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The Pocket Essentials: Film

Doctor Who: The Complete Guide

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From humble beginnings in November 1963, Doctor Who has become a quintessential element of popular culture. With a comprehensive guide to every episode, Mark Campbell puts the show under the microscope with facts, figures, and options that will entertain long-term fans as well as Time Lord fanatics. He explores the adventures of all eleven Doctors, their faithful companions, a universe of aliens and villains from Daleks to Weeping Angels. Including sections on TV, radio, cinema, stage, and internet spin-offs, the guide delves into the world of Doctor Who.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

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Mark Campbell

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5 stars
40 (19%)
4 stars
47 (22%)
3 stars
63 (30%)
2 stars
40 (19%)
1 star
15 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Sophie Crane.
5,247 reviews179 followers
December 31, 2019
I am glad I bought this, as it provides insight into nearly everything WHO. One doesn't have to agree with Mr. Campbell's opinions (more often than not I do, but in some cases my viewpoint is totally the opposite!) to still get valuable insights in the various serials and episodes. The evaluation also extends to discussions of books - or at least the author rates them, and there the author regrettably omits the mentioning of all the excellent novelisations of the serials as such. This is a pity as, in the case of the early eras, for many adventures it is only possible to relive the stories by reading them. The original TV episodes are all gone (think for example of "power of the daleks" of which only a few clips as well as the novelisation remain, alongside many others of the Hartnell and Troughton eras), and if you wish to enjoy them you must read.

The author also discusses various side productions (theatre, audio plays, movies, spin offs, spoofs, etc.) including the wonderful "the curse of fatal death". At least the author and me agree on that one, totally. Books like the Who annuals, the monster and allien books, publications on companions, dictionaries and encyclopedias etc. are not included. That is allright with me - one can see this as BBC merchandise or something, and therefore not as a serious part of the serials and novels.
Except that the wonderful Dalek Survivor Guide dated 2002 is not included either. And that is a shame!

For good order, one should understand that if one wants to read summaries of the various plots - this is not your book. The plot outlines are woefully short, but the evaluations of the serials generally are very insightful in relation to how much excitement a certain serial or episode will have offered. Also one should realise before buying that this is not an illustrated book.

On the whole I am pleased with this book, as it covers the whole long period of time during which the series exists (even if taken out of the air for quite some time).
Profile Image for Otherwyrld.
570 reviews57 followers
December 10, 2014
In an age of instant internet access, an episode guide to a TV series would have to be something pretty special - a lavish coffee table book perhaps, or a really witty personal guide.

This is not that book.

At first glance it looks nice enough. An attractive hardback book with a nice cover. It's only when you delve inside that you start getting that sinking feeling. For a start, the paper used for the internal pages is really poor quality and there are no photographs whatsoever, which is pretty bad for a book that costs £12.99. It's only when you look at the actual content that you realise you've been sold a lemon, because the "contents" for each serial/episode consists of less than half a page for each one with a cast list, a very brief description of the story, and a few lines describing what the author thought of it. And that's all you get - I could get more information from a Wikipedia entry.

The kicker though is that this was produced in 2010, when such books are totally unnecessary thanks to the aforementioned internet. I can only see this kind of book ever being produced again if the internet gets closed down (or bought out by the big companies and commercialised until the average user is priced out of the market, which could still happen). There is a foreword by Kim Newman, who I'm told is a good author but has bugger all to do with Doctor Who as far as I can see. He has the cheek to say that this copy is unlikely to be the last edition of [this] useful little book. Sorry Kim, wrong WRONG WRONG

I feel I am being really generous with a 2 star rating, it's 1 1/2 stars at best.
2,627 reviews52 followers
September 1, 2011
i'm dissappointed, but probably my own fault for not reading a better description.
the index isn't much help, the episodes are reviewed, not described, thought it would have episode guides to Torchwood, Sarah Jane adventures etc - it doesn't. published by "pocket essentials" it is pocket size only if you wear Tom Baker's coat. thought there would be check lists for the episodes and main characters that i could refer to and check off. ithink the earlier editions are probably better, so find a copy in a second-hand bookstore if you have to have it.
Profile Image for Jacqueline.
482 reviews18 followers
December 15, 2012
When I found this book, I was so excited. Finally, an updated Doctor Who episode guide and in hardcover! But the book is awful! It fails to point out on the back or in the book's description that this is an opinionated guide to Doctor Who and the opinion of the author is he doesn't like it very much!

