About Time 5 is the fifth volume in the About Time series of Doctor Who reference books. It covers seasons 18 through 21 of the televised series, from The Leisure Hive to The Twin Dilemma, as well as the special The Five Doctors and the spin-off pilot K9 and Company.
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 5 of this series covers Seasons 18 to 21 of “Doctor Who,” focusing on the end of Tom Baker’s tenure as the Doctor, the whole of the Peter Davison era and the start of Colin Baker’s time with the show 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 Davison 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 18 to season 21. 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).
Most serials are accompanied by an essay, and the essays cover a very broad range of topics.
The essays in this volume are:
- The John Nathan-Turner Era: what was the difference? (Case for the defence)
- Did Doctor Who Magazine change everything?
- How does evolution work?
- …or could it be fantasy?
- Which are the “auteur” directors?
- How does regeneration work?
- What other spin-offs were planned?
- What difference does a day make? (Castrovalva)
- Four whats to Doomsday?
- Is “realism” enough?
- Whatever happened to all the stuff under Heathrow?
- Do mutilation and entertainment mix?
- What’s wrong with cyber-history?
- Why are there so many doubles in the Universe?
- Did Kate Bush really write this?
- What is the Blinovitch Limitation Effect?
- How can the Universe have a centre?
- What happened at Longleat?
- Bad costume decisions: what were the highlights?
- Who went to Aunt Vanessa’s Funeral?
- How indestructible is the TARDIS?
- Which stories have the best body counts?
- Who decides what makes a companion?
- LOAD: “What did the computer people think?”
- The John Nathan-Turner Era: what went horribly wrong? (Case for the prosecution)
Notes
- The cover is artist Steve Johnson's rendering of Snakedance.