Doctor Who: The Vault: Treasures from the First 50 Years by Marcus Hearn

Celebrating everything Doctor Who, just in time for it's 50th anniversary- which occurred 6 years ago!

I got this amazing book right around when Doctor Who turned 50th. I was born on November 24th. Doctor Who's first appearance on TV was November 23rd, 1963. So this was a birthday present. 

I remember that I read it through Christmas of 2013. But sometime in early 2014, I got off track and put this book away in my reading cabinet. I promptly forgot about it. that was until about a week ago.

BBC America was showing a massive marathon of Doctor Who episodes as a sort of countdown to the New Year's Day premiere of the newest season (12th) of the long-running time travel series. Around this same time, I was organizing my reading cabinet and I came across this book again. Seeing that I had made a pretty big dent, and I was excited for more Who after a year without any new episodes, I dug back in.

I've read several VAULT edition books. While the format of the Doctor Who vault is petty similar to them, there are some big differences. Most VAULT books have 'artifacts'; removable items that readers can examine. These are things like stickers or blueprints or even scripts. The Doctor Who book has tons of images of a lot of cool stuff. However, there is nothing removable here.

Another difference is the formatting itself. Most VAULT books are separated into chapters that resemble a museum exhibit. But here, each chapter is broken down by year or season. However, there are not 50 chapters. As there was little to no Doctor Who from 1990 until the early 2000s, those 'wilderness years' are lumped together. (Only 1996 in which the movie debuted on national TV is given a separate year entry.) Still, this is a pretty lengthy book about about 40 chapters. I think the shear volume was why I put this book aside for a while.

This is a must for fans of Doctor Who. It's very British. But then again, so is Doctor Who itself. One thing that's a bit aggravating is how much detail is devoted to the show's ratings. I understand that the show spent a long time on the brink of cancellation. But couldn't all of that have been combined into one or two chapters and not spread out throughout the book? I found the production and fun facts parts of this book very interesting. But the devotion to viewership was a bit mind numbing. 

Maybe THAT"S why I put this book away for a while.

Lots of fun but sometimes bogged down in some boring details.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: The Salmon of Doubt, Volume 1

It’s All Connected (Well of course it is!) (Who are you?) (I’m you, but from a mirror universe. I’m here to help you review the Salmon of Doubt.) (I don’t need any help.) (Believe me- you will.) (Oh joy…)

   It’s taken me 40 years to finally understand the word ‘holistic.’ (Dummy!) I stayed away from holistic medicine all this time thinking it was something performed by a witch doctor. (You are such a fraidy cat!) Yet the word means literally to approach from all angles in terms of interconnectivity. So in the world of medicine, one might look at physical, mental, and social factors in relation to one’s health. When it comes to the detective Dirk Gently, it means something much more complicated.

    Dirk Gently is a holistic detective in which he attempts to understand how the universe is connected. (It usually involves a cat.) In the Salmon of Doubt, Dirk and his sidekick (No, don’t call her that!) (Don’t call who what?) (Sally Mills, don’t call her a sidekick!) (How about assistant?) (No, she hate’s that! Never call her Dirk’s assistant!) (Girlfriend?) (They haven’t even kissed yet!) (What about partner? Is that okay? Hello? Okay-…

Dirk and his partner Sally Mills go to visit a professor of Dirk’s. The detective hopes that his former mentor might explain why he’s been experiencing memories than aren’t the one’s Dirk remembers having as a child.

     A fight between Dirk and Sally (I told you not to call her an assistant!) (I didn’t. Dirk did!) (I know, I was just pointing it out.) (Well, could you stop? I’m trying to write a review here.) (Your loss….) (Anyways, where was I? Oh yes-…

A fight between Dirk and Sally results in the pair being transported throughout a multiverse of Dirk Gentlys. Separated on a world similar but not quite their own- the pair must find help in order to get back to their home universe. (This is where that cat I mentioned earlier comes in…) (I am about this close to beating you to death… Anyhoo-

Worlds Collide

        Based on the characters created by the master of sci-fi comedy, Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and the Salmon of Doubt seeks to tie together the IDW series of Dirk Gently comics with BBC America’s 2016 smash comedy hit starring Elijah Wood. Salmon of Doubt is supposed to be the last IDW series based on the original Adams manuscripts. (Salmon of Doubt was supposed to be the name of book 3 of the Dirk Gently series.) (I was just getting to that.) (Well, you could have got there quicker. Instead, I had to tell all these find readers about it.) (I don’t need any help.) (Actually, I think you do…) (Fine- do you want to write this review?) Well, since you asked….

