Steven Moffat's Doctor Who 2011: The Critical Fan's Guide to Matt Smith's Second Series (Unauthorized)

I got a lot out of the equivalent book analysing Matt Smith's first series as it helped prepare me for the second series. Reading this now in October 2013 in the run up to the 50th anniversary gives a different perspective as there has been a third series and we know Matt Smith is about to leave. The format of these books is very interesting - with one author reviewing the episode immediately after its original broadcast and the other doing so after the season has ended; this offers different perspectives given that Moffat's era more than any other relies on season-extending story arcs and so one's perception can change considerably by the end of the season. All that said, I must admit I don't really share the authors' enthusiasm for this kind of story arc; while I appreciate the artistic and creative effort, I am far from sure it works for much of the TV audience, and it doesn't really work for me. I found the whole River Song/death of the Doctor arc confusing and rather off-putting to watch at the time, and still pretty confusing when I watched the DVDs later. If it had been in a novel or series of novels where one can perhaps read more reflectively than one can really watch, I am sure I would have appreciated the concepts and their execution a lot more. This guide did help me to understand some of the plots more clearly than I had before. But my favourite stories of the season were still the ones not reliant, or less reliant, on the story arc. 5/5 for the concept of these guides though, I hope there will be one covering Matt Smith's third and final series, plus the forthcoming special

I am a huge fan of wanting to know how things are made/produced in the world of TV and the background of programmes connected to my favourite shows. This keeps me well informed.

brilliant

Excellent in depth reviews of Who episodes that are not afraid to be critical while still loving the show. Great for nit pickers everywhere. I am waiting for the book of Matt Smiths third season. Recommend to Who fans.

Well, if you love Who, you'll love this book. It's a great add-on to the season.The book is composed of two sets of reviews of each episode. One from the point of view of someone who has just watch the episode and is commenting on it singularly. The second from someone who has watched the entire season and is then commenting on each episode.These two points of view bring to light certain threads you may have missed or better explain aspects of the episode.Personally, after reading this book, I had to go back and watch some of these episodes to see what the writers saw, which did two things for me. First, fueled my addiction of the the Who and second, made me really appreciate the complexity and controversy Steven Moffat wrote into the season.Enjoy.

I purchased the 3 book series to gain more insight into Matt Smith's episodes. I fount Steven Cooper's reviews to be very insightful, while Kevin Mahoney just adds a little more info about how each episode relates to the series (he spends most of the book doing a 2nd re-cap of each episode, find many faults, and trying to find symbolism in every aspect). I get the feeling he's mad that he was never hired as a writer for the show, and is trying to show why many of the writers that were selected were poor choices. It would have been better fro me to hunt down Steven's reviews (free in the internet) than purchase this series of books for Kevin's additional content.