Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 617

Thursday, 22 May 2025 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 617 (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who Magazine is out today, and the print edition includes a Target Books paperback. An exclusive new edition of the wheel in space by Doctor Who author Terrance Dicks

In the magazine:

  • THIS YEAR’S SEASON FINALE PREVIEWED! RUSSELL T DAVIES on what to expect in the much-anticipated concluding episodes Wish World and The Reality War…

  • ACCESS ALL AREAS – Join DWM at UNIT HQ for the climactic scenes of Lucky Day – including contributions from writer PETE McTIGHE and guest star JONAH HAUER-KING.

  • Barber Shop Quartet – actors SULE RIMI, SANYA ADEGBOLA, MICHAEL BALOGUN and JORDAN ADENE talk about their roles as the Barber’s captives in The Story & the Engine.

  • Fugitive Doctor JO MARTIN on her surprise return to the TV series…

  • VIP backstage access to the Interstellar Song Contest! Writer JUNO DAWSON, director BEN A WILLIAMS and your host RYLAN are among those on hand to reveal the secrets of this entertainment spectacular!

  • Mrs Flood unmasked! ANITA DOBSON chats about the latest revelations…

  • The Rani reborn! ARCHIE PANJABI on taking on the mantle of the cold-hearted Time Lady!

  • A guided tour to an impressive new exhibition opening in Peterborough.

  • Target Books’ STEVE COLE remembers TERRANCE DICKS and discusses the special new edition of The Wheel in Space included with this issue.

  • Gary Gillatt assesses the merits of alien art from across the universe…

  • Back to 1973… We take a look at contemporary reactions to the environmental message of Third Doctor classic The Green Death.

  • FACT OF FICTION – unravelling the mysteries of the Evolution of the Daleks.

  • The adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda continue in the comic strip.

Regular features

  • Gallifrey Guardian – our news round-up including details of the cinema screenings of the season finale.

  • Reviews – featuring the latest Blu-ray/DVD, book and audio releases.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won – including new adventures for the Fifteenth Doctor in print! 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 617 is on sale Thursday 22 May 2025  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £10.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - Fifteenth Doctor

Doctor Who: The Jon Pertwee Collection

Monday, 19 May 2025 - Reported by Marcus
The Jon Pertwee Collection (Credit: Demon Records)

Demon Records is celebrating Jon Pertwee’s flamboyant portrayal of the famous Time Lord, 55 years after he made his screen debut on 3 January 1970.

Available on Blue and 4 x Blue and Green Vinyl, with a beautifully illustrated cover, this set presents Jon Pertwee narrating two classic Doctor Who Target Books, an array of bonus Jon Pertwee audio appearances, and his own 1972 pop single, Who Is The Doctor?

Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon is Brian Hayles’ abridged TV novelisation set on a medieval-styleworld, and Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks is Terrance Dicks’s abridged adaptation of the Terry Nation adventure set on the jungle-like Spiridon.

Bonus features are also included on each disc, spanning the 1970s to the 1990s, including BBC radio interviews, a Goodwood Races sketch with Elisabeth Sladen, comedy featuring Mel Giedroyc, and tributes paid by family members and Doctor Who producers.

This also includes a frameable photographic print of the Third Doctor. Accompanied by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s familiar Doctor Who theme, the Jon Pertwee Collection celebrates one of the most stylish, iconic and beloved Doctors of all.

“I cross the void beyond the mind. The empty space that circles time...Eternal wisdom is my guide. I am the Doctor!”

LP 1 Side A Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon Part One / Goodwood Races mini-drama

LP 1 Side B Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon Part Two / Profile interview

LP 2 Side C Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon Part Three / Newsbeat interview

LP 2 Side D Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon Part Four / Simon Bates interview

LP 3 Side E Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks Part One / The Skivers comedy sketch

LP 3 Side F Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks Part Two / Local radio interview

LP 4 Side G Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks Part Three / Radio Lives tributes

LP 4 Side H Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks Part Four / Who Is The Doctor?

