nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1722591.html
This is a book about watching the whole of Doctor Who in sequence, so of course it appealed to me. It is structured as correspondence between Robert Shearman, author of the Christopher Ecclestone episode Dalek, and Toby Hadoke, author of Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf and moderator of numerous recent DVD commentaries, spaced over the course of 2009, with the intention being to start on 1 January with An Unearthly Child and finish with The End of Time part 1 on 31 December. This first volume covers the 1960s, ie the entire Hartnell and Troughton period plus the two Peter Cushing films, at a rate of (usually) two episodes a day.
During a week when my ability to concentrate on long texts was not of its usual quality, the structure of this book was absolutely perfect for me, with each individual episode getting about a page of discussion. It helps of course that it's less than a year since I finished rewatching this period of the show myself, so it was all pretty fresh for me. (I just hope they don't publish the other two volumes before I've finished my own rewatch - spoilers!) Shearman writes of "that aghast expression that a classic Doctor Who fan affects when he knows that something on screen is rubbish, and he's painfully aware that all the non-fans watching with are about to glance over, in unison, to see if he's noticed how terible it is." But you can feel in safe company here. Both Shearman and Hadoke are deep deep fans of the show and email each other with tidbits of information for the reader which I am sure were known to both of them. Both are witty and amusing writers; Hadoke occasionally deteriorates into awful puns, but makes up for this by contributing his knowledge of stagecraft and the stage.
Their mission is to try and say something positive about each episode, and they generally succeed (with understandable lapses for The Sensorites and The Dominators). Sometimes I wished they had found a little more charity for, for instance, the mid-parts of The Daleks' Master Plan. Sometimes their enthusiasm surprised me - Hadoke's love for the second Cushing film, for instance. But I also cheered when our tastes coincided, for instance with the wonderful Power of the Daleks. And anyway, these things are personal and not objective; Hadoke explains in detail the very specific reasons why Fury From the Deep is a special story for him which he can never evaluate neutrally.
I'm within a few months of finishing my own Doctor Who rewatch (suggested to me in 2008 by Paul Cornell, but started only in September 2009) but I think this books will be very much enjoyed even by those who feel that it's a step too far to do it themselves. You can easily dip in and check out particular stories that may interest you, and the writing is generally chatty and lucid. Very strongly recommended to the thinking Old Who fan.
This is a book about watching the whole of Doctor Who in sequence, so of course it appealed to me. It is structured as correspondence between Robert Shearman, author of the Christopher Ecclestone episode Dalek, and Toby Hadoke, author of Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf and moderator of numerous recent DVD commentaries, spaced over the course of 2009, with the intention being to start on 1 January with An Unearthly Child and finish with The End of Time part 1 on 31 December. This first volume covers the 1960s, ie the entire Hartnell and Troughton period plus the two Peter Cushing films, at a rate of (usually) two episodes a day.
During a week when my ability to concentrate on long texts was not of its usual quality, the structure of this book was absolutely perfect for me, with each individual episode getting about a page of discussion. It helps of course that it's less than a year since I finished rewatching this period of the show myself, so it was all pretty fresh for me. (I just hope they don't publish the other two volumes before I've finished my own rewatch - spoilers!) Shearman writes of "that aghast expression that a classic Doctor Who fan affects when he knows that something on screen is rubbish, and he's painfully aware that all the non-fans watching with are about to glance over, in unison, to see if he's noticed how terible it is." But you can feel in safe company here. Both Shearman and Hadoke are deep deep fans of the show and email each other with tidbits of information for the reader which I am sure were known to both of them. Both are witty and amusing writers; Hadoke occasionally deteriorates into awful puns, but makes up for this by contributing his knowledge of stagecraft and the stage.
Their mission is to try and say something positive about each episode, and they generally succeed (with understandable lapses for The Sensorites and The Dominators). Sometimes I wished they had found a little more charity for, for instance, the mid-parts of The Daleks' Master Plan. Sometimes their enthusiasm surprised me - Hadoke's love for the second Cushing film, for instance. But I also cheered when our tastes coincided, for instance with the wonderful Power of the Daleks. And anyway, these things are personal and not objective; Hadoke explains in detail the very specific reasons why Fury From the Deep is a special story for him which he can never evaluate neutrally.
I'm within a few months of finishing my own Doctor Who rewatch (suggested to me in 2008 by Paul Cornell, but started only in September 2009) but I think this books will be very much enjoyed even by those who feel that it's a step too far to do it themselves. You can easily dip in and check out particular stories that may interest you, and the writing is generally chatty and lucid. Very strongly recommended to the thinking Old Who fan.
sadouglas's review against another edition
4.0
Funny, clever and insightful, with two distinctive, witty voices. Unlike other recent Who guidebooks this is refreshingly devoid of pomposity, inaccuracy and the desire to show off. Highly recommended.
towards_morning's review against another edition
4.0
I've read rather a lot of Doctor Who related non-fiction over the last few years, which has almost become a micro-genre unto itself- it's amazing how possible it's become to become a writer through sheer interest in this one sci-fi show. Doctor Who seems to have become such a touchstone for (British) sci-fi as a genre that you can almost use it as a cipher or sample unto itself.
