Sunday, May 22, 2016

Doctor Who: The Companions by John Nathan-Turner

    The Companion. A staple of the series Doctor Who. It's the crew member of the TARDIS that anchors the Doctor, completes him, and makes Whovians dream that one day we'll hear the melodic whine of the time ship's grinding brakes in hopes that it will be our turn to travel through time and space.

   This 1986 book covers every companion to grace the interior of the TARDIS. Written by (at the time) showrunner John Nathan-Turner, it's filled with lots of insider information about the creation of the characters and the process in casting the talent to portray them on the small screen. However, if the companion isn't from Nathan-Turner’s era, you'll get very little information on your favorite companions. But that wasn't a problem for me as my Doctor, the Fifth played by Peter Davison, features heavily in this book. But it does make for an incomplete compendium on the companions of the first six Doctors. Especially those who traveled with the Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee Timelords...

   The book also boasts several painted covers of some past companions. Several were quite good renderings of the actors. A couple were okay but did feature some awesome monsters. And then there is the black and white painting of Elizabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith… if not for a listing of subjects in the front of the book, I would not have a clue who the artist was going for.

    Doctor Who: The Companions was printed in the UK. I'm sure over there this isn't a hard book to find. But anything classic Who is rare here in the States and I was thrilled to find this at the Doll Book Exchange last month.

  A must for classic Who fans- especially of the Fourth, Fifth. And Sixth Doctors!

  Worth Consuming!

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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