About Time 2
About Time 2 is the second volume in the About Time series of Doctor Who reference books. It covers the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons of the televised series, from The Smugglers to The War Games.
Publisher's summary
In About Time, the whole of classic Doctor Who is examined through the lens of the real-world social and political changes — as well as ongoing developments in television production — that influenced the series in ways big and small over the course of a generation. Armed with these guidebooks, readers will be able to cast their minds back to 1975, 1982 and other years to best appreciate the series’ content and character.
Volume 2 of this series covers Seasons 4 to 6 of Doctor Who, focusing on the very end of the William Hartnell era and the whole of the Patrick Troughton era of Doctor Who in mind-bending detail. In addition to the usual concerns such as the TV show’s continuity (alien races, the Doctor’s abilities, etc.) and lore (anecdotal, “Did You Know?”-style material), authors Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood will examine each Troughton story in the context of the year/historical period it was produced, determining just how topical the stories were.
Subject matter
A critical and cultural analysis of every televised Doctor Who story from season 4 to season 6. Areas of examination include production notes; logical flaws in the story; detailed catalogues of facts; and an attempt to examine where each story came from, and why each was made in the contemporary cultural climate of Great Britain and Earth.
Contents
- Each story is broken down into many segments, including: Which One Is This? (very brief introduction, as the writers eschewed dense plot summaries), Firsts and Lasts, Continuity - encompassing The Doctor, The TARDIS, The Time Lords, The Supporting Cast, The Supporting Cast (Evil), Planet Notes, Non-Humans and History -, Where Did This Come From?, Things That Don't Make Sense, Critique (often divided into Prosection and Defence), Facts (writer, director, ratings, guest cast and list of cliffhangers) and The Lore (behind-the-scenes notes). Several stories also feature a segment on Plot for any serials which are incomplete.
Most serials are accompanied by an essay, and the essays cover a very broad range of topics.
The essays in this volume are:
- What are the dodgiest accents in the series?
- What’s the Cyberman timeline?
- What do Daleks eat?
- Why was a McCrimmon fighting for the Pretender?
- How many Atlantises are there?
- Whatever happened to the USA?
- How did they do those titles?
- How do you set a trap for this man?
- Why is that portrait in Maxtible’s parlour?
- Did Sergeant Pepper know the doctor?
- How Buddhist is this series?
- Cultural Primer #2: Why the Radio Times?
- What’s the timeline of the twenty-first century?
- Was Yeti-in-a-Loo the worst idea ever?
- Does the TARDIS fly?
- What planet was David Whitaker on?
- When did the Doctor get his second heart?
- Who was the Master of the Land of Fiction?
- Whatever happened to Planet 14?
- Does plot matter?
- Is Doctor Who camp?
- Was there any hanky-panky in the TARDIS?
- Did Doctor Who end in 1969?
Notes
- By order of publication date, this is the fifth in the series, as the authors began with the volumes covering the 1970s and early 1980s, which were considered the most influential on the general public.
- The cover of this volume is artist Jim Calafiore's rendering of Fury from the Deep.
