The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record
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Key to Time (disambiguation)for other, similarly-named pages.
The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record was a Doctor Who reference book published by W. H. Allen in September 1984 and re-published by Comet in October 1987.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
(this synopsis was taken from the 1984 edition)
Doctor Who is not just another television programme. It is a familiar and much-loved British institution that after more than twenty years continues to enjoy enormous success both at home and abroad.
The Key to Time marks the programme’s coming of age - twenty-one years old on 23 November 1984. Peter Haining has adopted the novel technique of exploring the history of the series through key dates in its many life-cycles. He demonstrates — with extensive reference to files kept in the Doctor Who Production Office — how much a part of British life the programme has become, and how the impact of this extraordinary phenomenon has travelled further afield. He traces the many changes the series has undergone since the first episode was broadcast in November 1963 — not only in terms of regenerated Doctors but also new methods of programme-making. The beginning of the Jon Pertwee era coincided with the switchover from black-and-white to colour, but Peter Haining also gives details of how many of the special effects were achieved, and how this initially modest television series pioneered techniques used in the multi-million-dollar Star Wars.
The enthusiastic support of viewers all over the world has contributed to Doctor Who’s long and happy life, and The Key to Time includes tributes from fans in Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States, in the form of drawings and sketches inspired by the series.
This extensively illustrated special publication, with twenty-four pages of colour photographs, is a superb follow-up to the runaway success of W.H. Allen’s Doctor Who: A Celebration.
(this synopsis was taken from the 1987 edition)
Doctor Who is not just another television programme. It is a familiar and much-loved British institution that after more than two decades continues to enjoy amazing success both at home and abroad.
With extensive reference to files kept in the Doctor Who Production Office bestselling author Peter Haining demonstrates how much a part of British life the programme has become, and how the impact of this extraordinary phenomenon has travelled further afield.
He traces the many changes the series has undergone since the first episode was broadcast in November 1963, and how this initially modest TV series pioneered techniques used in multi-million dollar films such as Star Wars.
Along with twenty-four pages of colour photographs this splendidly illustrated volume includes drawings and sketches from Doctor Who fans from all over the world.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The lining of the inner cover is a montage of news articles concerning Doctor Who.
- There is a variety of artwork throughout the book, which according to the acknowledgements is by Doctor Who fans from Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States of America.
- The Deluxe edition was leather-bound and limited to 1000 copies.
- Although the back cover of the 1987 edition displays an updated ISBN, the inside copyright page still displays the original ISBN 0-491-03283-8 and the original 1984 publication date from the original edition.
- Virgin Publishing had plans to issue a paperback edition in 1995, which had been mentioned on the back cover of the 1995 edition of The Time-Travellers' Guide, but this project was cancelled.
