Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 566Bookmark and Share

Friday, 25 June 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 566 (Credit: Panini)

Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill answer readers questions in the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine

 

Highlights of this issue also include:

  • A CGI reconstruction of the sets from Episode 4 of The Tenth Planet.
  • A tribute to the late Roy Scammell, who performed some of Doctor Who’s most spectacular stunts.
  • The performance that recreated sections of Richard Rodney Bennett’s score for 1964 story The Aztecs.
  • The story of Donald Wilson, and the part he played in the creation of Doctor Who.
  • An interview with the museum owner who restores and exhibits Doctor Who monster costumes.
  • Collectivity meets the fans who love Doctor Who audio cassettes.
  • Apocrypha looks back at the 1978 Target book Doctor Who Discovers Strange and Mysterious Creatures.
  • The Fact of Fiction analyses the 2014 episode Kill the Moon.

·         Sufficient Data crunches Doctor Who’s numbers

·         Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 566 is on sale from panini.co.uk and WH Smith from Thursday 24 June

priced £5.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £4.99.





FILTER: - DWM

Jackie Lane 1941-2021Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 - Reported by Marcus

The actress and agent Jackie Lane has died at the age of 79

Jackie Lane appeared in 19 episodes of Doctor Who in the 1960s playing Dodo Chaplet a companion of the First Doctor William Hartnell.

Jackie Lane was born in Manchester, England.  After training as an actress she had small parts in soap operas. Compact and Coronation Street

In 1963 her agent put her forward to play the character of Susan in the new tea-time science fiction programme Doctor Who. Lane however withdrew from consideration on learning she would be expected to sign a year-long contract should she win the role. 

Three years later, with Doctor Who a huge success, the actress was offered the role of Dodo by producer John Wiles. Arriving at the end of The Massacre, the character travelled with the Doctor and his companion Steven, played by Peter Purves across four stories, The Ark, The Celestial Toymaker, The Gunfighters and The Savages.

Lane told Doctor Who Magazine about her time on the series

It was very friendly, although for Bill Hartnell has put up with a lot of cast changes over a short space of time. It was really beginning to get to him. We got on very well, although I wouldn't say I ever really knew him that well. 

Lane's contract expired after four months and it was not renewed by the new producer Innes Lloyd. The character disappeared from the series, without a goodbye, during the story The War Machines

Innes had definite plans for the series, which neither Steven nor Dodo fitted. I think I would have liked a dramatic ending. My farewell was a bit of an anti-climax. Still, I got my revenge. I now run a voice-over agency and Innes Lloyd once asked me to find him work. I reminded him that he had once sacked me from Doctor Who and said a very firm no. 

Soon after Lane left Doctor Who she retired from acting. She spent some time as a diplomatic Secretary working for the Australian Government and as an antique dealer before returning to the world of show business, this time as a theatrical agent.  In this role, she represented Tom Baker

A very shy woman, Jackie Lane was always reluctant to involve herself in Doctor Who fandom. She gave very few interviews about her time on the show but did make an appearance at the time of Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary.

Jackie Lane's death was announced by Fantom Films earlier today. 

 

 





FILTER: - Obituary

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Ever-RunningBookmark and Share

Monday, 21 June 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Candy Jar Books has announced a new collection of short stories in their Lethbridge-Stewart series:

 

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Ever-Running (Credit: Candy Jar Books)The Ever-Running
Written by Richard Brewer

 

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, the stoic and ever dependable defender of Earth, is about to discover that reality is under attack from an enemy that strikes from beyond the boundaries of space and time. The Ever-Running have vowed that they must never be caught, and to prevent capture they are willing to destroy all that Alistair has sworn to protect.

 

Explore six new adventures throughout Alistair’s life and beyond, including a desperate battle for survival on a distant ice planet, General Lethbridge-Stewart facing the outbreak of World War 3 in the 1980s, a young girl escaping a remote Hampshire village where the sick never return from an idyllic island, and three further adventures that take the Brigadier to the far future, and a realm beyond the universe itself.

 

The Ever-Running is written by Richard Brewer, the author of the short story File# 161229 and Shadows in the Glen. Profits from this book will be donated to the Brain Tumour Charity.

