Doctor Who Magazine 449

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine - published tomorrow - looks at the growing pains of a TV legend in a major feature on the development of the programme at seven-year intervals, as it approaches 49 Up.

It examines the moments that defined the show, including the adolescence that brought major format changes, the teenage years with Doctor Who in rude health, its incredibly successful return to television in 2005 – and asks what the next seven years may hold in store . . .

Also in this issue:

• Chibnall's Choice: Scriptwriter Chris Chibnall drops hints about his two new scripts for the next series of Doctor Who – and how writing for the show is unlike writing anything else – in Production Notes.
  
• You're Hired! Long-serving Doctor Who casting director Andy Pryor talks exclusively to DWM about his hand in casting three different Doctors, the joy of working on every single episode of Doctor Who since 2005 – and whom he has cast for the next series . . .
  
• Echoes of the Past: Doctor Who celebrated a landmark birthday but the monsters were conspicuous by their absence. Was that necessarily a bad thing? Find out as Countdown To 50 revisits 1983 and Series 20.
  
• Honour Amongst Thieves: Amy's been hijacked by the best thief in town, while the Doctor and Rory have fallen in with the wrong crowd. But what is the secret of the Ziggurat hanging above Cornucopia? Find out in the second part of The Cornucopia Caper, the latest comic strip adventure written by Scott Gray with art by Dan McDaid.
  
• Genesis of Dalek: The Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler encounter a lone Dalek deep within a Utah bunker – but Skaro's finest very nearly didn't make the party. Dalek, 2005's triumphant return for the Doctor's deadliest enemy, is given The Fact of Fiction treatment, with detailed commentary on all 11 drafts of writer Robert Shearman's script and exclusive new revelations from the writer himself!
  
• Details, Details: If you don't read the Production Subtitles on the Doctor Who DVDs then now is the time to start! Subtitles writer and TV Dalek Nicholas Pegg reveals the arcane secrets of compiling a treasure trove of Doctor Who facts and figures in Infomania.
  
• Monster vs Monster: Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, and Macra – they've all returned to battle the Doctor since Doctor Who's comeback in 2005. But what classic creatures are we desperate to see next? Toby Hadoke wants a return for those green giants the Ice Warriors, while Johnny Candon goes Underground to shout out for the Great Intelligence's Yeti. Who will triumph in this monster Battle of Wits ?
  
• Sympathy For The Devil? The Time Team – Chris, Emma, Michael, and Will – have a devil of a time while watching The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. But what will the Team make of this terrifying adventure for the Tenth Doctor and Rose?
  
• And The Winners Are: The votes are in! See which books, audios, and DVDs are hits with the readers of DWM in the results of the latest Merchandise Poll, and discover how your favourites fared.
  
• Suited And Booted! The Watcher takes another flick through the pages of the Stockbridge English Dictionary, stares down The Six Faces of Delusion, highlights another masterclass in the dramatic art from a Supporting Artist of the Month, and reaches number 20 in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects – the Doctor's Impact Suit. It might not be as implausible as it seems . . . as Wotcha explains!
  

Plus all the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, and a prize-winning crossword.