Product Description

With the successful twenty-first century revival of an old favourite for a new generation of viewers, this is the time to look afresh at one of the great classics of British television. "Doctor Who" enjoys the distinction of being the longest-running science fiction series in the world. The adventures of everyone's favourite "Time Lord" and his many companions, as they battle it out with Daleks, Cybermen and many more intergalactic menaces, have become an indelible part of popular culture. In this new study of a television institution - the first to draw extensively on the full riches of the "BBC Written Archives" - James Chapman explores the history of "Doctor Who" from its origins to the present day. He shows how the series has evolved to meet changing contexts inside the BBC and in the wider culture, while all the time retaining its quirky, eccentric and distinctively British characteristics. And he demonstrates how the production history of the series has allowed it to renew and refresh its format in response to developments in the wider world of science fiction. Chapman writes from the perspective of a fan as well as a historian: this will be the essential text for all serious "Doctor Who" aficionados.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39490 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 232 pages

Review
'I suspect it may well be the best overview of Doctor Who that I have ever read''If you're keen to understand why this wonderful show has been such a success and have it set in context, now is your chance to enter the world of academia and see Dotor Who from a new and rewarding perspective.' Andrew Pixley, Doctor Who Magazine, March 2006 'Chapman's approach is unpretentious, readable, solidly authoritative and self-consciously anti-theoretical.' 'Chapman's nook is an extremely good starting point for anyone wishing to think seriously about Doctor Who.' - Independent on Sunday 'A serious-minded "cultural history" which sets out to examine how the series "maps the shifting cultural landscape of Britain... Illuminating."' Jon Barnes, Times Literary Supplement 'Inside the Tardis is a sideways look at the history of broadcasting since the 1960s As the show skips from crabbit William Hartnoll to David Tennant, Paisley's first Time Lord, we see how changes at the BBC affected the show.' - Sunday Herald 'A genuinely worthwhile addition to the library-full of books about the series.' - Starburst 'James Chapman has written an absorbing, highly readable account of the series. This is an intelligent, well-balanced work that thanks to the BBC archives, brings something genuinely new to the party.' - SFX Magazine 'What really distinguishes Inside the Tardis from the scores of other histories of Doctor Who is the access Chapman was given to the BBC Written Archives in Caversham... allowing a fascinating glimpse into the minds and personalities of the various Doctor Who production teams.' - SFX Magazine

About the Author
James Chapman is Professor of Film at the University of Leicester. His previous books for I.B.Tauris include Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films and Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s.

Customer Reviews

Inside the Tardis
James Chapman has succeeded in writing a scholarly book which will appeal to the general fan. Eschewing academic jargon, Chapman seeks to place the TV series that was Doctor Who in its wider cultural context. The book contains no plot synopses or lists of great lines, goofs, etc., all of which have been done many times before. What he does provide is a detailed examination of how the programme was made, how it changed over the years, and how these changes influenced, and were influenced by, events in the wider world.

He does this by examining in detail the differing aims, priorities and remits of each production team. In the early development of the programme, producer Verity Lambert was tireless in her work on, and promotion of, the show, despite what appears to have been an increasing lack of interest from senior executives, who had commissioned the programme in the first place.

One of the most obvious ways in which Doctor Who changed over the years is in the different styles of the various producers, and Chapman has been tireless in his examination of the BBC's written archives to find as much original material as possible. In the mid-70's, Doctor Who came in for much criticism for being too violent. The producer of the time, Philip Hinchcliffe, was replaced by Graham Williams, and it was Williams who came in for a great deal of criticism from fans for making the programme too camp and pantomime-like. Chapman shows, however, that Williams was given far less freedom than most of his predecessors, and that he was kept on a very tight reign to ensure that viewer complaints were kept to an absolute minimum. Some of Chapman's links to the wider cultural world are contentious, to say the least, however, in the main, he backs up his claims with solid evidence from BBC paperwork of the time.

Chapman has produced one of the best and most in-depth accounts of Doctor Who, a readable and informative look at the history of this great television programme.

Beginners' Guide to the Who-niverse
If you're intrigued by the Doctor's past after the last two series, but you haven't the time or the inclination to dig deep into the archives of fandom, this is an excellent primer. What it lacks in glossy illustrations is more than made up by intelligent and very readable analysis of the recurring themes in the show, the different qualities brought to the character by past actors, and the way the stories have reflected contemporary political and broadcasting trends. The final chapter takes the story up to "The Christmas Invasion."

Academics can write accessibly and succinctly about TV programmes!
On the whole, this is a well-written and likeable book. For a product that hails from the "cultural studies" corridor of the halls of learning it is surprisingly engaging and does not really get bogged down in self-serving jargon. In particular, there is lots of informative stuff here on the "internal politics" of the BBC and the author has mined the organisation's archives to good effect. There are some illuminating quotations in the form of internal BBC documentation: memoranda, reports and the like. The quotations he has used to illustrate audience reactions to the programme in recent decades are well-chosen and give the book a welcome "populist" edge. Indeed, it becomes clear that the controversy aroused by some of the more visibly violent or terrifying episodes went beyond the usual suspects of the Mary Whitehouse brigade. Many ordinary viewers of all ages evidently found some scenes too visceral and realistic in the 1970s. At times, reflecting its academic provenance, the author is straining a little too hard in to trying to link aspects of particular episodes to its external constraints. This leads to some rather loose, generalising assertions along the lines of, "this feature of such and such a story obviously was a result of such and such a trend/issue/trope in wider society." However, the author's discussion of the distinct periods of style and content which the programme underwent - say Tom Baker's "gothic" phase - is both thoughtful and stimulating. Also, it's nice to have a clear idea of which individuals were working on the programme during which periods, and the formative roles played by various producers/script editors, etc. The author succeeds then, in exploring in an engaging style the history of the show as both a television programme (shaped within the institutional environs of the BBC) and a specific "cultural product" (reflecting wider societal values and ideological themes). Any Who fan will find this an enjoyable and informative read; full scholarly references are provided for those wishing to read further and deeper.