 

 

If you are a fan of dystopian melodrama or futuristic space operas, then this collection is just for you. However, this book offers something for everyone, especially if you are fond of the classic Doctor Who stories The Daemons or The Android Invasion.

 

The collection of stories form an arc taking the Brigadier into situations and locations that he has never encountered before, and is written by Richard Brewer, who previously penned Shadows in the Glen for the first Lethbridge-Stewart Short Story Collection.

Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, said:

I was very impressed with the quality of Richard’s work, and after he submitted A Message from the Brigadier – a companion piece that featured alongside the free Lucy Wilson story Copy/Paste during lockdown in 2020 – we began to talk about him writing a full book.

The book introduces a new enemy for the Brigadier,one who has the ability to manipulate his timeline and beyond! Richard said:

I wanted to take the Brigadier to places that he has never been before, It was tremendous fun to drop him into unknown territory!

However, the book had been written whilst Richard had received terrible news:

I started writing The Ever-Running during a particularly difficult time. My wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the beginning of last year. At first, she and I shared a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration at the news. But after the initial shock, and following some investigation into the current state of research into brain tumour treatment, we both knew that we desperately wanted to raise some money. I approached Shaun about writing a selection of short stories to raise funds for this urgent cause and he readily agreed.

Shaun found himself working on The Ever-Running under similar circumstances, as his daughterwas knocked down by a car, fracturing her lower back and pelvis on both sides leaving her unable to walk:

COVID restrictions meant that I had to stay with her as she recuperated in hospital, so as she was sleeping (or playing on her Nintendo Switch) I edited Richard’s book, and I am so grateful that I was able to do this during the obvious worrying times I was facing. As a cancer survivor, I wholeheartedly support this book and encourage all readers to support Richard, either by buying this book, or donating to the Brain Tumour Charity.

 

The Ever-Running is available to pre-order via The Candy Jar website and will be released in early July 2021. Please note this book is not covered by any subscription offer.

 

Every year some 16,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour; a disease which is responsible for more deaths of children and adults under the age of forty than any other cancer. Sadly, despite this startling fact, the funding into research is very low, as is evidenced by the fact that the prognoses for brain tumours have not changed in forty years. The Brain Tumour Charityhelps lead the fight against this devastating and indiscriminate disease.

You can find out more and donate via their website at www.thebraintumourcharity.org

 

 

We are delighted to be able to present Richard's short story Shadows in the Glen for readers as a PDF; click on the cover image below to read it!

 

Lethbridge-Stewart: Shadows of the Glan (Credit: Candy Jar Books)





FILTER: - Candy Jar Books - Books - Lethbridge-Stewart

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1975Bookmark and Share

Friday, 18 June 2021 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Chronicles 1975 (Credit: Panini)

The second issue in a new series of bookazines, Doctor Who: Chronicles, has been released by the makers of Doctor Who Magazine.

This issue takes us back to 1975

Tom Baker’s debut came as a shock to some critics and even regular viewers, but his charismatic portrayal of the Doctor soon propelled the series to new heights of popularity. In 1975 Doctor Who attracted both critical acclaim and controversy in stories that many regard as the benchmark for everything that would follow.

This 116-page bookazine includes newly discovered images and all-new features, including:

  • A summary of the year’s most significant events in the Doctor Who universe (both on and off screen)
  • Highlights of the memorabilia released in 1975
  • Tom Baker’s column for Reveille!
  • Dr Where and other spoofs
  • The story behind the ‘lost’ radio interview with Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter
  • Doctor Who in the popular press
  • Archive rarities, including director Christopher Barry’s notebooks, the BBC’s Audience Research Reports, concept artwork from The Sontaran Experiment and unused props created for Pyramids of Mars
  • The Doctor Who and Dalek annuals
  • The Doctor Who Monster Book and other Target publications
  • Special effects and production techniques
  • Overviews of Robot, The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, Revenge of the Cybermen, Terror of the Zygons, Planet of Evil, Pyramids of Mars and The Android Invasion

And much more!

Doctor Who: Chronicles – 1975 is on sale now, RRP just £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.

 





FILTER: - DWM - Fourth Doctor

The Doctors: Behind The ScenesBookmark and Share

Sunday, 13 June 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

After the success of the compilation of Myth Makers interviews featuring the Doctors and their companions, Time Travel TV are releasing a new, thirteen DVD collection this time focussing on the behind the scene heroes and heroines that brought Doctor Who to life. Each release will feature over five hours  nostalgia, aiming to provide a whole new insight into the making of the series.

