'Who And Me': Former producer Barry Letts's audiobook review

by Shannon Lush

As an old-school Whovian, I am well accustomed to searching high and low for 'Doctor Who' goodies. Pulling tatty copies of  'Doctor Who' comic books from dusty boxes at comic shops, finding a battered and weather-beaten Mel action figure from a garage sale, and traveling on two buses across two cities in order to track down Target novelizations are all escapades I've endured, and enjoyed, to build a humble collection of merchandise. Canada in the 1980s and 1990s was not a country overflowing with 'Doctor Who' merchandise, and Whovians worth their salt hunted like Slitheens high and low for whatever they could unearth.

'World (Re)Shaping With Grant Morrison

by Shannon Lush

As promised a very long time ago now (sorry readers, been awhile since I've been able to sit down and compose a proper blog entry review for this page, I'll try and be more prolific now that we all are impatiently waiting for the 50th Anniversary episode), it's time to delve into 'Doctor Who' comics review. We'll begin with tales from the current rights holder of the property for comics, IDW Comics, who in addition to publishing an on-going series featuring the current Matt Smith Doctor (I've been catching up on some of them, so expect a review soon), also produce special issues such as the recent 'Star Trek The Next Generation/Doctor Who' crossover story 'Assimilation Squared' which Steve (rightly) slagged to pieces on 'The Whostorian' podcast. To add to this creative output, they also print a title, 'Doctor Who Classic Comics', that exclusively presents material reprinted from 'Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly/Magazine' ongoing comic strip, and it is an issue of that series we will be reviewing this time around.

The Moment Has Been Prepared For: The Inside Stories Of The Casting And Departures Of The Doctors

By Shannon Lush

The casting of the role of The Doctor is, inarguably, the most important decision undertaken by anyone involved in 'Doctor Who', on any level. Stories were commissioned and placed in an early phase of pre-production, first by the show's story editors, and then later, by script editors, the job title being altered to more accurately reflect the individual's duties. But these scripts always featured a vague, undefined 'Doctor' absent the mannerisms, personality traits, even physical descriptions that can only come with an actor cast in the role. Terrance Dicks, former script editor of the show during the early to mid 1970's, reflected that it was only after meeting and speaking with Tom Baker upon his official acceptance of the role did he begin to explore the character possibilities of the Fourth Doctor; prior to that, the stories did not jump off the page.