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Outside In
Outside In: 160 new perspectives on 160 classic Doctor Who stories by 160 writers
"Put ten Doctor Who fans in a room and you'll wind up with eleven different opinions.
We gathered 160 writers from the Doctor Who community to say something new about the stories we know so well. It's an unprecedented archive of passionate and vocal opinions that capture the essence of Doctor Who and its many-splendoured fandom.
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the greatest television program ever, you'll find in these pages mock-angry letters to the BBC, transcripts of council meetings, a menu, flow charts, maps, scripts, timelines...and much, much more." -- from the publisher.
We gathered 160 writers from the Doctor Who community to say something new about the stories we know so well. It's an unprecedented archive of passionate and vocal opinions that capture the essence of Doctor Who and its many-splendoured fandom.
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the greatest television program ever, you'll find in these pages mock-angry letters to the BBC, transcripts of council meetings, a menu, flow charts, maps, scripts, timelines...and much, much more." -- from the publisher.
422 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 14, 2013
It's taken eleven months but I am finally done!
It only took that long because, inspired by Sarah Baum's essay, I decided to watch each serial before reading the essay about it. The stories were fresh in my mind as I read the writer's opinion of them.
This was a fantastic book! Each and every one of the 160 authors in this wrote a wonderful piece. Some I agreed with, some I disagreed with, but all of them made the experience of watching the entire classic series in order all that much better.
I can't wait to get Outside In volume 2!! (just wish I already had it so I could read it as I watch all of New Who in order).
It only took that long because, inspired by Sarah Baum's essay, I decided to watch each serial before reading the essay about it. The stories were fresh in my mind as I read the writer's opinion of them.
This was a fantastic book! Each and every one of the 160 authors in this wrote a wonderful piece. Some I agreed with, some I disagreed with, but all of them made the experience of watching the entire classic series in order all that much better.
I can't wait to get Outside In volume 2!! (just wish I already had it so I could read it as I watch all of New Who in order).
November 29, 2012
I'm not reviewing this as its editor, but rather as someone who was astonished by the quality of the 159 other submissions I received. They truly make the book something very special indeed.
May 8, 2021
Doctor Who fans love reviews, either writing them or reading them; the trouble is that everything’s been reviewed. There’s consequently a lot of received wisdom on what is good and bad about Doctor Who stories over the years. Outside In challenges that with 160 writers tackling every Classic era story (including the Paul McGann one), and the remit seems to be: say something interesting.
There are pieces dating back to the early 90s and a host of new ones; writers you’ve heard of such as Kim Newman and Ben Aaronovitch, and loads of fresh faces who are nevertheless articulate and insightful as hell; genuine “is it any good” reviews, reasoned arguments for what might have made a bad story work better, digressions that focus on a single character or a theme, the fate of the original Trojan Horse prop from The Myth Makers revealed, people who’ve never seen Doctor Who before, people reviewing it right there and then when it was brand new, all-out comic pieces like character diaries and irritable performance reviews... good grief. There is a LOT. And it all comes from a place of finding something, anything fresh to say.
The variety is endless, as it would be when covering so many largely unconnected stories. Reading it becomes a bit of a marathon, but that’s okay: this isn’t really a start-to-finish book, it’s a chocolate box you can pick up and digest whenever you like. But being a particular kind of Doctor Who fan - I guess the sort who would contemplate reading Outside In - obviously I read it all, and am now dizzy with fresh and interesting takes on a very old show.
There are pieces dating back to the early 90s and a host of new ones; writers you’ve heard of such as Kim Newman and Ben Aaronovitch, and loads of fresh faces who are nevertheless articulate and insightful as hell; genuine “is it any good” reviews, reasoned arguments for what might have made a bad story work better, digressions that focus on a single character or a theme, the fate of the original Trojan Horse prop from The Myth Makers revealed, people who’ve never seen Doctor Who before, people reviewing it right there and then when it was brand new, all-out comic pieces like character diaries and irritable performance reviews... good grief. There is a LOT. And it all comes from a place of finding something, anything fresh to say.
The variety is endless, as it would be when covering so many largely unconnected stories. Reading it becomes a bit of a marathon, but that’s okay: this isn’t really a start-to-finish book, it’s a chocolate box you can pick up and digest whenever you like. But being a particular kind of Doctor Who fan - I guess the sort who would contemplate reading Outside In - obviously I read it all, and am now dizzy with fresh and interesting takes on a very old show.
July 2, 2018
It took me awhile to finish this book, but that's not a slight against it. Outside In is a thick book with a unique premise - one unique essay for each episode of Classic Doctor Who plus the TV movie. Every article or essay is written by a different author and approaches it's subject in a different way. About half to two-thirds of these essays have been published before, either online or in fanzines, but the joy of a collection like this is finding unusual or obscure essays, that, while technically previously published, one never would have found otherwise.
