May 13th, 2013 2 comments

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The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide

The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who
by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker

Everything you ever wanted to know about the cult BBC Television series Doctor Who (1963-1996).

On its first publication in 2002, The Television Companion was hailed as possibly the best guide ever to the BBC’s cult science fiction show Doctor Who. Now Telos re-issues their own edition of the book in a revised and updated version spanning two volumes, which remains the definitive guide to the television worlds and adventures of the Doctor and his companions.

Every story from 1963 to 1996 is covered in depth in all aspects of production, including plot details, cast and crew lists, episode endings, transmission dates, memorable quotes and popular myths. In addition there is a comprehensive analysis of every adventure, utilising reviews both contemporary and retrospective from a wide variety of sources.

This is the essential companion for every trip you will ever take into the TV universe of classic Doctor Who.

‘The bible …’ SFX Magazine

‘Another superior effort from what I consider to be the finest Doctor Who historians around. It is quite a hefty and involved read, and contains (almost) everything you’d want to know about the best SF Tv series ever.’ Reviewer on Amazon.co.uk.

‘If you’re looking for a Doctor Who episode guide, then you can stop looking as this is by far the best book you can buy about the television series.’ Sean Brady on Amazon.co.uk

‘What is most memorable about The Television Companion is the fact that every story is given a balanced analysis – it’s not decreed that ‘Timelash’ is bad, for example, rather the authors draw upon a wide variety of opposing reviews spanning the years to present a genuinely interesting study of every story – which is altogether far more interesting than cut-and-dried opinions.

The Television Companion is indispensable to all fans of the television series, especially because of the detail in which the Hartnell and Troughton stories are studied. The emphasis is no more in-depth than any other era of the show, but seeing as many of their stories no longer exist, it’s highly rewarding and an admirable asset to a potentially video-biased read.’ Brad Schmidt in TSV (#56, October 1998)

Available from www.telos.me.uk

Categorised under: Books, Reference books