Paul Scoones
@paulscoones.bsky.social
Book author (The Comic Strip Companion), magazine features writer, editor, retail business owner and Doctor Who expert. "The global authority on Doctor Who comic strips" - Doctor Who Magazine
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Paul Scoones
@paulscoones.bsky.social
· Dec 14
"Kiwi comic historian Paul Scoones continues to prove he's the global authority on Doctor Who comic strips with his excellent and informative features..." - Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook (December 2024).
University life.
Decades ago, I was a student at the University of Auckland. Now I'm back - this time on staff as an exam supervisor. Currently three weeks into a month-long stint.
Decades ago, I was a student at the University of Auckland. Now I'm back - this time on staff as an exam supervisor. Currently three weeks into a month-long stint.
November 7, 2025 at 5:17 AM
University life.
Decades ago, I was a student at the University of Auckland. Now I'm back - this time on staff as an exam supervisor. Currently three weeks into a month-long stint.
Decades ago, I was a student at the University of Auckland. Now I'm back - this time on staff as an exam supervisor. Currently three weeks into a month-long stint.
Farewell Pauline Collins, the Troughton era companion who wasn't.
November 6, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Farewell Pauline Collins, the Troughton era companion who wasn't.
Toby asked me (along with many others) to give my picks for this fun missing episode find scenario. The two remains parts of The Crusade were first on my list, as you might expect!
I’m amazed at the number and quality of folk who contributed to this podcast (a Doctor! 3 companions! Writers! Actors! Lost Episode Finders! Fans of Yore!)
It’s just a bit of fun: a countdown of the most desired missing episodes of Doctor Who. Plus much arcana, natch:
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-8epk3...
It’s just a bit of fun: a countdown of the most desired missing episodes of Doctor Who. Plus much arcana, natch:
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-8epk3...
Indefinable Magic MISSING EPISODES SPECIAL - Fantasy Film Cans (Part One)
With all this missing episodes speculation in the air, your Host With The Most (that is "Most Patience For Wrangling Arcane Facts and Stats Because He's A Very Boring Man") Toby Hadoke has found the t...
www.podbean.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Toby asked me (along with many others) to give my picks for this fun missing episode find scenario. The two remains parts of The Crusade were first on my list, as you might expect!
Arrived at last! I worked on The Brain of Morbius as an infotext subtitle researcher, and received this set as a thank you for my contribution.
October 31, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Arrived at last! I worked on The Brain of Morbius as an infotext subtitle researcher, and received this set as a thank you for my contribution.
I was in the audience for a Q&A with Billie Piper earlier this week. Astonishingly, no one asked about her appearance in the most recent episode. No vetting of questions or restrictions on what could or couldn't be asked. It just simply never came up.
October 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I was in the audience for a Q&A with Billie Piper earlier this week. Astonishingly, no one asked about her appearance in the most recent episode. No vetting of questions or restrictions on what could or couldn't be asked. It just simply never came up.
These deep dives into Terrance Dicks' Target novelisations are absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended (and not just because I get a glowing name check in this one)!
Part two of my exhaustive, exhausting piece on Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster by Terrance Dicks, in which Doctor Who and one of his best friends strip off… 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/10/doct... #DoctorWho
Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster, by Terrance Dicks — II
0tralala.blogspot.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:22 AM
These deep dives into Terrance Dicks' Target novelisations are absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended (and not just because I get a glowing name check in this one)!
I wrote a guide to the Fifth Doctor's DWM comic strips for this superb-looking publication, due out next month.
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS) will publish the tenth in our series of Annuals on 23rd November. Like previous editions which looked at a specific Doctor’s era, the 2026 Annual will celebrate the Fifth Doctor.
October 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I wrote a guide to the Fifth Doctor's DWM comic strips for this superb-looking publication, due out next month.
A bunch of Nessies.
New Skarasen (left) vs restored old Skarasen (right). From today at the BFI. #DoctorWho (Reposted because I originally labelled them the wrong way round...)
September 20, 2025 at 7:58 PM
A bunch of Nessies.
