BooksDoctor Who

Timeless Adventures: The Unofficial Story of How Doctor Who Conquered Television by Brian J Robb (book review).

‘Timeless Adventures’ is a short unofficial wander through the amazing adventures of ‘Doctor Who’ on TV and other media. It’s remarkable that, despite being relatively buried at 284 pages, it manages to both précis the history and offer concise and considered opinions.

This was originally published in 2009, when we were already deep into new Who. Now we have the 60th Anniversary of favourite character that has evolved through the years from a fairly humble beginning. The glitz of the current Who circus is almost light years away from a smallish TV studio and budget, a man with a glued-on wig and monsters with sink plunger gun arms.

This would definitely be a useful companion to accompany any rewatching of any decade of the TV series. You can pretty much open it on any page or chapter and be quickly drawn into it. It’s analytical in the analysis of what worked and what didn’t. It looks at how many viewers different episodes attracted and deals factually with what the failings of the show can be. There are lots of little nuggets about the historical and political reality that the series was made in.

This is a highly enjoyable book. It manages to take some gossip, dry facts and weave them in all into a very readable history. I look forward to the 70th anniversary update and we shall shortly see how the next 10 years will go. An alternative title could well ‘Be The Rise, Rise And Fall Of Doctor Who And The Rise Again’, but that would never fit on the front page.

Sue Davies

January 2024

(pub: Polaris Publishing Limited, 2023. 304 page paperback. Price: £14.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-91535-907-0)

check out website: www.polarispublishing.com

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