Customer Reviews

The DisContinuity Guide: The Unofficial Doctor Who Companion

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book is a lot of fun to read. Knowing what it takes to put a TV show together, getting to see all of the little mistakes and to have curious bits pointed out that only a fan would see is great. I've not been a fan of Doctor Who in the past but I've been watching the new series, which is excellent. It is also in keeping with the Doctor's well-storied past, at least based on the little I've seen of previous Doctors.

But you really have to know much more about the episodes to get the full value out of this book. Many of the episodes are lost or simply not yet available. This is sad, because as low-tech and dated as those shows probably were (are), they presented some great adventures. This book will not really fill you in on all of that, though.

The authors needed to do a few things to make this book work for everyone. With their wealth of knowledge it would have taken little time for them and little space in the book. Here's what is (crucially) missing:

1. Short episode synopses. While you can gleen the general story from the comments made, a clear recitation of the storyline would have been very helpful.

2. Profiles. It would have been nice to have profiles on the main characters - the Doctor and his companions. Maybe a page on how each Doctor was played, some interesting bits about their tenure, etc. As there were only 7 Doctors covered in this book (and why not the eighth Doctor? The Fox movie - considered part of the canon by many - was made many years ago. For the new edition they could have added a few pages) you wouldn't take up a lot of space giving this very important information. Also, paragraphs on each of the companions would have been nice. We're given some nice profile-style info on the Daleks, etc. But it's sprinkled about and difficult to find.

3. Comings and Goings. Doctor Who is about change. It would be nice to have a clear understanding of when someone new came on or someone old left. "This was X's last episode." Very easy to do.

4. An Index. Would have been nice to jump around and compare and contrast, say, all the Dalek information.

5. A history of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. As this is a central part of Doctor Who, understanding them and how they fit into the series would have been wonderfully helpful. We're given about a page and a half, and maybe that's enough for some people. For a show that was on the air for nearly 3 decades, I think those subjects deserve to have those entrees expanded.

Still, I have enjoyed this book fairly much. I'll be getting another book with, probably, more stogy information, but hopefully with greater detail.

This book is great, full of goofs, interesting dialogue, the roots (sources) of many of the stories, fashions, screw ups and lots of humor. But while the book examines each and every episode it does not tell you what happened within the episode. In other words, it tells you how something does not make sense without telling you WHY it didn't make sense. UNLESS you have ALREADY seen the episode. In other words, if you are a fan, this is the book for you. But if you are new to Doctor Who? this won't make sense. In other words there is no summary of any of the plots.
So, for a fan, it is five stars. For a person new to the show, it is worthless untill AFTER they watch a few episodes.
ENJOY!

Since receiving this book, I can't watch a Doctor Who episode without it. I don't know how the authors could analyze and link all the episodes together, but they did. I love to read the fluffs and goofs sections before watching an episode to spot the same bloopers. The book has a rather curious habit of taking any line with "end" or "take it" or other such language and turning it into something sexual. This may be a result of watching too many episodes and trying to insert humor into a book that has more of a reference quality. My copy is well worn and I also use it to see which episodes I am missing when searching to buy videos. If you don't have this book- get it!!!

There are only two Doctor Who guides I would recommend getting: Lance Parkin's Ahsitory and this book by the trio of Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping. While Ahistory is essential to any Doctor Who fans library for putting the whole range of stories into a "historical" context this book is essential for a whole different reason. It's a guide to the original series and does so with considerable tongue and cheek style.

For one thing this isn't your typical TV show guide. It isn't full of cast info, behind the scenes information and the like but is a solid but tongue-in-cheek look at the show itself. With sections covering everything from (possible) story influences to an ever humorous list of goofs, fluffs, bad/good dialogue, pieces of useless technobabble and continuity pieces the trio found after sitting through the series who knows how many times. For a fan of the original series its good fun and even illuminating at times. In particular their takes on the two possible histories of the Daleks and if it's possible to rewrite history make for some interesting reading indeed.

The only part of the book I found debatable was the section called "the bottom line" where the trio gives their thoughts on the stories. While Ahistory was very much non-partisan and didn't judge the stories Discontinuity Guide does and the result is rather interesting. Some stories tend to be over praised and others tend to get dished unnecessarily. Then again that section is just pinions and there's one thing that can be said about Doctor Who fans it's that we can't really agree on anything.

While it may only cover the original series (and not the new series) if you're a Doctor Who this is essential. With its tongue in cheek attitude it makes for not only good reading but for a hilarious one at that. You may disagree with the trios opinions of the various stories but otherwise it is hard to find much else wrong with the book. Get this and Ahistory and you're set to go inside the universe of Doctor Who.

I found it interesting that some people have complained that this book tries to explain inconsistencies in continuity over the many seasons of Doctor Who rather than serving as a more traditional episode guide. With respect to those reviewers, explaining these inconsistencies is pretty much the whole point of the book.

There are numerous episode guides to Dr. Who available (both in print and online). What makes this one different is its attitude (irreverent yet loving) and its execution (creative answers to questions like, how is it that the 2nd Doctor knows about things that happened after his trial by the Time Lords).

At times, this retroactive continuity fest gets a little outrageous (1993's Dimensions in Time), and it is disappointing that the 1996 Paul McGann film wasn't included in this re-issue. Still, this is the book that made me want to revisit, re-evaluate and ultimately better enjoy a number of Who stories. I think most who read with that mindset will have a similarly positive feeling about it.

It's difficult to ascertain what to make of this book. The factual references are terrific, goofs, blunders, dialogue triumphs and disasters, and the double entendres are hysterical. The problem I have with this book arise when the authors try to explain the inconsistencies that plague the show, filling in the continuity blanks. This is reminiscent of geeks trying to decide who'd win in a fight between Superman and Batman. Who cares! Does everything have to be explained. Here's an idea: Take each story as a separate entity without trying to link something that the writers obviously did not deem worthy to be linked, unless that link is implied in the story. You're enjoyment of the show will drastically increase. In other words, if it ain't there, don't look for it. Their explanations bewilder more often than not, and leave the reader more confused than before.

And it was soaked through, It's still drying out. SO you were great! THe book looks great (Still waiting for it to dry.) But the Mail gets an F-. Maybe you could have wrapped it in bubble wrap so it would not be so wet. Thanks