 

The set is also available in a deluxe 4 CD gatefold package, this includes a full colour booklet with cast, credits and racklisting information.

The Jon Pertwee Collection (Credit: Demon Records)

 

 





FILTER: - Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee - Vinyl - Audio

Black Archive #76: Logopolis

Wednesday, 16 April 2025 - Reported by Marcus
Black Archive #76: Logopolis (Credit: Obverse Books)

The latest release in the Black Archive series looks at the Fourth Doctor's swan song Logopolis. 

‘Structure is the essence of matter, and the essence of structure is mathematics.’ 

Logopolis (1981) is a mournful epic of cosmic destruction, obsolescence, and collapse, and marked the final serial in Tom Baker’s long run as the Doctor.

With a star unsure if he really wanted to leave, and a producer keen to explore new directions, Logopolis is a story set in the centre of a transitional space. This Black Archive investigates the changes before and behind the camera, explores the story’s themes of entropy and rebirth, and places it in the context of a specific moment in the history of both computing and Doctor Who.

The book is by Jonathan Hay the author of Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene. They lecture at the University of Chester.

BLACK ARCHIVE #76: LOGOPOLIS is available for pre-order now in paperback at a sale price of £5.99 and electronic formats, at a price of £3.99, direct from Obverse Books and from selected online retailers.





FILTER: - Books - Forth Doctor

20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor

Sunday, 6 April 2025 - Reported by Marcus
20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor Cover (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who Magazine celebrates 20 years of the Ninth Doctor, and 20 years since the show’s triumphant return to television.

The latest Special Edition is packed full of all-new content, which has been compiled in co-operation with some of the biggest names from the 2005 series. 

“This is an in-depth look of one of the most remarkable comebacks in television history,” says editor Marcus Hearn. “We’ve got some fantastic exclusives, including interviews with executive producer Mal Young and director Joe Ahearne. And there’s a very special contribution from Russell T Davies, who has written a new story relating to one of the Ninth Doctor’s adventures. The illustrations are by Martin Geraghty, and you can see some of his artwork on the front cover. It might give you a clue about the old foe Russell has revisited!”

Highlights of the new issue include:

  • In his first interview for DWM, executive producer Mal Young describes how Doctor Who was finally brought back to the screen.

  • In another first for the magazine, Joe Ahearne – who directed more Ninth Doctor episodes than anyone else – takes readers behind the scenes on the 2005 series.

  • Christopher Eccleston explains what drew him to the role of the Doctor – and why he’s still coming back to it, 20 years on.

  • Interviews with Lloyd Elis (first assistant director), Lee Sheward (stunt co-ordinator) and Lowri Thomas (location manager).

  • The cast and crew of the 2005 series chose their favourite moments.

  • The making of the renowned Trip of a Lifetime trailer.

  • Concept artist Dan Walker reveals his original designs for the Ninth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.

  • Fans share their eyewitness accounts – and photographs – of the 2004 location filming.

  • Action figures, radio-controlled Daleks and other merchandise that was available in Toys R Us, Woolworths and elsewhere.

  • A guide to the Ninth Doctor’s adventures in the expanded universe.

PLUS

    A new and exclusive short story by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies!

20 Years of the Ninth Doctor is on sale now, RRP £9.99 from panini.co.uk and selected branches of WH Smith while stocks last. 

It’s also available digitally from pocketmags.com priced £8.99.

 

20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor 2 (Credit: Panini)20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor 3 (Credit: Panini)20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor 4 (Credit: Panini)20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor 6 (Credit: Panini)20 Years Of The Ninth Doctor 5 (Credit: Panini)





FILTER: - DWM - Ninth Doctor

The Ninth Doctor and Rose back together for Audio Adventures

Saturday, 15 February 2025 - Reported by Marcus
Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper (Credit: Oliver Bowring / Big Finish)

Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper are returning to the roles of the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler in a brand-new series of full-cast Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish

The Doctor and Rose want you to come with them!

