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sfian's review
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
Imagine taking all the facts, interviews, reviews and news related to (sometimes only peripherally) the first 21 years of Doctor Who, covering three of its main markets, trimming them down to a few per year, then organising them into a (sort of) diary format, presenting the history of the show in a series of snippets.
That's what you get with this book. The facts are a mix of the well and lesser known and there's little in the way of repetition. It's not a full history but, back in the eighties, it was pretty much all you got outside of the dedicated publications of the DWAS.
The main problem, for me, is the presentation - not only is the layout sometimes "off" with, for example, the date heading appearing on one page but the text entry on the next - but there's a lack, outside of a few colour pages, of photos, with the main picture content being a selection of fan art, which varies from excellent to really pretty poor.
For context, this was a re-read, chosen at random from my non-fiction shelf by my wife. I originally bought and read it on publication.
tdrapeau's review
4.0
Great fun. Although, I was surprised to see so little of the book dedicated to the actual "Key to Time" series from the Tom Baker years. I mean, that the Doctor herself is, or has, the key to time is a clever play on words.
Even if you are a big Dr. Who fan, I'm certain you will find things you didn't previously know, by reading this book. Lots of very interesting behind the scenes notes here, taking the reader from the genesis of the show, through five regenerations, two Dr. Who movies with Peter Cushing playing the eponymous role, a 10th and 20th anniversary special and all major changes in cast.
Some parts read pretty tone deaf in 2020, such as the objectification of the female companions. It is great to see actual quotes from newspaper stories about the goings on with the show, it brings you back to when the classic Who was being first made.
I myself started watching on PBS in the US in the early 80's, when the Tom Baker stories were shown. As with most Whovians, "my doctor" is Tom. Unlike many Whovians, I can find something to like about every actor to have played the part.
If you like classic Doctor Who, you will like this.
Even if you are a big Dr. Who fan, I'm certain you will find things you didn't previously know, by reading this book. Lots of very interesting behind the scenes notes here, taking the reader from the genesis of the show, through five regenerations, two Dr. Who movies with Peter Cushing playing the eponymous role, a 10th and 20th anniversary special and all major changes in cast.
Some parts read pretty tone deaf in 2020, such as the objectification of the female companions. It is great to see actual quotes from newspaper stories about the goings on with the show, it brings you back to when the classic Who was being first made.
I myself started watching on PBS in the US in the early 80's, when the Tom Baker stories were shown. As with most Whovians, "my doctor" is Tom. Unlike many Whovians, I can find something to like about every actor to have played the part.
If you like classic Doctor Who, you will like this.
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