977. He recommended up-and-coming Scottish comic actor Victor Dennis. It was also at this time that F.R. Whitby opted to also leave the series, giving John Marshall full reign.

Victor Dennis ultimately joined the cast and made his first appearance at the end of the thirteenth series and making his first regular appearance at the beginning of the fourteenth. After filming the sixteenth series in 1979, Victor Dennis was cast in the James Bond film Nobody Dies Today and began shooting during the series hiatus. During an intense car chase which Dennis insisted on doing in place of his stunt double, and major crash occurred and Dennis was decapitated. Production on the film was permanently suspended and the film went unfinished. But, The Time Travelling Book Shop was now left without a Bookseller ahead of production of the seventeenth series. John Marshall began an extensive casting search for Victor Dennis' untimely replacement, and the series came very close to casting Morton Bowes once again, but Bowes ultimately decided against a permanent return.

Instead, John Marshall cast established television actor Norman Thatcher in the role of The Bookseller. Thatcher was seen as a considerable departure from previous actors who had portrayed the lead as he had no comedy experience and had also never starred on stage. Thatcher joined the cast in time for the seventeenth series to hit screens in the summer of 1980. He remained The Bookseller for 5 successful runs and departed the series during the show's 20th anniversary special in June 1984, which also served as the finale of the show's 21st series, Morton Bowes and Maury Bowerman returned for the special, with archival footage of Harris Wallace, Henry Wells and Victor Dennis being used.

The special also introduced Gerald Bean as the seventh Bookseller, Bean had previously appeared in the series as a Roman Emperor alongside Harris Wallace in the 1965 four-parter The Romans. Bean was not well received as The Bookseller, and was shockingly sacked from the show by John Marshall after one series in 1985, albeit a brief appearance in the opening episode of the show's 23rd series, when he rejuvenated into the eighth Bookseller, Michael Dorchester.

Michael Dorchester personally approached John Marshall in 1985, after hearing of Gerald Bean's firing. He auditioned for the show and was ultimately cast, and despite being a household name and popular television and radio personality, his acquisition of the Bookseller role did not help with the show's ratings. After 25 series, Granada Television cancelled The Time Travelling Book Shop in September 1988, two months after Dorchester's third series in the role concluded. John Marshall was critical of the decision, and negotiated with Granada to have one final episode, to mark both the conclusion of the series and the show's 25th anniversary, air in 1989.

Dorchester continued to appear on the cover of a series of books written by the series' original co-creator F.R. Whitby published between 1990 and 1993. In 1994, John Marshall personally produced a one-off 30th anniversary special, once again starring Michael Dorchester as The Bookseller. He sold the special to Granada Television.

Granada Television controversially ordered a pilot for a revived version of the series in 1999, without John Marshall's involvement, casting American actor Henry Gould in the lead role. The special, despite being the most watched television event of June 1999, did not lead to a series.

In 2003, F.R. Whitby died at the age of 83, and in his will left his half of the original rights to the character The Bookseller and the property of The Time Travelling Book Shop to his colleague and co-creator John Marshall. As a result, Marshall withdrew Granada, now ITV's ownership over the series, resulting in the end of repeats of the series airing on ITV3. After an extensive legal battle, a court ordered in 2004 that ITV's rights to produce and broadcast the series had expired, and a court order saw the rights transferred to John Marshall.

In 2006, John Marshall sold the production and broadcasting rights to The Time Travelling Book Shop to Channel 4 for an estimated 8 figure sum. Marshall retained the rights to characters and the concept. It was then announced by Channel 4 that a relaunched continuation of the series would be broadcast in 2007, it was then announced that BAFTA-award winning television actor Jeffrey Frampton would take on the leading role.

13 instalments, each an hour long, began broadcasting starting January 1st 2007 to critical and fan acclaim. Jeffrey Frampton, however, did not enjoy production due to creative clashes between himself, John Marshall (now a creative consultant on the series) and new showrunner John V Edwards. Frampton left the show after just one series and swiftly rejuvenated into newcomer Daniel Howard at the end of the first run.

