August 17th, 2014
26 comments
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Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium
Available to order from www.amazon.co.uk
Available to order in the USA from www.amazon.com
The complete guide to every DVD release of the original ‘classic’ series of Doctor Who
August 2014 sees the publication in print and ebook of THE CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO DVD COMPENDIUM, a guide to the entire range on DVD of the show’s original run from 1963 to 1996.
When the range began in 2000 many Doctor Who adventures were still being issued on fuzzy old VHS. But the DVDs were on a whole new level unmatched in archive television releases before or since.
Not only did they offer the superior picture quality and playback flexibility of the then-burgeoning medium; not only were the episodes digitally restored from the best surviving source materials to bring them back to (or even exceed) their original broadcast quality; but they also included an increasingly sophisticated range of additional features that examined the programme’s production and legacy.
THE CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO DVD COMPENDIUM chronicles every detail of the range. It’s part buying guide for those new to or still collecting the discs, helping them compare releases and select which one they want to get next, and part catalogue for long-time buyers whose collection is complete, enabling them to quickly find any item to watch again. The book provides summaries of the stories, without giving away spoilers for those yet to see the episodes; connections to other adventures to help viewers decide what to buy or watch next; outlines of the restoration techniques used for each release; and more comprehensive descriptions of every extra than can be found elsewhere.
There are also five appendices covering supplementary releases of Classic Who episodes and related programmes; a full list of items hidden on the discs as easter eggs and how to find them; details of the DVDs’ releases in other countries; and more. Plus to help collectors find specific contents, there are multiple indexes cataloguing the more frequent extras, key participants in the audio commentaries, recurring features, and a full index of contributors to the special features.
Whether you’re only just discovering the long history of Doctor Who’s original incarnation or have been a fan and collector for years, THE CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO DVD COMPENDIUM is the ultimate companion to the complete DVD range, celebrating the most comprehensive and detailed release of a television series there has ever been.
Paul Smith is the author and designer of last year’s “Time and Space Visualiser: The Story and History of Doctor Who as Data Visualisations”, which presents a wealth of information about the show in a unique way using eye-catching graphs and charts. He also produced “The Wonderful Book of Dr Who 1965”, a tongue-in-cheek look at the early days of the series in a modern style.
THE CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO DVD COMPENDIUM by Paul Smith is due to be published on 4 August 2014. Available print-on-demand from Amazon (436 pages, 6x9in), priced £16.99/$30.99; or as an ebook (price TBC).
Available to order from www.amazon.co.uk
Available to order in the USA from www.amazon.com
Categorised under: Books, Reference books
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RoryPond
September 5th, 2014 - 8:47pmHave ordered my copy from Amazon 🙂
Simon
August 18th, 2014 - 1:32pmJust seen blogtor who’s review
dont think i will bother
gordon
August 15th, 2014 - 9:14amGot given this as a birthday present. Have to say I’m very impressed by it. Didn’t have high hopes for this as bbc didn’t produce it. Happy to be proven wrong. Good work Paul.
Handbot10
August 7th, 2014 - 3:09pmI might get this, despite the fact I only have 3 classic dvds. ): I was wondering, when will the underwater menace be released, they made a trailer for it a while back but I cant find it anywhere!
Paul Smith
August 8th, 2014 - 9:51pmThe book is designed to help people just starting their collection of the Classic Series choose what to get next. Though they’re all great in their own way so it doesn’t matter too much! 🙂
Underwater Menace hasn’t been released yet. There was a Coming Soon trailer on the Moonbase DVD but the actual release appears to have been delayed at best, cancelled at worst. BBC Worldwide haven’t made an announcement.
CassiusX
August 17th, 2014 - 10:24pmWhen is The Underwater Menace going to be released? Don’t tell me it’s missing. Again.
Anonymous
August 18th, 2014 - 1:24pmWell after a while trying to find out, it was originally going to be animated by planet 55 but cancelled, then they were going to do a recon structure and now they are saying that the classics line is cancelled, which is stupid if you ask me.
Anonymous
August 18th, 2014 - 1:26pmThanks Paul, this looks like a really great book! I’ll get it for my birthday or Christmas probably.
PedroPete
August 5th, 2014 - 10:32amSightly off topic – Does anyone know where I’d be able to get a copy of Celebrate Regenerate from?
KORSAIR
August 8th, 2014 - 12:41pmI have a link for that somewhere I think but you could try googling it, as a last resort I can send you a copy of the PDF.
SomeFunnyDrWhoReference
August 4th, 2014 - 4:42pmI’ve been wanting something like this for ages. Now I can locate those extras that a covered over a number of discs. Thanks Paul if you’re watching….
gordon
July 15th, 2014 - 7:01amId rather wait and see if Steve Roberts of the restoration team wrote an official book for the bbc first.
Anonymous
July 15th, 2014 - 12:10amwhen will the underwater menace be released on dvd ? is been a long time waiting now does anyone know? keep hearing dates?
gordon
July 15th, 2014 - 6:58amI’ve pretty much taken a George rr martin approach to it. It will be out when its out.
CassiusX
August 4th, 2014 - 11:57amI’ve been wondering where The Underwater Menace is coming out on DVD. I mean it’s not like they can’t release it to the public because some of the episodes are still missing as they could just recreate the missing episodes with animation, much like they did with Invasion and The Ice Warriors.
gordon
August 5th, 2014 - 11:13amEach story takes about a year of animation work and is done while other animation work is going on. Its not that simple. Plus what im led to believe the animation is on hold as planet 55 are busy on prioritizing on higher paid projects. I’ve pretty much taken the stand of it will be out when its out and no matter how much complaining will make it come out faster.
matparks08
July 14th, 2014 - 7:45pmgreat…but will it be include the in-limbo ‘Underwater Menace’ or will we have to wait for the second edition for it to have that in it?
gordon
July 15th, 2014 - 6:55amIts not an official bbc release and Steve Roberts and the restoration team weren’t involved in the making of the book so i would be surprised if it did.
Paul Smith
July 18th, 2014 - 9:04pmIt includes an entry for Underwater Menace covering what has been released and what is known to have been produced for any potential future release.
Steve Roberts has been consulted on some aspects of the book.
TC200
July 14th, 2014 - 6:39pmlooks like the menu tardis
Paul Smith
July 18th, 2014 - 9:04pmIt’s a Dapol Tardis 😀
Trenzalore
July 14th, 2014 - 6:19pmThis is a must buy for me!
Anonymous
July 14th, 2014 - 6:13pmBut they still had limitations on the sound quality due to a rather poor standard put in place. Something the restoration team always go on about, but that will always be conveniently ignored to big up the DVD range.
Philip Johnson
July 14th, 2014 - 6:02pmWe Love lists, so this is a welcome feast!
Simon
July 14th, 2014 - 3:36pmthis book will be a very useful reference
Colin the 3rd
July 14th, 2014 - 3:35pmAwesome been looking forward to this