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Perhaps that's why I cherish the ambition of notable failures like The Web Planet , and why I greatly enjoy the extra-canonical elaborations on characters who didn't fare too well on screen, like Colin Baker's Doctor, or Sarah Sutton's Nyssa. Sure, each of us enjoy certain eras or certain interpretations more than others.
TARDIS Eruditorum - A Critical History of Doctor Who Volume 2: Patrick Troughton
And it's thoroughly disheartening when a great idea is passed over, or let down by broadcast standards, radical new costuming philosophies, lighting strikes, budget woes, etc. Yet, if you love the idea of "Doctor Who", it's time to start enjoying it in spite of - or even because of - its flaws. That's true fandom, not these endless online arguments about how entire decades of the programme simply have no merit. No-one is forcing us to watch a series that began when my parents were still in nappies. So, if we're going to, isn't it time more of us started asking questions? Started looking for alternative points-of-view?
Started adding further layers to our understanding of this complicated, cult-inspiring television series? Sep 02, Eero rated it liked it Shelves: When I started reading this book I had not seen any of the Troughton episodes or read any of the Doctor Who novelizations. I liked the writing, although at the same time I felt it was directed to a different audience to which I did not really belong.
This book consists of essays originating as blog postings that discuss each of the serials, placing them in the context of the times with mentions of music charts and news items from the times they aired. For the uninitiated, the discussions appeared to be witty and incisive, occasionally even laugh-out-loud funny in a sarcastic vein.
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Also, occasionally the author goes on to discuss other fictions or the political situation in the late sixties. All in all, I found it interesting. It had great ideas, for sure, but the rather stark and minimalistic staging and the theatrical and unnatural delivery were somewhat distracting. Also, a lot of the stuff that was discussed in the essay seemed absent from the actual episodes, which makes me doubt the other essays.
Especially, after viewing, the idea that this serial could be seen as providing an origin story for the Doctor seems basically wrong. But maybe I am just too literal-minded to understand what he is getting at. To me it seems that this story indulges in metafiction, but in a contained, well-behaved sense no strange loops.
I actually missed the Gulliver line about the Doc being a traitor to the Land of Fiction that apparently is the only thing pointing to it being his origin. To my mind, this story exists in a rather limited and conptained land of fiction, which itself exists within a fictional framework. My reading was that this particular Land of Fiction was the product of the mind of one person, who was snathed from the framing fictional world real world to the primary characters. I have to say that the cover is brilliant, done in a vintage paperback style.
After finishing the book: What it seems to say is that space programs were really about military hardware after all, and after space turned to be nothing to write home about, science fiction involving space travel becomes just another branch of fantasy with its own tropes which are not to be taken any more seriously than magic rings and whatnot.
Having a fondness of hard SF I am kind of cross about this. There is some value in trying to write stories that utilize concepts from actual science, and stay mostly within the bounds of conceivable laws of physics, at least if they manage to be fantastic while doing so.
Also, although sending meat with meat's life support systems beyond low earth orbit seems to be not so feasible these days, it may not always be so. I guess I am disappointed in not seeing the lunar bases and O'Neill colonies I once imagined would exist by this time, and am slowly trying to accept that space may forever be out of reach.
On the other hand, Doctor Who writers seem to be insanely optimistic about humanity's future, putting basically unmodified humans into the very end of time. That is crazy , considering the timescales involved. But then, if we view this as just a kind of fantasy as science fiction apparently has become , it becomes just another day at the trope factory. One thing that I like about Doctor Who, at least the modern version that I am familiar with, is that it can effortlessly juggle genres and tropes, being both serious and farcical at the same time.
Jan 07, Jamie Revell rated it it was amazing Shelves: The second volume of Philip Sandifer's critical history of Doctor Who continues in much the same vein as the first one. There are, once again, issues with the formatting, although somewhat less so than in the first volume, and there's nothing obviously missing this time.
The signs of the essays having been edited for the book they originally appear on the web are also clearer here, perhaps indicating a self-publisher improving with practice.
TARDIS Eruditorum: An Unauthorized Critical History of Doctor Who Volume 2: Patrick Troughton
The book also includes the essay on 'The Massacre' m The second volume of Philip Sandifer's critical history of Doctor Who continues in much the same vein as the first one. The book also includes the essay on 'The Massacre' missing from the previous volume. It becomes clear reading this that Sandifer is not a great fan of the Troughton era.
He is full of praise for Troughton himself, regarding him as one of the greatest actors to play the role. What he's a lot less keen on are the actual stories, especially those of the fifth season - most of which are thematically rather similar. It's a testament to the thought put into the essays that they remain interesting even if you happen to disagree with them, and that nothing is dismissed without sound reason. So, yes, there will be some controversy here.
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Sandifer is not a particular fan of, for example, 'Web of Fear' or 'Tomb of the Cybermen', while he does have high praise for 'Enemy of the World'. On the other hand, there are some stories whose quality, or lack thereof, is fairly inarguable - 'The Dominators' comes in for a particular kicking, and, at the other end of the spectrum, a literature student is hardly going to dislike 'The Mind Robber'.
