The world of Doctor Who has a fine tradition of anniversary publications. Given the level scrutiny the show has enjoyed in recent years, the trick is to find a unique angle to approach the material with. Wonderfully, BBC Books have achieved just that with The Doctor – His Lives and Times.
As Mel Brooks fans already know, ‘It’s good to be the king’. And despite living over 60 years before the movie History of the World: Part 1, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) knows it too. Shame he’s building his power on such a massive foundation of enemies. Keep at it though, Tommy – it makes for great drama.
After his incredibly in-depth 2009 book The Making of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Charles Helfenstein has once again done a staggering amount of research into the world of James Bond, this time into the production of Timothy Dalton’s 007 debut, The Living Daylights.
The second part of this face-skinning story begins at quite a pelt, as our witness link from the previous episode is made within the first few minutes. After her input, Buchan’s disgust is palpable at a link to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, drawing on a work of lurid fiction rather than his treasured archive of fact.
You don’t have a costly suit of cutting-edge armour, you don’t have a robot butler, and chances are you don’t even have a cool beard like Tony Stark (though really, if you do, good job sir). But fortunately lacking any of the aforementioned items doesn’t preclude you from enjoying the same music that Iron Man himself jets around to.
After the 1996 TV Movie, and with no prospect of further onscreen adventures, BBC Books began a series of novels featuring the Eighth Doctor. These adventures took off into new worlds with fresh companions, creating their own continuity.
Following the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey, which did for Matthew with a car what childbirth did for Lady Sibyl, you could have been forgiven for thinking that there was only so much melodrama one series could take. But stately homes – and big budget ITV series – don’t go off course so easily.
Almost every single drama will have to work out the kinks of its premise throughout its first season.
Arrow is no exception, but it is a series that always displays a clear intent as far as its approach goes. Some may dismiss the show as goofy fun, but it delivers a rather delicate balance as it takes on the darker edges of its story while keeping things fun, engaging and frequently very unpredictable.
‘Night of the Whisper’ is a rare thing indeed, a non-televised adventure for the Ninth Doctor.
Other than the half a dozen novels and handful of comic strip appearances that appeared at the time, Christopher Eccleston’s short stint as the Time Lord has not seen much expansion. AudioGO tend to make audio adventures for the incumbent Doctor and Big Finish’ license precludes anything pre-2005.
Truckers – based on the book by Terry Pratchett – is a 1992 CITV claymation series from Cosgrove Hall.