By Paul Lang

BBC Children’s Books, out now

A recap of 60 years of adventuring…

I suspect that there’s going to be a lot of tie-in merchandise coming out over the next 12-15 months, to mark the 60th anniversary of a certain small scale Saturday evening children’s show that has repeatedly regenerated itself into new forms and formats – and Paul Lang has set a high bar against which those aimed at the younger end of the market will be judged. Actually, given how succinctly he captures the entire history of the series – including the curveballs thrown in the last few years – a lot of books may suffer in comparison when trying to find the salient points out of however many hundred hours of television (and beyond) that need to be summarised.

The backbone of the book is this recap, told by the 13th Doctor in her own words (and you really can hear Jodie Whittaker’s voice here). It goes from before An Unearthly Child right the way to the end of Legend of the Sea-Devils (no sneak peeks at the centenary special – although it wouldn’t surprise me if in retrospect something jumps out) with the Fugitive and War Doctors incorporated where they sit in the fictional timeline.

It’s not all nostalgia – there’s various bits that focus on Flux and its two special sequels, although Lang, perhaps wisely, doesn’t try to reconcile some of the most recent series’… idiosyncrasies, shall we say. There’s an excerpt from the new Doctor Who: Origins book (whose title is carefully hidden on the contents page) and the sorts of games and puzzles you’d anticipate, all focused on the series’ past, present and future.

Not all the narration is in the Doctor’s voice – Dan and Yaz make an appearance, with a lovely final double page spread entitled No Regrets recounting Yaz’s experiences and feelings towards the Doctor – acknowledging the power of Thasmin.

Verdict: Set yourself up for the Centenary Special and the departure of the 13th Doctor with this compact guide to Doctor Who from its earliest days. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order from Amazon.co.uk