Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor

, often referred to as simply The Fifth Doctor Handbook, is the fourth in the Handbook series by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker — the major contribution by Doctor Who Books to the world of professionally published Doctor Who reference works.

The book is highly regarded as a significant work of Doctor Who scholarship and is used as one of the main reference works for several later reference projects, perhaps most ubiquitously Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of (Time) Travel website and several issues of Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition, which in turn are two of the major resources used by this wiki.

Subject matter
Like all in the Handbook series, it is divided into three major sections. The first presents a series of snippets from interviews with principles involved in the creation of the persona of the Fifth Doctor; the second gives detailed notes about every televised adventure of this Doctor; and the last concerns itself with behind-the-scenes developments during this Doctor's era.

Publisher's summary
"DOCTOR WHO is the world's longest running science fiction television series. Each handbook provides both a broad overview and a detailed analysis of one phase of the programme's history.

"When Peter Davison took over the part of the Doctor in 1982, he was already a familiar face on British television as the much-loved star of All Creatures Great and Small. Within a few months, Davison had won acceptance for his sensitive portrayal and starred in some of the most adult and arguably best-written stories in the programme's history.

"This book is an in in-depth study of Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor, including a profile of the actor, a critical summary of each story in which he starred, an extensive feature on the making of the 20th-anniversary special THE FIVE DOCTORS and much more. The authors have established their reputation with best-selling books such as THE SIXTIES and THE SEVENTIES, and their acclaimed work on the three previous books in the handbook range."

-- From the back cover

Notable features
This volume includes a particularly detailed examination of the making of The Five Doctors.