The Annuals - A Collector's Guide

For the devoted Doctor Who merchandise collector, the annuals are usually a high priority on the list of 'must-have's. Although the visual and literary qualities of these books are at best reasonable and at worst dire and bizarre, they are desirable items and can sometimes fetch quite high prices. The fact that most are now very difficult to obtain - necessitating ferreting through dusty second-hand bookstores, flea markets and school fairs - perhaps makes the pursuit of a complete set of Doctor Who Annuals all the more appealing.

There were twenty 'regular' Doctor Who annuals published by World Distributors (later World International); two Hartnell, three Troughton, four Pertwee, seven Tom Baker, two Davison and two Colin Baker annuals. Each annual was published in September, allowing a sufficient sales period prior to Christmas, though it is important to note that the date (most but not all annuals were dated), printed on the cover is always that of the following year. The first annual was published in 1965 for 1966, and thereafter the books appeared on a regular basis, missing only one year: there was no 1972 annual published in 1971. The last annual was published in 1985, cover dated 1986.

In addition to these twenty regular annuals, there were an additional eight books following the same annual format published by World. Four of these were yearly editions of Terry Nation's Dalek Annual, dated 1976 to 1979, as well as a K9 Annual 1983, a special promotional publication entitled The Amazing World of Doctor Who in 1976, and compilation volumes reprinting material from earlier annuals: Adventures in Space and Time in 1981, and Journeys Through Time in 1985.

The twenty regular annuals contained between six and twelve stories, most of which were text, with the occasional comic strip, featuring the Doctor usually accompanied by one or more of his television companions. These stories were interspersed with features, puzzles and games, which almost never had anything to do with Doctor Who, and seem to have simply acted as space-fillers to reach the required page-count.

The writers and artists were rarely credited for their work; the writing chores were sometimes shipped out to freelancers, though mostly they were undertaken in-house by editorial department staff. Once written the stories were submitted to the BBC for approval.

Although most of the annuals were printed in Great Britain, the fact that many were printed in countries including Italy, Spain and Belgium led to the long-held mistaken belief in fandom that many of the internal illustrations were done by foreign artists, since the likenesses of the Doctor and his companions - especially during the Tom Baker era - were often very poor. In fact the artwork was almost invariably done in-house at World's art studios, based in Manchester.

In addition to the 'annual' type hardback books, World Distributors also published a hardback book in 1966 called Doctor Who and the Invasion from Space which at first glance has the appearance of a Hartnell annual, but is in fact just one story, written by J.L. Morrissey.

World Distributors also published a number of Doctor Who activity books, including all of the following in 1966: Dr Who on the planet Zactus Painting Book, Dr Who - Travels in Space Painting Book No.1, Dr Who Painting Book No.2, Dr Who Sticker Fun Book - Travels in Space, Dr Who Sticker Fun Book - Travels in Time, Doctor Who Puzzle Fun No.1 and Doctor Who Puzzle Fun No.2. In the 1970s, three more activity books were produced by World Distributors: The Dr Who Colouring Book (1973), Doctor Who Press-Out Book (1978) and Doctor Who Colouring Book (1979).

In the Sixties there were three Dalek books released in a similar format to the annuals. These were published by Souvenir Press & Panther Books, the earliest of which pre-dated the first Hartnell annual: The Dalek Book (1964), The Dalek World (1965) and The Dalek Outer Space Book (1966). All three of these books are even harder to find than the earliest annuals.