First time, to the best of my knowledge, that I've received an acknowledgement in a university thesis.
This week I achieved my Masters with Distinction. I inflicted pain and suffering on myself while writing the thesis, and now I inflict it on the world. pinkforyouractualpterodactyl.com/2025/09/18/d...
Masters Thesis – Does studying stylistic change and boundary-pushing within the production of Doctor Who between 1974 and 1980, through the lens of innovation theory, allow the critical orthodoxies o...
This is a Masters thesis focusing on Doctor Who and British Television Production of the 1970s. Does studying stylistic change and boundary-pushing within the production of Doctor Who between 1974 …
pinkforyouractualpterodactyl.com
September 18, 2025 at 7:48 PM
First time, to the best of my knowledge, that I've received an acknowledgement in a university thesis.
So this happened on today's episode of Strange New Worlds. So Pelia once met the Doctor? Crossover! #startrek #doctorwho
September 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM
So this happened on today's episode of Strange New Worlds. So Pelia once met the Doctor? Crossover! #startrek #doctorwho
Reposted by Paul Scoones
Another extended wanging-on about old Doctor Who books, this time Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons by Terrance Dicks, featuring flowing honey, chameleons and repair shops. 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/09/doct...
Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons by Terrance Dicks
0tralala.blogspot.com
September 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Another extended wanging-on about old Doctor Who books, this time Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons by Terrance Dicks, featuring flowing honey, chameleons and repair shops. 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/09/doct...
Reposted by Paul Scoones
People seemed to like the first one, so here is a big, nerdy post by me on Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks: 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/08/doct... #DoctorWho #Booksky
Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
0tralala.blogspot.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:16 PM
People seemed to like the first one, so here is a big, nerdy post by me on Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks: 0tralala.blogspot.com/2025/08/doct... #DoctorWho #Booksky
Reposted by Paul Scoones
buttondown.com/cooray_smith... Time in Reverse at Psychic Paper
“But is tomorrow yesterday? Or has it been and gone today? I wish someone would say.”
In the July 1994 cover dated issue of Doctor Who Classic Comics1 Marvel UK reprinted Time in Reverse, as the untitled story originally run in TV Comic in...
buttondown.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM
buttondown.com/cooray_smith... Time in Reverse at Psychic Paper
Reposted by Paul Scoones
A number of very kind people have asked to directly share the document. It is however locked, solely in order that we can keep track of additional names and add you to the mailing list. If you would like to be added to the letter, please follow the email instructions at the top of the page. Thanks!
Calling historians and researchers. The BBC Written Archives Centre has changed its access rules without consultation. This means an end to proper independent research into the BBC's rich history. 178 have already signed the open letter. Please join the campaign here:
tinyurl.com/bbcwaccampaign
tinyurl.com/bbcwaccampaign
Open letter BBC Written Archives - August 2025
Join the campaign to protect the future of independent research at the BBC Written Archives Centre The following text is an open letter expressing the concern of historians and researchers about chan...
tinyurl.com
August 18, 2025 at 12:11 PM
A number of very kind people have asked to directly share the document. It is however locked, solely in order that we can keep track of additional names and add you to the mailing list. If you would like to be added to the letter, please follow the email instructions at the top of the page. Thanks!
My first info text subtitling work for the BBC was released on DVD 15 years ago. Planet of Fire was out in June, but this was when I received my copy. Appropriately I've spent today working on info text for a future release (not saying which one as it won't be announced for sometime yet).
July 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
My first info text subtitling work for the BBC was released on DVD 15 years ago. Planet of Fire was out in June, but this was when I received my copy. Appropriately I've spent today working on info text for a future release (not saying which one as it won't be announced for sometime yet).
Good to see the superb Aldo series by @dvbishop.com well represented in New Zealand bookshops!
July 14, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Good to see the superb Aldo series by @dvbishop.com well represented in New Zealand bookshops!
Reposted by Paul Scoones
With the announcement of the Season 13 Blu-ray Collection box set, here's what's going to be included in the PDF Archive this time round - a total of 4027 pages of scripts, production documents, studio floor plans, Radio Times cuttings, ephemera etc.