In particular, if you catch enough attention as a fan/blog, you can literally write a book that is essentially just a watch-through of the show. On the one hand, this can be irritating- do we really need to publish liveblogging as a book rather than just admit it as a hobby? On the other hand, some people are in a position to make a worthwhile book from their observations, if an incredibly niche one.
That's the category I'd put Running Through Corridors into. It's incredibly niche, but also works surprisingly well as an examination of a sci-fi show that is, admittedly, a household icon in the UK. There's plenty of value in a close watching of something that inspired so much pop culture if you're as entertainingly aware of minutia as these two.
They go through every single episode (not serial- episode!) of 60s Who in this long volume, and along the way they demonstrate a good critical eye, thorough grounding in the conventions of sci-fi in the sixties, an interest in the context of the show itself and an ability to link it to the genre in a way that's relevant. Shearman in particular is great, having written for both Big Finish's audio plays and the new series, while Toby Hadoke has worked as an actor and been involved in various things Who-related. Crucially, this means both of them can talk from a position that is actually interesting, since they aren't just wondering what goes on in making TV all the time.
While the book sets out to be as positive as possible, they're also not afraid to cop to the show's problems. While some of it is sort of wishy-washy (anathema to someone as blunt as me when it comes to writing), it's kind of refreshing to see hardcore Who fans not ignore the fact that yes, 60s Who in particular did some nasty shit. Like, say, blatant yellowface. I'd be interested in a more critically minded approach, admittedly, but then again, it's better than the out and out circle-jerk approach of many oldschool Who fans. (Not coincidentally, this is also why I enjoyed two previous Who books along these lines, Doctor Who and Race and Who's 50.)
All in all, if a longass book meticulously examining every episode of 60s Who, then all ten of you should look at getting this book! Hah.
In particular, if you catch enough attention as a fan/blog, you can literally write a book that is essentially just a watch-through of the show. On the one hand, this can be irritating- do we really need to publish liveblogging as a book rather than just admit it as a hobby? On the other hand, some people are in a position to make a worthwhile book from their observations, if an incredibly niche one.
That's the category I'd put Running Through Corridors into. It's incredibly niche, but also works surprisingly well as an examination of a sci-fi show that is, admittedly, a household icon in the UK. There's plenty of value in a close watching of something that inspired so much pop culture if you're as entertainingly aware of minutia as these two.
They go through every single episode (not serial- episode!) of 60s Who in this long volume, and along the way they demonstrate a good critical eye, thorough grounding in the conventions of sci-fi in the sixties, an interest in the context of the show itself and an ability to link it to the genre in a way that's relevant. Shearman in particular is great, having written for both Big Finish's audio plays and the new series, while Toby Hadoke has worked as an actor and been involved in various things Who-related. Crucially, this means both of them can talk from a position that is actually interesting, since they aren't just wondering what goes on in making TV all the time.
While the book sets out to be as positive as possible, they're also not afraid to cop to the show's problems. While some of it is sort of wishy-washy (anathema to someone as blunt as me when it comes to writing), it's kind of refreshing to see hardcore Who fans not ignore the fact that yes, 60s Who in particular did some nasty shit. Like, say, blatant yellowface. I'd be interested in a more critically minded approach, admittedly, but then again, it's better than the out and out circle-jerk approach of many oldschool Who fans. (Not coincidentally, this is also why I enjoyed two previous Who books along these lines, Doctor Who and Race and Who's 50.)
All in all, if a longass book meticulously examining every episode of 60s Who, then all ten of you should look at getting this book! Hah.
dorward's review
4.0
Definitely not a book for the causal Who dabbler, but for someone with three shelves groaning with Who DVDs and a double stacked bookcase nearly full of Who novels, it is a worthwhile read.
Rob and Toby take a joyful tour of the first decade of Doctor Who while actively seeking the best from each episode. I've come away from it with a new perspective (aiding a fair bit by the chronological viewing) on a number of stories that I'll keep with me for when I get around to rewatching them.
Rob mentions his Dalek episode a few too many times, and Toby brings up his one man show a little too often, but the rest of the book makes this forgivable (especially in light of the joyful peek into wedding planning).
Their extensive knowledge throws a lot of behind the scenes facts into the mix, my favourite of which is the reason that Zoe got to watch the daleks on the TARDIS monitor at the end of The Wheel In Space.
Rob and Toby take a joyful tour of the first decade of Doctor Who while actively seeking the best from each episode. I've come away from it with a new perspective (aiding a fair bit by the chronological viewing) on a number of stories that I'll keep with me for when I get around to rewatching them.
Rob mentions his Dalek episode a few too many times, and Toby brings up his one man show a little too often, but the rest of the book makes this forgivable (especially in light of the joyful peek into wedding planning).
Their extensive knowledge throws a lot of behind the scenes facts into the mix, my favourite of which is the reason that Zoe got to watch the daleks on the TARDIS monitor at the end of The Wheel In Space.
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