In the guide to the annuals that follows, where the year does not appear anywhere on the book, it is given in brackets. The only dating system consistent across all twenty-eight World annuals and related titles is the year of publication given in roman numerals in each book's publication details. The page numbering of each annual includes the covers, and this is reflected in the page counts. The stories are listed in order of appearance.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1966]
Published: September 1965 (MCMLXV)
Page count: 96
Price: 9s 6d
Cover: painting of the First Doctor, the TARDIS, a Zarbi, Menoptra, Sensorite and a Voord.
Text Stories: The Lair of Zarbi Supremo, The Sons of the Crab, The Lost Ones, The Monsters from Earth, Peril in Mechanistria, The Fishmen of Kandalinga
Notes: The year 1966 is not displayed anywhere on the book. Practically all of the illustrations including the cover were done by Walter Howarth. The text was of a high standard and is reputed to have been written by David Whitaker (the series original story editor), with some material by Dennis Spooner. Two features, almost certainly penned by Whitaker, were also included: Who is Dr Who? profiled the Doctor's character, and The Equations of Dr Who addressed the concept of the TARDIS and travel in time and space. The stories were closely tied to the Doctor's television adventures, which didn't occur in successive annuals. The Lair of Zarbi Supremo and The Lost Ones were both set on Vortis and featured the Zarbi and the Menoptra (spelt 'Menoptera'). The Monsters from Earth featured the Sensorites (though looking nothing like their TV counterparts). The Fishrnen of Kandalinga was a closely-linked sequel to The Keys of Marinus, and featured the Voord. The Doctor travelled alone. Due to a high print run, this annual is relatively easy to find.
PDF version on DVD: The Web Planet

