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Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia
Celebrate the Doctor's 50th anniversary with over 200 characters - past and present. Step into the TARDIS, watch out for the odd Dalek, and allow yourself to be swept away into the weird and wonderful world of the good Doctor Who.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
October 8, 2021
Of course I love my doctor who ❤️ nice reference guide if you see an unfamiliar creature
August 14, 2013
This was a very disappointing reference work. I’ve mentioned in other reviews of similar books that I live for this kind of information. I’m not a follower of the Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire but I’ve got the encyclopedias. Nor am I a great fan of Peter Hamilton but I’ve got The Confederation Handbook. The same is true of Star Wars. My fanfic version of SW is radically different from the canon but I still have Star Wars: The New Essential Chronology and Star Wars Millennium Falcon Manual.
Don’t get me started on Star Trek. My version may have parted company with canon years ago but I’m still a sucker for the latest reference manual or timeline. (Or RPG supplement – I recently purchased the Klingon and Romulan handbooks for ADB’s role-playing game based on their ST boardgame, Starfleet Battles, which I and my friends spent many happy hours playing back in the ‘80s.)
So I was looking forward to this compendium of Doctor Who characters. I’ve been watching the Doctor since the ‘80s, when the local PBS station began airing the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker – who remains my favorite from the original run). I followed faithfully up through the first episodes of the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker), when college and a dislike of the second Baker’s portrayal diminished my interest in the errant Time Lord. In the years since, I’ve managed to see most – if not all – of Pertwee’s (#3) run, some of Troughton’s (#2), and some of McCoy’s (#7). I watched the 1996 Doctor Who film with Paul McGann, and I liked him though the movie itself isn’t very good. When I stumbled across the reboot with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth regeneration, I was so very pleased (he is my favorite doctor of the new series, and I think I may like him even better than Tom Baker). But then he left after a year, to be followed by David Tennant and Matt Smith. I don’t dislike either actor in the role but I’ve never been taken with their characterizations [note 1]. Now, I am happily anticipating Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Anyone who watches a lot of British TV will immediately recognize Capaldi. He’s one of those character actors who appears in everything. I first saw him playing Vera, a cross-dressing prostitute, in the original Prime Suspect series; and I most recently caught him playing King Charles II in The Devil’s Whore. And he’s no stranger to Doctor Who, having played the father in the Pompeii episode (“The Fires of Pompeii”). I’m looking forward to his interpretation of the Doctor.
It’s odd but recently I had been contemplating what I found lacking in the new Doctor Who, and I had come to the conclusion that – among other things – we needed a more mature incarnation (Capaldi is in his 50s) [note 2].
All this is rather beside the point and a long-winded way of getting around to why I found this particular book a disappointment, so ahead with the review.
My chief complaint is the author's appalling lack of discrimination. Each entry gets a page. This is fine for characters/races who appear for a single story (cf., the Zygons or the Krillitanes, to name two from the old and new series, respectively). But considering their central role in both series, don’t the Daleks deserve a bit more? And certainly the various Doctors deserve more than a page that is mostly white space and factoids?
There’s nothing substantive here. This book doesn’t hold a candle to Ahistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe, a gloriously convoluted attempt to reconcile 40 years of TV shows that was informative and fascinating, and highly recommended for the Who fan.
As for this let-down, I can only recommend the book to Whovian completists (and even here, it’ll disappoint, since it doesn’t cover all of the myriad races and characters who’ve popped up since the first episode in 1963).
NOTE 1: If I were to commend any role Tennant’s played it would be his Hamlet more than his Doctor. I picked up Tennant’s Hamlet a few years ago not expecting much based on my experience with Doctor Who but was blown away by the performance.
NOTE 2: Assuming Capaldi is not the final Doctor, I was also thinking that BBC should push the envelope for his next regenerations. A nonwhite Doctor? (For some reason, I keep seeing Idris Elba in my head.)
