Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide To The Whoniverse by Jonathan Morris, Simon Guerrier & Una McCormack (book review).
A cursory look before I started reading reveals the book, ‘Whotopia: The Ultimate Guide To The Whoniverse’, is divided into 6 sections, with everything scattered into them. If you want to find someone, technology, planets, and machines, at least there is an index at the back, but you do have to know what you want to connect with. It isn’t also very encyclopedic with knowledge, as the people involved are more like giving a statement about themselves.
The opening section has the personal statements from each regeneration. The three authors get the voices of the earlier Doctors pretty accurately, but I do think, from Eccleston onwards, they tend to be a little off, probably because they are too close to be objective.
This extends to other characters, including the companions, although it can become a little questionable with those who died knowing they died. It’s not done for the minor supporting characters, but it does make for a tiring read by being bunched together. I do suspect that the book isn’t meant to be read straight-through, as I do for review, but dug into when you want to look something up or browse, so bear that in mind if you read like I do.
I did spot a mistake with Charles Dickens entry from ‘The Quiet Dead’, placing him in 1969 instead of 1869. Likewise, with the War Chief, I doubt if he was giving the War Lords ‘instruction’ to make space-time machines but ‘construction’. Considering the significance of ‘The War Games’ in introducing the Time Lords, it is played down a lot.
An odd quandary is that not all entries have story credits. Yes, they are when photos are included, but not always. It probably leaves something for Whovians to play games with. However, when you have three writers, who you would think would be checking each other, even with a heavy deadline, this would have been something that could have been quickly sorted. It isn’t as though there wasn’t enough space there.
I hadn’t known the Toymaker’s Trilogic game was based on the Houses of Hanoi game. Then I hadn’t heard of the latter, but it is available. I wonder how long before the Doctor Who merchandise version is out there. It’s long overdue.
It’s interesting that, outside of Earth, only Skaro has several different categories under its headings. Most of the planets noted only appear to have had one troubling time, and it would be nice to have a return to some of them. Vortis certainly needs a revisit.
When it comes to locations, I had to think of any that were missed, and just when I thought the collector who added the TARDIS to his collection, the final entry Utah, 2012, accounted for it.
Speaking of the TARDIS, considering how powerful the Type 40 is and that other rogue Time Lords have later models, you have to wonder why they couldn’t do more with their own. There is no note of the War Chief’s TARDIS from ‘The War Games’. It has to be significant considering he gave the technology to non-Gallifreyans and was ultimately executed. It was also the first time we actually saw TARDIS technology in its raw form. As I said, it’s a significant story.
The six-squares ‘emergency messaging system’ entry also came from that story, but I give it an odd query. When the Doctor stole his TARDIS, I doubt if it was on his mind to put it in his pocket, so presumably it must be a TARDIS commodity.
I’m sure it would have occurred to you as you read the entries; they might have missed out. At least with an index, it’s easy to check. I mean, ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ does get coverage, but not the werewolf Mags (actress Jessica Martin).
One missed opportunity was that, although some or all appearances were given, they could have included the actors names to save looking them up.
I suspect dividing the book into six parts was to limit the categories, although each is further divided. I do think teleportation devices needed their own section, especially as there are more than T-MAT and TOMTITT, and it’s a valuable transport device. Although various time machines are noted, the history does need to be covered better. Other races, like the Daleks and Cybermen, created their own time machines based on knowing that they existed rather than stealing Gallifreyan technology. It’s a shame there is less knowledge about the 51st century Time Agency because their technology is markedly different as well.
Although the format is designed to split protagonists into villains and monsters and then into planets and technology, this kind of book is open to other formats, like putting groupings under planets so you can find the associations differently. As this book is only complete up to 2023, there are likely to be revisions and updates in the years to come, so adjusting the order of things will at least ensure one version will be appropriate to the way you want to look things up and learn from each version. Time will tell.
I can see Whovians playing all sorts of games with the knowledge from this book, let alone looking for what is missed. I suspect a certain showrunner is likely to note things that could be expanded upon in the stories. Other than Earth and Skaro, the Doctor really needs to visit planets he’s visited before so we can see modern updates. They can’t have only had one hotspot in their histories. Likewise, wouldn’t the best way to stop an invasion be to go to their home planet and deter them there? But I guess invasions shape the planet’s people and might be difficult to stop.
The fact that I’ve said so much shows how much I’ve been paying attention to my reading. The book will probably sell regardless of reviews. Your only problem is getting the first edition. Did I say it was loaded with photos?
GF Willmetts
February 2024
(pub: BBC Books/Ebury/Penguin, 2024. 323 page illustrated large hardback. Price: £35.00 (UK), $45.00 (USA), $74.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-1-78594-829-9)
check out website: www.penguin.co.uk
