LOST IN TIME AND SPACE: An Unofficial Guide to the Uncharted Journeys of DOCTOR WHO – Hasslein Books (Book Review)

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A couple of  years ago I came across the series of Hasslein Books and my life hasn’t been the same since. If you want to dive deeper and in more detail than just the surface of what you’ve seen of your favorite films or TV show, then you’ve got to check out the library of titles offered over at www.HassleinBooks.com. My personal favorites are the Back to the Future and Planet of the Apes Chronology Timelines and Lexicon series. Now, the bar has been raised and the latest addition to the Hasslein family does not disappoint either. LOST IN TIME AND SPACE: An Unofficial Guide to the Uncharted Journeys of Doctor Who is out now and available for order via Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

This 350 page book chronicles the Doctor’s on and off screen time- traveling adventures that fans have been following for over 50 years, via the show’s 800 televised episodes (so far). Lost in Time and Space explores the various references, mentions, props, characters and essentially stories-between-the-stories we love. It gives you a sense that much more took place in the Who’niverse with the Doctor, while we weren’t looking! Beautifully designed, the book features an insightful foreword by Alan Barnes, the author of the animated Tenth Doctor adventure The Infinite Quest, and a writer and editor for Big Finish Productions’ audio dramas featuring five of the Doctor’s earlier incarnations.

Click ahead to read more of my in-depth review and if this book peaks your interest, then check back tomorrow for FREE STUFF FRIDAY, because we’ve got a copy to giveaway to one lucky BTM reader!

 

Contents Page

Contents Page

350 pages is no easy thing to get thru with a full-time job and four children to raise, but sometimes I find a book that I can’t put down and this is one I made sure I found the time to finish reading. Personally I love when a movie, television show, sometimes even books, do clever crossovers, or mention other characters from other universes in their stories, because it broadens the life, personality and adventures of that character. The chance to learn more about what took place behind the iconic scenes or stories I’ve watched over and over on TV, on the big screen or in the comfort of my home on video, have always delighted me. Whether it was the expanded universe novels of STAR WARS or the Back to the Future Ride at Universal Studios, it thrilled me to immerse myself in the knowledge that there was more to my favorite characters I’d grown to love over the past few decades. That all being said (and probably in more words than needed), LOST IN TIME AND SPACE: An Unofficial Guide to the Uncharted Journeys of Doctor Who definitely fills in the gaps as it chronicles the countless adventures never expanded upon onscreen by the various thirteen Doctors and more than 50 companions who have joined him on his adventures.

The book is written by Matthew J Elliott, a writer for both Rifftrax.com and the author of Sherlock Holmes on the Air, Sherlock Holmes in Pursuit, The Immortals: An Unauthorized Guide to Sherlock and Elementary and The Throne Eternal, as well as numerous radio plays based on Sherlock Holmes, The Twilight Zone, Vincent Price Presents, Logan’s Run, Perry Mason and The War of the Worlds

What I really enjoyed about this book was first thumbing thru it to find the classic Doctor Who episodes I know and love and immediately reading up on the accompanying info that took place in and around those. Not only did it intrigue me to learn about these little extras that have been researched and painstakingly cataloged from thousands of novels, comics, audio, spinoff television series and more, but I was equally impressed that the author was actually able to make sense of it all and link it all up to the matching references from over 800 episodes of the show! It’s also an easy read, because it’s just full of fun theories, references and quick facts. Even if you haven’t seen or may have forgotten some of the episodes mentioned, you can easily pick up on what point is trying to be conveyed and you learn some fun trivial stuff along the way! Just a heads up, unlike many of the other Hasslein books, there’s no original pictures drawn for this one.

 

A good place to start is at the very beginning of Doctor Who, but you'll quickly find out, it may not have been the start of it all....after all.

A good place to start is at the very beginning of Doctor Who, but you’ll quickly find out, it may not have been the start of it all….after all.

 

When reading this book, the best way to decipher it is to know the following. The fun and obscure references noted are in plain text. Under that, the first thing noted in italicized bold is the episode the expanded information leads up to, and then in standard bold text is a justifying example from that episode to validate the given reference. Here’s an example from the chapter of THE FIRST DOCTOR;

* The Doctor programs the TARDIS food machine with the flavor of English Bacon.

The Daleks. Companions Barbara and Ian eat bacon and egg flavored food bars in episode one. 

 

Here’s another from THE FOURTH DOCTOR, this one is noted to have taken place prior to the episode “The Invasion of Time”;

* Somewhat improbably, the Fourth Doctor is called “the most insufferably arrogant, overbearing, patronizing bean-tin” and “smug” by several individuals.

