The Doctor Who File

by Peter Haining

Looks at the history of Britain's longest running science fiction program, and shares interviews with the actors and creators of the series

Genres: Doctor Who, Nonfiction, Tv

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Peter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.

Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.

In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).

He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dithered a bit over how to rate this book. If you're the type of Doctor Who fan who collects lots of reference works on the series, much of what is in this book will be familiar to you from other sources. If you're not the type of Doctor Who fan who collects reference works on the series, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that this is where you start. There are other works that are more complete and authoritative.

However, two things set this book apart:
1. It has a number of really nice photographs and drawings, some of which I haven't seen reproduced elsewhere.
2. The book is composed entirely of first-person recollections by various people involved in the making of Doctor Who. Sometimes this really lets the individual personalities shine through - Robert Holmes's essay in this book is entertainingly dotty. (I mean, really - his contribution to this book is madder than Douglas Adams's.) And sometimes it offers a poignant insight into the way people's perceptions of their time on the program differ - Heather Hartnell's essay, which takes for granted that William Hartnell's declining health was his reason for leaving the show, sits right next to an interview with William Hartnell in which he explains that he left because of disagreements with the production team over the direction that the show was taking.

Because the book was published in 1986, it also offers an interesting snapshot in time of Doctor Who - Colin Baker was The Doctor, and the show had been put on 18-month hiatus. The "Trial of a Time Lord" was in the planning stages. Everybody sounds upbeat - if the production team had any inkling that Doctor Who wasn't universally loved, that the BBC wasn't 100% behind it, and that it wouldn't go on forever, they don't make it evident here.

So, not a book to buy if you just want the facts, but if you're interested in the personalities behind Doctor Who, this book will offer a few intriguing glimpses.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1986, this was my Doctor Who "Bible" for years. I discovered the show on my American PBS station around 1986. They were showing the older Tom Baker episodes from several years prior. Upon Sarah Jane's emotional departure (and expertly acted final scene), I was hooked. There was so little Who merchandise in the States at the time. And no internet to help my 10 year old self get more information. I especially loved the appendix at the end of the book that provided a chronological list of each episode, who the companions were, and who the main villain was in each story. It really helped me memorize the timeline of the show without having full access to it. I still have it on my shelf today and just seeing the spine gives me warm happy nostalgic feelings.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

More interesting than it is "good," this is such a snapshot in time - published in 1986, three years before the show would go on hiatus, and right before Colin Baker, the 6th Doctor was replaced. The articles in here talk about Baker's intention to go on for "longer than seven years," and the "decision" to take the show off the air for 18 months, which was of course when it was being re-tooled for McCoy's 7th Doctor. The early stuff is filled with old boy English anecdotes and things no one would publish now - this just reeks of the 80s from the cover art to the giant glamour shots of everyone available to the bad cartoons of the actors. Useful, but weird.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another childhood bible of magical behind-the-scenes revelations. Of all Peter Haining's "Doctor Who" reference books, I think this is the one that holds up the best to this day as a reference work...plenty to still enjoy, even for us old time fans who have heard & read the stories time and time again. It's not quite a special in the memory as the first book, "A Celebration"...but it does have a slight edge in substance & heft.

[Ben Flay · Rating 4 out of 5]

brilliant bible i read over and over as a kid definite must have for the shelves but being hanning question the facts

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1989 grade B

Non-fiction
Interviews. Arrival time chart.