And why couldn’t the Doctor regenerate as a woman? Alas, these will likely remain unrealized dreams limited to my fanfic version of the Whovian universe.
But speaking of canon. In the old Doctor Who, Time Lords were limited to 12 regenerations. In fact, one of the Master’s many crimes was stealing bodies so he could live beyond his final incarnation. Will the new series simply ignore the old rule or will they contrive some means around it? I look forward to the answer.
Don’t get me started on Star Trek. My version may have parted company with canon years ago but I’m still a sucker for the latest reference manual or timeline. (Or RPG supplement – I recently purchased the Klingon and Romulan handbooks for ADB’s role-playing game based on their ST boardgame, Starfleet Battles, which I and my friends spent many happy hours playing back in the ‘80s.)
So I was looking forward to this compendium of Doctor Who characters. I’ve been watching the Doctor since the ‘80s, when the local PBS station began airing the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker – who remains my favorite from the original run). I followed faithfully up through the first episodes of the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker), when college and a dislike of the second Baker’s portrayal diminished my interest in the errant Time Lord. In the years since, I’ve managed to see most – if not all – of Pertwee’s (#3) run, some of Troughton’s (#2), and some of McCoy’s (#7). I watched the 1996 Doctor Who film with Paul McGann, and I liked him though the movie itself isn’t very good. When I stumbled across the reboot with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth regeneration, I was so very pleased (he is my favorite doctor of the new series, and I think I may like him even better than Tom Baker). But then he left after a year, to be followed by David Tennant and Matt Smith. I don’t dislike either actor in the role but I’ve never been taken with their characterizations [note 1]. Now, I am happily anticipating Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Anyone who watches a lot of British TV will immediately recognize Capaldi. He’s one of those character actors who appears in everything. I first saw him playing Vera, a cross-dressing prostitute, in the original Prime Suspect series; and I most recently caught him playing King Charles II in The Devil’s Whore. And he’s no stranger to Doctor Who, having played the father in the Pompeii episode (“The Fires of Pompeii”). I’m looking forward to his interpretation of the Doctor.
It’s odd but recently I had been contemplating what I found lacking in the new Doctor Who, and I had come to the conclusion that – among other things – we needed a more mature incarnation (Capaldi is in his 50s) [note 2].
All this is rather beside the point and a long-winded way of getting around to why I found this particular book a disappointment, so ahead with the review.
My chief complaint is the author's appalling lack of discrimination. Each entry gets a page. This is fine for characters/races who appear for a single story (cf., the Zygons or the Krillitanes, to name two from the old and new series, respectively). But considering their central role in both series, don’t the Daleks deserve a bit more? And certainly the various Doctors deserve more than a page that is mostly white space and factoids?
There’s nothing substantive here. This book doesn’t hold a candle to Ahistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe, a gloriously convoluted attempt to reconcile 40 years of TV shows that was informative and fascinating, and highly recommended for the Who fan.
As for this let-down, I can only recommend the book to Whovian completists (and even here, it’ll disappoint, since it doesn’t cover all of the myriad races and characters who’ve popped up since the first episode in 1963).
NOTE 1: If I were to commend any role Tennant’s played it would be his Hamlet more than his Doctor. I picked up Tennant’s Hamlet a few years ago not expecting much based on my experience with Doctor Who but was blown away by the performance.
NOTE 2: Assuming Capaldi is not the final Doctor, I was also thinking that BBC should push the envelope for his next regenerations. A nonwhite Doctor? (For some reason, I keep seeing Idris Elba in my head.)
And why couldn’t the Doctor regenerate as a woman? Alas, these will likely remain unrealized dreams limited to my fanfic version of the Whovian universe.
But speaking of canon. In the old Doctor Who, Time Lords were limited to 12 regenerations. In fact, one of the Master’s many crimes was stealing bodies so he could live beyond his final incarnation. Will the new series simply ignore the old rule or will they contrive some means around it? I look forward to the answer.
