The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
mindsplinters's review against another edition
4.0
Does what says on tin but that is just peachy. It is a fun read and fast with lots of random information. Having never seen any Classic Who, it was super fun to learn more about how the show was imagined, how it grew, and all of the tidbits about the various actors chosen for the role. As it stops at Matt Smith, it is even more interesting that the last chapter deals with the idea of a female Doctor and various actors takes on the concept. The same ones who have been 100% supportive of the casting choice were back then, too. The one who spoke somewhat dismissively of it then is the same one that did now.
leaton01's review against another edition
4.0
I did not get into Doctor Who while growing up and even with the series reboot in the early 2000s, I largely avoided it. However, a friend got me to try Torchwood and I really enjoyed that towards the end. So I started to flirt with Doctor Who and was slowly making my way through the show. David Tennant was growing on me but I still wasn't sold on the show--it was something to have on in the background while playing games and such. Then, I listened to Alan Kistler's book and that changed pretty quick. Kistler provides a keen history of Doctor Who from inception to it's forthcoming new doctor (the 12th) and strikes a great balance between the background of the show such as the actors, the writers, the politics of it all and explaining the ongoing character development of the doctor from season to season and from doctor to doctor. It's a complete joyride for fans and for those who are interested in fully understanding Doctor Who without having to watch (or re-watch) all the older episodes (though I will likely do that at some point). It's clearly a work of passion and one that readers will definitely enjoy if you're looking to know more about Doctor Who.
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
simplyparticular's review against another edition
3.0
In depth overview of the history of the series, some scuttlebutt, but mostly factual.
just_fighting_censorship's review against another edition
5.0
This was fantastic!
While this might not be entirely comprehensive considering the page count the amount of information covered is impressive. This book is about 3/4 Classic Doctor Who, which I loved! As someone who has only had the opportunity to watch a few of the classic episodes I thoroughly enjoyed recaps of the most important and interesting stories. I loved seeing how the character progressed and developed over the years. It is amazing to find out how close the show came on several occasions to becoming something vastly different than the show we love today. I would read some terrible idea and even though I knew it was never carried through it still got me a little fired up.
This book really made me appreciate Doctors that I previously had very little interest in such as Colin Baker's Doctor. The greatest part of this book is that you are moved by the amount of people who love it and how far it has come.
While the author mostly focuses on the television program he does mention the audio programs and other tie-in medias. The vastness of the Doctor Who universe is amazing and helped remind me not to get so worked up about continuity....we'll see if I can stick to that revelation...
The tone of the book is very informative and objective, but is also filled with tons of great quotes from both the actors and the characters.
Overall, this was a great look into the past of Doctor Who and the Classic series. However, if you are looking for details about the modern series, look elsewhere this is NOT the book for you.
While this might not be entirely comprehensive considering the page count the amount of information covered is impressive. This book is about 3/4 Classic Doctor Who, which I loved! As someone who has only had the opportunity to watch a few of the classic episodes I thoroughly enjoyed recaps of the most important and interesting stories. I loved seeing how the character progressed and developed over the years. It is amazing to find out how close the show came on several occasions to becoming something vastly different than the show we love today. I would read some terrible idea and even though I knew it was never carried through it still got me a little fired up.
This book really made me appreciate Doctors that I previously had very little interest in such as Colin Baker's Doctor. The greatest part of this book is that you are moved by the amount of people who love it and how far it has come.
While the author mostly focuses on the television program he does mention the audio programs and other tie-in medias. The vastness of the Doctor Who universe is amazing and helped remind me not to get so worked up about continuity....we'll see if I can stick to that revelation...
The tone of the book is very informative and objective, but is also filled with tons of great quotes from both the actors and the characters.
Overall, this was a great look into the past of Doctor Who and the Classic series. However, if you are looking for details about the modern series, look elsewhere this is NOT the book for you.
atroskity's review against another edition
4.0
Books about Doctor Who are a cottage industry. This isnât surprising, considering the scope of the show, its record-breaking timespan, and the ravenous nature of Whovians. There are hundreds of titles centered on and in the Whoniverse; most are fiction commissioned by the BBC as tie-in materials, while a great many others are unauthorized fan fiction and criticism. The rarest beast is the authorized non-fiction, of which this is a shining example.
