Latest News

About Time 2 Second Edition slated for release on 3rd November (print) and 1st December (ebook)

Mad Norwegian Press is proud to announce the continuation of its flagship series About Time with the About Time 2 Second Edition – an examination of the socio-political conditions in which Doctor Who was made. To order a copy of this book (US shipping only) on the Mad Norwegian website, go here.

Written by Tat Wood, About Time 2 Second Edition concerns Seasons 4 to 6 of Doctor Who (the whole of the Patrick Troughton Era, alongside William Hartnell’s swansong). This represents a seriously major overhaul of the original About Time 2, with new essays and a breathtaking amount of analysis and historical perspective. 

As ever, the About Time series seeks to examine Doctor Who through the lens of the real-world social and political changes – as well as ongoing developments in television production that influenced the series in ways big and small – over the course of a generation. Armed with these guidebooks, readers will be able to cast their minds back to 1975, 1982, 2005 and other years to best appreciate the series’ content and character.  

Like many small publishers, Mad Norwegian has succumbed to the gravity of the financial risk of mass production (not to mention the risk of unsold overstock) and turned to Print-on-Demand. Print copies of About Time 2 Second Edition will therefore be available through Amazon, through Amazon’s expanded distribution networks in the US and the UK, and the Mad Norwegian website direct. Ebook copies will be available through Kindle. 

Mad Norwegian Publisher Lars Pearson said: “We realize the shift to Print-on-Demand represents a paradigm shift from the business model we’ve used from the very start – but like so many before us, the plummeting of our financial risk that Print-on-Demand offers outweighs just about every other consideration. We absolutely loved having our mass-produced books pumped into retail chains, enabling customers to see us on the shelves and take some delight in buying a copy, but alas we must live by the financial realities of the world in which we live. However, the new releases will have the same Mad Norwegian zest as before, so we’re hopeful that everyone will be understanding that this mightily helps us to stay in the game.” 

To request a review copy of About Time 2 Second Edition, please email: MadNorwegian@gmail.com

—————–

About Time 2: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 4-6) Second Edition

Retail Price: $39.95

Release Date: (print-on-demand) 3rd November, 2026; (ebook) 1st December, 2026

ISBN: (print) 9781935234258, (ebook) 978-1935234661

Written by: Tat Wood

Edited by: Lars Pearson

Size: 9 inches tall by 6 inches wide

Page Count: 536

Solicit Blurb

Can Kill the Moon and The Wheel in Space coexist? Could Polly have been surgically altered into Homo Aqua? Were the Diddymen a bigger threat to the Doctor than the Cybermen?

The expanded second edition of About Time Volume Two is finally available. You’ll never see the Troughton era in quite the same way again. Twenty years on from the first edition, and with ten more episodes we can watch, veteran Doctor Who expert Tat Wood pieces together the full story of how frantic improvisation transformed what had been a global hit show into almost a new British mythology. Close examination of what scientists and politicians (and BBC viewers) thought at the time these stories were written unlocks why the programme-makers made their decisions. Explore how the volatile culture of late 60s Britain proved so fertile for Adventures in Space and Time.

If you hadn’t wondered until now whether adding an extra episode made The Mind Robber a bit cheaper, why “Lethbridge” seemed like a good name for a Yeti-fighting soldier (and why his moustache was originally a plot-point), why The Faceless Ones has one of the most important sets in history, how a baby polar bear made negotiations over Quark sweet cigarettes so fraught, whether The Underwater Menace deliberately went over-budget or why Benton and Tracy picked that particular car… you need this book.

Here’s the rundown of essays in this volume:

“Why Shouldn’t You Get Into a White MKII Jaguar?”

“What’s the Chronology of the Cybermen?”

“What Do Daleks Eat?”

“Why is a MacCrimmon Fighting for the Jacobites?”

“How Many Atlantises Were There?”

“Why Were Those Titles So Extraordinary?”

