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the_autlaw's review
This is more than a book about a man coaxing his wife to watch all of the classic episodes of his beloved Doctor Who tv show, and you do not have to have knowledge of the classic show to enjoy this book. It is also a loving ode to Perryman's wife and their relationship. It reads more like a memoir than just a book adapted from a cherished genre blog. Read it. Thanks to the author for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest review.
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
3.0
This is an entertaining book, but will only be appreciated by Doctor Who fans. I enjoyed the reviews of the old episodes, and it was interesting reading the thoughts of a non fan. I think I will read the blog that inspired the book.
nearside's review against another edition
5.0
Great book for a great blog.
Essential reading for any Doctor Who fan, especially married ones. Neil and Sue set a great example of how to stay sane and still share in one person's passion.
Essential reading for any Doctor Who fan, especially married ones. Neil and Sue set a great example of how to stay sane and still share in one person's passion.
brassduke's review
3.0
I haven't read the blog that this book is based around and therefore I feel it lacks a little context in places. However, it's an enjoyable, easy, if not slightly pointless read. By pointless, what I mean is that there's not really a plot, it's pretty clear from the beginning that they are going to manage it (that's a slight spoiler but not really), and generally it was just a funny book about mans life and his relationship with his wife. There are elements of it that are quite sentimental and it's very well pitched. I'm a modern Who fan with very little knowledge of The Doctor pre McGann but I feel that it's not too knees deep in classic who in-jokes that I was left in the dark alot.
shane's review
4.0
If I could give the first half of the book a different score to the second half, it would have been 2 stars for the first half and at least 4, maybe 4.5 stars for the second half. I wasn't at all interested in the various bits of autobiographical detail which made up a good 50% of this. The rest was very good though, and took me right back to my childhood, particularly the Tom Baker, Peter Davison and to some extent Sylvester McCoy parts.
I'm tempted to do something like this, but then I come to my senses and remind myself that it would probably be a really good way of inducing a deep-seated hatred for Doctor Who in myself which is something I'd never forgive myself for in the long run. And besides, I'd be more interested in a novel reading challenge or marathon. Not that I plan to do that either. Just saying though.
Having almost given up on this during the first half of the book, and then happily realising that the second half was actually the book I thought I was getting in the first place, I was eventually glad I didn't. If I could give any Doctor Who lover a piece of advice, it would be to skim(at best) the first half and then settle in for a really fun, entertaining and interesting dash back through a nostalgic, rose-tinted journey back in time, when bubble wrap and tin-foil were king and a Doctor's regeneration actually seemed like an event rather than the slap-dash, half-arsed, slip-shod excuse to indulge in unnecessary CGI it has become in recent times.
So, skip the first half for it's indulgent, and rather dull autobiographical stuff and head for the real Adventures in the second half.
First half - 2 out of 5
Second half - 4.5 out of 5
I'm tempted to do something like this, but then I come to my senses and remind myself that it would probably be a really good way of inducing a deep-seated hatred for Doctor Who in myself which is something I'd never forgive myself for in the long run. And besides, I'd be more interested in a novel reading challenge or marathon. Not that I plan to do that either. Just saying though.
Having almost given up on this during the first half of the book, and then happily realising that the second half was actually the book I thought I was getting in the first place, I was eventually glad I didn't. If I could give any Doctor Who lover a piece of advice, it would be to skim(at best) the first half and then settle in for a really fun, entertaining and interesting dash back through a nostalgic, rose-tinted journey back in time, when bubble wrap and tin-foil were king and a Doctor's regeneration actually seemed like an event rather than the slap-dash, half-arsed, slip-shod excuse to indulge in unnecessary CGI it has become in recent times.
So, skip the first half for it's indulgent, and rather dull autobiographical stuff and head for the real Adventures in the second half.
First half - 2 out of 5
Second half - 4.5 out of 5
book_of_kell's review
5.0
When Neil Perryman included the anecdote about his students going online while they were supposed to be watching classic Doctor Who episodes, I had a vivid memory of sitting with my laptop in my own college classes, reading Tachyon TV and Behind the Sofa instead of taking notes.
I read every Wife In Space blog post the day it published. I was giddy when Neil chose a question I submitted for a Q&A with Sue post, and I was anxious and checking for updates about Captain Jack for his whole illness. My point is I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this book. Neil and Sue are the reason I watched countless hours of classic Doctor Who on my own (recons included!).
I'm late to the game, but I'm very glad I read it. I laughed so much and there was a ton in the book that was new to me, even though I did read/listen to the whole experiment. It made me want to watch Doctor Who again. It made me want to read the blog again. And it reminded me that I never want to meet John Levene.
