When McFarland Press re-released John Kenneth Muir’s A
Critical History of Doctor Who On Television in 2007, they had the
perfect chance to update the volume to reflect the first several series of
the revised Doctor Who, an opportunity which they passed up.
The ball, however, has since been picked up by Graeme Burk and Robert
Smith, who have provided a guide to the first six series of the revamped Doctor
Who in their book Who Is the
Doctor.
Following a brief introduction and a synopsis of the
original series, which ran for 26 seasons, the authors get into the meat of
their work, an episode-by-episode look at the show.
These are not synopses of the episodes.
If you haven’t watched them, Burk and Smith won’t tell you what
the plot is. Instead, they
provide a high-level look at the idea behind each episode and a look at the
episode’s antecedents in other popular culture (although they tend to look
at media, rather than literary, science fiction).
The entries are further divided to allow the reader to compare
aspects of the episodes…what logical inconsistencies exist, are their ties
to earlier (or later) episodes, trivia, relationships, and so forth.
These serve as reminders of the episodes and have an almost
water-cooler discussion feel to them.
This sense of a discussion taking place is heightened
by the end of each entry when Burk and Smith both offer their own opinions
and insights into the episode, frequently disagreeing on points major and
minor. This is a pleasant reminder that individual’s have different points
of view and almost a validation that just because all of your friends like a
particular episode, that doesn’t mean you also have to like it (or vice
versa). The two perspectives also offer alternative suggested methods of
watching the episodes. If it
doesn’t work as a drama, try watching it as a satire.
Interspersed throughout the book are short sidebars
which offer backgrounds on everything from the actors who have been cast in
the various roles to the creatures featured in the Doctor’s adventures.
These also allow the authors to provide historical perspective of the
series. Instead of dropping
information about the Daleks directly into the guide for the episode in
which they make their first reappearance, all of the background can be fit
into a sidebar, where it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the episode
dissection.
Who is the Doctor
overall offers a light look at the series, but also tracks the heavier
thematic lines that play out over each series, and even throughout Doctor Who history. This
is the kind of book to keep with you when watching (or re-watching) the
series and dipping into when you have an idle moment.
Reading the book straight through is a somewhat exhausting
experience. Who is the Doctor
offers additional depth to the series, partly by picking out the important
(and the trivial) things that are done in each episode.
The authors don’t faun over everything, but view them with a
discerning eye.
