In many
ways this is the continuation of the two versions of `The Making of Doctor Who`
which had appeared in 1972 and again re-edited with additions in 1976.
Published by Puffin and credited to Alan Road with photographs by Richard
Farley, the book has the dimensions of a magazine and in 1983 sold for the
princely sum of £1.95. While undoubtedly a more detailed analysis of the
component parts that go into making a Doctor
Who story its value is also that it is now a historical account of what
television production was like in another time. Generously illustrated with
official and behind the scenes photos- some in colour- it is a visual treat.
Just like the previous Making of books it uses one story as an example so
following `The Sea Devils` and `Robot`, under the
microscope here is `The Visitation`.
An early
double page photo of the studio lights over the TARDIS set serves notice that
this is to be an altogether more fact based account though. There are no fanciful Time
Lord Files here. While this approach can occasionally make the book seem a tad
dry, this is more than made up for by the way it illuminates the different production
stages. Peter Davison provides an introduction where he declares “practically
everyone involved knows more about what is going on than the actor.”
