Doctor Who - The Complete History

[StCoop]

Picked up the first volume of this today and it's very well done. The writing is unsurprisingly good since it's an updated version of Andrew Pixley's work in DWM but the book itself is very well designed.

As with all partworks if you stop and think about what it's going to cost to buy 80+ volumes you'd never pick another one up. But think of it as a tenner every two weeks for a 150 page full colour hardcover book and it's definitely worth it.

The only real question left is where the hell I'm going to put them all.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Is it a complete history of the character or of the production of the show?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Picked up the first volume of this today and it's very well done. The writing is unsurprisingly good since it's an updated version of Andrew Pixley's work in DWM but the book itself is very well designed.

A copy of the first book was floating around the office about a month ago. I agree, it's very nicely made. I had to write some copy to describe the books (what Panini/Hachette provided was nigh useless). What I wrote:

The definitive guide to the making of Doctor Who, produced by the writers and editors of Doctor Who Magazine and drawn from the magazine's archives, Doctor Who: The Complete History takes readers behind the scenes of the creation of the historic television series. Illustrated throughout with photographs from the archives and in full-color, each hardcover volume profiles several contiguous episodes of the series, with summaries, character and actor profiles, pre- and post-production notes, broadcast reaction, and much more. From script to screen, readers will discover how every adventure of the twelve Doctors was created. Shipping biweekly, the collection will be the ultimate reference work to the long-running series.

I'm going to give the series a shot. It is pricey in the US -- twenty dollars a volume -- and I'm not sure where I'm going to put them, either, but it will be a fantastic reference to have at hand.

 

[StCoop]

Is it a complete history of the character or of the production of the show?

In depth (some would say overly in depth but not me) production details for every story. Each volume has the stories in it in chronological order but it will alternate between new series and original series volumes.

http://www.dwcompletehistory.com/

The first volume is only £1.99 (or your local equivalent) to hook you into buying more.

 

[Stevil2001]

It looks awesome, but there's no way I can justify the financial outlay!

 

[StCoop]

It looks awesome, but there's no way I can justify the financial outlay!

Do you need both kidneys?

 

[mythme]

I think I'm gonna give this a shot. $20 for a hardback book isn't really that extreme and I've wanted a good, comprehensive read for a long time. Since the Who universe is so expansive no single book could ever cover it. I think this is the way to go.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I don't know. $20 x 80 ="Yikes!"

 

[mythme]

Wait a sec, the FAQ says these are not available outside the UK and Ireland! Cripes!

 

[Mr Soak]

Not yet, no. It will be released elsewhere, in a few months at the earliest. That's how part works like this work.

 

[Ithekro]

Honestly, I'd rather see a "Complete History of the Doctor", a in show accounting of the Time Lord known as the Doctor. If could be in order of his life, or just the order he appears in Earth history, with wondering speculation about why his face keeps changing across time, but comes back to the older faces from time to time.

 

[StCoop]

Honestly, I'd rather see a "Complete History of the Doctor", a in show accounting of the Time Lord known as the Doctor. If could be in order of his life, or just the order he appears in Earth history, with wondering speculation about why his face keeps changing across time, but comes back to the older faces from time to time.

It's not quite that but you might be interested in Lance Parkin's Ahistory which puts every official story in every medum into chronological order as part of a fictional history of the universe.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Wait a sec, the FAQ says these are not available outside the UK and Ireland! Cripes!

They're going to be sold through comic shops in North America. We won't get the freebies, just the books. Look in the October PREVIEWS for ordering details.

 

[mythme]

I emailed them and all they said is that the books won't be available in America due to license restrictions. They made no mention of potential future availability, third party sellers or anything else.

Now I'm in "I can't have it so now I really want it" mode.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I emailed them and all they said is that the books won't be available in America due to license restrictions. They made no mention of potential future availability, third party sellers or anything else.

Now I'm in "I can't have it so now I really want it" mode.

See my post above. These books will be available in the US. The distribution has already been worked out. You can't subscribe to them as you can in the UK, but you will be able to get them.

 

[mythme]

I think i'm missing that "October previews" link you're speaking off. Link?

And I called my closest Comic shop (not many around me) and they said they can't get them.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I think i'm missing that "October previews" link you're speaking off. Link?

And I called my closest Comic shop (not many around me) and they said they can't get them.

Because the October PREVIEWS isn't in stores yet. It just went to press last week. Look for it in your comic shop toward the end of the month.

And your shop can, in fact, order them outside of PREVIEWS. The ordering codes for the first four volumes are:

JUN158871 -- Volume 1: Tenth Doctor
JUN158872 -- Volume 2: Third Doctor
JUN158870 -- Volume 3: Twelfth Doctor
JUN158869 -- Volume 4: First Doctor

 

[mythme]

I just wanted to touch base and say that I contacted a dealer selling through Ebay and just received my first book. It is really nice. Bigger than I was expecting and packed with info. So many of these kinds of books aren't really that informative; stretched out with a lot of fluff. Can't say that about this. It covers every aspect of the production you could possibly think of. Completely satisfied and can't wait for more.

 

[StCoop]

I just wanted to touch base and say that I contacted a dealer selling through Ebay and just received my first book. It is really nice. Bigger than I was expecting and packed with info. So many of these kinds of books aren't really that informative; stretched out with a lot of fluff. Can't say that about this. It covers every aspect of the production you could possibly think of. Completely satisfied and can't wait for more.

Got the second issue today which covers some 3rd Doctor stories and it's just as good. In fact I went and subscribed this evening, so I'll get the next issue free plus some other junk and an exclusive BF audio.

Yes, if you think about the total cost it is crazy but ten quid every two weeks is more than worth what you're getting for it.

 

[diankra]

Got my subscriber copies of 2 and 3 this morning, one week after signing up. Bizarrely they've sent them even though they've not taken the payment from my account yet.