 
The first in a planned series of 13 new titles, The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years Behind The Scenes Vol. 1, contains interviews with the men and women who brought the Jon Pertwee era of the show to life including Doctor Who legends Barry Letts (Producer), Terrance Dicks (Script Editor/Writer), Don Houghton (Writer), Christopher Barry (Director), Paul Bernhard (Director), plus bonus interviews with actors Anna Barry, Damaris Hayman, Terance Lodge and Valentine Palmer! And presented by “voice of the Daleks” Nicholas Briggs.
 
The Doctors: Behind The Scenes: The Jon Pertwee Years (part one) cover (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Ambassadors of Death) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (Terror of the Autons) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Time Monster) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures)

The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years Behind the Scenes Volume 1 will be available on 2-disc DVD from 12 July 2021.
The second compilation will be The Doctors: The William Hartnell Years Behind The Scenes will contain interviews with the team who created history by bringing the Doctor’s ground-breaking first incarnation to television screens. Hear from Verity Lambert (Producer), Waris Hussain (Director), Donald Tosh (Script Editor), Tristram Cary (Composer), John Wiles (Producer), Dennis Spooner (Writer) and Paul Erickson (Writer), plus bonus interviews with actors Lyn Ashley, Suzanne Carroll, John Cater, Edward De Souza, and Fiona Walker.
 
The Doctors: Behind The Scenes: The William Hartnell Years cover (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Web Planet) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Crusade) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Tenth Planet) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures) The Doctors: Behind The Scenes (The Tenth Planet) (Credit: Reeltime Pictures)

The Doctors: The William Hartnell Years Behind the Scenes Volume 2 will be available on 2-disc DVD from 30 August 2021.
 
Each set will be limited to just 1000 double DVDs, and can be pre-ordered direct from the Time Travel TV website.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Blu-Ray/DVD - Jon Pertwee - William Hartnell

New paperbacks from Penguin Random HouseBookmark and Share

Sunday, 13 June 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Penguin Random House have announced two new paperback collections in their Puffin brand, aimed at children.

 

The first features a new combination of Doctor Who with much loved classic works, merging iconic literary worlds with much-loved Doctors in adventures across time and space:

The Wonderful Doctor of Oz (Credit: BBC/Puffin Books)The Wonderful Doctor of Oz
Written by Jacqueline Rayner
(buy now from Amazon UK)


The thirteenth Doctor meets The Wizard of Oz in a strange and enchanting adventure, filled with old foes and monsters.


When a sudden tornado engulfs the TARDIS, the Thirteenth Doctor and her fam find themselves transported to the magical land of Oz. With a damaged TARDIS and an unexpected stowaway from the 1930s, their only hope of getting home is to follow the yellow brick road. But when an army of scarecrows ambushes them, they quickly realise that everything is not as it should be, and they're thrown into a fight for survival against a mysterious enemy.

As each of her companions becomes a shadow of their former selves, only the Doctor is left standing. Desperate to save her friends, she must embark on a perilous journey to seek help from the mysterious Wizard of Oz - and stop whatever forces are at work before she and her friends are trapped in the fictional world forever.


Jacqueline Rayner has written many books, audioplays and comic strips, many of them set in the world of Doctor Who, including the number one bestseller The Stone Rose and two 'Quick Reads' for World Book Day. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked at BBC Books as an editor on their Doctor Who range.
Legends of Camelot (Credit: BBC/Puffin Books)Legends of Camelot
Written by Jacqueline Rayner
(buy now from Amazon UK)


Doctor Who meets King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, featuring fan favourite, the tenth Doctor as portrayed by David Tennant.


While investigating a strange energy in Carbury, the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble are pulled into a different dimension, smashing a giant hole into another world in the process. As the magic of the hidden dimension slowly seeps out, the Doctor and Donna find themselves in Camelot, where a young squire, Arthur, comes to their aid, and when the Doctor is mistaken for Merlin, they are swept up in the glamorous and daring legends of the Knights of the Round Table.