February 5, 2015
I really liked this book. Learning more about the characters of one of my favorite shows was wonderful! I wished it would have had more characters and that it would have been more updated and had recent characters. I really liked learning more about Doctor Who.
Read
March 8, 2014Love it.
May 24, 2013
As character guides for a television show goes this is one of the better efforts, and I think much better than DK Book's other recent genre effort the Star Wars Clone Wars Character Guide. The information is very recent as it includes all of the doctors (except Peter Cushing) and many of the companions, including Clara.
There is a nice use of color photography where available, but I think the book places too much emphasis on the characters introduced during the 10th and 11th doctors tour of duty. It also feels, and some of this comes form casual reading in other places, that many of the older companions were ignored or given short shift. I mean really the main picture for Romana isn't Mary Tamm who played the character the longest?
Regardless if you have a soft spot for guides like such as I do, and are a Doctor Who fan see if you can find a copy for a reasonable price and you'll likely enjoy it.
There is a nice use of color photography where available, but I think the book places too much emphasis on the characters introduced during the 10th and 11th doctors tour of duty. It also feels, and some of this comes form casual reading in other places, that many of the older companions were ignored or given short shift. I mean really the main picture for Romana isn't Mary Tamm who played the character the longest?
Regardless if you have a soft spot for guides like such as I do, and are a Doctor Who fan see if you can find a copy for a reasonable price and you'll likely enjoy it.
July 7, 2018
Time to put on your sonic sunglasses and flip through page after page of heavily illustrated entries on your favorite and not-so-favorite characters from Doctor Who. This is another one of those fun books for all Whovians everywhere. This one is geared more toward youthful members of that elite group, but still it is full of more trivia, factoids and information than you could shake a sonic screwdriver at.
August 22, 2013
I was only 10 when the original Doctor Who began. It wasn't until the early 80's that I became aware of it. I watched it now and then as I was busy being a military spouse and college student. I moved quite often and some areas did not carry Doctor Who while others carried repeats, but not necessarily in order or even sticking to one season. Fast forward to this year and my British friend Pat telling me that Doctor Who was revived with new doctors and episodes in 2005. I have watched seasons 1-5 with Doctors 9-11. I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the episodes. I decided to see what books and episodes from the original series that my library has. I really like this book. I've read other reviews and some of them are fairly negative. Since I'm new to the Doctor Who world, I think this character encyclopedia is a great way for me to become familiar with the series old and new, the eleven doctors {wonder if book will be updated to include the 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi{episodes are being filmed now or soon will be}. I like the comments, the photographs and I even like the little boxes of information and arrows that point out the vagaries of clothing worn by Doctors, companions and other characters. Some reviewers have complained that this book is not comprehensive. It may not be, but I think it is an excellent resource for those new to Doctor Who so that they can familiarize themselves with various aspects of the series. I have gone back to watching the new series with the encyclopedia at hand. It is fun to pause an episode and look up the characters and especially the various aliens, entities, cyborgs and robots. I plan to renew this book when it gets close to the due date from my library. Then I'll return it, wait a week and request it again.
March 11, 2022
A very charming and wide-ranging book, this Character Encyclopedia actually lives up to its name and it covers major and minor alien races (both enemies and allies of the Doctor) as well as almost all the Time Lord's companions. Of course, since it ties in with Matt Smith's last season and the run up to the 50th anniversary, the focus and the point of view are decidedly 21st century, although the authors should be credited for including some "monsters of the week" that had yet to reappear in 2013. As for the entries themselves, they are quite entertaining and make the most of the single page that is devoted to each entry to provide a nice balance of facts and factoids about the alien or companion in question. The quality of the images themselves is actually remarkable (the colorized picture of the Celestial Toymaker, for starters), but the choice of words to describe some of the character's attire is curious to say the least (the Meddling Monk is said to wear a "monk's habit"... who would have guessed!). Another nice tie-in book to have around, it's much better than the Dictionary that came out around the same time, but not quite as good as Justin Richard's Monsters and Villains that served as an introduction to Christopher Eccleston's tenure as the 9th Doctor.
