September 16th, 2021 2 comments

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Across Time and Space: An Unofficial Doctor Who Companion

Please visit Kick starter or Unbound for more information.

Unbound is excited to announce that it is crowdfunding Across Time and Space: An Unofficial Doctor Who Companion, the ultimate journey through the Whoniverse by a life-longfan. The new beautifully designed 800-page book contains reviews of all 852 episodes of the televised Doctor Who story up to the end of the Jodie Whittaker era.

Head of Publishing for Unbound, Mathew Clayton developed the project with author Tony Cross based on history-by-story blog The Patient Centurion which he began in 2011andnow runs to over 200,000 words.The epic undertaking includes an introduction from Doctor Who podcast host and Sunday Times bestselling author Daniel Hardcastle.

The Guinness Book of World Records cites Doctor Who as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world as well as the most successful science fiction series of all time, based on its overall broadcast ratings, DVD,and book sales.

Since the first episode was broadcast in 1963, the Doctor Who series has attracted a very large, loyal,and devoted fan base. This proudly unofficial book written by a fan for the fan community is about celebrating that fanbase in all its vibrant, vociferous, idiosyncratic,and argumentative glory. Many professional Doctor Who writers, for both the current TV series and the books began their careers writing for fanzines including Paul Cornell, Rob Shearman, Matt Jones, Marc Platt,and Stephen James Walker. Russell T Davies was himself a childhood fan of the series and wrote a Doctor Who novel before reviving the show.

Everyone that pledges for the book at the standard level will receive:

• 800-page large format book (234 x 153mm) and eBook.
• An Excel spreadsheet that lets you map your journey through the Whoniverse and keep a record of what you have watched and what you own.
• Your name printed in the book as a supporter (along with the name of the first episode you watched).
• Invitation to a series of watch parties hosted by Tony starting with the very first Dr Who episode ‘An Unearthly Child’on November 23,2021, the 60thanniversary of its first broadcast

Mathew Clayton, who was also a former publisher of the official BBC Doctor Who books said:

“In a previous job I was lucky enough to be the commissioning editor for the official range of Doctor Who books. We published some great titles but being ‘official’ was also a straight-jacket – you can’t offer opinions! You can’t say who the best Doctor was (Tom Baker, obviously) or who the best companion (another no brainer: it has to be Rose). And it struck me that the best thing about being a fan is having opinions and sharing the (whether agreeing or disagreeing) with other fans. But in official books there is no room for a fan’s point of view or expertise. This is not just a book by a fan – but there are various ways fans can become involved in the project whether attending watch parties with Tony or having their name and the first episode they watched printed in the book. The rest of the entertainment industry recognises the importance of fans – it’s time that publishing caught up.”

Author Tony Cross said:

“Across Time and Space is a journey through all of televised Doctor Who.It began as a blog. I had decided to watch all of Doctor Who in order… It’s not meant to be the final say on anything. They’re my opinions. But I wanted something that might encourage others to take up the journey. To dip back into the William Hartnell era. Or find out why Sylvester McCoy is hard done by. It’s why there’s a spreadsheet with the book: you too can map your progress, if you’re that way inclined.And I don’t expect people to agree with my opinions. Indeed, I’d be disappointed if you did. You can use this as a guide or read the blogs once you’ve watched the story and curse my foolishness or praise my perspicacity. You can mock my attempts to compare stories to Shakespeare plays. You can see through my blatant nostalgic love for Tom Baker and (almost) all his works.”

Across Time and Space: An Unofficial Doctor Who Companion will go live on Kick starter and Unbound at 3pm UK on Wednesday 16th September.

Please visit Kick starter or Unbound for more information.

Categorised under: Books, Reference books