N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

By the time The Story of Doctor Who aired in December 2003, we’d known for three months that the show was coming back (a fact acknowledged by Colin Baker during his interview).

It therefore seems the perfect way to conclude this run through Doctor Who‘s Wilderness Years, produced as it was to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the show.

Jon Culshaw kicks things off with his wonderful impersonation of the Fourth Doctor, after which it settles down into yer typical mix of interviews and clips. The good thing here is that all of the talking heads are people who’ve played a major role in the show.

Not everybody who was still with us at the time is present: there’s a notable absence of Paul McGann and TV movie clips (those pesky rights issues, again?), but the number of former Doctors, companions, producers and writers involved is still impressive. (And it seems these interviews were the gifts that kept on giving, judging by their extended use as DVD extras over the years.)

The Story of Doctor Who might not be quite as ambitious a documentary (More Than) 30 Years in the TARDIS but it remains an excellent celebration of the TV show up to that point, with a gracious nod to its potentially exciting future courtesy of old Sixie!