Doctor Who: A History is an authorized work, and as such tries its best to stick to the facts, of which there are many. It is not a treatise on the value of Doctor Who, but a clear, concise history of the showâs creation, production, setbacks, and transformations. It takes a lot of restraint to distill 50 years into a couple hundred pages (or about ten hours of audio, in this case), and Kistler certainly holds back--in a good way. He has produced a sweeping, if necessarily truncated, overview of a massive pop culture phenomenon without interjecting his own experience with the show, or digressing into criticism. Those sorts of analysis certainly have their place in fandom, but Kistlerâs style works best for those of us trying to catch up on all of the things we may have missed as latecomers to the world of Who.
The structure of the book relies on simple, chronological storytelling, but also includes sidebars on everything from 1960s era television production to the birth of the showâs defining villain, the Daleks. The inner workings of the BBC are presented without commentary from the author, but not without a certain degree of analysis from primary sources- the book is chock full of interviews with writers, producers, actors, designers, and myriad other creators that brought the show to life. Frankly, the best parts of the book are the interviews, and the best interviews are, of course, with the actors that have played the Doctor. (Sylvester McCoyâs interviews are disarmingly charming).
It is actually rather astonishing that Doctor Who ever made it on the air, or stayed there for any length of time. Originally conceived as an educational childrenâs show with sci-fi trappings, it quickly outgrew its constraints and became something weirder and less easy to define. Science fiction was still a bit of a media ghetto in the 1960s, and most shows aimed at children were not looking to capture their parents as well. Doctor Who broke through these constraints, sometimes by lucky accident, but more often due to a very dedicated production team in the early days, before marketing became a driving force in television and could prompt some of Whoâs more questionable decisions later down the road. Most fans probably know by now that the regenerative ability of the Time Lords was originally a straw grabbed by necessity; William Hartnellâs declining health demanded either an end to the show, or a recast of its lead. Instead of simply recasting the Doctor and pretending that nothing at changed, which was not uncommon, they used the already mysterious nature of the Time Lords to create an alternative- regeneration.
The correlation between necessity and invention kept the show alive and kicking for many years, so it should be no surprise that the worst decisions made behind the scenes were generally either prompted by budget constraints or pushes for marketing. Kistler gives a full breakdown of the constraints the show worked under, even at the height of its original popularity with Tom Baker in the 1970s, and how the show often triumphed, but also occasionally failed, leading to its temporary âendâ in 1987. Thankfully, it had gained so much cultural traction by then, it was only a matter of time before it regenerated into our consciousness once again. Kistler covers not only the journey of the show, but many of the tie-in events and smaller elements that helped create an entire Whoniverse, and kept the mad man in his blue box alive in our imaginations for more than 50 years and counting.
Though not passionate in tone, the sheer amount of work that obviously went into this history is a testament to the passion of Doctor Who fans, and the information provided shows us why a television show that premiered to lackluster numbers the day after Kennedyâs assassination now holds a place of honor in hearts and minds five decades later.
(The audio version that I listened to was narrated by the author, who struggled a little at first, but actually did a very good job.)
Doctor Who: A History is an authorized work, and as such tries its best to stick to the facts, of which there are many. It is not a treatise on the value of Doctor Who, but a clear, concise history of the showâs creation, production, setbacks, and transformations. It takes a lot of restraint to distill 50 years into a couple hundred pages (or about ten hours of audio, in this case), and Kistler certainly holds back--in a good way. He has produced a sweeping, if necessarily truncated, overview of a massive pop culture phenomenon without interjecting his own experience with the show, or digressing into criticism. Those sorts of analysis certainly have their place in fandom, but Kistlerâs style works best for those of us trying to catch up on all of the things we may have missed as latecomers to the world of Who.
The structure of the book relies on simple, chronological storytelling, but also includes sidebars on everything from 1960s era television production to the birth of the showâs defining villain, the Daleks. The inner workings of the BBC are presented without commentary from the author, but not without a certain degree of analysis from primary sources- the book is chock full of interviews with writers, producers, actors, designers, and myriad other creators that brought the show to life. Frankly, the best parts of the book are the interviews, and the best interviews are, of course, with the actors that have played the Doctor. (Sylvester McCoyâs interviews are disarmingly charming).