Not only does Campbell not like Doctor Who, he really doesn't get it. I'm not going to insist the show is perfect... far from it, it's had it's issues, and there are stories and episodes that are just plain bad. But Campbell seems to relish ripping up many of the series best episodes, while extolling many of the worst ones, such as "The Gunfighters" as the best TV has to offer? "The Gunfighters", Really? May you be cursed with "The Ballad of Jonny Ringo" in your head for years. Campbell also praises "Love and Monsters" one of the few David Tennant episodes that I really hate, and having seen it twice, have no desire to ever watch again.

However, this book even fails as an episode guide. The summaries are too short, frequently only a single sentence. The cast lists for each story are incomplete. And, again, I could have done without the commentary. Completely.

Save your money and skip this book. Try to find Jean-Marc Lofficier's Doctor Who The Programme Guide instead, it's out of date, but at least it's accurate and has the minimum of annoying, opinionated, ridiculous commentary.

Read this instead: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30...
Profile Image for Ole Imsen.
61 reviews10 followers
April 23, 2011
This is a brilliant little guide to Doctor Who. I say little, but it does cover every television appearance up to the end of season five. And it also has a list of every CD and book appearance up to 2009. Add to that the list of missing episodes and a reference list that includes both books and the Internet, and you get a pretty comprehensive guide to most things about Doctor Who.

For every TV episode Campbell gives a list of the cast and crew, a(very) brief description of the episode, some observations and finally his own verdict on the episode in question.
I found this to be a great format for this kind of guide. Although every episode gets only a brief mention, it is more than enough for quick reference. And the observations are almost always fascinating, and includes such information as where it was filmed and often information on cut scenes etc.
Campbell includes his own verdict on each of the episodes and adds a score of 1-10. This part is not really necessary, but it works well. But I must say I did not always agree with Campbell, but that is to be expected -it is after all his personal opinion.

As a quick reference guide this works wonderfully. I had already checked out several episodes I saw mentioned when I started reading the whole thing for this review. There is lots of information here, and I'm sure almost anyone will learn something new by reading it.
I also found that if you want a quick overview of what an episode is about this book beats the Internet for speed. -Yes, I tried it.
The lack of any pictures may be a turn off for some, but I don't think it should be. The small format (B-format paperback) makes it very handy to have near by, and the information is excellent.

This book should be present in every Doctor Who fan's library. Whether you have come to the series after the turn of the millennium or you have followed it since the beginning.

This review was originally published on my blog: http://weirdmage.blogspot.com
Profile Image for David.
2,565 reviews87 followers
August 18, 2016
A very useful episode guide with solid criticism.

2016: Three years later and I'm still going back to this sweet little book. This is the single best Doctor Who reference book I've come across. Not that I've looked at every single competing guide but it is the best in my opinion. Love this book!!

If you're looking for a gift for a Dr Who fan - this is a great choice.
Profile Image for Nicholas Whyte.
5,364 reviews207 followers
July 14, 2019
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3197375.html

It's a Lofficier-style recounting of every Who story to date (so through the end of the first Matt Smith season), with a pretty bare-bones approach. The work of key designers is credited in the episode descriptions rather than in the rubric. TV and webcast spinoffs are listed at the end, in not much detail. This was behind the curve in 2010.
Profile Image for Steven.
Author 23 books15 followers
December 21, 2017
A book by a Doctor Who fan for Doctor Who fans—but that’s about it. It’s a bare-bones examination of the series from William Hartnell’s debut in 1963 through Matt Smith’s next-to-last season in 2012, but unless you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Whovian there isn’t much here for a novice viewer to gain insight to the popularity of the long-running series.
Profile Image for morgan.
171 reviews
January 11, 2022
I have the 2000 edition which only covers the original series (and some spin offs that existed at that time). Campbell's little one sentence opinions are sometimes quite funny. He rates Ghost Light the lowest at a total zero. I like how he guesses what the 'influences' were for each original serial.
110 reviews19 followers
January 28, 2016
Essentially an updated version of the old Doctor Who programme guides by Jean-Marc Lofficier this is a pretty slight effort. It mostly consists of a bare bones listing of cast and crew for each story, a summary of what the serial was about, a few production details and the author's opinions on whether it was any good or not alongside marks out of 10.

