Product Description

William Hartnell stars as the first Doctor in this classic four episode story from 1966, which pits the TARDIS crew against one of the most powerful enemies they have ever encountered.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169005 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-02
• Released on: 2001-04-02
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding

Customer Reviews

A holiday for the Doctor ...
The odd thing about Dr Who in the Sixties was that Bill Hartnell was forever going away on a fortnight's holiday! I've lost track of how many Dr Who releases the BBC have now done of Hartnell stories in which Peter Purves is left to carry the show single handed.

He has to do so in 'The Massacre', where Hartnell can't appear as both the Abbott and the Doctor; he has to do so in 'The Daleks Masterplan' when Hartnell is again absent; and also in 'The Time Meddler' - at a point at which he's only been in the Dr Who series for a mere 3 weeks!

If they could have squeezed the poor guy into 'Mission to the Unknown' (in which not only Hartnell but ALL of the regular cast was missing!) I'm sure they would have.

Happily, Peter Purves has real style and a ready wit, and never seems phased by what must have been rather a daunting prospect. Here, the Celestial Toymaker waves his hand and the Doctor becomes invisible for a couple of episodes (a pretty neat trick on an audio recording!), and is represented in the middle two episodes of this serial only by some occasional pre-recorded dialogue, leaving Steven and Dodo to give the Toymaker the runaround for a fortnight.

It's an enjoyable romp, enlivened too by the presence of Carmen Silvera (from the tv series 'Allo 'Allo) and that fine old character actor Campbell Singer, as our heroes' opponents in a series of deadly games, loosely based on children's nursery rhymes. And of course, to the youngsters in the audience in the 1960's, this gave the serial a particular edge - being menaced by their toys, which come to life and then try to kill Steven and Dodo.

On the surface, to us now as adults, the story is just a charming fantasy. But with playing cards, nursery rhyme characters and Billy Bunter all coming to life at the drop of a hat, and turning out to be lethal, it somehow didn't seem quite so harmless at the time...

Cheap and cheerful
I'm 13 years old and I hate the new Doctor Who series. Why not sit back and enjoy some light hearted and cheerful Doctor Who instead of the noisy, fast paced and modern rubbish? This story, The Celestial Toymaker, is a perfect example of the quiet and entertaining series that ignorant people don't understand. Don't let a few CSO effects and wobbly sets put you off a classic show that has been turned into a mess over 2006.

Lost story dramatically brought to life on audio!!!
This is a fantastic audio of one of Hartnells lost stories. Only one episode exists on film so here is your chance to capture the other three. This story has never been given the gratitude it deserves. Don't listen to bad reviews of this story, review it yourself by getting it!