Doctor Who at the BBC: A Time Travelling Journey Through the BBC Archives

by Michael Stevens, Elisabeth Sladen (Narrator), Nicholas Courtney (Narrator)

Were you terrified of the Daleks? Has the familiar Doctor Who theme tune ever sent a shiver down your spine? If so, Doctor Who at the BBC is for you. In this special 2-CD release, Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney take a journey through the archives and uncover the history of Doctor Who on BBC radio and television.

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the series) traces the development of this incredibly successful series, which first hit our TV screens in 1963. As well as a galaxy of classic moments from the series, he introduces some of the great and good who helped make the series a national institution — including many of the actors who've played the Doctors and his companions, and some of the series' most prolific writers and producers.

Meanwhile Elisabeth Sladen — the Doctor's trusty assistant Sarah-Jane — travels back in time to discover some little-heard radio gems. There's a 1974 location report from Dartmoor, The Ed Stewart Show broadcast live from Longleat in 1983, Radio 1's Newsbeat on the recovery of a missing episode, and rare archive interviews with Terry Nation, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Mary Tamm, Douglas Adams and even the mutt-shaped K9. A wealth of comedy is also represented with clips from Hello Cheeky, Week Ending, The Skivers and Dead Ringers.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, History, Nonfiction

3 pages, Audio CD

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Michael Stevens produced Doctor Who at the BBC and its follow-ups, volume 2, Volume 3, Doctor Who at the BBC: The Tenth Doctor and Doctor Who at the BBC: A Legend Reborn. He is credited as writer for the first three volumes.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer for the Doctor Who series and legend!

[Si · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to rather than read surely?