But something far more menacing has been awakened. Caught in an ancient battle for power, Donna and the Doctor are sucked into a dangerous game. As each move is made and time spins faster, the Doctor must find a way to seal the rift before an unimaginable power is unleashed and the universe is laid to waste.

 

The second collection features illustrated adventures fallling under the banner of the Team TARDIS DIaries:

The TARDIS Diaries: Paper Moon (Credit: BBC/Puffin Books)Team Tardis Diaries, Volume 1: Paper Moon
Written by Louie Stowell
Illustrated by Robin Boyden
(buy now from Amazon UK)


The first in a brand new series of illustrated adventures for the Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and friends.

The Doctor and her friends find themselves in terrible danger in a psychic forest, and discover a threat as old as time itself, in the first of four linked adventures for Team TARDIS. Written in the form of a diary, with entries from Ryan, Graham and Yaz, and illustrated throughout, this new series is perfect for young fans of Doctor Who.


Louie Stowell started her career writing carefully-researched books about space, Ancient Egypt, politics and science but eventually lapsed into just making stuff up. She likes writing about dragons, wizards, vampires, fairies, monsters and parallel worlds. She lives in London with her wife Karen, her dog Buffy and a creepy puppet that is probably cursed.
The TARDIS Diaries: Ghost Town (Credit: BBC/Puffin Books)Team Tardis Diaries, Volume 2: Ghost Town
Written by Susie Day
Illustrated by Robin Boyden
(buy now from Amazon UK)


The second in a new series of illustrated adventures for the Thirteenth Doctor, as portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.

Something has gone wrong with time, and the Doctor - alongside her friends Yaz, Ryan and Graham - is determined to investigate. The trail leads to a dusty mining town at Hallowe'en - and something scary is lying in wait for them ...


Susie Day grew up by the seaside in Penarth, Wales, with a lisp and a really unfortunate choice of first name. Between books, she works as a copywriter in Birmingham, crochets ridiculous jumpers and inhales tea.Susie now lives in Coventry, England with her partner and a black cat named Pantalaimon.

 





FILTER: - Books

Candy Jar Books: Return to Fang RockBookmark and Share

Sunday, 6 June 2021 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Candy Jar Books has announced a very special release for 2021:
 

The Beast of Fang Rock
By Andy Frankham-Allen
Illustrated by Martin Baines

 

There’s always death on the rock when the Beast’s about.”

 

Fang Rock has always had a bad reputation. Since 1955 the lighthouse has been out of commission,

 shut down because of fire that gutted the entire tower. But now, finally updated and fully renovated, the island and lighthouse is once again about to be brought back into service.

Students have gathered on Fang Rock to celebrate the opening of the ‘most haunted lighthouse of the British Isles’, but they get more than they bargained for when the ghosts of long-dead men return, accompanied by a falling star.

 

Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart is brought in to investigate what he believes to be signs of alien involvement. But it is not only Lethbridge-Stewart who has an interest in Fang Rock. Anne Travers is called to her family solicitor’s, who have in their possession a letter from Archibald Goff, the paranormal investigator who once visited Fang Rock back in the 1820s, and along with it a piece of alien technology.

 

What connects a shooting star, ghosts of men killed in 1902 and the beast that roamed Fang Rock in 1823? Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers are about to discover the answer first hand...

 

A new hardback, illustated edition of the novel from 2015.

 

 

The new edition was inspired by the illustrated Doctor Who Target books from the early 1970s. Head of Publishing at Candy Jar, Shaun Russell, said:

Beast of Fang Rock has always been one our most popular novels and like Mutually Assured Domination and Times Squared we always planned to reissue it. While I was working on Kklak!: The Doctor Who Art of Chris Achilléos last year I revisited many old Target books, and was struck by the captivating artwork seen in titles such as Doctor Who and The Cave-Monsters. I thought it would be nice to replicate this.

Almost forty-five years after that last Target book Doctor Who and the Planet of the Spiders was issued with illustrations, Shaun approached Martin Baines, who he'd recently worked with on 100 Objects of Dr Who, and thought him ideal to undertake this task. Martin said:

Shaun wanted me to read the book and choose my own sequences to illustrate. In my opinion the TV version of Horror of Fang Rock is a tightly written atmospheric story, but due to television budgets it’s not as visual interesting as it could have been. I wanted to evoke a similar kind of atmosphere as the brilliant Ridley Scott TV series, The Terror.