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1967]
Published: September 1966 (MCMLXVI)
Page count: 96 pages
Price: 10s 6d
Cover: small painting of the First Doctor alongside the title, and main painting of the Doctor, Dot and Jack Strong watching the Corbo devil-birds attacking the Staggs outside the TARDIS.
Text Stories: The Cloud Exiles, The Sons of Grekk, Terror on Tiro, The Devil-Birds of Corbo, The Playthings of Fo, Justice of the Glacians, Ten Fathom Pirates
Comic Strip: Mission For Duh
Notes: The year 1967 is not displayed anywhere on the book. Walter Howarth produced some of the artwork, including the comic strip and the cover. Howarth recalls that the portrait of the Doctor alongside the title was based on a newspaper photograph. The Doctor travelled alone, but picked up a group of companions including Harroll Strong, his red-headed twin children Dot and Jack and three other men in The Devil-Birds of Corbo and they departed at the end of the following story. Unlike the previous annual, there were no returning television monsters, though the Zarbi and Vortis were mentioned in Terror on Tiro, and Ten Fathom Pirates referred to the Kandalingas from the previous annual. There were no additional features other than a simple board game. Less than two months after publication, the book was outdated by the debut of the Second Doctor on British television. Due to a lower print run and poor circulation this book is considerably rarer than its predecessor.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1968]
Published: September 1967 (MCMLXVII)
Page count: 96
Price: 10s 6d
Cover: painting of the Second Doctor, with thin green creatures and the TARDIS against purple background.
Text Stories: The Sour Note, The Dream Masters, The World of Asiries, Only a Matter of Time, Planet of Bones, When Starlight Grows Cold, H.M.S. Tardis, The King of Golden Death
Comic Strips: The Tests of Trefus, World Without Night
Notes: The year 1968 is not displayed anywhere on the book. The cover painting was a collaborative effort; Walter Howarth painted the Doctor, but the background was done by someone else, probably World's art director, Ron Smethurst. This annual was unique in that it contains a full list of contribiting writers (Kevin McGarry, J.L. Morrissey, J.H. Pavey, M. Broadley, J.W. Elliott and Colin Newstead), and artists (Walter Howarth, David Brian, Susan Aspey and Peter Limbert). The illustrations of the Doctor almost always had him wearing his stovepipe hat, which was quickly dispensed with on TV, but the artists had only very early photographic references of the Second Doctor from which to work. A few of these photographs, rare colour publicity stills of the Doctor in an early version of his costume, were also included. The book contained several features unrelated to Doctor Who on such subjects as history, astronomy, space flight and UFOs, which from this point became standard items in the annuals. Two short articles were however about Doctor Who: Phoenix in the TARDIS introduced the Second Doctor, likening his 'rejuvenation' to the legend of the Phoenix rising from the ashes. The Passengers introduced the Doctor's companions Ben and Polly however by the time of publication the Second Doctor's companions were Jamie and Victoria. This was the first annual to feature the television companions: Ben and Polly appeared in all but one story (The World of Asiries). Interestingly, a game called Travels of the TARDIS included the planet Skaro and an illustration of creatures closely resembling Daleks, but called 'Mechanical Robots' as World's rights did not even extend to using the Daleks. This is generally regarded as the rarest of the three Troughton annuals.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1969]
Published: September 1968 (MCMLXVIII)
Page count: 96
Price: 12s 6d
Cover: painting of the Second Doctor and Jamie confronted by Cybermen in the TARDIS doorway.
Text Stories: Lords of the Galaxy, Follow the Phantoms, Mastermind of Space, The Celestial Toyshop, Valley of Dragons, Planet from Nowhere, Happy as Queeg, World of Ice, The Microtron Men, Death to Mufl
Comic Strips: Freedom by Fire, Atoms Infinite
Notes: The year 1969 is not displayed anywhere on the book. The cover was Walter Howarth's last Doctor Who-related work for World for some time. The front and back cover paintings were misleading in that they featured Cybermen, Yeti and the Cyber Controller, even though these monsters did not appear in any of the stories in the annual. The title page featured an illustration of a Cyberman and a one-eyed Yeti! Jamie and Victoria were the Doctor's companions, except in the strip story Freedom by Fire in which the character was called Polly but the illustrations were of Victoria. The Celestial Toyshop was not directly linked with the television story The Celestial Toymaker, but shared remarkably similar concepts. This is generally regarded as the commonest of the Troughton annuals.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1970]
Published: September 1969 (MCMLXIX)
Page count: 96
Price: 12s 6d
Cover: photograph of the Second Doctor leaning on the TARDIS console.
Text Stories: The Dragons of Kekokro, The Singing Crystals, The Mystery of the Marie Celeste, Grip of Ice, Man Friday, Slave of Shran, Run the Gauntlet, A Thousand & One Doors
Comic Strips: The Vampire Plants, Robot King
Notes: The year 1970 is not displayed anywhere on the book. Ron Smethurst was responsible for designing the photographic cover. The illustration on page 5 featured a creature closely resembling a White Robot from The Mind Robber. The companions were Jamie and Zoe. The likenesses of the Doctor and his companions were particularly good in the strip stories, as their features had clearly been copied straight from standard BBC photographs.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL [1971]
Published: September 1970 (MCMLXX)
Page count: 96
Price: 12s 6d
Cover: painting of the Third Doctor, Liz Shaw, Bessie, a UNIT soldier and a helicopter
Text Stories: The Mind Extractors, Soldiers from Zolta, The Ghouls of Grestonspey, Caught in the Web, Invaders Invisible, The Dark Planet, Caverns of Horror, A Universe Called Fred
Notes: The year 1971 is not displayed anywhere on the book. The cover was painted by Ron Smethurst and was the last artwork cover for several years. There were no comic strip stories this year, and the book was printed in Italy. In keeping with the Third Doctor's first season, the stories were all Earth-based involving UNIT and Bessie, with only the briefest mention of the TARDIS. The companions were Liz and the Brigadier. The artwork was of a relatively high standard, with good likenesses of the regular characters. Liz was depicted in her costume from Spearhead from Space. The text story Soldiers from Zolta featured aliens whose heads bore a resemblance to early Cybermen. A third of the pages were taken up with games and unrelated factual features. One of the games involved the Silurians, bit the artist obviously had no idea what the Silurians looked like!
PDF version on DVD: Inferno

