By Tat Wood and Dorothy Ail

Mad Norwegian Press, out now

An in-depth guide to David Tennant’s final episodes.

I’ve made no secret over the years of my admiration for the About Time guides – originally written by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood, then by Wood solo, and now credited to Wood and Ail. The series published initially out of chronological order but now that the entire classic era is well and truly covered, they’re working their way through the 21st century shows – and they’re only 10 years behind now! (I suspect they’ll get even further behind, given that they seem to have turned their attention back to seasons 12-17 for a revised version of volume 4 as the next project.)

They’re not books to try to read cover to cover in one hit – they try to be comprehensive, so there’s discussions of the real world problems that faced productions, as well as analyses of (and theories regarding) the key characters in each story, and the thematic influences. Certain elements demand more attention, and there’s a sidebar essay accompanying each story, which are always my first port of call when a new book arrives. These mix looks at the “in world” problems raised by stories – for instance, the disconnects between the British space program as seen in The Ambassadors of Death and… well, pretty much every other story – and real-world matters, such as the global reach of the show, or the effects of the new methods of filming.

You’re unlikely to agree with every theory Wood and Ail come up with, but there’s never a doubt that they’ve examined each story in incredible detail (and, it has to be said, the factual errors that mar some of the earlier books are no longer a major issue). They try to make sense of contradictory input – inevitable when there were three shows in production simultaneously and 45 years of history prior to that – and come up with answers. Maybe not the right ones, but at least they’re feasible.

Verdict: As with The Black Archive series, the About Time volumes make you look at stories you think you know in a new light – and that’s something that even the most jaded fan wants. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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