The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Terrance Dicks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

Newly-regenerated and travelling through the universe in his Tardis, the eighth Doctor is suddenly hit by a mind-shattering blast of malignant psychic energy - a final booby trap left by the Master.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: BBC Books (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563405635
• ISBN-13: 978-0563405634
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "My future is in considerable doubt.", May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was a great read, I couldn't have been more pleased with such a tribute to the re-revival (that's right, 2 re's-counting Virgin's range) of New Adventures of the legendary programme, "Doctor Who". Using Terrance Dicks as the pilot author was a wise choice, due to his relationship to the series in both TV and book form.

Although the title clearly bears "The Eight Doctors", the eight incarnations don't join forces together. Don't treat this as a let down; it's interesting to see the 8th Doctor meeting (and coping with!) each of his past selves, one life at a time. I won't tell you why he does this, even though his reasons are clearly explained on the back cover.

Despite the luxury of new aged themes, there is a massive intake of information, that I had no trouble dealing with. But the new Whovian wouldn't be able to keep up with elements from every era of "Doctor Who". So I've considered several original titles available on BBC Home Video that you may want to view before taking on "The Eight Doctors": (I'm not trying to make this into a Spoiler!!)

"An Unearthly Child" (1963)w/ William Hartnell

"The War Games" (1969)w/ Patrick Troughton

"The Daemons" (1971)w/ Jon Pertwee

"The Sea Devils" (1972)w/ Jon Pertwee

"E-Space Trilogy" (1980)w/ Tom Baker

"The Five Doctors" (1983)w/ Peter Davison

"The Trial of a Time Lord" (1986)w/ Colin Baker

Lastly, I recommend getting a hold of the "Doctor Who" Telefilm from 1996 (w/ the 8th Doctor, Paul McGann), even though its not on video in America. After watching all this, reading "Eight Doctors" is a great way to get nostalgic and revive old memories all at the same time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Call and Response, October 6, 1999

By 

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I appreciated how the Doctor in this story came back to visit his former selves at key moments in his personal development. It allows the series to harken back to past triumphs while looking forward to future glory. I hope the character of Sam is further developed, but I'm very happy with the product I have in my hands, and hope to see more of these characters in the future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget the Nay-Sayers - I Loved It, April 28, 1999

By 

Pete Niemeyer (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read many bad reviews of this book. And given that I couldn't put it down, I feel compelled to share a positive review.

First off, I believe a person has unreasonable expectations if they expect a book titled "The Eight Doctors" to have a single, cohesive story where all eight Doctors have something interesting to do. It's difficult, if not impossible, to achieve such a tight-knit story with so many main characters vying for attention. I'm glad that Dicks chose to make the story more of a retrospective, visiting one Past Doctor at a time, and I wasn't expecting the storyline to be any stronger in its cohesion than the "Key to Time" storyline.

I enjoyed how the book answered so many unanswered questions, such as: What was the deal with the multiple TARDISes taking off at the end of "The Five Doctors"? Why was the Trial of a Timelord not held on Gallifrey? How did the Master gain all the new abilities that he demonstrated in the Television Movie?

I also enjoyed many of the events shown in this book that were previously behind the scenes. Okay, the Fourth and Fifth Doctor bits weren't the most exciting choices I could imagine. (I would have preferred to see bits explaining why Romana chose to regenerate in "Destiny of the Daleks" or why the Doctor left Tegan at Heathrow in "Timeflight".) But I didn't think they were bad.

Finally, I liked the scenes with Sam. I can't defend this beyond personal preference, but I did enjoy them.

So, I imagine that the purists who want all eight Doctors joining together to vanquish some "ultimate evil" will be disappointed. Those of us who are content with a retrospective will probably be more likely to enjoy it.