The Discontinuity Guide

Harrumph.

I know this is heresy, because when this work was released, it apparently changed the way TV guidebooks were written. I'm sure this is true, and I'm sure this book was a godsend when it first came out, prior the DVD/mainstream internet era.

But those days are gone, and as a 23 year old who's relatively new to 'Who', I somewhat regret this purchase. (Well, not really, because it's essential for any collection due to its legacy, but...)

Perhaps I've been spoiled by the excellent 'About Time' series, and the wonderful work of reference websites which have utilised 'The Discontinuity Guide' and the 'Handbooks' to create vast repositories of behind-the-scenes diaries, and encyclopaedias of "canonical" facts. As a result, this book just doesn't cut it: the facts aren't comprehensive, the "goofs" section is disappointingly minimal, and the "continuity" sections aren't quite descriptive enough. ("A Brief History of Mel" for instance only covers her season 23 exploits, and makes the remarkably prosaic point that "presumably Mel did not know the Doctor when she met him later [but earlier in her timeline]." Really? You needed to point that out?)

I actually don't mean to sound all that negative: as I say, at the time I'm sure this was as influential as old-hands would say. But 'Citizen Kane' - although a huge stepping-stone in film production - is now just an enjoyable film, not actually Number 1 on any honest person's list. Similarly, 'The Discontinuity Guide' is a diverting read, but has since been supplanted: instead, check out 'About Time', and the more notable websites (including the BBC's 'Classic Series' section, which reprints much of this anyway.) ( )

Wonderful for all those goofs and mistakes that you then try and spot next time you watch a story, but 90% of which you had never previously spotted! ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/599526.html

Yeah, yeah, I know that almost all of the text is also available on-line. But there's nothing like dead trees (especially if you are in the middle of a long plane flight). This is a great compilation of odd facts about the series, including most particularly an attempt to introduce consistency to such matters as the Doctor's age, his academic qualifications, the histories of the Cybermen and of the Daleks, and Mars. Interesting to see the foreshadowing of two of the Ninth Doctor's more memorable lines - "Hairdryer!" ("The Web Planet") and "Run!" (Second Doctor, passim). And there's a certain amount of "Yeah, that was my favourite bit". ( )