The Invasion of Time. K-9 has heard the Fourth Doctor referred to in these terms. 

 

Some even have references that tie into non-aired extras, like mini-episodes from various Seasons on DVD, like this one from THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR, prior to “The Time of the Doctor”;

* Knowing that River Song’s mission to the Library will result in her death, the Eleventh Doctor turns up on River’s doorstep with a new haircut and suit in order to take her first to Alderan Beta, famed planet of the chop shops, for at least a second time, and then to the Singing Towers of Darillium, where he cries. As a parting gift, he gives her his sonic screwdriver (the one with the red settings and dampers)

Forest of the Dead. In the Season Six DVD Extra Last Night, we see that it was the Eleventh Doctor who took River up the Singing Towers.

 

There is even a tease of references possible to happen with future incarnations of the Doctor;

* The Doctor eventually redesigns the Control Room a total of thirty-one times.

The Doctor’s Wife. The TARDIS, in human form, states that in the the future, she will have stored thirty versions of the Control Room. 

 

The Fourth Doctor; Tom Baker is one of the most memorable and iconic Doctors of the 50 year old series.

The Fourth Doctor; Tom Baker is one of the most memorable and iconic Doctors of the 50 year old series.

 

The end of the book has a really nice detailed  overview of various people, places, things and events within the Whoniverse. If you ever had lingering questions about Victims of the Time War, The Doctor’s Age, The Doctor’s Vegetarianism, The Indestructibility of the TARDIS, The Doctor’s Hearts and many other things, don’t worry, odds are it’s covered in the back Appendix.

For die-hard Whovians this Reference Guide is going to be a real treat, for those who jumped onboard in 2005 when the show made it’s big return, well, about half of the book will make some sense to you. What I found it did for me, was spark back up the interest whilst reading about the past episodes, to check them back out again. Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison and the other time-lords will all be sharing in adventures again with the kids and I this weekend in our TV room.

Lost in Time and Space, a softcover volume spanning 350 pages, is now available for only $19.99. If you have a Whovian in your life that may be hard to shop for, THIS is the perfect birthday, anniversary, or even stocking stuffer gift that they will truly appreciate. And be sure to check back on the Hasslein site because yet ANOTHER Doctor Who book is nearing completion and should be out by the end of the year, it’s called, Who After 50: Celebrating Five Decades of Doctor Who. I’ll be sure to snag a copy of that to review for you all as well.

Special thanks to our good friend Rich Handley, the Editor/Co-owner of Hasslein Books for donating a copy for us to giveaway this week on FREE STUFF FRIDAY. (We’d giveaway the review copy too, but it’s already been claimed by our resident Whovian here at Beyond the Marquee; Lindalee Rose, how do you say no to a 6 year old Doctor Who fan!?!? Sorry gang!) 

 

Lost in Time and Space, features an insightful foreword by Alan Barnes, the author of the animated Tenth Doctor adventure The Infinite Quest, and a writer and editor for Big Finish Productions' audio dramas featuring five of the Doctor's earlier incarnations.

Lost in Time and Space, features an insightful foreword by Alan Barnes, the author of the animated Tenth Doctor adventure The Infinite Quest, and a writer and editor for Big Finish Productions’ audio dramas featuring five of the Doctor’s earlier incarnations.

 

For more information, go to tinyurl.com/drwhoguide. For review copies, or to interview the author, contact info@hassleinbooks.com. And to learn more about Lost in Time and Space, as well as Hasslein’s other titles, visit the company’s website (hassleinbooks.com), Twitter feed (twitter.com/hassleinbooks), Facebook page (facebook.com/hassleinbooks) or blog (hassleinbooks.blogspot.com), or e-mail info@hassleinbooks.com. Doctor Who and all related characters and stories are copyright © BBC, with no infringement intended.

ABOUT HASSLEIN PUBLISHING, LLC – Hasslein Publishing (hassleinbooks.com), a New York-based publisher of reference guides by geeks, for geeks, is named after Doctor Otto Hasslein, a time-travel expert portrayed by actor Eric Braeden in the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes. In addition to Lost in Time and Space, the company’s lineup of genre-based reference books includes Timeline of the Planet of the Apes, Lexicon of the Planet of the Apes, The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon, The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology and The Unauthorized Red Dwarf Encyclopedia, with future volumes to feature James Bond, G.I. Joe, Alien vs. Predator, Battlestar Galactica, Ghostbusters, Universal Monsters and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

 

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