Tat Wood
Auteur van About Time 1: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: Seasons 1 to 3
Reeksen
Werken van Tat Wood
About Time 5: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: Seasons 18 to 21 (2005) — Auteur — 116 exemplaren
About Time 4: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: Seasons 12 to 17 (2004) — Auteur — 114 exemplaren
About Time 6: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: Seasons 22 to 26, the TV Movie (2007) 104 exemplaren
About Time 3: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who: Seasons 7 to 11 (Expanded Second Edition) (2009) 71 exemplaren
About Time 9: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Series 4, the 2009 Specials) (2019) 24 exemplaren
Gerelateerde werken
Time and Relative Dissertations in Space: Critical Perspectives on Doctor Who (2007) — Medewerker — 44 exemplaren
Time, Unincorporated: The Doctor Who Fanzine Archives, Vol. 2: Writings on the Classic Series (2010) — Medewerker — 29 exemplaren
In●Vision: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (2001) — Contributor "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" — 2 exemplaren
In●Vision: The Curse of the Fatal Death (2003) — Contributor "Can You Parody a Parody?" — 2 exemplaren
In●Vision: The Legacy (2003) — Contributor "What If... 1966: Huw Weldon's mum had hated the Daleks." — 1 exemplaar
The Frame — Issue Seven (1988) — Writer "Milestones: The Caves of Androzani" and "Dorothy Who?" — 1 exemplaar
The Frame — Issue Eleven (1989) — Writer "Cat Among the Pigeons" and "The Plan of Rassilon" — 1 exemplaar
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Algemene kennis
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- 20th century
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- 4.3
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- 31
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- 22
The sense of humour about the flawed side of the program is enjoyable, while the detailed examination of the series in light of cultural context is highly valued. For those of us who weren't there in the 1970s or are from across the seas (or both, in my case), it can be easy to forget that most episodes of the program - like most works of fiction in general - played very differently to its original intended audience, who carried with them a head full of symbols, images, social assumptions, tropes, popular culture linkages, actors' names and faces, political understandings, bromides, fairy tales, religious concepts, and attitudes, not to mention being "locked in" to a Saturday evening timeslot in the way that modern viewers to a TV program are not. I think the About Time series is the best overall work to hold one's hand through the experience of diving deep into Who.
(This review is based entirely on the first three volumes, so I cannot speak as to whether the wheels will give out when Wood reaches the oft-criticised 1980s seasons, nor whether his alleged cruelty toward the new series will be warranted.)
Of course, it's not perfect, and the flaws do matter. First of all, as others have noted, lots of little facts are not quite as factual as one would like. There is an entire thread on Gallifrey Base devoted to this, exposing what are mostly minor niggles (surnames of historical figures misspelled, dates slightly incorrect) but do sometimes extend to historical situations being misinterpreted or misrepresented, which is a problem given the book's schoolmasterly tone. Second, could we acknowledge that occasionally the dives go too deep? Sure. There may be one too many footnotes, and one's eyes roll automatically when the footnote is merely explaining a joke made by Wood rather than relating anything to the program. Third, it’s clear that Wood owes a debt to that pioneering 1990s volume on the subject, The Discontinuity Guide, and adopts something of its tone in the intro to each serial. But whereas that volume was written at a time when many fans were unable to see every story, this is the era of streaming and home media (and easy piracy). The entry on “Inferno”, for example, rather beguilingly reads as if it were made for someone who has know hope of seeing the program. I’d like to know of even one reader who decided, in this modern age, that the book was all they needed!
And fourth, yes, it must be said: "schoolmasterly" is how I described the tone, but others might go for "snotty". Whether lecturing us on the music of Stockhausen or the relationship between Wales and its parent, the United Kingdom, Wood has chosen to approach this book like an expert introducing new immigrants to a culture. Often that's welcomed, as I mentioned earlier, when it places the program into its context. But by the time he's explaining what "beans on toast" are (thanks, Tat!), it's a tad dispiriting. Yes, my American partner wouldn't understand baked beans, but in this situation it is a thoroughly unnecessary interjection designed to make English culture sound like something thrillingly esoteric. It makes for a discombobulating experience, as he clearly wants to write for both ignorant millennials like myself and interested armchair Who scholars of his own generation. Sometimes, thus, he leans toward the "this funny thing happened in 1971 and, no, I'm not lying!" while other times he casually mentions multiple television programs or bands with the expectation they'll be familiar to us. It's an uneven mix that comes from his desire to write a book that is all things for all people, which perhaps also explains its length.
Those are not complaints, just honest criticisms. I'm having great fun revisiting the series in its entirety for the first time since I discovered it back in the late 2000s; it's a privilege to have Wood by my side... even if I'm reminded sometimes of how my partner's eyes glaze over when I rabbit on about the exact order of Shakespeare's plays. This book replicates the feeling of having an excessively nerdy friend tie you to a chair and not let you leave until you've listened to his entire PhD in one hit. Indeed, my relationship with Wood is rather how I imagine the Doctor felt about K-9: it's exceptionally nice to have you here, I appreciate what you bring to the team, and I couldn't survive without you. But when you're not required, please go back in the cupboard. There's a good dog.… (meer)