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Completely Awesome 
If you've ever wanted to know all the knitty-gritty details of how, exactly, the new series of Doctor Who came to be what it is today, then this is the book for you. Each section is highly detailed and extremely thorough, fully documenting the topic up for discussion. A must-have for any truly obsessed fan.
Must own for fans of the new Who
This book is terrific for any level of fan of the Doctor's recent adventures!
The first half of the book covers behind the scenes happenings in a very general way: everything from the efforts to bring the show back to casting to costumes to effects to sound. It never gets too technical and the way it's put together it flows very nicely from one topic to the next giving you an idea of just how many people are needed to make this show work.
The second half of the book is sort of an episode guide for the first two seasons. Each episode (or pair of episodes) gets four to six pages of what was going on behind the scenes for that particular episode. There's plenty of little trivia, photos from the set and production art as well.
The last few pages take a look "forward" to season 3 and if I had any "complaints" about the book it's that it doesn't cover seasons 3 and 4 but hopefully another book will come out to cover those.
Allons-y!
A must for any Doctor Who fan
The best money I ever spent on something about Doctor Who. Great reading and packed with info. You won't be dissapointed.
"What this country needs right now...is a Doctor!"
Now that the new Doctor Who series has established itself as something of a success, one can expect a wave of books to come out cashing in on that success--novels, monster guides, glitzy reference books, and so on. And after all, why not? But while "Doctor Who: The Inside Story" at first glance appears to be part and parcel of this wave, in fact it's quite a bit more substantial and informative as well as thoroughly enjoyable.
It's the "Inside Story" on two levels. First of all, it covers the making of the show (first two series/seasons and a foretaste of the third, that is) in great depth and detail. The deliberations behind the show's revival are revealed, the responsibilities of the many people responsible for the show's creation are described, and the manner in which the show is actually produced by this team--both overall and episode by episode--is fleshed out enough to satisfy all but maybe the most fanatical fan's curiosity. The rationale behind certain aspects and characteristics of the show in general as well as particular stories is also touched on in a satisfying manner. All of this comes complete with facts about cast & crew, studios & filming locations and all of that good stuff as well as superbly lavish illustrations, the most interesting of which (for me, anyway) are the early concept designs. Some the initial ideas for the new Cybermen, for instance, are particularly arresting, some very much anime-inspired and some much more cybernetically ghoulish than the final version. Anyway, the book is very much enjoyable and informative both visually and verbally.
Secondly, though, all of this is told through the words of the insiders themselves. The author himself (Gary Russell) is on the script-editing team, and he pieces together the whole story through extensive interviews with and quotes from the producers, writers, directors, actors, and the many brilliant folks in charge of costumes, sets, and make-up, to say nothing of the special effects artists/technicians/magicians. All of this is weaved into a comprehensible narrative (though keeping track of all the names gets a bit daunting sometimes), certainly, but make no mistake, this is no unofficial guide. A few tense, snippy moments are alluded to and the account seems honest enough rather than contrivedly PR, but the overall tone is extremely celebratory and enthusiastic. Which also means that all the heart and soul, the loving care that goes into the creation of this wonderful show is unashamedly, unabashedly indulged in, and it's a bit infectious, actually--a few times I started feeling a bit petty for nitpicking this or that episode. Well, colder and more objective analysis will be the task of others all in good time, but the initial joy, wonder, and fun of the show is captured right here, and that in a manner that only contributes to the documentary quality of this fine book as a whole.
Want to know how the new series happened?
A great insider view. The book covers initial thoughts by the BBC to bring back the show, Russell T. Davies vision, outlining the stories, the casting process (John Barrowman was cast in 12 hours - an unheard of time), the mockups for sets, how the shows were made (each director did his/her block altogether) and at the end of the book (probably the last third) covers both seasons episode by episode.
The book covers issues like why did Davies get rid of the Time Lords? The TARDIS is alive? Why anchor the stories with recurring characters on Earth?
All in all, a great find. It's a fascinating glimpse into how a show gets up off the ground.
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