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.

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!

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.

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.

A bunch of Nessies.

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

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...

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

buttondown.com/cooray_smith... Time in Reverse at Psychic Paper

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).

Good to see the superb Aldo series by @dvbishop.com well represented in New Zealand bookshops!

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.

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).

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).

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/...

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...

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!).

Somehow I managed to get through an entire day working in our science fiction collectibles shop without any of our customers spoiling the latest episode of Doctor Who for me before I had a chance to watch it.

Rather than watching new Who tonight, we instead rewatched Rogue One. Doctor Who can wait; we'd finished watching Andor and like so many others felt it was only right to complete Cassian's story.

Sunrise over Rangitoto as seen from Narrow Neck Beach on our dawn walk around the neighbourhood this morning.

This Radio Times article mentions that there will be a ceremony held if a missing episode of Doctor Who is returned. Which is nice... There was no celebration when we returned an episode. Our names were left off the video release and I had to chase the BBC for months to get DHL costs reimbursed.

I contributed a couple of feature articles for this new bookazine. Doctor Who: Cybermen – The Ultimate Guide, on sale from 22 May.

Great article about the 1989 Doctor Who Magazine comic strip story, Nemesis of the Daleks.

RIP Jean Marsh. An actor I feel a peripheral connection with, despite never meeting her, having recovered an episode of The Crusade (though not one Jean actually appears in!), and more recently writing the blu ray info text for Battlefield, in which she memorably played Morgaine.

New Star Wars novel announcement from my friend Adam. Looks superb!

The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 11 begins 21 April. We've been looking forward to this because our shop (both interior & exterior) was used as a location for one of the episodes, and my wife Rochelle appears as the shop's manager (a role she was born to play!).

Whenever I see a promotion for the Myers-Briggs personality test (which is complete rubbish despite its widespread use) I'm reminded how a former employer managed me out of a role largely on the basis of the results of this test.

It's the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who's return to television, but also our 26th wedding anniversary - which fittingly is the length of the original series run.

Discovered this painting of a Dalek on the wall of a motel we stayed at in Rangiora, New Zealand, this week. So unexpectedly random, yet highly appropriate.

LiBGen has my fanzine novelisations, though that's unsurprising as they've been freely accessible online for years.

Specifically, there’s a bit in episode 2 where the Doctor gets into a philosophical discussion with a guard, and I gave @paulscoones.bsky.social some of the background on the what and the who being discussed!

Still, it has some great infotext subtitles by @paulscoones.bsky.social. And it’s the only #DoctorWho story I am credited on (admittedly, only on those subtitles, but still!)

For those of you who have been asking, the Troughton Diary book is now listed to pre-order. telos.co.uk/shop/doctor-...

From an interview with director James Cameron in today's NZ Herald. The reporter seems to believe that Cameron considers a South American meat dish is something that happens in government. I'm sure what he actually said was 'peccadillo'...

I had a lovely chat today to a customer who used to run the New Zealand Star Trek fan club. I used to run the NZ Doctor Who fan club. It was fascinating to compare experiences, and how running a fan club can be a springboard to greater things.

A lovely video tour of our shop, Retrospace Sci-Fi Collectibles, by a local YouTuber who's a regular customer of ours. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J8c...

Me waffling about stuff... www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtJV...

All any of us can hope for is that when we depart this earth we're written up half as well as @tobyhadoke.bsky.social writes his superbly researched obits.

A useful list for Doctor Who comics fans and creatives alike!

Yesterday, a customer dropped off a boxload of secondhand Doctor Who books at our shop. In the box was a copy of my own book, The Comic Strip Companion. Trying not to take the rejection personally! :)

Today marks the 26th anniversary of the day that my friend Neil Lambess and I visited a film collector called Bruce Grenville. We came away from that meeting elated and somewhat awed at the realisation that we had just viewed the only surviving film print of a long-lost episode of #DoctorWho.