Back to the Powell Estate, where the Doctor’s past returns to haunt him, and out into the universe where enemies old and new are waiting...

In 2005, Eccleston and Piper took a whole new generation of Doctor Who fans on the trip of a lifetime into time and space.

Twenty years later, the trip continues, as they’re set to star in a brand-new series of twelve, hour-long, full-cast audio adventures, due to be released from August 2025.

The news was announced to a packed hall at the world's premier Doctor Who convention, Gallifrey One in Los Angeles.

Christopher Eccleston said:

I am so happy to be back recording more adventures for the NinthDoctor with Billie. I don't think my Doctor exists without Rose. He's a 'one man, one companion' kind of alien. We've explored him on his own at Big Finish, as a loner. But there's resilience bravery and a deep empathy for Billie as Rose, that's why I do this. They complete each other.

Billie Piper added:

I can’t think of a better time for Rose to reunite with her first Doctor than now. Twenty years after she first ran into the TARDIS and towards adventure, here we are again, me and Chris, ready to have fun facing the universe – and the monsters – together.

Producer Matt Fitton said:

Twenty years after the Ninth Doctor and Rose burst onto our screens, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper are back with that brilliant dynamic – the Doctor showing Rose the universe, and Rose showing him the best of humanity.

Across 12 episodes, slotting neatly into that 2005 series, we have more Jackie Tyler, more Powell Estate, plus friends and enemies old and new through time and space. Our writers have done an amazing job recapturing the spirit of that very special season, and Chris and Billie have embraced these scripts with delight and gusto. They're having a blast, back on that trip of a lifetime – and they sound fantastic!

Big Finish listeners can now pre-order Doctor Who – The Ninth Doctor Adventures, starting at £9.99 per story (download to own) or £11.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD) exclusively from bigfinish.com.

Please note: the collector’s edition CDs are strictly limited to 1,500 copies each and will not be repressed. A complete series multibuy bundle of all twelve releases is also available to pre-order at the discounted price of £102 (download to own) or £126 (download to own + collectors edition CD), again exclusively from the Big Finish website.





FILTER: - Big Finish - Ninth Doctor

Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970

Friday, 14 February 2025 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - Cover (Credit: Panini)

The makers of Doctor Who Magazine have announced the latest issue of Chronicles, looking at Season Seven, first broadcast in 1970. 

Editor Marcus Hearn

The Chronicles bookazines examine the show’s landmark years, and 1970 is certainly one of the great turning points in its history. We’ve packed more than we thought possible into these 116 pages, including interviews with a number of people who have never spoken to DWM before. This issue also includes a deep dive into the restoration of the episodes in the forthcoming Season 7 box set.  I think this is one of the best bookazines we’ve ever published, It’s the perfect companion to the new Blu-rays.”

Chronicles 1970 covers all the stories in Season 7: Spearhead from Space, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno, alongside exclusive features, insightful commentary and previously unpublished images.

Highlights include:

  • Assistant script editor Robin Squire speaks to DWM for the first time, revealing his contributions to Spearhead from Space and Inferno.

  • New interviews with actors Constance Carling (Spearhead from Space), Nigel Johns (Doctor Who and the Silurians) and John Levene (Sergeant Benton).

  • Costume designer Christine Rawlins describes inventing a look for the Third Doctor, and the other challenges of Season 7.

  • Scene by scene on The Ambassadors of Death with camera operator Mike Minchin.

  • Mark Ayres, Peter Crocker and Paul Vanezis explain how the episodes in The Collection: Season 7 were restored for Blu-ray.

  • Behind the scenes on the new Nicholas Courtney documentary, Splendid Chap.

  • The surprising links between Doctor Who and soap opera Crossroads!

  • The life and career of writer Malcolm Hulke.

  • Tributes to Jon Pertwee, Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney.

