The Making of Doctor Who

This is a work of non-fiction.

Unlike other fictional universes, the Doctor Who universe is created solely by fiction. To us, this is not a valid source. Information from this source can only be used in "behind the scenes" sections, or on pages about real world topics.

The Making of Doctor Who was a non-fiction work by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke published by Piccolo Books. The first edition was principally written by Hulke in 1972 . It was later followed by a second edition, rewritten by Dicks in 1976 from Target Books. It stands as the first professionally published non-fiction book about the series, predating similar works by Peter Haining and Jean-Marc Lofficier by many years.

Publisher's summary

First edition

What happened when Doctor Who was put on trial by the Time Lords? Why did he agree to help UNIT? This fascinating book tells you everything about the Doctor and his adventures, the points in Space and Time he has visited, the aliens and monsters he has defeated. One of the most famous and longest running BBC serials of all time, Doctor Who depends for its success on the enthusiasm of everyone working on the show. Come inside the TV studio and meet them, learn how the Daleks and the Cybermen came into being and how the special effects work. What happens in Doctor Who often seems impossible. But is it? Could it all be true?

Second edition

Here it is... the story behind one of television's most successful, longest-running shows. Come with Doctor Who on a trip through time... to the early days of the programme when it all began... meet actors, authors and television staff... see inside a TV studio and watch a production take shape... learn the secrets of the monsters... relive every Doctor Who story since the beginning... follow the Doctor through four incarnations and — perhaps — begin to discover just who is Doctor Who?

Subject matter

A behind-the-scenes guide to the production of Doctor Who.

Notable features

First edition

In the first edition, accounts of the Doctor's adventures take the form of fictional documents, summarizing his activities as a renegade Time Lord. The first part, detailing his life in exile up until "The War Games" take the form of notes made by Time Lord prosecutors and lawyers during the Doctor's trial. These give the Doctor's name as ∂³Σx². Other Time Lords are given mathematical names as well: ᔑx²-›‾‹ is the prosecutor, Δ:ʮ≠β is the counsel of defence, Xa/6↑∝ is the court reporter, and ∅μ³-∝ is the court archivist. Following the Doctor's exile to Earth, UNIT reports by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart continue the story, with supplementary notes by another Time Lord. The Brigadier's first name is given as Alastair. (Later sources have it as Alistair. On TV, it was mentioned in Planet of the Spiders Part One). The Brigadier's ancestor from the Battle of Waterloo is named Fergus (spread over two lines as Fer- gus. Gary Russel mentioned him in Doctor Who The Missing Adventures featuring the third Doctor and Silurians/ Eocenes).
As unlikely as it may sound, one chapter, written by a clergyman, discusses Doctor Who in a Christian religious context.
Behind-the-scenes information concentrates on the production of The Sea Devils and consist of including Hulke's story outline and scene breakdown, a sample rehearsal script page, the film diary, and a sample camera script page.

Second edition

The second edition contains script-to-screen account of the Fourth Doctor's debut adventure Robot, written by Making of Doctor Who co-creator Terrance Dicks. Dicks would novelise the serial as Doctor Who and the Giant Robot.

Both editions

The first edition described the Doctor as "never cowardly". The second edition adds to this and says that he is "never cruel or cowardly" and that "[h]e never gives in, and he never gives up." These words were used in the TV series as the promise made by him when choosing to be called "the Doctor" (TV: The Day of the Doctor, et al).

Notes

Second edition

The Target Books edition was a complete rewrite of the previous edition, aimed more at younger readers.
This release marked the fourth occasion on which Target republished a work previously issued by another publisher. This followed the reissuing of the Frederick Muller novelisations that kicked off the Doctor Who novelisation book line.
Chris Achilleos provided the cover artwork.
It had a print run of 50,000 copies and was priced 60p (UK).
This title saw a reprint by Target Books, W. H. Allen in on 20th March 1980 of 15,000 copies. Despite the, by then, out-of-date information in the first printing, the only difference was a price increase to £1.80 (UK).
Along with two dozen Target novelisations, copies of The Making of Doctor Who were included in randomly selected bagged editions of Doctor Who Magazine published in July 2008. (These were all original, backstock copies and not reprints.)
A PDF of the original Piccolo Books edition of The Making of Doctor Who was included on the DVD release of The Sea Devils.

Associated images

1976 Target Books edition