A Pirate's History of Doctor Who
| Commentary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Pirate's History of Doctor Who |
| Commentator: | D.G. Valdron |
| Date(s): | July 13, 2022 (2nd edition) 2017 (1st edition) |
| Medium: | book |
| Fandom: | Doctor Who |
| External Links: | Google Books |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
A Pirate's History of Doctor Who is a book on the history of Doctor Who fandom and particularly fan films. It was followed by Another Pirate's History of Doctor Who.
Synopsis
What's a Pirate History? Well, there’s the official history, approved history, where all the rough edges are sanded off, the skullduggery erased, and only the prescribed facts and people are mentioned.A Pirates History is the unauthorized and unapproved stuff. The stories of the BBC's attempted to cancel the show in 1984, and their subsequent war against their own television program. The emergence of fandom and the rise and fall of John Nathan-Turner. And it's about the unauthorized Doctors, when fans started making their own versions of Doctor Who.
Here are the stories of the first woman to play the Doctor, Barbara Benedetti, who became the Doctor of the Gap, when the official show was on hiatus through four serials starting in 1984. You won't find her in the official histories, but you can still watch her adventures. During the 1990s, a group called Timebase made their own season of Doctor Who before Paul McGann, producing twelve full episodes comprising five serials, plus a further three minisodes, with the Rupert Booth Doctor. Here are the best of the stories you've never heard of, Doctors you've never imagined, created by fans for fans, but approaching the BBCs level of quality, most of them still out there to be found.
Along the way, we explore the way technology like Super 8 cameras, Videocassette Recorders and Camcorders helped shape the evolution of fandom, as well as the emergence of fan culture, and its impact on the show.
In subsequent volumes, we explore Doctor Who stage plays, both official and unofficial, the failed professional attempts to create Who audo [sic] dramas, and the success and accomplishments of fan audio, how fans found, preserved or recreated lost episodes, the bizarre copyright situation of the Doctor Who universe, and the opportunities it provided, plus many, many more reviews of briliant [sic] and amazing work, that you're not supposed to pay attention to.
Let us take you on a journey through histories, stories and adventures in the world of Doctor Who that are overlooked, ignored or erased by the official gatekeepers. It's a world that you may have never suspected. But it's worth your while. Come with us on a journey into new frontiers and buried secrets.
Fanworks Reviewed
- The Wrath of Eukor (1985)
- Visions of Utomu (1986)
- Pentagon West (1987)
- Broken Doors (1988)
- Son of Doctor Who (1970-1974)
- Ocean in the Sky (1979)
- The Image Makers (1979)
- Mission of Doom (1979-1850)
- The Reign of Turner (1989-1998)
- The Experiment (1988)
- Spectre From the Past (1989)
- Resurrection of Evil (1993)
- Vaulkherd, Rutan, and The Alliance (1996-1997)
- Regenesis (1993)
- Phase Four (1993-1997)
- Paradise in Chains (1995)
- Long Shadows (1995)
- The Hidden Face (1998-2002)
- The Chronotron Effect (1998)
- The Dealers of Death (1999)
- Time and Again (1999)