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4 New Books to Help You Study Up for Season 9 of Doctor Who
The holidays come twice a year for Doctor Who fans: there’s December 25th, of course, when we unwrap the frequently-ridiculous-always-entertaining annual Christmas Special; and then there’s the ever fluctuating date in fall when we finally, finally, get the first episode of the new season. Well, Happy Holidays, fellow Whovians, because this year’s premiere date, September 19, is almost upon us.
Let’s talk about some specifics to be excited about, based on a careful viewing of the available trailers:
- MISSY IS BACK.
- The Doctor playing an electric guitar!
- There’s a hand with an eye in it? I don’t know. Honestly looks a little Guillermo del Toro.
- BUT DID I MENTION THAT MISSY IS BACK.
- Peter Capaldi is looking pretty good, imo
- Clara’s lipstick: on point.
- “I want to kiss it to death.”
- Clara and Missy appear to be hanging out in one scene? Or at least standing next to each other fairly civilly. Sidenote: would so watch this spinoff.
- The Doctor seems really into a pair of sunglasses, which is totally fair.
- Oh, and that girl from Game of Thrones is on, which I think is making a lot of people happy?
- Clara and the Doctor are still riffing well. I know a lot of people are anti-Clara, which I totally got in the Matt Smith seasons, because their team-up was like being slowly suffocated with a truckload of Etsy merchandise, but now that she’s got someone cranky and Scottish to play off of, I think it’s working. In fact, I feel like I didn’t even know Clara before last season’s premiere—it was like she was suddenly allowed to have a personality other than Quirky! Adorable! School Teacher! So count me into the pro-Clara camp now.
- But seriously I don’t care about any of this crap because MISSY IS BACK.
Another thing to be excited about is the new crop of tie-in books set to be released around the premiere date. Here are some highlights:
Doctor Who: Model-Building Book
This is…really cool: pieces to construct a TARDIS, and a Cyberman head, and a K-9, and, most excitingly of all, because who doesn’t love those sweet little guys, a Dalek. This would be a really fun activity for a premiere viewing party: ask some people over, feed them some TARDIS cookies and a delicious Doctor Who inspired cocktail, and then let them build an adorable keepsake model. People love swag, and the best swag is Dalek swag.
Ships in 1-2 days.
Doctor Who: The Time Lord Letters, by Justin Richards
Perfect for fans who want to go beyond the ending credits, The Time Lord Letters compiles over 50 years of the Doctor’s writings. Adding context to stories drawn from throughout the show’s history, the “letters” include his job application to Coal Hill School, his plea to the Time Lords to stop the War Games, telepathic messages, his letter to Santa Claus, and around a hundred more. A funny, engaging read that’s interesting for fans new and old, this is also a perfect gift for the serious Whovian in your life.
Doctor Who: Impossible Worlds: A 50-Year Treasury of Art and Design, by Stephen Nicholas and Mike Tucker
Doctor Who has seen a lot of design changes over five decades on the air, far beyond the continual TARDIS redecorating project. Early episodes are especially notable if you ever wanted to see just how many terrifying villains you can create with a £50 budget, while recent episodes occasionally appear cinematic in comparison. Impossible Worlds delves into the art and design of the series, giving new insight into the sets, makeup, costumes, monster design, and so-on that have resulted in so many iconic characters and moments. A great glimpse into the work that made the show what it is today.
Doctor Who: Heroes and Monsters Collection
A new collection bringing together 26 of the best Doctor Who stories from the last decade, Heroes and Monsters also includes three completely new ones following Twelve, Clara, and the War Doctor. Short stories are a great way to fill in those months where there are no new episodes: I know Neil Gaiman’s “Nothing O’Clock,” set in Matt Smith’s first season and appearing both in Doctor Who: 11 Doctors, 11 Stories and in Trigger Warning, certainly helped ease my jonesing in the long wait between the Christmas Special and the new season. Limit yourself to one a week and you’ll have the breaks in episodes completely covered!