| Title | : | Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1409325717 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781409325710 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published April 2, 2013 |
Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia Reviews
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Of course I love my doctor who ❤️ nice reference guide if you see an unfamiliar creature
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This was a very disappointing reference work. I’ve mentioned in other reviews of similar books that I live for this kind of information. I’m not a follower of the Wheel of Time or A Song of Ice and Fire but I’ve got the encyclopedias. Nor am I a great fan of Peter Hamilton but I’ve got
The Confederation Handbook. The same is true of Star Wars. My fanfic version of SW is radically different from the canon but I still have
Star Wars: The New Essential Chronology and
Star Wars Millennium Falcon Manual.
Don’t get me started on Star Trek. My version may have parted company with canon years ago but I’m still a sucker for the latest reference manual or timeline. (Or RPG supplement – I recently purchased the
Klingon and
Romulan handbooks for ADB’s role-playing game based on their ST boardgame, Starfleet Battles, which I and my friends spent many happy hours playing back in the ‘80s.)
So I was looking forward to this compendium of Doctor Who characters. I’ve been watching the Doctor since the ‘80s, when the local PBS station began airing the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker – who remains my favorite from the original run). I followed faithfully up through the first episodes of the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker), when college and a dislike of the second Baker’s portrayal diminished my interest in the errant Time Lord. In the years since, I’ve managed to see most – if not all – of Pertwee’s (#3) run, some of Troughton’s (#2), and some of McCoy’s (#7). I watched the 1996 Doctor Who film with Paul McGann, and I liked him though the movie itself isn’t very good. When I stumbled across the reboot with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth regeneration, I was so very pleased (he is my favorite doctor of the new series, and I think I may like him even better than Tom Baker). But then he left after a year, to be followed by David Tennant and Matt Smith. I don’t dislike either actor in the role but I’ve never been taken with their characterizations [note 1]. Now, I am happily anticipating
Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Anyone who watches a lot of British TV will immediately recognize Capaldi. He’s one of those character actors who appears in everything. I first saw him playing Vera, a cross-dressing prostitute, in the original Prime Suspect series; and I most recently caught him playing King Charles II in The Devil’s Whore. And he’s no stranger to Doctor Who, having played the father in the Pompeii episode (“The Fires of Pompeii”). I’m looking forward to his interpretation of the Doctor.
It’s odd but recently I had been contemplating what I found lacking in the new Doctor Who, and I had come to the conclusion that – among other things – we needed a more mature incarnation (Capaldi is in his 50s) [note 2].
All this is rather beside the point and a long-winded way of getting around to why I found this particular book a disappointment, so ahead with the review.
My chief complaint is the author's appalling lack of discrimination. Each entry gets a page. This is fine for characters/races who appear for a single story (cf., the Zygons or the Krillitanes, to name two from the old and new series, respectively). But considering their central role in both series, don’t the Daleks deserve a bit more? And certainly the various Doctors deserve more than a page that is mostly white space and factoids?
There’s nothing substantive here. This book doesn’t hold a candle to
Ahistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe, a gloriously convoluted attempt to reconcile 40 years of TV shows that was informative and fascinating, and highly recommended for the Who fan.
As for this let-down, I can only recommend the book to Whovian completists (and even here, it’ll disappoint, since it doesn’t cover all of the myriad races and characters who’ve popped up since the first episode in 1963).
NOTE 1: If I were to commend any role Tennant’s played it would be his Hamlet more than his Doctor. I picked up Tennant’s Hamlet a few years ago not expecting much based on my experience with Doctor Who but was blown away by the performance.
NOTE 2: Assuming Capaldi is not the final Doctor, I was also thinking that BBC should push the envelope for his next regenerations. A nonwhite Doctor? (For some reason, I keep seeing Idris Elba in my head.)
And why couldn’t the Doctor regenerate as a woman? Alas, these will likely remain unrealized dreams limited to my fanfic version of the Whovian universe.