 

Lethbridge-Stewart: The Beast of Fang Rock (illustrated edition): illustration 2 (Credit: Candy Jar Books) Lethbridge-Stewart: The Beast of Fang Rock (illustrated edition): illustration 1 (Credit: Candy Jar Books)

Andy Frankham-Allen was also pleased to revisiting Beast of Fang Rock. He said:

It’s been great to return the book over five years later, as there were a few things I wanted to fix. I especially took the chance to get rid of the god-awful prologue (which I've hated since the book was released), and tidied up a few others things that never quite worked for me. Martin has created some wonderful illustrations of some of his favourite scenes, which really elevates the book even more. Coupled with his splendid cover, I can’t wait to see what the fans make of it.

Martin drew his inspiration for the cover on 1960s iconography. He continued:

I wanted to evoke look of an old Hammer Horror movie poster and particularly enjoyed redesigning the Rutan with this in mind. I hope fans embrace my take on this classic monster as much as I enjoyed drawing it.”
Actress Louise Jameson provided the foreword for the story:
Horror of Fang Rock has always been a favourite with the fans. Part of the ‘recipe’ for a frightening yarn is to create something claustrophobic. And that feeling of climbing the stairs at night taps in to almost everyone’s personal childhood terror.

 

Beast of Fang Rock: The Illustrated Edition comes with a free postcard, as well as a brand new Lucy Wilson Mysteries book, The Keeper of Fang Rock written by Andy Frankham-Allen:

I’ve written bits of Lucy Wilson before, even started writing one, but time got away with me and Tim Gambrell finished it for me. So, when Shaun and I discussed the companion book to Beast of Fang Rock, we both latched on the idea of doing a sequel with Lucy. The basic idea was simple enough; Lucy goes to Fang Rock and gets caught up in an adventure with a ghost. What’s been really great about this one, is that usually I’m writing about the past (with the LS books it normally the 1970s), but with this one I got to write a story set in the (almost) present. (In this case 2019.) Which meant I could deal with some modern issues and bring in some real diversity. And, of course, Lucy is a great window into today’s world, being so young and receptive to the ever-changing culture we currently live in.

 

Beast of Fang Rock can be ordered from the Candy Jar website - please note that neither this nor The Keeper of Fang Rock are covered by any subscription offfer.

 

Lucy is taken to Fang Rock by her cousin, Kat. The location of one of her grandad’s greatest adventures. Only the adventure isn’t over yet. It looks like Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart might have left something behind...

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Keeper of Fang Rock (Credit: Candy Jar Books)





FILTER: -

Damaris Hayman 1929-2021Bookmark and Share

Thursday, 3 June 2021 - Reported by Marcus

The actress Damaris Hayman, famous for playing Olive Hawthorne, the gloriously eccentric white witch of Devils End, has died at the age of 91.

 

Damaris Hayman had a long career in British Film and Television, playing mostly well to do, slightly eccentric, ladies. She made her TV debut in 1953 as Eliza in The Story of the Treasure Seekers

Her film debut came a year later in The Belles of St Trinian's, the first in the comedy series set in a Girls school. It was a world Hayman knew well having been educated at the exclusive  Cheltenham Ladies' College. Later moves included The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Many supporting roles on TV  included apperances in series such as The Citadel, Citizen James, Somerset Maugham Hour, Crossroads, Steptoe and Son, Z Cars, The Dickie Henderson Show, Beggar My Neighbour, Armchair Theatre, Ours Is a Nice House, The Onedin Line, The Morecambe & Wise Show, The Witches' Brew, The Small World of Samuel Tweet, The Dick Emery Show, The Basil Brush Show and One Foot in the Grave.

 

It was in 1971 she took on the role that endeared her to Doctor Who fans when she played Miss Hawthorne in the acclaimed Third Doctor story The Daemons. It was a perfectly pitched performance and one she was very proud of.  Her chemistry with Jon Pertwee and the cast helped ensure the story is one of the best-loved in the Doctor Who Universe 

In 2017 she returned to the character to appear in The White Witch of Devil's End, a spin-off story based on the character released by Koch Media.

Damaris Hayman died today, a couple of weeks short of her 92nd birthday. 

 





FILTER: - Obituary