February 7, 2014
This is a book that does very much what it says on the cover: it's an encyclopedia of characters who have appeared in Doctor Who. One or two reviewers seem to have missed this point. Just sayin'...
In terms of coverage, it's comprehensive. However, it lacks a good deal of depth. However, to have provided the kind of depth that some reviewers seem to have been expecting would have required several volumes of a similar size. It is, happily, image-rich. The facts (well, it's fiction, but...) are laid out well in summary format for quick reference.
I would also remind adult reviewers who have given this a poor rating that this is, after all, targeted at a non-adult readership. Be fair.
I've put a finish date on my review. Is one ever really finished with an encyclopedia?
In terms of coverage, it's comprehensive. However, it lacks a good deal of depth. However, to have provided the kind of depth that some reviewers seem to have been expecting would have required several volumes of a similar size. It is, happily, image-rich. The facts (well, it's fiction, but...) are laid out well in summary format for quick reference.
I would also remind adult reviewers who have given this a poor rating that this is, after all, targeted at a non-adult readership. Be fair.
I've put a finish date on my review. Is one ever really finished with an encyclopedia?
May 12, 2025
Really random selection of characters in the entries; while missing some important ones.
July 31, 2025
2.5/5 stars
February 5, 2014
I know, not technically "non-fiction", but it's a fact book about the show, so it's kinda referency.
I think this would be really enjoyable for someone just beginning to watch the show, or just as a quick reflection on some of the more prevalent characters. However, there's nothing new about the characters you've met, just the stuff you learn about them in their episodes. I did get some new information, though, as there were many characters from the classic era that I've never seen. I honestly wish there had been a bit more about classic Who. And I learned that several of my favorite modern villains have been featured before, like the Silurians.
As always, being a DK book, the pictures are beautiful and the organization flows nicely and keeps your interest. This would he great for middle school aged Whovians (who, by the way, are awesome kids!)
I think this would be really enjoyable for someone just beginning to watch the show, or just as a quick reflection on some of the more prevalent characters. However, there's nothing new about the characters you've met, just the stuff you learn about them in their episodes. I did get some new information, though, as there were many characters from the classic era that I've never seen. I honestly wish there had been a bit more about classic Who. And I learned that several of my favorite modern villains have been featured before, like the Silurians.
As always, being a DK book, the pictures are beautiful and the organization flows nicely and keeps your interest. This would he great for middle school aged Whovians (who, by the way, are awesome kids!)
February 28, 2014
If you are a fan of Doctor Who, you HAVE got to read this book. I find it very interesting and can recommend it. However, if you are not finished with the show then this book is a book of spoilers. I enjoyed it not only because it had the new doctor who stuff, but it had the old Doctor Who stuff as we'll. One BIG mistake they made was that on the Mickey Smith page where it says "Doctors Met" it doesn't include the ninth doctor. He was the first doctor Mickey met. Come on people! I do like the rest of the book though.
January 23, 2014
Becoming a HUGE Whovian over the summer last year, I found this book extremely interesting and informative. Especially with all of the characters from Classic Who.
November 12, 2017
Clearly written for kids, but, it haves some nice background information and beautiful photographs and stills from Doctor Who.
September 25, 2025
A cool encyclopedia of Doctor Who characters until 2013. It was great getting to know more about the Classic Doctor Who characters cause I still need to watch it! I love the movie, the 2005 tv show and the current one but I've been meaning to watch the original. It was also nice revisiting characters from past seasons that I love.
August 15, 2019
Doctor Who has really been my thing lately. This book has all of the Doctor's their companions, humans, aliens, cyborgs... everyone and everything they meet!! I give this a five-star rating!!! The book is based on the TV Show: Doctor Who?