But speaking of canon. In the old Doctor Who, Time Lords were limited to 12 regenerations. In fact, one of the Master’s many crimes was stealing bodies so he could live beyond his final incarnation. Will the new series simply ignore the old rule or will they contrive some means around it? I look forward to the answer. -
I really liked this book. Learning more about the characters of one of my favorite shows was wonderful! I wished it would have had more characters and that it would have been more updated and had recent characters. I really liked learning more about Doctor Who.
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Love it.
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As character guides for a television show goes this is one of the better efforts, and I think much better than DK Book's other recent genre effort the Star Wars Clone Wars Character Guide. The information is very recent as it includes all of the doctors (except Peter Cushing) and many of the companions, including Clara.
There is a nice use of color photography where available, but I think the book places too much emphasis on the characters introduced during the 10th and 11th doctors tour of duty. It also feels, and some of this comes form casual reading in other places, that many of the older companions were ignored or given short shift. I mean really the main picture for Romana isn't Mary Tamm who played the character the longest?
Regardless if you have a soft spot for guides like such as I do, and are a Doctor Who fan see if you can find a copy for a reasonable price and you'll likely enjoy it. -
Time to put on your sonic sunglasses and flip through page after page of heavily illustrated entries on your favorite and not-so-favorite characters from Doctor Who. This is another one of those fun books for all Whovians everywhere. This one is geared more toward youthful members of that elite group, but still it is full of more trivia, factoids and information than you could shake a sonic screwdriver at.
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A very charming and wide-ranging book, this Character Encyclopedia actually lives up to its name and it covers major and minor alien races (both enemies and allies of the Doctor) as well as almost all the Time Lord's companions. Of course, since it ties in with Matt Smith's last season and the run up to the 50th anniversary, the focus and the point of view are decidedly 21st century, although the authors should be credited for including some "monsters of the week" that had yet to reappear in 2013. As for the entries themselves, they are quite entertaining and make the most of the single page that is devoted to each entry to provide a nice balance of facts and factoids about the alien or companion in question. The quality of the images themselves is actually remarkable (the colorized picture of the Celestial Toymaker, for starters), but the choice of words to describe some of the character's attire is curious to say the least (the Meddling Monk is said to wear a "monk's habit"... who would have guessed!). Another nice tie-in book to have around, it's much better than the Dictionary that came out around the same time, but not quite as good as Justin Richard's Monsters and Villains that served as an introduction to Christopher Eccleston's tenure as the 9th Doctor.
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This is a book that does very much what it says on the cover: it's an encyclopedia of characters who have appeared in Doctor Who. One or two reviewers seem to have missed this point. Just sayin'...
In terms of coverage, it's comprehensive. However, it lacks a good deal of depth. However, to have provided the kind of depth that some reviewers seem to have been expecting would have required several volumes of a similar size. It is, happily, image-rich. The facts (well, it's fiction, but...) are laid out well in summary format for quick reference.
I would also remind adult reviewers who have given this a poor rating that this is, after all, targeted at a non-adult readership. Be fair.
I've put a finish date on my review. Is one ever really finished with an encyclopedia? -
I know, not technically "non-fiction", but it's a fact book about the show, so it's kinda referency.
I think this would be really enjoyable for someone just beginning to watch the show, or just as a quick reflection on some of the more prevalent characters. However, there's nothing new about the characters you've met, just the stuff you learn about them in their episodes. I did get some new information, though, as there were many characters from the classic era that I've never seen. I honestly wish there had been a bit more about classic Who. And I learned that several of my favorite modern villains have been featured before, like the Silurians.