It's hard to tell who the intended audience for this book is; the information provided is unlikely to be unfamiliar to those who have been following the show for a long time and relative newcomers will find the summaries far too brief (they mostly consist of one-liners) to enable them to come to any conclusion about what the stories were about and their distinguishing aspects.

Alongside the episodes guide there are a few other sections which are even more perfunctory; the audio and book releases parts are just lists of each with scores awarded by the author and no further information such as plot summaries or author biographies. The books section also ignores the many novelisations which were published and is purely devoted to original fiction based on the whoniverse. Although there is an index it only covers episode titles and famous monsters featured in the show so if you fancy looking up the work of a particular, actor, writer or director within the show, forget it. Another curious omission is that although DVD releases are mentioned in each summary there are no reviews of them which would seem valid considering they contain additional material such as making of documentaries etc.

The most enjoyable part of the book was Campbell's opinions on each story which are occasionally contentious, perhaps deliberately so in order that they didn't amount to a collection of 'received wisdom' on each show. Whether you agree with the verdicts given or not it would be hard not to find some entertainment in a book which contains lines like: "With the exception of the giant prawn, the effects are generally top-notch".

The publication date of 2010 means that coverage goes up to Matt Smith's first season, the Blu Ray releases of Spearhead from Space and the Dalek movies from the 60s aren't included and the missing episode guide is thankfully outdated.

Overall, calling the book The Complete Guide seems misleading as there is so much missing. There isn't an explanation of how the programme was originally created for example. As far as it goes the book was acceptable but there are certainly better books available on the show.
Profile Image for Andy Hickman.
7,396 reviews51 followers
January 3, 2016
Mark Campbell, Doctor Who: The Complete Guide (London: Robinson, 2010)

This book provides a thorough catalogue of every Dr Who episode, film and spin-off series. Handy book however I was somewhat surprised by the pessimist criticism that opens the book.

"Torchwood", "The Sarah Jane Adventures", "K-9", etc, I had no idea these spin-off TV shows existed. There's a whole Whovian universe out there.

A comment I liked in the 'Afterword':
“'Doctor Who' isn't about special effects. 'An Unearthly Child' (1) had some amazing ones for its time but, in telling a beautifully paced small-scale story with characters whom one could instantly empathise, it provided the perfect template for all future adventures. Reality mattered. This was not airy-fairy fantasy or nuts-and-bolts hard SF. This was a human story set in a credible alternate world.” (page 204)
“It's still all about the people.” (page 205)

“... the 2000s series has rarely touched politics, preferring instead to highlight spiritual and religious themes: 'The Impossible Planet' / 'The Satan Pit' (174), 'Gridlock' (181), 'HumanNature' / 'The Family of Blood' (185). Christian imagery features heavily in 'Father's Day' (163), 'Blink' (186) and 'Voyage of the Damned' (188).” (page 206)

Interesting to read that Peter Cushing (whose best-known roles outside the Hammer productions include Grand Moff Tarkin in 'Star Wars' (1977) was Dr. Who in "Dr. Who and the Daleks" (1965) and "Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D." (1966).
(pages 235-236)

Whereas there are some episodes considered 'the best' by other people, Campbell has little to admire about giving them a low rating, e.g.
William Hartnell's THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH (1965), p12; and THE MEDDLING MONK (1965), p17
Sylvester McCoy's THE CURSE OF FENRIC (1989), p146-7
David Tennant's LOVE AND MONSTERS (2006), p166
Matt Smith's THE BEAST BELOW (2010), p194-195

Still, based on Campbell's reviews I plan to track down and watch:

Patrick Troughton's TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN (1967)
John Pertwee's THE GREEN DEATH (1973), p62-3
Tom Baker's GENESIS OF THE DALEKS (1975), p71-72; THE BRAIN OF MORBIS (1976) p75-76; THE SEEDS OF DOOM (1976), p76-77; and THE ROBOTS OF DEATH (1977), p82
Peter Davidson/Colin Baker's THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI (1984), p124
David Tennant's THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE (2006), p163-164; BLINK (2007), p176; and MIDNIGHT (2008), p186
THE FIRES OF POMPEII with Peter Capaldi as Caecilius (2008), p182
Matt Smith's THE ELEVENTH HOUR (2010), p193-194




Profile Image for Daniel Kukwa.
4,759 reviews125 followers
January 27, 2011
Another Doctor Who book where opinions find no middle ground. Many people seem to be put off by it, but I find Mark Campbell's book a solid, readable, quick-guide that works on the lines of a more straightfoward/non-humorous version of "The Discontinuity Guide". Other reviewers complain about Campbell's critique...but they're no worse and no less varied than anyone else's analysis. I don't agree with every one of his opinions on each story...but as the Doctor himself would say, that's democracy for you.
31 reviews
November 18, 2012
A good general introductory guide to Doctor Who with capsule reviews for all the tv stories and brief rankings for the various audio dramas, novels and spin-offs.

A quick read but a good one.

Some of Campbell's reviews are likely to inspire discussion (he scores 7/10 for both The Underwater Menace and The Power of the Daleks and is generally very dismissive of the Troighton era generally.)

His overt enthusiasm for the new version of the series is also a little disheartening.
3 reviews
January 1, 2014
Far, far, FAR too opinionated. When it comes to the classic episodes he rates the Gunfighters 10/10 and rates the Ice Warriors 6/10. Mr Campbell obviously has little knowledge or like for the larger Doctor Who universe and seems to rate the episodes more or less on how annoying the companions were and how believable they seemed. Also, he writes page after page on New Who episodes yet sometimes only writes a sentence on Classics. For a complete guide this is seriously lacking.
Profile Image for Nicol.
323 reviews33 followers
June 21, 2014
This guide goes over every episode - detailing the actors, products, writers, etc. It gives a one to two sentence summary of the episode then hands down a judgement on the quality of acting, plot and writing. It is a nice reference guide if you want to quickly remember which actor played who in what episode or season - other than that this is not the in depth guide to give you details about each episode or season.
Profile Image for Warreni.
65 reviews
July 29, 2016
Campbell's book is surprisingly shallow. The synopses of the televised productions are thin, usually encompassing 1-2 sentences at most and his individual reviews are equally as short. The reviews of the extensive library of novels consist simply of a rating fom 1-10. Speaking of the this numerical rating scale, I can't remember seeing any 1/10s but the book is loaded with 10/10s. It's as though no one ever told him that when you overuse something it tends to lose its meaning.

Profile Image for Vicki.
42 reviews
December 4, 2014
An episode guide. I really enjoyed the Verdicts for each episode even if I disagreed with it. This would be nice to have on hand while my daughter and I watch reruns. I hate to return it to the library.
Profile Image for Oguz Lacin.
8 reviews3 followers
November 5, 2015
Kitabı fazlasıyla isteyerek aldım . Ancak çevirisi rezaleten başka bir şey değildi .Dizinin rehber kitabı gibi birşeyi olmuş.İçinde dizinin 5 sezona kadar olan kısmını anlatıyor . İçinde bilgilendirici şeyler de olsa kitap olmasada olur bir tarzda .
Profile Image for Peter.
777 reviews137 followers
May 28, 2015
A very useful book to add to the collection. along side the usual episode guide it also as a list of all the comic strips published from 1964 onwards, with publication dates amongst other helpful reference material.
Profile Image for Yorda.
430 reviews24 followers
May 22, 2016
Me sobran las opiniones del autor del libro y me falta más información sobra la trama de cada capítulo, pero es interesante por la cantidad de curiosidades que hay.
694 reviews
May 18, 2015
I expected more info on each episode and less criticism.
Profile Image for Karen-Leigh.
3,011 reviews25 followers
Read
January 19, 2015
Handy reference book to have. Would have preferred fewer criticisms and opinions.
Profile Image for Alicia Pearson.
124 reviews3 followers
March 29, 2017
Incredibly rude when it doesn't need to be sometimes.
Still a useful guide to the TV episodes/audio books.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

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