  • Special effects and production techniques.

  • Target novelisations, TV Comic strips and the Doctor Who annual.

  • … and much more!

Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 is on sale Thursday 13 February, RRP £12.99 from panini.co.uk and selected branches of WH Smith while stocks last. 

It’s also available digitally from pocketmags.com priced £11.99.

 
Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - 02 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - 03 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - 04 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - 05 (Credit: Panini)Doctor Who: Chronicles 1970 - 06 (Credit: Panini)




FILTER: - DWM - Third Doctor - Season 7

Fifty Years of the Fourth Doctor - Free Bookazine

Saturday, 28 December 2024 - Reported by Marcus

Tom Baker

Today marks fifty years since we first became acquainted with the fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker.

Baker had briefly appeared the previous summer in the final episode of Planet of the Spiders but 28th December 1974 is when the fourth Doctor had his first adventure Robot. 

The episode was broadcast on BBC 1 at 5.35 pm following the Shari Lewis Show and the News and preceding Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game. It had 10.8 million viewers. 

Baker would go on to play the Doctor in 173 episodes over 7 years, plus a notable return in the 2013 anniversary story The Day of the Doctor. He is the longest-serving Doctor to date.

To mark the anniversary Radio Times has produced a special digital bookazine edited by Stuart Manning, Tom Baker: 50 Years in Time and Space

Radio Times - Tom Baker: 50 Years in Time and Space

A 64-page digital bookazine collecting the best interviews from five decades of features. Enjoy 64 pages of the greatest Doctor in his own words, illustrated throughout with rare and unseen photography from the RT archives. 

The bookazine is free to download from www.radiotimes.com/tom-baker-bookazine/

 

In addition, Big Finish have released a special full-cast audio anniversary adventure, The Curse of Time. Starring Tom Baker, along with Sadie Miller (as Sarah Jane Smith) and Christopher Naylor (as Harry Sullivan), the story picks up at the end of Season 12, with the Doctor and his companions returning to Earth after the events of Revenge of the Cybermen

The Curse of Time is written by Jonathan Morris and begins with the Doctor, Sarah (Sadie Miller)and Harry (Christopher Naylor) arriving in what seems to be medieval England.

They discover they're actually in the far future, long after solar flares caused most of Earth's population to flee into space (as seen in The Ark in Space and The Sontaran Experiment).On this severely changed Earth, they encounter the creepy magician Faustus Black (AngusDunican) and the megalomaniacal scientist Zaphiel Ixon (Terence Wilton) – two sinister villains whose schemes put the TARDIS crew in grave danger.

Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Curse of Time is now available to purchase for just £15.99 (collector's edition double CD with slipcase + download) or £12.99 (download only), exclusively from bigfinish.com

 

No Doctor I'm the Doctor! | Doctor Who | Robot





FILTER: - Fourth Doctor

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 610

Friday, 15 November 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 610 (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 610 is available now. 

 

Inside this issue

  • PHILIP HINCHCLIFFE – THE ULTIMATE INTERVIEW! The man behind Fourth Doctor classics such as Genesis of the Daleks, Terror of the Zygons, The Seeds of Doom and Robots of Death reflects on his career – sharing his views on what makes essential Doctor Who – and reacts to episodes of this year’s series.

  • Showrunners RUSSELL T DAVIES, STEVEN MOFFAT, CHRIS CHIBNALL and the TV Movie’s producer PHILIP SEGAL talk about Hinchcliffe Who and how it inspired them.

  • As the first series of Blake’s 7 arrives on Blu-ray, we examine how it crossed over with Doctor Who.

  • John Kane – who played the loveable Tommy in 1974’s Planet of the Spiders – gives a rare interview about his part in the series.

  • The Fact of Fiction – delving into the detail of Tenth Doctor story The Doctor’s Daughter.

  • This Month In… 1967. How Carry On actor Bernard Bresslaw became an Ice Warrior!

