Second paragraph of third chapter (on The Shakespeare Code):Firsts and Lasts To disentangle the whole story from various tie-in works and three previous broadcast stories, it's simplest to say that this is the first time Shakespeare has met the Doctor, rather than the other way around. (We'll elaborate later.)
Second paragraph of essay accompanying ( Read more... )

This has been my insomnia book since September, far more successful than my previous efforts at choosing insomnia books (note for self and other insomniacs - mystery stories actually not such a great way of getting to sleep; thoughtful books about material which you are already very familiar with are a much better idea ( Read more... )

I read the first edition of this two years ago, since when it has been sitting on the shelf with the other volumes of this superb series of handbooks to Doctor Who, looking a bit thin in comparison with its fellows. This second edition is massively expanded from the first, with most of the new material simply being more of the same excellent ( Read more... )

5) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1985-1989

This is the last (so far) of the About Time series of guides to Doctor Who, covering not only all the Seventh Doctor series and all but the first of the Sixth Doctor stories, but also the 1999 TV movie, the misconceived 1993 Dimensions in Time piece, The Curse of Fatal Death and the ( Read more... )

1) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1980-1984, by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood

This is the fifth and latest so far published in this superb series of reference guides to Doctor Who (see previous reviews of volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4). It's the only one that doesn't begin or end with a change of Doctors - it encapsulates the whole Peter ( Read more... )

1) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1970-1974, by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood

Though third in chronological sequence, this was the first of the About Time series published, covering precisely the years of Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor, and almost as precisely the years of Barry Letts as producer and Terrance Dicks as script ( Read more... )

4) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1975-1979, by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood

I loved the first two books in this series, but felt it would be difficult for the same quality to be kept up for all volumes. This one, covering six of the seven Tom Baker years as Doctor Who, is, frankly, squashed, with fewer than nine pages on average ( Read more... )

3) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1966-1969, by Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles (.co.uk, .com)

I read the first in this series last month: a wonderful cornucopia of facts and analysis of the early years of everyone's favourite Time Lord. I think the second volume, dealing with the last two William Hartnell stories and the Patrick ( Read more... )

8) About Time: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who, 1963-1966, by Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles (.co.uk, .com)

This series of books about Doctor Who had previously been recommended to me by loveandgarbage  here, scarlettina  here, and strictlytrue  here. A good call. The authors state firmly that they have provided "the most comprehensive, wide-ranging and at times almost shockingly ( Read more... )