The Tempest was spiritually Shakespeare’s final play. Both worked beyond that, right through to their deaths, but there wasn’t much more that needed to be said.

TV For most people including some fans, Doctor Who consists of the television series that began in 1963, was dumped in 1989, was resurrected briefly in 1996, then came back properly in 2005.

Except the show had a life off-screen, in books, in audio dramas and comic strips, hundreds of stories, far more than even appeared on television or all kinds, very often set in gaps between seasons with a web of new monsters and companions, plenty of which has gone on to be thought of just as affectionately as anything which appeared on-screen.

Most of these masterpieces have since fallen into obscurity; as novelistsee how far this flexible format can really stretch.

When faced with writing this, I might have let my nerdier excesses get the better of me. You have been warned …

The Witch Hunters by Steve Lyons (BBC Books)

The pure historical, or a story in which the only sci-fi elements are the Doctor, his companions and the TARDIS were part of the DNA of the series until the mid-60s when poor ratings in comparison to the alien invasion episodes led to them being dropped, so it was a treat in the 1990s when BBC Books published a number of them as part of their Past Doctors series.

The Witch Hunters has the First Doctor and his four original companions granddaughter Susan and her teachers Ian and Barbara materialise in Salem Village,