DWM Review

Doctor Who Magazine 211 (13 April 1994)

Fame at last! Well, perhaps not, but TSV 37 and The Tardis Tales Collection do get favourable reviews in DWM 211's Fanzine Trap column. The issue focuses on The Greatest Show in the Galaxy with an Archive and a visual effects article by Mike Tucker, who worked on the story in this capacity. The interview with Roberta Tovey (who played Susan in the Dalek movies), mentioned by Gary Russell in TSV 37 sees print. The last McCoy era comic strip for some time is written by Warwick Gray; Uninvited Guest is a thought-provoking perspective on the Eternals from Enlightenment. Gary Russell's Prelude for Legacy is easily one of the best story 'excerpts' this column has ever featured.

Doctor Who Magazine 212 (11 May 1994)

Gary's novel is reviewed in DWM 212 by Craig Hinton. Legacy is undeniably a great book, which must have given Hinton cause for considerable relief! (What will happen, I wonder, when it comes time to review Hinton's own forthcoming novel?) DWM 212 is something of a Troughton-themed issue with Deborah Watling (Victoria) interviewed and The Faceless Ones given the Archive treatment. Curiously, the Archive is almost completely devoid of photos relevant to the story, even though DWM has in reserve a set of telesnaps for all six episodes! Pauline Collins, who turned down the offer to be a regular companion whilst appearing in The Faceless Ones, is also interviewed. Victoria Waterfield replaced Samantha Briggs, and Collins went on to become one of the most popular and famous of modern British actors. DWM's comic strip pre-empts Virgin's Missing Adventures novels with the debut of comic stories featuring earlier Doctors. This kicks off with Victims, a Fourth Doctor and Romana II adventure set in a future fashion world. Writer Dan Abnett succeeds in capturing the feel of Season 17, but artist Colin Andrew likenesses are inconsistent. Colin Baker provides a frank insight into the making of his Years tape, and Marcus Hearn's long-running What the Papers Said press overview draws to a close with a look at post-cancellation newspaper rurnours.

Doctor Who Magazine 213 (8 June 1994)

It's now a decade since Peter Davison's era concluded, so appropriately DWM 213 has the first of a three part interview with Davison himself. His debut story (in production order) Four to Doomsday is the Archive, and there's also an examination of a Davison era missing story, Hex by Peter Ling and Hazel Adair, giving this issue a definite Fifth Doctor theme. Just to be different, however, there's also a look right back at the dawn of the series in the form of an interview with Frank Cox, whose first job as a BBC director was on the second episode of the third story. Also worthy of mention is Andy Lane's intriguing Prelude which seems to be an attempt to rationalize the Doctor meeting Sherlock Holmes in All-Consuming Fire and Conan Doyle (Holmes' creator) in Evolution.

Doctor Who Classic Comics 19 (27 April 1994)

The above issues of DWM all feature telesnaps from The Web of Fear, alternate episodes of which appear in Classic Comics. Episode 3 in DWCC 19 has the historic first appearance of Lethbridge-Stewart; now there's an episode I wish existed! The conclusion of the 104-part The Daleks comic strip in issue 19 is accompanied by a short interview with TV Century 21 editor Alan Fennell. The Fourth Doctor strip The Wreckers is amusing for having a alien with the head of a horse! Other comic strips in DWCC 19 include Who is the Stranger, a Third Doctor story set in Nazi-occupied France; and the Sixth Doctor strip from DWM. Kane's Story.

Doctor Who Classic Comics 20 (25 May 1994)

By my calculations, in terms of page count DWCC 20 marks the exact halfway point for reprinting the Hartnell era comic strips; Challenge of the Piper is the featured story for the First Doctor. The Master makes a rare comic appearance in the Third Doctor TV Action serial The Glen of Sleeping, which features a time travel twist, and is actually rather good. The Second Doctor era continues to be reprinted in strict order with The Exterminator (which in contrast to the First Doctor is less than a fifth of the way through this era). The Sixth Doctor strip Abel's Story (remarkable for having an extremely minimal appearance by the Doctor and his companions) is also featured, and John Ainsworth's comprehensive guide to the Troughton era comics concludes.