July 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
With the announcement of the Season 13 Blu-ray Collection box set, here's what's going to be included in the PDF Archive this time round - a total of 4027 pages of scripts, production documents, studio floor plans, Radio Times cuttings, ephemera etc.
James May, and The Guardian for that matter, really ought to know better. This is a myth.
July 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
James May, and The Guardian for that matter, really ought to know better. This is a myth.
My contribution to this magnificent set was as researcher for the info text on The Brain of Morbius. Which meant I finally got to see the much sought-after scripts.
July 4, 2025 at 11:41 AM
My contribution to this magnificent set was as researcher for the info text on The Brain of Morbius. Which meant I finally got to see the much sought-after scripts.
An absolutely fascinating exploration of acclaimed SF author Christopher Priest's association with Doctor Who. I have some insight into why 'The Enemy Within' ran into problems, having read BBC correspondence while researching the blu-ray info text for 'Earthshock' (the story it replaced).
June 22, 2025 at 1:30 AM
An absolutely fascinating exploration of acclaimed SF author Christopher Priest's association with Doctor Who. I have some insight into why 'The Enemy Within' ran into problems, having read BBC correspondence while researching the blu-ray info text for 'Earthshock' (the story it replaced).
Sad to learn that Maurice Gee, author of acclaimed New Zealand science fiction novel Under the Mountain (among many other works for both adults and children) has died, aged 93. We both grew up in the same part of Auckland (albeit decades apart).
June 15, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Sad to learn that Maurice Gee, author of acclaimed New Zealand science fiction novel Under the Mountain (among many other works for both adults and children) has died, aged 93. We both grew up in the same part of Auckland (albeit decades apart).
Reposted by Paul Scoones
Incredible news for NZ cultural history researchers
The first 20 years of the NZ Listener (1939-1959) are now available on NLNZ's Papers Past platform, through the editorships of Oliver Duff & Monte Holcroft
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/...
The first 20 years of the NZ Listener (1939-1959) are now available on NLNZ's Papers Past platform, through the editorships of Oliver Duff & Monte Holcroft
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/...
June 11, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Incredible news for NZ cultural history researchers
The first 20 years of the NZ Listener (1939-1959) are now available on NLNZ's Papers Past platform, through the editorships of Oliver Duff & Monte Holcroft
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/...
The first 20 years of the NZ Listener (1939-1959) are now available on NLNZ's Papers Past platform, through the editorships of Oliver Duff & Monte Holcroft
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/...
Reposted by Paul Scoones
Bye, Hon. Now Ncuti's era comes to an end, how does his tenure compare to previous Doctors'?
June 3, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Bye, Hon. Now Ncuti's era comes to an end, how does his tenure compare to previous Doctors'?
So sad to see that Andrew Shaw has died. He was the host of after school TV show "Here's Andy" and later a TV executive at TVNZ. I met him a few years ago at a TVNZ event and got to tell him how much he had meant to me as a young viewer in the 1970s.
www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/27/f...
www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/27/f...
Former children's TV presenter, media executive Andrew Shaw dies
Shaw started his career in the 1970s with the TV2 show Here’s Andy, later renamed Hey Hey It’s Andy.
www.1news.co.nz
May 26, 2025 at 11:13 PM
So sad to see that Andrew Shaw has died. He was the host of after school TV show "Here's Andy" and later a TV executive at TVNZ. I met him a few years ago at a TVNZ event and got to tell him how much he had meant to me as a young viewer in the 1970s.
www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/27/f...
www.1news.co.nz/2025/05/27/f...
The latest episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries features our shop, Retrospace Sci-Fi Collectibles, as one of the locations. In the story the shop's called Kingdom of Rogues. Several short scenes involve the shop front, interior and our back carpark (where our shop logo can be seen on the wall!).
May 20, 2025 at 9:51 AM
The latest episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries features our shop, Retrospace Sci-Fi Collectibles, as one of the locations. In the story the shop's called Kingdom of Rogues. Several short scenes involve the shop front, interior and our back carpark (where our shop logo can be seen on the wall!).