Doctor Who Title sequence Via giphy

Many of us at Wellington City Libraries love Doctor Who and are excited to celebrate its 60th anniversary. We can’t wait for the Christmas special, or the ⁠Doctor Who exhibition coming to Tākina, Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre. In this special podcast episode, big Whovians and librarians Patrick and Neil talk about some of the more unusual aspects of the show and highlight their favourite Doctors.

You can find this podcast episode here, or on your preferred podcast app.

Patrick talks about Matt Smith (the eleventh Doctor) and why Matt’s take on the iconic character makes him so appealing. Patrick then explores the themes of Britishness, national identity and politics to be found in the show.

Neil then takes us way back in time to the fourth Doctor Tom Baker to dissect why this Doctor is his favourite. He then delves into the wonderous, innovative and far-reaching sounds of Doctor Who across its 6o years of existence, including a brief look at the legendary BBC radiophonic workshop.

We have an extensive collection of Doctor Who items in our collection, including full DVD stories from across the series, Graphic novels, novelisations of stories for both adults and children, music CD’s, nonfiction titles and other various other assorted goodies. You can peruse our full collection here.

Below is just a tiny sample of our collection.

Doctor Who : the tenth doctor. Vol. 6, Sins of the father / Abadzis, Nick
“Trombones turn to terror when the Doctor, Gabby and Cindy visit New Orleans at the height of the jazz age… the Nocturnes are back! This time the threat comes from their terrifying chief, intent on enslaving the human race through sound! And speaking of enslaving, it would appear that Anubis is up to his old tricks – will the Doctor and his friends be able to stop this God from damaging the whole of Time? Could there be something even more sinister behind all of this, hidden in the shadows?” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Doctor Who : the thirteenth Doctor. Vol. 2, Hidden human history / Houser, Jody
“This critically acclaimed new story sees the Thirteenth Doctor, Rian, Yaz, and Graham stumble upon a sinister alien race with a thirst for human blood! Their second comic book adventure sees the gang track the Stilean Flesh Eaters throughout history, encountering friends, old and new, along the way. For once, the humans seem to know more about what’s going on than the Doctor, thanks to a podcast (Hidden Human History) that everyone is listening to — everyone except the Doctor, that is…” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Doctor Who, the twelfth doctor : time trials. Volume 1, The terror beneath / Mann, George
“The brand new Year Three comic adventures of the critically acclaimed Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi! First, it’s the return of fan-favourite comics companion, space bassist Hattie, as the Twelfth Doctor takes her for the best fish and chips in the galaxy, in a sleepy seaside town in the 1970s. But there’s something ancient and evil beneath the waves, something that has mired its twisted tentacles into the local people, something that weaves itself into Hattie’s dreams and drags itself up onto land in mounds of shambling seaweed. Can the Doctor and Hattie get to the bottom of a cosmological horror before it devours them – and wipes the town off the map? And, in a solo adventure, the Twelfth Doctor heads back to the 1950s for a creep slice of small-town Americana, in ‘The Boy With the Displaced Smile’!” (Adapted from Catalogue)

BBC Doctor Who : a brief history of Time Lords / Tribe, Steve
“The High Council, the Inner Council– in fact all the great minds of Gallifrey– are determined that you should never read this book. The history of the universe is re-written by its future, and when you hold this book in your hands is at least one truth. Of course it is also official hogwash, and the pages are time-sensitive. Still, some of it may be true….” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

Doctor Who, the ninth doctor. Vol. 2, Doctormania / Scott, Cavan
“The Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack continue their trip through the Universe! Someone is impersonating the Doctor — and has made him into a galactic celebrity! But something far more sinister is going on, as the trio are plunged into yet another shapeshifting civil war… The Slitheen are back! And just as they think their trip can’t get any worse, living gargoyles invade San Francisco and residents begin to fly…” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

The who’s who of Doctor Who : a Whovian’s guide to friends, foes, villains, monsters, and companions to the good doctor / McEwan, Cameron K
“This is the ideal Whovian guide to exploring the dynamic characters in Doctor Who over the past half century. Organized by character type, it includes top 10 lists, family trees, charts, graphs, and more.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Doctor Who : the writer’s tale : the untold story of the BBC series / Davies, Russell T
“The definitive story of how Doctor Who is made, by the show’s executive producer” (Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Doctor Who : the eleventh hour : a critical celebration of the Matt Smith and Steven Moffat era
” Published to celebrate the Doctor’s anniversary, this book provides a valuable record of the Matt Smith Doctor, who arrived in 2010 and is set to bow out in this year’s Christmas special. This first book devoted solely to the Steven Moffat/Matt Smith era is written by experts on the Doctor. It is wide-ranging and varied in viewpoint and explores such issues as the performance of the Doctor, the gothic and fairy tale genres, the portrayal of history on screen, gender and sexuality, the phenomenon of Christmas television, the transatlantic dimensions of the programme, its look and sound, promotional culture and audience response.” ( Adapted from Catalogue)