I read every Wife In Space blog post the day it published. I was giddy when Neil chose a question I submitted for a Q&A with Sue post, and I was anxious and checking for updates about Captain Jack for his whole illness. My point is I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this book. Neil and Sue are the reason I watched countless hours of classic Doctor Who on my own (recons included!).
I'm late to the game, but I'm very glad I read it. I laughed so much and there was a ton in the book that was new to me, even though I did read/listen to the whole experiment. It made me want to watch Doctor Who again. It made me want to read the blog again. And it reminded me that I never want to meet John Levene.
avrilhj's review
5.0
The best part of this book is the love story between the author and his long-suffering wife. While the tale of Neil Perryman's life as a Whovian, and of Neil and Sue's insane endeavour to watch every episode of Old Who, is fascinating and funny, it's the story of their relationship that moved me. Highly recommended even for non-Whovians.
meleaglestone's review against another edition
5.0
Okay so to be honest from the offset I actually know Sue and have come across Neil during my time at Sunderland University. I've known about this book for sometime and have come to know Sue as firstly a teacher and then colleague.
I doubt I'll be giving this book a very polished review because a) it's been a very long time since I poised pen over paper (or thumb over keypad in this case) to craft any sort of review of anything and b) I'm completely biased towards the author and its subject.
I purchased this last year and it's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since just begging me to have the spare moment to read it and finally this afternoon, I did such that. Actually I picked up the book at around 1pm and didn't put it down until I finished the back cover at nearly 3 o'clock.
What I found was an endearing account of one man's experience of Doctor Who from his early childhood, right up until adulthood. Not only has the author written a very light-hearted and completely amusing mini-memoir of his life so far but he's also spoken with such clarity of his wife on the page whilst exploring their experiment.
If you haven't done your research about their blog then I forgive you for being confused and as for the recent passage I read of a reviewer just not getting the whole style of the book... Well just take a step back and accept the book for what it is.
Did I feel enlightened and did the book change my life? Well not really, it was just lovely trip down memory lane for me hearing first hand some of the things I've experienced whilst at Sunderland and knowing these people. Did it make me laugh and did I happily lose a good portion of my afternoon to an easy read? Hell yes. I did learn a thing or two but really I very happily fell into the world of funny comments and phrases that really just cheered me up.
Basically this book is a beautiful companion piece to the blog and a glimpse into how two people have experienced the oddities of achieving some internet fame within their lives.
If you like Doctor Who and want a funny little read about the older series then the blog and this book is for you!
I doubt I'll be giving this book a very polished review because a) it's been a very long time since I poised pen over paper (or thumb over keypad in this case) to craft any sort of review of anything and b) I'm completely biased towards the author and its subject.
I purchased this last year and it's been sitting on my bookshelf ever since just begging me to have the spare moment to read it and finally this afternoon, I did such that. Actually I picked up the book at around 1pm and didn't put it down until I finished the back cover at nearly 3 o'clock.
What I found was an endearing account of one man's experience of Doctor Who from his early childhood, right up until adulthood. Not only has the author written a very light-hearted and completely amusing mini-memoir of his life so far but he's also spoken with such clarity of his wife on the page whilst exploring their experiment.
If you haven't done your research about their blog then I forgive you for being confused and as for the recent passage I read of a reviewer just not getting the whole style of the book... Well just take a step back and accept the book for what it is.
Did I feel enlightened and did the book change my life? Well not really, it was just lovely trip down memory lane for me hearing first hand some of the things I've experienced whilst at Sunderland and knowing these people. Did it make me laugh and did I happily lose a good portion of my afternoon to an easy read? Hell yes. I did learn a thing or two but really I very happily fell into the world of funny comments and phrases that really just cheered me up.
Basically this book is a beautiful companion piece to the blog and a glimpse into how two people have experienced the oddities of achieving some internet fame within their lives.
If you like Doctor Who and want a funny little read about the older series then the blog and this book is for you!
mferber's review
5.0
Okay, this book has a real specific target audience, and if you're in it, you know. This is kind of a companion* to the author's entertaining blog of the same title, in which he (a lifelong fan) and his wife (not a fan, but game, and very smart and witty) watched the entire 1963–1989 run of the original Doctor Who series, and he blogged her frequently hilarious reactions, and his own, to each episode. This book fills in some of the background to the blog, but also tells stories of the author's engagement with the series at different times in his life, and basically what it comes down to is he's just a really funny writer telling funny stories, many of which involve Doctor Who. If this sounds like something you might like so far, then it almost certainly is, and if it doesn't, then it almost certainly isn't. I thought it was terrific.
Oh yes, it also isn't available in the US, as far as I can tell, and I had to special-order a copy from some Amazon seller.
*(Pun not intended, but oh how I wish it had been.)
Oh yes, it also isn't available in the US, as far as I can tell, and I had to special-order a copy from some Amazon seller.
*(Pun not intended, but oh how I wish it had been.)