The Pompous Tory: The Wife in Space Volume 3

Doctor Who: The Wife in Space #3

by Neil Perryman, Sue Perryman, Graham Kibble-White (Illustrator)

In 2011, a fanboy convinced his not-we wife to watch every episode of Doctor Who with him (even the ones that didn't exist any more). The result was a moderately successful blog called 'Adventures with the Wife in Space'. This volume collects the third phase of that blog and covers the third Doctor, as played by Jon Pertwee. It's also packed with extras, including blogs for Worzel Gummidge and the Sarah Jane Adventures, a new interview with Sue, episode annotations, exclusive illustrations, a video transcript and a foreword by Paul Cornell.

This book covers Spearhead from Space to Planet of the Spiders.

Genres: Doctor Who, Nonfiction

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume as Neil and Sue reach the Pertwee era.

It’s always interesting to see other peoples options on the show, with Sue’s fresh take on her first watch through the classic era this really gives a unique and interesting take on a fascinating era in the shows history.

Pretty much all her scores correlate to mine (apart from one of two noticeable exceptions), so it’s nice to see the UNIT family being enjoyed by a casual viewer too!

[James Gent · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third volume of the collected Wife In Space blogs takes us from the monochrome era of Doctor Who and into the colour era (well, for the most part, anyway), covering the entirety of Jon Pertwee's reign as the Third Doctor. This era of Doctor Who has been no stranger to contentious opinions amongst fandom over the years, and the WiS experience proved no exception, which makes for an illuminating critical journey - you see, even though Sue never warmed to the character of the Third Doctor, the actual stories ranked very strongly, and on the whole much more favourably than his predecessors had fared during the experiment.
This certainly validates the efforts of the series' main creative brains during this era - Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke and Robert Sloman - not to mention much the much loved cast regulars. While it has its flaws and detractors, the Pertwee era saw the series through one of its most consistently popular periods, and many of its topical themes and more experimental stories still appeal to the imagination.
By now, the general tone of the WiS blog settled into what could be described its familiar style - as much about the dynamic between Neil and Sue (with UNIT family-esque guest star appearances from Nicol, Gary and Captain Jack) as Sue's fresh perspectives on the show, unsullied by received opinion and enshrined fan lore. She's not blind to the show's faults, but keen to sing its praises when it excels, and you're never far from some very droll banter (to use a much abused word) between our couple, not to mention whimsical tangents. There's also fun to be had at spotting some naughty foreshadowing in some of Neil's more disingenous outbursts ("Beryl Reid in Doctor Who? Don't be absurd!")
If you enjoyed the first two volumes, you'll want this too. Yes, you can read the original blogs, for free, online, but collecting the posts together does make it more of a coherent experience, and allow for a broader appreciation of the experiment. Here's to the next instalment in due course...

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil and Sue Perryman sat down to watch (or listen to) every 'Doctor Who' episode in order. Behold the fruit of their labours!

Outrageous and egregious shots of underwear, poor use of Colour Separation Overlay and some outrageous accents will not get in the way of this review of Jon Pertwee's era as the Doctor.

Enjoyable and genuinely funny in places.

[Elizabeth Thacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't always agree with Sue's views and I think she has a very uncharitable view on 3, but this was laugh out loud from start to finish.

And "Is it the Master?" Is a valid question that should be written on UNIT's canteen wall.

[Sheila Lofthouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Neil and Sue, looking forward to continuing my re-watch so that I can read the next volume afterwards.

[Shaun Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, and it helped me get through watching Classic Doctor Who, which can be a struggle at times!

[Paul Griggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay... taken me a while to read this one after doing the first two, but definitely worth the wait. Always fun reading the sometimes clashing perspectives of Neil and Sue.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent adventure on the sofa, this time with no recons, and almost entirely in colour. For me this is where the journey gets even more interesting, as it strays towards the edges of my own memories of watching Doctor Who. But it's interesting anyway; like Gogglebox, I suppose, but with those on the sofa actually knowing about how the shows were made.

It's also highly entertaining. I don't think you need to know much about Doctor Who - maybe you don't need to know anything about Doctor Who - to enjoy the spectacle. Because you're not watching Doctor Who, you're watching Neil and Sue. And now we're more than halfway through. I think. I'm sure I remember that being in there somewhere...

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be the best Wife in Space yet. I found myself laughing out loud at Sue's remarks about the Third Doctor. And every time she asked if someone was the Master, it never got old. Neil and Sue continue to be engaging to the reader in every step of this insane experiment. Still loving it and can't wait to read what she has to say about MY Doctor, in the next book.

[Mark Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joy to delve into the past of a half remembered childhood with the doctor through another set of eyes