The Internet Bookshop
Amazon BooksThis is the second edition of the programme guide and a lot of errors from the first edition have been removed. Howevere, it still isn't perfect in spite of all the hard work put in by Jackie Ophir and others. I found references to cloaking devices instead of detector shields, and when I wanted to look up "phibians" in the index, they weren't there.
Avon is quoted as having stolen 500 million credits without any refernces to Vila'a original mention of 5 million credits. Personally, I belive Vila. Firstly because Avon later on says that if he becomes free, he'll steal a hundred million credits. He says it in a tone of voice that suggests this is more than he stole originally. Secondly, Ultaworld is a computer - what's to say it didn't just slip a decimal point somewhere in its data banks?
The entry for "Auronar" says they were outlaws known as the Lost. I thought all inhabitants of Auron were Auronar...
I dare say there are more. These are just mistakes I've found by looking up references that I needed for stories - a detailed trawl would probably find more.
Overall though, it's a useful book, and the interviews make interesting reading. As a zine editor, I find it wonderful to finally know the definative spelling of planets like Morphenniel - I think Jackie and co went back to the original scripts on a lot of occasions.
If you want something that is accurate and comprehensive, with regard to the characters, aliens, gadgets, etc. from the series, then I would recommend the Sevencyclopaedia by Neil Faulkner, even though I do publish it myself. On the other hand, the programme guide is smaller and hence cheaper.
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