June 10, 2020
This book is a good reference about the universe of Dr. Who. My only complaint is that it is dated. There is great information about everything through the eleventh Doctor. There have been three more since then and a new books needed.
December 3, 2023
I loved revisiting all the characters in this amazing show up to the 11th doctor! I need to watch the original series now to meet the characters unfamiliar to me. The creators of this show are so talented to be able to come up with these aliens and characters and they all are so unique! Bravo!
July 2, 2017
This book shows ALL the amazing, mischievous, evil, kind characters. They explain about them in detail, they also reveal their special abilities.
April 28, 2020
If they were going for Quick Factoid Reference Guide, they nailed it. Encyclopedia, not so much. Still, an enjoyable guide.
August 28, 2023
GREAT info for Doctor Who fans!
September 15, 2024
This book claims that Mickey never met the 9th doctor and as much as I’d like that to be true because I don’t like Mickey, unfortunately it is an error.
November 18, 2025
I desperately need to rewatch Soctot Who
Read
April 17, 2023this is the kind of thing i wish i owned...lots of fun to have around, and helpful if you're a Who fan. has an index! only goes up to the eleventh Doctor, though.
July 14, 2014
The "Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia" is a photographic collection of the hit BBC television series "Doctor Who." It's an ABC bind-up of every companion, alien, robot, and human that comes in contact with the Doctor. Full of colorful photos and details on every character, this encyclopedia is a must for every fan.
This was a great little bind-up. I've only been watching "Doctor Who" since the new series started in 2005, but I have managed to catch up on at least one episode (or one movie in the case of Paul McGann's eighth Doctor) from every Doctor. This collection goes through 50 years of "Who" so it's full of every companion and creature, as well as profiles on all eleven Doctors. For me, it was great to see all of the creatures and characters from the old series. I found myself on occasion going, "Oh, the new series should reintroduce this character at some point." Not every single character is in this bind-up. It only includes a little over 200 characters, mostly the major players and important one-off characters. So yeah, minor characters don't make an appearance. What's also not included (much to my disappointment since these are some of my favorite episodes) are historical figures.
This is a beautiful bind-up. There's full color photos of most of the characters, very sharp and clear. I will warn you though, if you intend on trying to watch a lot of the old series in the future, this book does contain spoilers like companion deaths or departures, creature defeats, and how each Doctor regenerates into the next Doctor. Of course, "Doctor Who" is still running. This bind-up only goes up to "The Snowmen" Christmas special of 2012, so the rest of season 7, the 50th anniversary and the 2013 Christmas special is not included. It was frustrating reading the part on Clara, knowing that she comes back as a companion, as well as on Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor page it just says "has not yet regenerated." That's the only bad thing about bind-ups in general is that if something is still ongoing, you don't get the complete history.
Overall, a great character encyclopedia. It was fun to read the stuff I did know versus the stuff that is unfamiliar to me. I highly recommend this for all "Doctor Who" fans.
This was a great little bind-up. I've only been watching "Doctor Who" since the new series started in 2005, but I have managed to catch up on at least one episode (or one movie in the case of Paul McGann's eighth Doctor) from every Doctor. This collection goes through 50 years of "Who" so it's full of every companion and creature, as well as profiles on all eleven Doctors. For me, it was great to see all of the creatures and characters from the old series. I found myself on occasion going, "Oh, the new series should reintroduce this character at some point." Not every single character is in this bind-up. It only includes a little over 200 characters, mostly the major players and important one-off characters. So yeah, minor characters don't make an appearance. What's also not included (much to my disappointment since these are some of my favorite episodes) are historical figures.
