About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 7 to 11)

Rating:
Summary: Extremely well done despite a slight attitude problem
Review: In interviews conducted for the I, Who series of books (published, like this volume, by Mad Norwegian Press), Lawrence Miles made clear his disdain for backward-looking fans and his monomaniacal insistence that Doctor Who move ever forward in order to be at all interesting. (Since Miles has written a handful of Doctor Who novels himself, that seems to make him either a fan who wishes to be both of the fandom and simultaneously above it, or, alternately, a professional writer type who is "slumming it".) So it is perhaps not surprising that the overall tone of About Time 3 is one of superiority over the source material. The authors constantly make the point that they know how silly and flawed and poorly-made the Doctor Who TV program was, but that it was just so charming that people liked it. A not altogether invalid point, given that the series WAS flawed and silly much of the time, but a reference work aimed at fans of the show is not really an appropriate place to point such things out so forcefully and repeatedly.
     Nevertheless, the collected data is, as advertised, exhaustive, ranging from continuity notes and information about each story's setting to behind-the-scenes anecdotes. The analysis is informative and thought-provoking, with the sections that explain how each story fits into the time it was made and broadcast being particularly interesting. And the critiques are presented thoughtfully and thoroughly, even if I disagree with their opinions much of the time. Even the sidebar essays (about things like when the UNIT stories actually take place and whether or not Doctor Who was really that chauvinistic) are genuinely fascinating, and to be fair Miles and Wood defend many aspects of the show eloquently. So, despite the slightly sneering bits that turn up on nearly every page, About Time 3 is a must-have reference volume for any more-than-casual Doctor Who fan, and hopefully the rest of the series will follow suit.