Daniel Howard, who became the youngest actor to portray The Bookseller, being just 23 when cast, made his first regular appearance as The Bookseller in the 2007 Christmas special and instantly became a fan favourite in the role. He is frequently named by fans as the best Bookseller to date. Much like Morton Bowes before him, Howard was unexpectedly cast in the lead role of Matthew in the Hollywood picture Candlelight in 2011, and he revealed that the fifth series of the show would be his last.

Daniel Howard's successor was named as Matthew Williams, again a relatively unknown young actor of 24. Williams made his first appearance in the 2011 Christmas Special and featured in two full length series before John V Edwards announced he intended to leave the series after the 2013 Christmas special. Williams decided to follow suit, and Edwards wrote the twelfth Bookseller out of the series that episode.

Edwards' successor, Roger Feldstein, introduced the thirteenth Bookseller in the closing moments of the same episode, confirming that acclaimed Oscar-winning actor Howard Pass would take over the role after much fan speculation. Pass' performance and Feldstein's writing, however, was critically panned and despised by fans. Roger Feldstein, an American, was critical of the British audience's opposition to change, but fans felt the show had been adjusted too much, particularly Feldstein's decision to not acknowledge the series' 50th anniversary in 2014. At the end of Feldstein and Pass' second series in 2015, the pair were dismissed by Channel 4 executives.

95-year-old John Marshall made an unexpected return to the series as interim showrunner for the 2015 Christmas special and the 2016 series, casting television legend and popular comedian Sir Orville Manning as The Bookseller, in complete contrast to the revival's earlier Bookseller Daniel Howard, Manning is the oldest actor to take on the role, being 80 during production of his first run. Marshall stepped down as showrunner at the end of thirteenth series, handing the reigns over to Meredith Wilde, the show's first female showrunner. Wilde had been a longtime writer on the series, contributing to the relaunch since its inception and periodically contributing to the original series from 1980 to its conclusion.

It came as no surprise to fans that when Orville Manning retired as The Bookseller at the end of 2018 after three series, Meredith Wilde cast a woman as The Bookseller for the first time. Stage actress Emily Fortune was cast as the fifteenth Bookseller and the first female incarnation, to a mixed fan response. However, when she made her debut in the 2018 Christmas Special, she received an overwhelming positive fan response and critical acclaim. Her first series as The Bookseller was also well received, and she is expected to return as The Bookseller once more in a second series in 2020.

The Bookseller
Various other cast members have appeared as recurring customers, enemies and allies of The Bookseller over the show's 55 year history.
 * Harris Wallace (b. 1904 - d. 1971) as The First Bookseller (1964 - 1966)
 * Morton Bowes (b. 1938) as The Second Bookseller (1966 - 1970, 1974, 1984)
 * Henry Wells (b. 1899 - d. 1988) as The Third Bookseller (1970 - 1972)
 * Maury Bowerman (b. 1932 - d. 2009) as The Fourth Bookseller (1972 - 1976, 1984)
 * Victor Dennis (b. 1948 - d. 1979) as The Fifth Bookseller (1976 - 1979)
 * Norman Thatcher (b. 1929) as The Sixth Bookseller (1980 - 1984)
 * Gerald Bean (b. 1925 - d. 1995) as The Seventh Bookseller (1984 - 1986)
 * Michael Dorchester (b. 1943) as The Eighth Bookseller (1986 - 1988, 1989, 1994)
 * Henry Gould (b. 1969) as The Ninth Bookseller (1999)
 * Jeffrey Frampton (b. 1967) as The Tenth Bookseller (2007)
 * Daniel Howard (b. 1984) as The Eleventh Bookseller (2007 - 2011)
 * Matthew Williams (b. 1987) as The Twelfth Bookseller (2011 - 2013)
 * Howard Pass (b. 1971) as The Thirteenth Bookseller (2013 - 2015)
 * Orville Manning (b. 1934) as The Fourteenth Bookseller (2015 - 2018)
 * Emily Fortune (b 1977) as the Fifteenth Bookseller (2018 - present)