Doctor Who: The Completely Unofficial Encyclopedia

by Chris Howarth, Steve Lyons

'Brilliantly amusing': SFX 'An unqualified 10 out of 10': Dreamwatch 'The single funniest book I've ever read': Doctor Who Magazine 'I raised my eyes upwards, despairing that such inanities could every reach print': TV Zone That's what they said about Doctor The Completely Useless Encyclopedia. And now, just ten years later, it's back and less licensed than ever with another decade's worth of pointless trivia about the unexpectedly-popular-again TV series. Inside this all-new volume, you'll The series' biggest Deus Ex Machinas The silliest Doctor Who spin-offs... official or otherwise! Brand new ways for fans to show themselves up using technology No fantastic free gifts, but only one cover to collect. ...and lots of other stuff for the obsessive scarf-wearer. Just don't let your non-fan friends see it; they wouldn't understand.

Genres: Doctor Who, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2006

About the author

Chris Howarth was a writer for Doctor Who Magazine.

Howarth co-wrote The Completely Useless Encyclopedia with Steve Lyons in 1997. Howarth and Lyons updated the book in 2006 as The Completely Unofficial Encyclopedia.

Reviews

[Min · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is meant for the new series that was launched in the early 2000s, largely for a British audience, which isn't the one I like, thus making this book uninteresting to me, however, it is an encyclopedia only in name. IF this were a topic I was interested in reading, I would expect a better formate, and better writing. This seems much more for chuckles, and pop culture references, rather than any kind of reference book whatsoever.
The entries are alphabetized, containing a TEN THINGS list scattered through the texts for trivial topics mostly tangential to the programme.

I suspect it was produced for a quick profit, and no concern for cataloging anything seriously about this series.

[Noah Soudrette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a serious encyclopeda. It's a humorous riff/parody on one. This is actually hilarious update to the old 'completely useless encyclopedia'. Includes quite a bit on the new series. Even if your not a dedicated whovian, you'll still enjoy this.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

i thought i was a dr who fan - i'm nothing compared to them. also the book is v. english w/lots of references that went past me.