  • Comic strip action with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

Regular features

  • Gallifrey Guardian – full details of the new Dalek partwork launching next year, plus the latest book news.

  • Shelf Life – including a review of the Season 25 Blu-ray boxset, plus books, action figures and audio releases.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won including Blake’s 7 on Blu-ray! 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 610 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - Fourth Doctor

Black Archive #73 Under the Lake / Before the Flood

Thursday, 31 October 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Black Archive #73 (Credit: Obverse Books)

The latest publication in the Black Archive series looks at the Twelfth Doctor story Under the Lake / Before the Flood.

‘You can’t cheat time. I just tried. You can’t just go back and cut off tragedy at the root. Because you find yourself talking to someone you just saw dead on a slab. Because then you really do see ghosts.’

A base under siege, a time travel paradox, and ghosts! With these elements in place, Toby Whitehouse’s Under the Lake and Before the Flood (2015) tread familiar ground for fans of Doctor Who while also moving in bold new directions, both in terms of story-telling and character representation.

This two-part story sees Peter Capaldi’s 12th doctor break the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience. His lecture on “the bootstrap paradox” serves to set up the central puzzle of these episodes while insisting that it remain unsolved. Meanwhile, actress Sophie Stone’s portrayal of Cass challenges traditional representational tropes surrounding disabled people. Simultaneously, this character asks us to think further about how we understand disability in, and through, science fiction.

The book is written by Ryan C. Parrey, PhD is Senior Lecturer in Disability Studies and director of the Disability Studies program at Eastern Washington University near Spokane, Washington, USA. and Kevin S. Decker, PhD is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University.

Under the Lake / Before the Flood is available now in paperback and electronic formats, direct from Obverse Books and from selected online retailers.





FILTER: - Books - Twelfth Doctor

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 607

Thursday, 15 August 2024 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine:  Issue 607 (Credit: Panini)

Doctor Who Magazine, Issue 607 is out today.

Inside this issue

  • The concluding part of our access-all-areas coverage of this year’s apocalyptic season finale. We speak to NCUTI GATWA, MILLLIE GIBSON, RUSSELL T DAVIES, director JAMIE DONOUGHUE, plus Mrs Flood herself – ANITA DOBSON.

  • Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill talk to DWM about a new series of audio adventures for the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz.

  • Behind the scenes at San Diego Comic-Con with executive producer Julie Gardner.

  • Find out all about the making of Madame Tussauds’ stunning Fifteenth Doctor wax figure, with sculptor Stephen Mansfield and set designer Amanda So.

  • Russell T Davies shares his experiences of visiting the Madame Tussauds exhibit.

  • June Hudson on becoming the victim of the devilish Maestro.

  • Bonnie Langford talks to Jacqueline Rayner about Mel’s continuing adventures in print.

  • A previously unpublished interview with eighties producer John Nathan-Turner.

  • The first of a two-part interview with Seventh Doctor set designer John Asbridge.This issue he talks about his work on Delta and the Bannermen and Dragonfire.

  • Find out all about the new mobile game Worlds Apart.

  • Discover the links between Pertwee radio drama Paradise of Death and Dennis Potter!

  • Join us for a night out at the Gallifrey Cabaret.

  • The Fact of Fiction – we examine the Twelfth Doctor’s encounter with Davros in The Magician’s Apprentice…

  • Comic strip adventures with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby.

PLUS!

  • Gallifrey Guardian – find out all about the new spin-off series: The War Between the Land and the Sea.PLUS – casting for this year’s Christmas Special, a Star Trek crossover, and forthcoming audio releases!

  • Shelf Life: We take a look at the latest audio dramas and the new Fifteenth Doctor Target Books.

  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

  • Prizes to be won including the Eighth Doctor’s clash with the Daleks in audio drama The Stuff of Legend.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 607 is on sale Thursday 15 August  from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). 

Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

 




FILTER: - DWM - Fifteenth Doctor