It is actually rather astonishing that Doctor Who ever made it on the air, or stayed there for any length of time. Originally conceived as an educational childrenâs show with sci-fi trappings, it quickly outgrew its constraints and became something weirder and less easy to define. Science fiction was still a bit of a media ghetto in the 1960s, and most shows aimed at children were not looking to capture their parents as well. Doctor Who broke through these constraints, sometimes by lucky accident, but more often due to a very dedicated production team in the early days, before marketing became a driving force in television and could prompt some of Whoâs more questionable decisions later down the road. Most fans probably know by now that the regenerative ability of the Time Lords was originally a straw grabbed by necessity; William Hartnellâs declining health demanded either an end to the show, or a recast of its lead. Instead of simply recasting the Doctor and pretending that nothing at changed, which was not uncommon, they used the already mysterious nature of the Time Lords to create an alternative- regeneration.
The correlation between necessity and invention kept the show alive and kicking for many years, so it should be no surprise that the worst decisions made behind the scenes were generally either prompted by budget constraints or pushes for marketing. Kistler gives a full breakdown of the constraints the show worked under, even at the height of its original popularity with Tom Baker in the 1970s, and how the show often triumphed, but also occasionally failed, leading to its temporary âendâ in 1987. Thankfully, it had gained so much cultural traction by then, it was only a matter of time before it regenerated into our consciousness once again. Kistler covers not only the journey of the show, but many of the tie-in events and smaller elements that helped create an entire Whoniverse, and kept the mad man in his blue box alive in our imaginations for more than 50 years and counting.
Though not passionate in tone, the sheer amount of work that obviously went into this history is a testament to the passion of Doctor Who fans, and the information provided shows us why a television show that premiered to lackluster numbers the day after Kennedyâs assassination now holds a place of honor in hearts and minds five decades later.
(The audio version that I listened to was narrated by the author, who struggled a little at first, but actually did a very good job.)
cam356's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really interesting and informative book. And there were a lot of times where I actually laughed out loud. But I did listen to the audio book along with reading the book and I really hated the audio book. Which is awful to say because it was narrated by the author, but he was really monotone. I don't appreciate monotone.
bookishbrittany's review
5.0
[b:Doctor Who: A History|17572151|Doctor Who A History|Alan Kistler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375144462s/17572151.jpg|24512097]
Leading up to the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary; Comic Book Historian and Doctor Who expert Alan Kistler decided to put together a history of the oldest running sci-fi show in television History.
The book starts with the getting the show off the ground and ending with Matt Smith announcing that he would be leaving the show, this book beautifully constructs a history for Whovians who are more familiar with the modern show and don't know where to start if they want to go back and watch Classic Who.
Even though it is only a brief history of each doctor and his many companions, it is just enough information to start getting a feel of who the Doctor is and how he changes through out the fifty years of the show. It also points out key episodes that can be found on netflix where you can go and watch a specific Doctor or a specific companion.
The book also mentions how each actor felt after they left and what it felt like to be replaced as the Doctor. You learn how each doctor regenerated, and how not all of them were shown in the series.
I highly recommend this to all Whovians especially those who want to know more about Classic Who. This book is filled with like pockets of information that is really cool like the inspiration for River Song came from Aubrey Nieffeneger's novel "The Time Travelers Wife" or the fact that the Doctor Who movie starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. This book in my opinion is a much have in a Whovians collection.
Leading up to the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary; Comic Book Historian and Doctor Who expert Alan Kistler decided to put together a history of the oldest running sci-fi show in television History.
The book starts with the getting the show off the ground and ending with Matt Smith announcing that he would be leaving the show, this book beautifully constructs a history for Whovians who are more familiar with the modern show and don't know where to start if they want to go back and watch Classic Who.
Even though it is only a brief history of each doctor and his many companions, it is just enough information to start getting a feel of who the Doctor is and how he changes through out the fifty years of the show. It also points out key episodes that can be found on netflix where you can go and watch a specific Doctor or a specific companion.
The book also mentions how each actor felt after they left and what it felt like to be replaced as the Doctor. You learn how each doctor regenerated, and how not all of them were shown in the series.
I highly recommend this to all Whovians especially those who want to know more about Classic Who. This book is filled with like pockets of information that is really cool like the inspiration for River Song came from Aubrey Nieffeneger's novel "The Time Travelers Wife" or the fact that the Doctor Who movie starring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. This book in my opinion is a much have in a Whovians collection.
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