By Neil Perryman
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571298105
I’ve watched my fair share of Doctor Who but I wouldn’t count myself an ardent fan, so I approached this book with a little apprehension as I wondered whether it was talking to me or to fully paid up Whovians.
The CCGB’s very own Royston Robertson provides the cover illustrations and so was able to wangle me an advance copy to review, and within the first couple of pages it soon became apparent that this was not going to be the book I expected.
Neil Perryman loves Doctor Who, but as far as his family is concerned it’s very much his personal passion. Neil’s wife, Sue, plunged the family into an arduous self-build with a very long stay in a static caravan, so to make it up to Neil she gave him the opportunity to choose the next project they would do together.
Neil’s decision was for them to sit down and watch every classic Doctor Who episode and he would write a blog about it. Because pretty much everything there was to say about those episodes had been said by Doctor Who fans umpteen times already, Neil figured a fresh approach would be to seek the opinions of someone who came with no preconceived ideas at all.
The blog, and the experiment, were a runaway success, and although Neil feared a backlash from Doctor Who fans, particularly when Sue’s opinions (and scores) for episodes didn’t chime with the fans’ long-held beliefs, her different way of seeing things were, by and large, accepted for their honesty and straight-forward delivery.
With the project completed, Neil has now written a book about the experience, and it certainly isn’t an episode by episode synopsis, deconstruction and critique. It is, however, a book about one man’s love for something that he connected with in childhood and has carried forward into his adult life.
If this were me, the book would have been about Star Wars – we’ve all got something that we discovered as children and remains important to us today. This book works because when Neil writes about his passion, whether you’re a Whovian or not, you can put yourself in his shoes. It’s warm, it’s self-deprecating, it’s heartfelt for the love of his family and for the love of Doctor Who, and it’s very honest; because of this you identify with him immediately. What’s more, it’s also very funny.
Not only is Neil a gifted writer but Sue’s ability to cut through the guff and say what she’s thinking makes this an incredibly enjoyable read, be it talking about the personal attributes of successive Doctors, upsetting ex-cast members at conventions, or the domestic arrangements of the Perryman household.
So much did I enjoy this that I finished it much quicker than I expected, so in the spirit of the book, and the blog, I asked my wife, Josephine, to read it too.
Josephine: I’m relieved you just asked me to read this book rather than spend two and a half years watching the programmes. The book is amusing and entertaining – it’s just a shame you had already read aloud so many of the funny bits. (8/10)
So don’t just take my word for it.
And if you liked that: Don’t forget about Royston’s cartoon book, Penguin vs Polar Bear.
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