The first issue of
Doctor Who: The Complete History will be released on the 9th September. This will be the start of a long running fortnightly partwork series by
Doctor Who Magazine in conjunction with
Hachette Partworks. The collection will cover every Doctor Who story from
An Unearthly Child to
Last Christmas.
The Complete History has its origins in
Andrew Pixley's Archive section of DWM. A lot of the early archives have been completely rewritten while later ones during
Christopher Eccleston's era have been updated and expanded.
Doctor Who – The Complete History gathers all there is to know about Doctor Who in one essential encyclopaedic collection. Written by the experts behind Doctor Who Magazine, this unique book collection goes behind the TV cameras to document the making of the world’s longest running science fiction series from 1963 to the present day. Scripts, casting, film locations, studio recordings, broadcast, ratings and merchandise are all covered in detail for each and every adventure, along with full story details and profiles of the cast and crew, all illustrated by a wealth of colour and black and white photographs. From script to screen, discover how every adventure of all 12 Doctors was created.
Doctor Who: The Complete History - Issue 1 - Volume 55Edited by John Ainsworth
Original production notes: Andrew Pixley
Additional material: Jonathan Morris, Richard Atkinson, Alistair McGownPublished 9th September 2015, £1.99New York, New York - so good that they visited it twice. Yes, that's right! New York is the setting for two of the four stories, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, featured in this volume. In truth though, the New York of
Gridlock - 'New' New York - is a completely different city, on a completely different world to the more familiar 'Big Apple' of
Daleks in Manhattan/
Evolution of the Daleks. The Two cities, and the two stories themselves, couldn't be further apart. In fact, all four stories in this volume superbly demonstrate the breadth and variety of settings, time periods, and types of story that Doctor Who encompasses; from a bleak far future in Gridlock, to Dalek plots during America's Great Depression of the 1930's in Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, to genetic tampering in present day London in
The Lazarus Experiment, and back to the future onboard a doomed spaceship, plummeting into a sun, in
42. Each story is a self-contained mini-movie. It's hard to imagine that anyone could ever get bored with Doctor Who.
Of course, although each of the four stories is self-contained and can be enjoyed in its own right, there are some ongoing story threads running through them. Not least of these is the evolution of Martha Jones from tag-along traveller to fully fledged Companion. It has to be said that the Doctor is a little bit reluctant to embrace Martha as his new shipmate - he's still smarting from his recent forced separation from Rose Tyler [see
Army of Ghosts/
Doomsday - Volume 53] and isn't in a hurry to get close to anyone new. But Martha's having none of it, and puts the Doctor on the spot at the end of Gridlock, forcing him to open up and reveal the details of his past. And then again, at the end of The Lazarus Experiment, Martha initially declines another trip in the TARDIS, feeling the Doctor is just giving her a series of one-off "treats". The Doctor relents and acknowledges Martha's true status as a travelling companion, rather than just a passenger. He even presents her with her very own TARDIS key at the end of 42. We also see some foreshadowing of dark events in the future. With his dying words, the ancient Face of Boe tells the Doctor in Gridlock that he is not alone... while on present day Earth, election fever is in the air with the unseen Mr Saxon tipped to be the next prime minister. But why is Mr Saxon so interested in Martha Jones, warning her mother that the Doctor is a dangerous man? All will be revealed in the climactic final three episodes of the 2007 series -
Utopia/
The Sound of Drums/
Last of the Time Lords [2007 - see Volume 56].
John Ainsworth - Editor
Competition
Doctor Who News is pleased to offer readers the chance to win a subscription to the entire collection of The Complete History, courtesy of Hachette Partworks.
To be in with a chance of winning simply answer the following question:
The Complete History uses the title "100,000 BC" for one of the First Doctor stories but what is the title more commonly known as?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to
comp-completehistory@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Complete History". The competition is open to
UK and and Republic of Ireland residents only, closing date: 7th September 2015. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
Doctor Who Magazine has increased its circulation according to figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. 
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