    Salmon of Doubt is supposed to be the last IDW miniseries based on the original Adams manuscripts. His final work, a Dirk Gently novel titled Salmon of Doubt, was left unfinished before Adams’ untimely death in 2001. After this series, any new Dirk Gently books will (supposedly) be based on the TV show. It is very fitting that a series about a detective who looks for how everything is connected in the universe is both an ending to the original books and a prequel to the BBC America TV series. It all gets a little trippy but regular Dirk Gently writer Arvind Ethan David manages to keep things sorted out quite well. (Can I speak about the art?) (By all means…)

Two Sides of One Mirror

    The art by Secret Identities’ Ilias Kryiazis was an odd mix. The parts based on the comic book miniseries were very abstract. They had almost a Central European feel to them in that Dirk’s hair looks like a out of control smoke stack. (The character of Dirk Gently is supposed to be Central European.) (Maybe that’s why he looks that way.) (How do you draw someone to look Central European? That’s like saying you can draw someone to look athletic!) (You can draw somebody to look athletic!!!) (You can? Nevermind….)

    Okay- back to the art. As I was saying, there’s a very abstract style to the Douglas Adams novel versions of characters. But the live-action versions of everybody look amazingly life-like. Kryizais’ covers that blend the two Dirk Gently universes together are pretty cool looking as well.

A Literary Ouroboros

     IDW Publishing still has a couple more issues of Salmon of Doubt left to put out. This volume only collects the first five issues. For someone who might have all of the episodes to Dirk Gently on their DVR and haven’t watched them yet, (such as you…) such as I, this is a great starting point. Like a snake eating his own tail, this is the beginning of the end (or the end of the beginning) for IDW’s take on Dirk Gently and his holistic detective agency. So far, it’s a very good introduction to the BBC America show. Volume 2 will probably dictate whether this is an acceptable ending to the Adams’ original novels.

But for now, this series (and volume 1) is very much—
Worth Consuming! (Worth Consuming!)  
(Hey, we agreed on something!) (Yeah, we did. I don’t like…) (Me either…) 
Both versions of A Madman With A Book would like to rate Salmon of Doubt as the following:

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 8

    Shopping for the Whovian in your life this Christmas doesn't have to be hard. Especially with my advent gift to you- links to several Doctor Who gift guides. Think of it as a digital Sears Christmas catalogue dedicated to all things Who. 
  
   I hope this helps.

   Enjoy... 

Official BBC America Gift Guide, Part 1

Official BBC America Gift Guide, Part 2

Ideas other than toys...

Some of a Madman's personal favorites...

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 1

   It's been almost 1 whole year since an all-new never before seen episode of Doctor Who has hit the airwaves. Christmas of this year will finally end the drought with the Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Return of Doctor Mysterio. Doesn't sound very cheery but hey, maybe it will be.
   So, in order to make the days until Christmas and the Doctor's return seem less father away than it really is, I chose Doctor Who as my advent theme for 2016- Enjoy!

For today, here's a synopsis of the upcoming special thanks to the good folks at BBC America!

Doctor Who #8 (2011-2012)

When the Sontaran battle cruiser exploded over the temporal rift that the Doctor, Amy, and Rory were vacationing near, it split the multiple realities apart. As there were 12 time zones created, there are now 12 versions of the Sontarans, 12 sets of Ponds and 12 Doctors (too bad River Song couldn’t make this trip…)

  Funny, but a bit confusing. That’s time travel for you.

   Oh, and this issue introduces the most unusual Doctor Who companion this side of Frobisher, the talking Penguin…

 

   Good stuff that borders on the absurd and very complex.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Doctor Who (2011-2012) #6

 The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are looking for a chance to unwind. They set the TARDIS to a pleasure station that sits atop a temporal rift in the farthest reaches of space. Here, multiple timelines throughout history can play out within a matter of feet from each other. The Doctor has been here many times before and has had nothing but great memories of the place.

