Doctor Who The Complete History was a series of hardback volumes which came out every two weeks and covered 3-4 stories each. These were in-depth volumes covering the production of each episode from the first in 1963 to the end of the Peter Capaldi era of the show. In addition to the extensive production notes there were also merchandise and publicity updates and actor profiles. The quality of each volume was exceptional overseen by several different editors. The volumes were only available in the UK and Ireland so were difficult to obtain in other locations. I am more of a Watsonian fan but if you are a Doyalist you will greatly appreciate these books. Even so I give the entire series a solid 8 out of 10. I will rate each episode covered below.
We’ve reached the end of the Tom Baker era in televised Doctor Who with this volume covering his last four stories. State of Decay is another foray in E-space where the Doctor, Adric, K-9 and Romana face the last of the Great Vampires and his acolytes. We see some in-depth character exposition with Adric and his naivety concerning the vampires. A straightforward well paced story 8 out of 10.
Warriors’ Gate was confusing to much of the fandom but was a nice farewell story for Romana and K-9. Adric did not have much to do in the story understandably so with this being Romana’s departure narrative. There were some interesting concepts introduced that have been expanded on in the extended media. 7 out of 10.
The Keeper of Traken introduced one of the most underrated Doctor Who companions Nyssa ably portrayed by the wonderful and attractive actress Sarah Sutton. The combination of highly technological society mixed with a medieval feudal culture was captivating. It was nice seeing Anthony Ainley in a different role as Tremas and Geoffrey Beevers through his work in Big Finish has become my favorite incarnation of the Master. Sutton lights up the screen with her every appearance in the story, you can see why she was promoted from a one off guest character to a full time companion. 8 out of 10.
Logopolis was Tom Baker’s final episode and was a mediocre send off. The Watcher was a confusing addition to the story and I still to this day do not fully understand the need for the character both in universe and production wise. The highlight of the story for me was the interaction of The Doctor and Adric. It makes me wish we had more stories with just the two of them. The Fourth Doctor and Adric would have made a great TARDIS team. 8 out of 10.