Doctor Who: The Handbook - The First Doctor

Doctor Who: The Handbook #1

by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers, Stephen James Walker

William Hartnell was already a well-known and experienced film and television actor when, in 1963, he took on a new role: a mysterious and crotchety time traveller in a new BBC drama series for children. Nothing else about the programme was as tried and tested; the fictional premise was offbeat, the producer was a young woman at the start of her television career, and the future direction of the series was unknown.
Doctor Who went on to thrill millions of children and adults around the world for three decades. But the foundations of success were laid in the first three years, when the TARDIS and the Daleks became as known and loved as the Beatles.

This is the third in the handbook series by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker, the team who also produced The SIxties and The Seventies. Drawing on the latest research they have included in this book the definitive account of the genesis of Doctor Who, as well as a profile of William Hartnell, critical reviews of all the TV stories, a detailed analysis of a typical First Doctor story and a complete review of the programme's production development.

Genres: Doctor Who, Nonfiction, Reference, British Literature

350 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 1994

Reviews

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Close to 30 years old - so no doubt more bits of information have surfaced since (and the critical judgements are very pat, but they’re a minor element). Even so, the day by day chronology of the struggle to get early Doctor Who made is compelling, as much as a case study of TV and the BBC in 1962-64 as a history of DW itself.

Hindsight tells us that the format endured and endures still: what’s remarkable is how little faith the BBC had in the show even after the Daleks turned it into a phenomenon. Planned as a year long fixture, behind the scenes every batch of 4-13 weeks was subject to extreme prevarication until well over a year into the run, with plenty of intra-departmental shuffling and sniping (not to mention endless wrangling with the stars’ agents). At some point the tacit decision seems to have been made that Doctor Who was a fixture but even from this book it’s unclear exactly when that was.

[Rob Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed account of the making of the First Doctor's era. I especially enjoyed the Production Diary aspect of the book as it revealed the behind the scenes goings on in bringing the series to the screen.
As the book was published in 1994 there are some elements of it that are now out of date but this shouldn't stop anyone from reading and enjoying it.

[Paul Doody]

David Howe and Co have written a hugely-detailed account of how the television institution that is Doctor Who was initially brought to the screen way back in November 1963. A triumph of television journalism.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cool info and trivia. Loved the budget breakdowns of each episode.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big Doctor Who fan, but I think you have to be quite the die-hard for this one or just be really interested in the production side of early Doctor Who to be completely into this book. I think there were large parts I enjoyed - you really get the story of how Doctor Who started and evolved into what we saw on screen in "An Unearthly Child." I enjoyed reading about Bill Hartness and the First Doctor episode summaries. But the second half of the book that summarizes the production memos of the Hartnell Era and then the production history of "The Ark" - I just scanned the entire second half. It may be more interesting to others. But I'm glad it exists, certainly knowledge we want preserved!

[Chris Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The difference time makes. When these handbooks first came out, I was still learning about the history of Doctor Who, and there wasn’t so much available. They were clearly a 4 or even a 5.
Sadly, now I’m much older and much of the same information has been better presented across a variety of publications. For example the script to screen chapter seems so lightweight and lacking in detail now!
I’ll always enjoy reading story reviews though, even when I disagree with most of them!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dogmatic, old-school reviews of the Hartnell episodes still rankle when I read them...but in this case, I'll set that aside. The rest of the book is a tour-de-force overview of the Hartnell era. The document/oral history/diary of "Doctor Who's" first years is some of the finest non-fiction work one will find anywhere in the publishing Whoniverse. A stunning revelation...reviews excepted.

[Arthur B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extraordinarily deeply-researched; the chapter providing a blow-by-blow account of the production history of the era, rigorously supported by documentary material, is particularly fascinating. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[Bernard O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a veritable trove of information for anyone interested in the early years of the cult British TV series, as well for TV and pop cultures historians, who will find vast information regarding the technical and administrative aspects of the show. However, a certain degree of knowledge about the series is necessary to fully enjoy the book, as this is not a "First Doctor for Dummies" book. The first chapters are made up of a selection of quotes about lead actor William Hartnell and about the show, take from interviews and documents from almost everyone involved in the first three years of Doctor Who. These are perhaps the most friendly sections for those that are less familiar with the show, along with the section devoted to summarizing each serial (including data about the original date of tranmission, number of viewers, etc.). Each serial is given a reasonably fair "entertainment" score, as well. TV historian and other researchers will find the next (and quite lengthy) two sections very interesting, as they are composed of memos and letters exchanged between BBC staff during the development of the show, in the first case, and a production "diary", detailing Doctor Who-related activities (rehearsals, filming, communications with script writers, etc.), by day of the month in which the ocurrred. This can be a little dry and "unmagical" reading, but it does help to flesh out the efforts that were made to keep the show going. Finally, the book includes a detailed account of the production of "The Ark" episode, and a brief account of the media and audience's reaction to the show, and its distribution in other countries. As a whole, this Handbook is a great source of information, although not necessarily the most friendly introduction to the show.

[Dmk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. In first part there is lovely selection of quotes from (huge number) of interviews. One gets whole new way of thinking about Bill.
In contrast part describing story after story is quite dissapointing. One asks "What's its purpose?". For those who haven't watch stories it's small box (but bigger from inside) full of spoilers, for those who watch them it's a just meaningless talking about things known for them.

But than there's "Production diary" amazing collections of memos, lettters and other text made by Doctor Who team accompanied by good amount of commentary. Amazing journey through these wierd but amazing years of the show.

So yes, book has unnecessary and lame parts, but the rest (fortunately major part of book) it's so overhelmingly amazing and interesting. Must-read for every fan of the First Doctor.

[Kristina Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this book is taken up with the Production Diary, detailing the making of Doctor Who from its conception through to the end of the First Doctor's tenure. However the parts I enjoyed most were the synopsis of the stories (some sadly lost to us) and Establishing the Myth.
Invaluable for any real fans of the early years of Doctor Who.