This is a beautiful bind-up. There's full color photos of most of the characters, very sharp and clear. I will warn you though, if you intend on trying to watch a lot of the old series in the future, this book does contain spoilers like companion deaths or departures, creature defeats, and how each Doctor regenerates into the next Doctor. Of course, "Doctor Who" is still running. This bind-up only goes up to "The Snowmen" Christmas special of 2012, so the rest of season 7, the 50th anniversary and the 2013 Christmas special is not included. It was frustrating reading the part on Clara, knowing that she comes back as a companion, as well as on Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor page it just says "has not yet regenerated." That's the only bad thing about bind-ups in general is that if something is still ongoing, you don't get the complete history.
Overall, a great character encyclopedia. It was fun to read the stuff I did know versus the stuff that is unfamiliar to me. I highly recommend this for all "Doctor Who" fans.
June 23, 2014
For a price tag of $16.99 you would expect a bit more information and detail about all the characters. Instead you get a REALLY brief summery. Things like "Data File: Playing Soccer Reason for Regenerating" and that is it for the 11th Doctor and all the other characters have the same "data profile" Nothing beyond the bare minimal. No stating of whether so and so is human or half human or Gallifreyan. No real detail on what happens with any of the long running companions (Leela's entry was a joke as it was so brief and saying primitive skin to wear is basically all you sum up with and the fact that a sewer rat almost took her down? Nothing about how she dealt or interacted with those who constantly underestimated her? Really? It has a picture of him with lines pointing at him of such "fascinating" tidbits like "drainpipe pants, tweed jacket and stylish quiff (for his hair)". That is it. No real detail. NO real information for a supposed "encyclopedia". Luckily, I got this through a used bookstore and used trade credit as otherwise I would be really annoyed if I had paid full price. As it is, It is nice to see pictures of all the old characters from before the 9th Doctor's run, but even then, not much info is given. It is more like a "briefer" to the show. Nice if you are new to it (though maybe spoilerish), but if you have watched it for a long time, it has nothing of real value. Great for Doctor Who completists or those new to the show. Or maybe even reference to what they wear as it seems to focus on that a lot. Very disappointed with the publisher DK as usually their stuff is pretty good.
November 6, 2015
This is a visually appealing guide that covers a fair amount of Doctor Who characters. Obviously it doesn't cover every single one since that would take a way bigger book, and it does favor the new series some. Characters like Sara Kingdom, the Quarks, and the Kandy Man are missing while characters like Grayle who play relatively more minor roles (I didn't even really remember Grayle at all until I read his description) are included. Some characters such as Jenny, Strax, and the Great Intelligence are listed in the index, but only talked about under other entries and never get their own entry. And while this book looks nice I do have a few issues with the choices made in the layout. Each character's picture is featured nice and large right in the middle of the page, but they're kind of distracted from by the weird descriptions that are attached. Some are fine and point out reasonable features of the character, but others say bizarre or completely inane things. So why did I give this book three stars? Because it's good as an overview, though not if you're looking for in-depth and extensive information. I imagine it's useful as a quick primer for those who haven't seen any of the old series and for those who have it makes a nice reminder since there have been a lot of characters to remember. It's fun to flip through and nice to look at. I bought this at a used bookstore for about eight dollars, which is the only reason I bought my own copy, as I think the full 17 dollar listed price is a bit iffy for what you get.
September 22, 2015
I really love this book because it tells me everything about every companion and enemies. To be honest I never really knew that the eleventh doctor has used up all his 12 generations. It might be confusing at first for the people that didn't ever see doctor who but once you watch the episodes you're like cool and everything like that but then I didn't know that the eleventh doctor had a wife and her name was river song a.k.a melody pond which is the daughter of Rory and Amelia. I love how it has the picture of what they all look like. I love how river song uses the word "spoilers" I love Matt smith he is like my best actor. I love the phrase "Geronimo" it's just pretty amazing I love doctor who and I guess I always will since there is a new doctor the 12 doctor. But the question is what is the doctors name!! I al us wondered that. But who knows I really like the book a lot I have the book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2019
'A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, What, Where, When, Why)'
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