   But that’s all about to change when a badly damaged Sontaran ship approaches the space station in need of repairs. Leaking a special type of plasma fuel, The Doctor fears that if the Sontaran craft touches the temporal rift all of existence could be wiped out for light years around in a massive explosion.

   Well, the Doctor was right about the explosion. But instead of becoming one with the universe, the Timelord and his companions find themselves separated throughout the many time zones of the space station, each facing menacing problems of their own; such as rampaging dinosaur robots, an old west lynch mob, or Nazi Sontarins?!

   This opening chapter looks to be a fun Doctor Who adventure. The writing by 2000 A.D.’s Tony Lee captures the Doctor, Amy, and Rory very well. The Sontarans too! But the art is really strange.

   Artist Matthew Dow Smith, who does a fantastic job on many Mike Mignola titles such as BPRD, just isn’t a Doctor Who artist. On the Mignola titles, Smith’s job is to replicate the artwork of Mignola from the Hellboy books from which BPRD have spun-off. But Doctor Who is an entirely different animal and shouldn’t be drawn like Hellboy unless the two franchises were going to meet. (Oh wow! A Hellboy/ Doctor Who crossover! Put me down for a full series run of that please!)

    Great premise. Excellent writing. Art not meant for a Timelord… But still, when you boil it all down it’s worthy of some fish fingers and custard.

   Worth Consuming

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

In need of a Doctor...

 
 This has been a tough year...
   An election that wouldn't end...
   Deaths of beloved celebrities like Bowie, Wilder, and Prince...
   And no Doctor Who all year!!!

   Well, I can't take it anymore. I'm jonesin' for some new Who!!!

   Thankfully, on November 19th, BBC America will be airing an animated version of a lost Doctor Who episode from the Patrick Troughton era and in less than 2 months we'll have an all-new Christmas special.
  
    So in high anticipation of the forth-coming Doctor Who episodes, I'm going to be reading a lot of Doctor Who comics and books. So, stay tuned over the next few days for a smattering of reviews of further adventures of a Timelord and his TARDIS.

Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Family Comic Friday)

This week's Family Comic Friday focuses on the classic British sci-fi series, Doctor Who. Now, you might be saying 'Wait a minute Madman, Doctor Who isn't for kids!" And you'd be wrong! When the show first aired in November 1963, not only was the show aimed at kids- it was an educational series to boot. One week, the Doctor would fight crazy aliens, the next he'd take his little blue box, the TARDIS, somewhere back in time and meet cavemen or Marco Polo. Eventually, the aliens and monsters episodes would prove to be more popular and the time travelling adventures would be phased out completely, unless the Doctor went back in time to meet someone like Shakespeare and battle some aliens posing as the three witches from Macbeth.

    Though Doctor Who is a little scary and a little violent, at it's very heart, this is a kids show. I started watching about 1981-82. This was when the first Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor- My Doctor!) episodes as the Doctor were airing on PBS in America. I was 4 or 5 and I'd come home from Kindergarten and plop myself right in front on the tube and watch me some Doctor Who. I loved it!

   The series went away from American airwaves about 1986 and stopped being made altogether in 1988-89 in Britain. Years of waiting and rumors of the Doctor's return meant having to get your Who fixes by either watching old episodes on VHS or finding a novelization of his new adventures. We got a small glimmer of hope with a 1996 TV movie on FOX, no less. But it was another 9 years before the TARDIS would rematerialize on the airwaves. 

   From when Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor advised his future companion Rose and us to "Run!" in 2005, three other actors have assumed the role. David Tennant's Tenth Doctor is by some considered the best Doctor of all-time. I would have to agree (though I am very fond of the Fifth Doctor.) Tennant's successor, Matt Smith is my wife's favorite and really the incarnation that helped make the series become more mainstream and more universally kid friendly. Currently, we are at Doctor #12, played by elder statesman, Peter Capaldi. His Doctor is a little more obtuse, grouchy, and very original series Doctor Who, but the kids and established fans love him anyway!