As always, being a DK book, the pictures are beautiful and the organization flows nicely and keeps your interest. This would he great for middle school aged Whovians (who, by the way, are awesome kids!) -
If you are a fan of Doctor Who, you HAVE got to read this book. I find it very interesting and can recommend it. However, if you are not finished with the show then this book is a book of spoilers. I enjoyed it not only because it had the new doctor who stuff, but it had the old Doctor Who stuff as we'll. One BIG mistake they made was that on the Mickey Smith page where it says "Doctors Met" it doesn't include the ninth doctor. He was the first doctor Mickey met. Come on people! I do like the rest of the book though.
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Becoming a HUGE Whovian over the summer last year, I found this book extremely interesting and informative. Especially with all of the characters from Classic Who.
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Clearly written for kids, but, it haves some nice background information and beautiful photographs and stills from Doctor Who.
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Doctor Who has really been my thing lately. This book has all of the Doctor's their companions, humans, aliens, cyborgs... everyone and everything they meet!! I give this a five-star rating!!! The book is based on the TV Show: Doctor Who?
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This book is a good reference about the universe of Dr. Who. My only complaint is that it is dated. There is great information about everything through the eleventh Doctor. There have been three more since then and a new books needed.
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I loved revisiting all the characters in this amazing show up to the 11th doctor! I need to watch the original series now to meet the characters unfamiliar to me. The creators of this show are so talented to be able to come up with these aliens and characters and they all are so unique! Bravo!
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This book shows ALL the amazing, mischievous, evil, kind characters. They explain about them in detail, they also reveal their special abilities.
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If they were going for Quick Factoid Reference Guide, they nailed it. Encyclopedia, not so much. Still, an enjoyable guide.
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GREAT info for Doctor Who fans!
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this is the kind of thing i wish i owned...lots of fun to have around, and helpful if you're a Who fan. has an index! only goes up to the eleventh Doctor, though.
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The "Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia" is a photographic collection of the hit BBC television series "Doctor Who." It's an ABC bind-up of every companion, alien, robot, and human that comes in contact with the Doctor. Full of colorful photos and details on every character, this encyclopedia is a must for every fan.
This was a great little bind-up. I've only been watching "Doctor Who" since the new series started in 2005, but I have managed to catch up on at least one episode (or one movie in the case of Paul McGann's eighth Doctor) from every Doctor. This collection goes through 50 years of "Who" so it's full of every companion and creature, as well as profiles on all eleven Doctors. For me, it was great to see all of the creatures and characters from the old series. I found myself on occasion going, "Oh, the new series should reintroduce this character at some point." Not every single character is in this bind-up. It only includes a little over 200 characters, mostly the major players and important one-off characters. So yeah, minor characters don't make an appearance. What's also not included (much to my disappointment since these are some of my favorite episodes) are historical figures.
This is a beautiful bind-up. There's full color photos of most of the characters, very sharp and clear. I will warn you though, if you intend on trying to watch a lot of the old series in the future, this book does contain spoilers like companion deaths or departures, creature defeats, and how each Doctor regenerates into the next Doctor. Of course, "Doctor Who" is still running. This bind-up only goes up to "The Snowmen" Christmas special of 2012, so the rest of season 7, the 50th anniversary and the 2013 Christmas special is not included. It was frustrating reading the part on Clara, knowing that she comes back as a companion, as well as on Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor page it just says "has not yet regenerated." That's the only bad thing about bind-ups in general is that if something is still ongoing, you don't get the complete history.
Overall, a great character encyclopedia. It was fun to read the stuff I did know versus the stuff that is unfamiliar to me. I highly recommend this for all "Doctor Who" fans. -
This is a visually appealing guide that covers a fair amount of Doctor Who characters. Obviously it doesn't cover every single one since that would take a way bigger book, and it does favor the new series some. Characters like Sara Kingdom, the Quarks, and the Kandy Man are missing while characters like Grayle who play relatively more minor roles (I didn't even really remember Grayle at all until I read his description) are included. Some characters such as Jenny, Strax, and the Great Intelligence are listed in the index, but only talked about under other entries and never get their own entry. And while this book looks nice I do have a few issues with the choices made in the layout. Each character's picture is featured nice and large right in the middle of the page, but they're kind of distracted from by the weird descriptions that are attached. Some are fine and point out reasonable features of the character, but others say bizarre or completely inane things. So why did I give this book three stars? Because it's good as an overview, though not if you're looking for in-depth and extensive information. I imagine it's useful as a quick primer for those who haven't seen any of the old series and for those who have it makes a nice reminder since there have been a lot of characters to remember. It's fun to flip through and nice to look at. I bought this at a used bookstore for about eight dollars, which is the only reason I bought my own copy, as I think the full 17 dollar listed price is a bit iffy for what you get.
