The Doctor Who Programme Guide

The Doctor Who Programme Guide was initially a two-volume set of books by Jean-Marc Lofficier, covering the history of the Doctor Who series and spin-off productions, the only ones which had aired up to that point. They were published by Target Books in 1981. The first volume, subtitled The Programmes, covered the serials of the first four Doctors. The second volume, subtitled What's What and Who's Who, was a mini-encyclopaedia of characters and behind-the-scenes personnel on the series.

In 1989, Lofficier published an expanded, revised edition of The Programme Guide with Target. This new version primarily expanded upon the contents of Volume 1 of the original edition; elements of Volume 2 were incorporated into the related works The Terrestrial Index and The Universal Databank.

Volume 1 (Hardback)
When was the first Dalek story televised?

Who wrote the script?

When did K9 first appear on the scene?

How many Doctor Who programmes have there been, and how many of the stories have been novelised?

The Doctor Who Programme Guide — volumes one and two — is the answer to a Doctor Who fan's prayers. Jean-Marc Lofficier has gathered together from a variety of sources the detailed information that intrigues the Doctor Who following. No Doctor Who library is complete without it.

Volume 1 (Paperback)
THE DOCTOR WHO PLOTS ALL IN ONE BOOK This intergalactic guide to the adventures of Doctor Who tells the complete story of the Doctor's astounding exploits. It gives you the plots, cast lists, production teams and dates of the Doctor Who adventures shown on television since 1963. This book is your TARDIS. With it you can travel through time and relive all the Doctor's past adventures. Fight against the Daleks with the Thals! Join forces with UNIT against the Green Death! Discover the truth about the Curse of Peladon! Stop the revenge of the Cybermen! Wrestle with the brain of a renegade Time Lord! The Doctor Who Programme Guide is the key to all the Doctor's adventures. No Doctor Who library is complete without it.

Volume 2 (Hardcover)
to be added

Volume 2 (paperback)
This is a time-travelling A-Z of all the people, places and facts in the astounding adventures of Doctor Who. In addition it contains a complete list of Doctor Who films and records, the names of all the Doctor Who book authors and a breakdown of who does what in the BBC Doctor Who production team.

Now at last you can discover exactly how many elephants and tigers the Doctor won at backgammon with Kublai Khan, the precise breeding speed of the Sontarans, the identities of all the Doctor's doubles, and thousands of other pieces of crucial and intriguing information!

The Doctor Who Programme Guide is the key to all the Doctor's adventures. No Doctor Who library is complete without it.

1989 updated and revised single-volume edition
Autumn 1963: a time machine disguised as a battered blue police telephone box made its first appearance on Britain's television screens. A quarter of a century, seven Doctors, and more than a hundred and fifty stories later, Doctor Who is still going strong. The Doctor Who Programme Guide is the complete guide to every Doctor Who story shown on television. The stories are listed in order of broadcasting: each entry includes the storyline, the full cast list, and the names of the producer, script editor, writer and director. This new edition is updated and revised throughout, with a new foreword by John Nathan-Turner, the man who has produced Doctor Who during the 1980s. Essential reading for every fan of Doctor Who.

1994 Updated and revised third edition
This indispensable handbook first appeared more than a decade ago, and immediately established itself as the single most important reference book about Doctor Who. Since then it has been updated four times. This new edition contains all the important information about every Doctor Who story. The stories appear in order of television broadcast, starting with the first episode of An Unearthly Child on 23 November 1963. Each entry includes the storyline, the full cast list, technical credits, and the details of novelizations, video cassettes and audio cassettes of the story. An addition section gives details, including storylines, of the New Adventures that have been published since the TV series finished in 1989.

Subject matter
Initially, a two volume guide to the television series covering the stories themselves and the production of the series. Later combined into a single-volume updated edition.

Notable features

 * This was the first ever detailed guide to the series well beyond that which was contained in the Radio Times Doctor Who Tenth Anniversary Special.
 * Former Producer and Writer Barry Letts provided a foreword to both original volumes. The 1989 edition replaces this with a new foreword by John Nathan-Turner. The 1994 edition has no foreword.

Publishing notes / other editions

 * Originally published in hardback by W. H. Allen, both volumes were released as BCA (Book Club Association Editions), (a popular mail ordering book subscription service at the time that was able to offer somewhat cheaper than nationally agreed prices, by having its own separate printing).
 * The two volumes were later issued as paperback titles by Target Books retaining the cover by Bill Donohoe and covering entries up to and including Logopolis
 * Volume 1: The Programmes - Revised hardback edition, 25,000 copies, ISBN: 0-426-20139-6 October 1981 priced £1.25 (UK)
 * Volume 2: What's What and Who's Who - Revised hardback edition, 25,000 copies, ISBN: 0-426-20139-6 October 1981 priced £1.25 (UK)


 * In 1989 it was reissued in a single-volume edition by Target Books, ISBN 0-426-20342-9, priced £2.50 (UK)
 * In 1994 a revised edition was issued by Virgin Books, ISBN 0-426-20342-9. Note that the ISBN appears to be identical to the 1989 issue. Priced £4.99 (UK)
 * Although the back-cover text of the 1994 edition states "since then it has been updated four times", in fact it had only been updated three times including the 1993 edition itself. Once for the 1981 paperback (which expanded the synopsis of 'Shada' as well as correcting some errors from the original hardback), a second time in 1989, and finally the 1994 edition which was 271 pages in length.