Many of these essays were inspirational or unique or had a different viewpoint on various episodes of Classic Who. Some of the essays, especially for Peter Davison's Doctor were extremely critical, something I found a bit unfair - as I actually like Davison's Doctor. But the articles on McCoy's Doctor pretty much consisted of a uniquely positive look at the last Classic Doctor. Previously, McCoy's Doctor was ridiculed as a "clown" by fans (based solely on his first episode). But then, Doctor Who fandom goes in cycles, and episodes that at one time were highly criticized - at another time are highly praised and vice-versa.
This is the first book in a series, there is a follow-up volume for New Who, and volumes for Classic Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This volume is recommended.
Many of these essays were inspirational or unique or had a different viewpoint on various episodes of Classic Who. Some of the essays, especially for Peter Davison's Doctor were extremely critical, something I found a bit unfair - as I actually like Davison's Doctor. But the articles on McCoy's Doctor pretty much consisted of a uniquely positive look at the last Classic Doctor. Previously, McCoy's Doctor was ridiculed as a "clown" by fans (based solely on his first episode). But then, Doctor Who fandom goes in cycles, and episodes that at one time were highly criticized - at another time are highly praised and vice-versa.
This is the first book in a series, there is a follow-up volume for New Who, and volumes for Classic Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This volume is recommended.
December 30, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3129345.html
According to the subtitle, this is a collection of "160 New Perspectives on 160 classic Doctor Who stories by 160 writers". I must say it's a very refreshingly different take compared to other guides I have read to Old Who; the variety of voices makes for a very entertaining read. There are some interesting defences of stories which are generally held in low esteem. Steven Warren Hill looks at the Silurians in the context of the Northern Ireland conflict; Matthew Kilburn looks at The Invasion of Time in terms of the British class system; there are lots of entertaining insights, and very few that miss the mark (fewer than one gets in the many books about Old Who where the same author or authors write about each story).
Not every essay is actually about the show as broadcast. There's a review of the first BBC video release of one story, of the novelisation of another. The shortest piece of the lot is by my own brother, who writes up "The Daemons in the style of new Doctor Who" thus:
[start]
JO: Don't kill the Doctor, he's fantastic! Kill me instead!
AZAL: Good point. I was just realizing how stupid it would be to kill the Doctor. (KILLS JO).
DOCTOR: Tut tut.
AZAL: I'm the last of my kind, you know.
DOCTOR: Really?
[end]
It's very refreshing.
According to the subtitle, this is a collection of "160 New Perspectives on 160 classic Doctor Who stories by 160 writers". I must say it's a very refreshingly different take compared to other guides I have read to Old Who; the variety of voices makes for a very entertaining read. There are some interesting defences of stories which are generally held in low esteem. Steven Warren Hill looks at the Silurians in the context of the Northern Ireland conflict; Matthew Kilburn looks at The Invasion of Time in terms of the British class system; there are lots of entertaining insights, and very few that miss the mark (fewer than one gets in the many books about Old Who where the same author or authors write about each story).
Not every essay is actually about the show as broadcast. There's a review of the first BBC video release of one story, of the novelisation of another. The shortest piece of the lot is by my own brother, who writes up "The Daemons in the style of new Doctor Who" thus:
[start]
JO: Don't kill the Doctor, he's fantastic! Kill me instead!
AZAL: Good point. I was just realizing how stupid it would be to kill the Doctor. (KILLS JO).
DOCTOR: Tut tut.
AZAL: I'm the last of my kind, you know.
DOCTOR: Really?
[end]
It's very refreshing.
December 25, 2012
I'm honoured to have an article in this review compendium...but that's not the only reason I'm pleased with the finish product. This is an enjoyable, hilarious, nostalgic trip through classic "Doctor Who"...and my only wish is that ALL of the articles could have been original, instead of revised re-prints. That said, there's plenty in here that is new and fresh, and it's a triumphant addition to the 50th anniversary celebrations.
April 7, 2013
This collection of writings on 160 classic Doctor Who episodes is entertaining and thought-provoking by turns. Highly recommended for Whovians old & new.
Full disclosure: a friend of mine wrote one of them but I would recommend this book even if I didn't know her at all!
Full disclosure: a friend of mine wrote one of them but I would recommend this book even if I didn't know her at all!
August 25, 2013
Highly recommended, and not just because I'm in it. It's a funny, fascinating, frequently odd and frequently wonderful tour of Doctor Who as seen of the eyes of its fans.
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September 8, 2014Loved it! But I'm biased as I've got an essay in this book.
March 6, 2024
A fun episode by episode series of essays related to the adventures of our favorite traveling Time Lord.
December 29, 2015
Too ...have not been able to watchmany seasons of this showmuch detail for a too casual fan to slog through
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews