Radio

Doctor Who: The Wilderness Years

Matthew Sweet hosts this look at the so-called Wilderness Years — the period between Doctor Who's cancellation in 1989 and its return in 2005 when (apart from one night in 1996) it wasn't around. Except, as most Whovians know, it very much was around. I think this doc is hoping to redress that perception somewhat by highlighting the mass of fan creativity from that era, but the problem is, with only half-an-hour to work with, it can only be a whistlestop tour of just some of what was going on.

Partly that's because it wastes a load of time rehashing the story of the cancellation. Then there's a bit about the New Adventures, a bit about Audio Visuals and how that led to Big Finish, a minute or two with McGann chatting about the TVM, an acknowledgement of fan straight-to-video productions... and then we're done. Where be DWM and its comic strip? What about the webcasts? What about the stories those different media told, not just that they existed? There's not enough time for any of that. So, it's nice, but the definitive documentary is still waiting to be made.

[Listen to it (again) on BBC Sounds.]