“How Do You Trap a Directionless Time Traveller?”

“Why is that Portrait Hanging in Maxtible’s Parlour?”

“Did Sgt Pepper Know the Doctor?”

“How Buddhist is This?”

“Why Did the Radio Times Matter?”

“What’s the Timeline of the 21st Century?”

“Was Yeti-in-the-Loo the Worst Idea Ever”

“Animated Reconstructions: Who Fared Best?”

“What Planet Was David Whitaker On?”

“When Did the Doctor Get a Second Heart?”

“Was This Trip Really Necessary?”

“Which Dreamed It?”

“What’s All This About Planet 14?”

“Does Plot Matter?”

“Is Doctor Who Camp?”

“What Were the Dodgiest Accents?”

“Did Doctor Who Really End in 1969?”

About Time 2 Second Edition Delayed to 2026

Mad Norwegian Press has announced that its Second Edition of About Time 2, covering Seasons 4-6 of Doctor Who (the Patrick Troughton era, plus the last two William Hartnell stories) has been delayed to 2026. The Second Edition represents a major overhaul of the 2006 version.

The new About Time 2 was solicited long in advance for release in September, then cancelled some time back via Mad Norwegian’s distributor. Unfortunately, the cancellation paperwork has still not filtered through, meaning that Amazon (and possibly other vendors), for now, seem to be standing by the September date.

Mad Norwegian thanks its readers for their patience and will announce an updated release date when one is available.

About Time 4 [2nd Ed] Volume 2 now on sale!

About Time 4 Second Edition Volume 2, Tat Wood‘s massive re-evaluation of Seasons 15 to 17 of Doctor Who, is now on sale through mainstream retailers.

At least… more than not. Copies purchased through Amazon UK remain a bit of a wild card, owing to a great shifting in Amazon’s policies concerning how/where it acquires books from. (The paradigm shift is causing quite the upheaval in the publishing industry, actually.)

Mainstream US retailers seem rock solid on stocks, and we do expect that overseas retailers will get copies in due course. It’s also expected that Diamond Distributors will offer this book and About Time 4 2nd Ed Vol. 1, for convenience of those who wish to order from their local comic-book store.

Mad Norwegian thanks everyone for their support of the About Time books, and all of our publishing efforts.

About Time 4 Second Ed Vol. 2 Pre-Orders, Forbidden Planet copies ship from Mad Norwegian

Mad Norwegian Press has shipped pre-order and Patreon copies of About Time 4 Second Edition Volume 2 by Tat Wood, a massive upgrade of the Tom Baker years of Doctor Who. (Indeed, some customers reported receiving their books over the weekend.) Additionally, stocks are en route to Forbidden Planet and should be on sale there relatively soon.

Mainstream retailers such as Amazon, etc., are officially slated to release the book on August 2nd, although it remains a wild card if that street date will be honored or not (books have shipped early in the past, although that seems to be happening less).

Mad Norwegian thanks its customers for their support of this staggeringly Herculean project of love, sweat and lore.

About Time 4 Second Edition Vol. 1 now Shipping from Mad Norwegian Press!

About Time 4 Second Edition Volume 1 (covering seasons 12-14 of Doctor Who, the whole of Tom Baker’s tenure under producer Philip Hinchcliffe) is now shipping from Mad Norwegian Press! Pre-orders off the Mad Norwegian website have been put in the mail, as have copies to Patreon supporters.

Copies have also been dispatched to Forbidden Planet in the UK and will soon be available by that route.

The book’s official release date remains May, although it’s hoped that our mainstream distributor will send out copies early to outlets such as Amazon, etc.

Volume 2 of this update, covering seasons 15-17, will be available in June.

About Time 4 [2nd Ed] Volumes 1 and 2 slated for 2023

Mad Norwegian Press is pleased to announce the forthcoming Second Editions of About Time 4, the latest “through the lens of the real world” analysis of Doctor Who by Tat Wood.