As before, the essays link the stories to the time that they were broadcast, which in this case means psychedelia and the Summer of Love. In between the essays on the Doctor Who stories of the late sixties, therefore, we have some on British culture of the day, and in particular, how the show relates to other TV of the era. Some comparisons, such as those with The Avengers , Star Trek , and The Prisoner are the sort of thing you'd expect to see referenced.
You might be a little more surprised to find that Cathy Come Home is in there too! There's much discussion here, too, of the relevance of the themes of medieval alchemy to the Troughton years, most notably in scripts written by David Whitaker. It's something that's explicit in 'Evil of the Daleks' one of the villains is obsessed with turning lead into gold , but Sandifer makes a strong case for their presence in other episodes, too, and at times uses them as a broader lens to examine the era.
There are also essays in here on later novels ostensibly set in the Troughton era. Some of these, such as 's The Wheel of Ice , don't appear in the web version. There's discussion of the missing episodes phenomenon, which hit Troughton harder than Hartnell, and of one completed script that was never filmed because it was deemed too sexist - in As with the first volume, the essays are interesting, well thought-out, and peppered with a dry wit that also makes them entertaining to read. As a book of literary criticism rather than a set of detailed reviews, it's perhaps not the best place to start a discovery of the Troughton era if you're new to it, but it's certainly worth a read if you want to dig deeper into it.
Dec 19, Stephen Hartwell rated it it was amazing Shelves: A fantastic literary piece on the history of Doctor Who as it happened, this time focused on the Patrick Troughton years from - The author is full of insightful comments about the development of the series, the Doctor and the stories, and has definitely placed the story of Doctor Who into the history of the late s by discussing psychedelia, the summer of love and space exploration.
Although his opinions may not be to one's individual taste, it is refreshing to see someone share th A fantastic literary piece on the history of Doctor Who as it happened, this time focused on the Patrick Troughton years from - Although his opinions may not be to one's individual taste, it is refreshing to see someone share their own thoughts in such a clear and stated manner, with clearly a lot of evidence of thought having gone into each stance he shares.
To finish I would like to agree very much with his conclusion that Patrick Troughton was by far the greatest actor to take on the role of the Doctor, and that it is a great loss to the world that so much of his earlier episodes are currently unavailable to watch here's hoping Phil Morris can sort that out sooner rather than later Thanks for the ride, look forward to Volume 3. Mar 31, Krista McCracken rated it liked it. A literary and historical look at Doctor Who focused on the Patrick Troughton years from - The book contextualized the Troughton years, discusses historical events of the s, and analyzes each second Doctor story in turn.
I generally enjoyed this though there were a couple of essays that were slog worthy and that I struggled to read to their conclusion.
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The book is a very academic look at Doctor Who and there are definitely conclusions drawn by Sandifer that go against established A literary and historical look at Doctor Who focused on the Patrick Troughton years from - The book is a very academic look at Doctor Who and there are definitely conclusions drawn by Sandifer that go against established fandom beliefs and sensibilities.
There are many interesting perspectives here but at times I think he's being argumentative just for the sake of having something to write about. Lots of food for thought here for anyone interested in the Troughton era, the s, or broader contextual issues around interpreting classic Doctor Who. Apr 04, Joanne Mullen rated it it was amazing. Although a firm fan favourite, Patrick Troughton's tenure risks being forgotten as many of his stories were destroyed by the BBC - in acts of wanton cultural vandalism which blighted many other shows - to reclaim videotapes or save shelf space. Sandifer's book manages to bring these often lost stories to life once more, mixing behind the scenes anecdotes with a broad sweep across the social and political mores of the time.
Whether or not you've seen any Troughton stories this book is a must read Although a firm fan favourite, Patrick Troughton's tenure risks being forgotten as many of his stories were destroyed by the BBC - in acts of wanton cultural vandalism which blighted many other shows - to reclaim videotapes or save shelf space.
Whether or not you've seen any Troughton stories this book is a must read for anyone interested in the programme or the late sixties in the UK. Aug 12, Mike Romard rated it really liked it. This may not have been the best volume for me to start with, since I've only seen a couple of serials from the Troughton era and a few stray episodes and scenes that are available on the Lost in Time DVDs. Still, it was interesting to read about Doctor Who in the context of the culture that it was made in, especially since the mid- to lates are, to me at least, a fascinating time period.
Jan 03, Christopher rated it liked it Shelves: Who Is the Doctor. Devil in the Smoke. Doctor Who The Episode Guide. The Spear of Destiny. Salt of the Earth Time Trips. The Bog Warrior Time Trips. Keeping Up with the Joneses Time Trips. Adventures With the Wife in Space. Into the Nowhere Time Trips. The Roots of Evil.
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Tip Of The Tongue. Last of the Gaderene. The Anti-Hero Time Trips. Fear of the Dark. The Day of the Doctor Target Collection. The Beast of Babylon.
Remembrance of the Daleks. The Shadow In The Glass.
TARDIS Eruditorum - A Critical History of Doctor Who Volume 2: Patrick Troughton by Philip Sandifer
Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen. Twice Upon a Time. The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage. The Crawling Terror 12th Doctor novel. Magic of the Angels. The Resurrection of the Doctor. Silhouette 12th Doctor novel. The Blood Cell 12th Doctor novel. The English Way of Death. Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet. Plague of the Cybermen.