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I really love this book because it tells me everything about every companion and enemies. To be honest I never really knew that the eleventh doctor has used up all his 12 generations. It might be confusing at first for the people that didn't ever see doctor who but once you watch the episodes you're like cool and everything like that but then I didn't know that the eleventh doctor had a wife and her name was river song a.k.a melody pond which is the daughter of Rory and Amelia. I love how it has the picture of what they all look like. I love how river song uses the word "spoilers" I love Matt smith he is like my best actor. I love the phrase "Geronimo" it's just pretty amazing I love doctor who and I guess I always will since there is a new doctor the 12 doctor. But the question is what is the doctors name!! I al us wondered that. But who knows I really like the book a lot I have the book!
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'A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, What, Where, When, Why)'
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Kind of a tough call. On the one hand, it is useful to be able to look up someone and answer questions. And, it was a pleasant way to pass time. But a number of the entries seemed spoiler-y to me, and the costuming comments seemed odd: why would one draw a box around the observation that a companion's clothes were colorful? Do3esn't that seem like something the full-color photograph would cover? Since I'm not at all up on the first thirty years of the Doctor, it was helpful to learn about the companions and bad guys, and it was fun seeing all the Doctors in a row.
Ultimately I'm going to go with a fun thing for a newer fan to flip through, but not a book recommended for anyone desiring depth.
Library copy. -
I realised this was a mistakenly purchased book when flipping thorugh the pages there were arrows highlighting various aspects of people's clothing such as 'smart scarf, adds a nice touch!' (not verbatim but you get the drift!). This is a childrens' book, but even so it is comprhensively arranged into companions ( normally defined as someone who has travelled within the Tardis, but somehow including Astrid Peth who never did, but I digress), human helpers, alien foes etc, each section ordered alphabetically. Still read it from cover to cover anyhow, just to check veracity-ahem-but will be perfect for my mini Whovians' 8th birthday!
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Fantastic!
Pun intended. I thought this was a great way to learn about the various reincarnations of The Doctor, his many companions, his many enemies, and all the other species he's encountered over the years without having to read a book that would be bigger than The Bible (let's get real, it would happen). I enjoyed the breakdown of all of the different aspects of the characters and creatures, and being told what planet they reign from, their special abilities, and what reincarnations of the Doctor they have encountered. Though, this was clearly made in the days between the departure of The Ponds and introduction of The Impossible Girl - Clara. It was still awesome! -
I've actually read this several times, and it's always surprising how enjoyable something so simple can be. It's more of a picture book than a proper encyclopedia, and it's certainly aimed for younger fans. Yet it's hard to deny that it covers an enormous range of characters throughout "Doctor Who" history, right up to the end of 2012, as of this edition. Simple and visual it may be, but it's a useful, easy to use guide to everyone important over 49 years of the series. Extra bonus points for giving equal time to the primal, black and white era of the 1960s, something many newer guides tend to gloss over.
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If you've ever seen an Eye Witness book, this is one of those, even by the same publisher, DK. What that means is lots of pictures and basic information about the characters with sometimes silly/useless captions.
I would've liked something meatier, but then I started watching Doctor Who with the 4th Doctor. For someone newer to the series, or younger, this book would be a good overview of the characters from the series, original through current reboot ending before the recent "The Day of the Doctor" episode.