Such is the grandiose scope of this undertaking, the Second Edition of About Time 4 has been broken into two volumes. Volume 1 concerns Seasons 12-14 of Doctor Who (Tom Baker’s first three seasons, under producer Phillip Hinchcliffe) and Volume 2 encompasses Seasons 15-17 (his next three, under producer Graham Williams). Volume 1 is 400 pages and will retail for $39.95; Volume 2 is 464 pages and will retail for $44.95.

“The release dates for these works get a bit odd,” said Mad Norwegian Publisher Lars Pearson, “as we have to list an official release date, while also knowing that the book will immediately ship once it’s received at the distribution centers two months in advance. Soooooo, the first volume of About Time 4 Second Ed. technically has a release date of May 2023, but it should start surfacing in March. Volume 2 is listed as August 2023, but should begin manifesting in June. It’s an imperfect solution in an imperfect world, but we can only play the hand we’re dealt.”

For a rundown of the essays in About Time 4 Second Ed. Volume 1 or to pre-order that book direct from Mad Norwegian Press, click here. For a rundown of the essays in About Time 4 Second Ed. Volume 2 or to pre-order that release direct from Mad Norwegian Press, click here.

Readers will soon have the option of purchasing the book direct from Mad Norwegian via Patreon.

Parkin, Pearson Win Independent Publisher Book Award for Ahistory

The Fourth Edition of Ahistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe, the massive Doctor Who timeline by Lance Parkin and Lars Pearson, has won an Independent Publisher Book Award.

The three volumes of Ahistory Fourth Edition, considered as a single entry for judging purposes, received the Silver Medal in the Popular Culture category – behind only James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction.

The Independent Publisher Book Award guidelines regard all medalists — gold, silver and bronze in each category — as “winners” of the award. The 2019 awards were announced on April 10th, in advance of an awards ceremony in late May.

Ahistory 4.3 on sale now!

The official release date of Ahistory Fourth Edition Volume 3 has finally arrived! After an early launch at Gallifrey, and early releases via the likes of Forbidden planet, copies of Ahistory 4.3 are now available via Amazon and all US mainstream bookstore companies.

Ahistory is the definitive (or certainly the largest) timeline to Doctor Who ever, placing almost 2500 stories onto a single timeline from the universe’s start to its eventual heat death. Volume 3 covers everything Who related from 2018 on into the future and finally the end of time.

Ahistory 4.3 on sale early at Gallifrey; discounted on Amazon

Ahistory authors Lance Parkin and Lars Pearson will be attending Gallifrey, the biggest Doctor Who convention in America, this weekend. As part of their appearance, copies of Ahistory Fourth Edition Volume 3 will be available for sale on the Alien Entertainment table.

Among other events, Parkin and Pearson will be chatting on stage about The Canon of Doctor Who, and also hosting one of Gallifrey’s many cozy kaffeeklatsches.

Ahistory is also available for pre-order on Amazon; Volumes 1 and 2 are discounted down to $19.33 there. The three books are also available as subscriptions through the publisher via Patreon.

 

About Time 9 slated for April 23 release

Mad Norwegian Press is pleased to formally announce that About Time 9, the latest “through the lens of the real world” analysis of Doctor Who by Tat Wood and Dorothy Ail, is currently at the printer and on target for its release on 23rd April, 2019.

Volume 9 of this series focuses on Series 4 (2008) of the revamped Doctor Who starring David Tennant, as well as the 2009 Specials that finished out his era, with bonus write-ups on Music of the Spheres, the animated adventure Dreamland and The Sarah Jane Adventures story “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.” Essays in this volume include: “Should Doctor Who be Appointment Television?”, “How Can Anyone Know About the Time War?”, and “Why Can’t Anyone Just Die?”

Readers will soon have the option of purchasing the book direct from Mad Norwegian via Patreon.