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.
The Girl Who Waited gave us tour de force acting performances from Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill. The story is well paced and the scenes towards the end are heart wrenching. The understanding of the consequences of time travel shows on The Eleventh Doctor‘s face and the decision he and Rory are forced to make resonates with the viewer. An outstanding story but one you may not want to revisit too many times. 10 out of 10.
The God Complex is another outstanding story. The diverse group of characters are all well rounded and Rita especially is one that would have made an excellent companion. What The Doctor’s greatest fear in “his room” was is a source of endless debate among fandom. It was nice to see the pseudo-Nimon as the monster. 9 out of 10.
Closing Time sees the return of Craig Owens from the episode The Lodger. Steven Moffat is the best showrunner in my opinion, not only is he a consummate writer authoring some of the best stories ever written but he also fully grasps the time spans involved in the Doctor’s life. The Doctor is thousands of years old and the televised stories only make up a tiny fraction of his life. Two hundred years have passed since the previous story The God Complex for the Doctor. The narrow focus of showrunners like Russell T Davies does not account for such large gaps of time that we do not see on TV, in fact there is little room in his series to squeeze in any additional adventures. It is hard to look past my personal dislike of the actor (James Cordon) and recognize his performance as Craig but it is both charming and sympathetic. 7 out of 10.