    If you want to catch up on any of the new Doctors in comics, Titan Comics is where it's at. Concurrently, they run 3 different Doctor Who series containing all-new adventures of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelveth Doctor. At this year's Free Comic Book Day, Titan offered a book that featured 3 short stories starring the Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi Doctors. Let's take a look at them individually:

   The first story starred the Capaldi Timelord as he and his companion Clara travel to a planet that's seen some odd storms brewing. When the Doctor discovers that the lightning in the storms is alive, he must rescue the creature before it overloads the power core of the planet's research station. The art was very good with great renderings of the Doctor and Clara. But, the story jumps around a little as if the script was deemed too long and edited for time. Only, those cuts removed vital information to making this a very coherent tale.

   Next up is Matt Smith's Doctor as he and his companions travel to London, 2015, where all of the residents are going ga-ga for Free Comic Book Day. The Doctor uncovers an alien plot in which the menace is using his comic to control the London populace. This was a very funny story. The only issue here was that the Doctor travels with 3 all-new companions and this short tale doesn't give very much time for the reader to adequately become familiar with them all.

    Lastly, we have the Tenth Doctor and his new companion Gabby. It's laundry day in the TARDIS and when the Doctor accidently leaves his handy sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket, it turns the dirt on his clothes into a rampaging gunk monster. The best story of the book- it had fun, adventure, and most of all hearts (as Timelords have 2 of them compared to humans who only have the one.)

    This Free Comic Book Day offering has me excited to start diving into these series; especially the Smith and Tennant books. One very awesome teaser at the end of the book was that Titan is to start publishing miniseries based on the 10 other versions of the Doctor with Eccleston's incarnation being first up.

    Another cool announcement (and the reason I choose this book for today's Family Comic Friday selection) is on August 15th (2 weeks from tomorrow), Titan will be hosting the second annual Doctor Who Comics Day at various comic book shops and libraries around the globe in celebration of the release of the first Titan Doctor Who Crossover event. Be sure to check the Doctor Who Comics Day page for more details. And then check with your local comics retailer or library to see if they are participating in this event. Hopefully, they are and you can pick up some free goodies, meet some fellow Whovians (fans of Doctor Who- DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU IT'S CALLED 'DWEEKS' AS THAT'S COMPLETELY FALSE!), and have to some fun!

   So, what are you waiting for- check out these fantastic comics today and become the newest companion to the Doctor!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating:  12th Doctor tale: 8 out of 10 stars.
               11th Doctor adventure: 9 out of 10 stars.
               10th Doctor story: 10 out of 10 stars.
    AVG Rating: 9 out 10 stars.

Madman with a BBC America (a review of the Season 8 premiere of Doctor Who)

with tonight's  premiere episode, I dressed the part (and yes, I kept the Batman theme going...)

So I've just finished the Season 8 premiere of Doctor Who and I must say, I was impressed. The show has seemed to shift back to it's original roots and I think that's the right move for this Doctor. Peter Capaldi is in some ways like yours truly. He's a life-long fan of Doctor Who whose been through the series ups, downs, and hiatuses and with it, he brings a lot of his fanboy memories of the show with his version of the Doctor.
   There's a lot of potential with Peter Capaldi. Sadly, there's also not a lot of him in this opening episode. But that's okay as regeneration episodes typically focus on the companions and their attempts to cope with a new Doctor. Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax try to help companion Clara see that this new man saying he's the Doctor is still the dashing young man she hopped aboard the TARDIS with. He's just different.
   Vastra, Jenny, and Strax steal the show as usual and I think this episode was the first leap to something big with them. The trio is rumored to be in at least 2 more episodes this season and there's been talk of a spin-off with these guys for a while. I think if fans approve like I have, then that fantasy is about to become a reality on BBC America very soon.
   I don't want to give away too much more as many have either not seen it or are waiting to go to the special showing in select theatres this Monday. But I will say that I think the 12th Doctor realizes that he looks a lot like a certain marble salesman from Mount Vesuvius and that I suspect it's going to play with the overall theme of season 8. Maybe there will be a return of Donna Noble??? Lastly, there's a mystery player in this episode and I have a theory about them. Maybe in a couple of weeks, I will explain it but until then.... SPOILERS...


Worth Consuming


Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.