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1973
Published: September 1972 (MCMLXXII)
Page count: 80
Price: 70p
Cover: photo of the Third Doctor in his lab (from Terror of the Autons)
Text Stories: Dark Intruders, War in the Abyss, Hunt to the Death, Doorway into Nowhere, The Claw, Saucer of Fate, The Phaser Aliens
Notes: For unknown reasons, there was no 1972 annual, which would have been published in September 1971. This was the first annual to display the year. The page count dropped by 16 pages, but the paper quality improved, and it was printed in the Netherlands. There were no comic strip stories. Just over a third of the pages were taken up with features, puzzles and games. The stories were again Earth-based, with Jo Grant as the companion. UNIT featured predominantly and the Brigadier appeared in three stories. Captain Yates and the Master made their Doctor Who Annual debut, each appearing in one story. With one exception, the illustrations of Jo Grant looked nothing like her. The story Hunt to the Death featured a monster called a Kelad, and it isn't hard to guess where the writer came up with that name!

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1974
Published: September 1973 (MCMLXXIII)
Page count: 80
Price: 75p
Cover: three photos of the Third Doctor (from The Time Monster and Terror of the Autons).
Text Stories: Listen - The Stars, Out of the Green Mist, The Fathom Trap, Talons of Terror, Old Father Saturn, Galactic Gangster
Comic Strips: The Time Thief, Menace of the Molags
Notes: A third of the pages were again taken up with features and puzzles. Edgar Hodges and Steve Livesey provided the majority of the artwork, and Paul Crompton illustrated a couple of features. The comic strips were reinstated, featuring particularly outstanding illustrations by Livesey who left World Distributors shortly after completing work on these strips. The unnamed aliens in the strip Menace of the Molags appear to be the Daemons from the television series. The stories were again Earth-based with the TARDIS still out of action. Jo Grant was the Doctor's companion, and the Brigadier appeared in all but one story. The Master cropped up in three. The annual was printed in Italy.
PDF version on DVD: The Time Warrior

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1975
Published: September 1974 (MCMLXXIV)
Page count: 80
Price: 90p
Cover: main photo of the Third Doctor standing on a rocky shore (from Planet of the Daleks), smaller inset photo of the Third Doctor (from The Sea Devils)
Text Stories: The House that Jack Built, Revenge of the Phantoms, The Time Thief, Fugitives From Chance, The Battle Within, Before the Legend, Scorched Earth
Comic Strips: Dead on Arrival, After the Revolution
Notes: Although uncredited, seventeen year-old fan Keith Miller wrote The House that Jack Built. Miller was then the organiser of the Doctor Who Fan Club sanctioned by the BBC, and his story was one of two ideas he had submitted to World. Miller's story saw the first mention of the sonic screwdriver in the annuals. Edgar Hodges illustrated the text stories and the two comic strips, Dead on Arrival and After the Revolution. Like his predecessors, Hodges was faced with a lack of photographic material from the BBC to use as references for his artwork and got around the problem by taking off-screen stills when the show was on. Only a quarter of the page count was taken up with features, puzzles and games. The stories now had the Doctor's TARDIS restored to working order and consequently the adventures were not all Earth-based. The Brigadier only appeared in one story. Sarah Jane Smith replaced Jo Grant as the Doctor's companion for three of the text stories: The Time Thief, Before the Legend and Scorched Earth, but it is apparent from the illustrations that Jo Grant was originally the companion in these stories. The Time Thief bore no relation to the strip story of the same name in the previous year's annual. There are two variations on this annual with transposed internal colouring.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1976
Published: September 1975 (MCMLXXV)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.00
Cover: photo of the Fourth Doctor with a blue painted background
Text Stories: A New Life, The Hospitality on Hankus, The Sinister Sponge, Avast There!, The Mission
Comic Strips: The Psychic Jungle, Neuronic Nightmare
Notes: The arrival of Tom Baker's Doctor in the annuals also saw a further reduction in length by 16 pages and a change of artist. Paul Crompton took over the artwork on both the text stories and comic strips. Paul Green also contributed some of the illustrations. A third of the annual was taken up with stock features on such subjects as space travel and astronomy. Sarah and Harry were the companions in every story, but were unrecognisable from the artwork - Harry was even sometimes depicted with a moustache. The Brigadier and Benton each made a cameo appearance in one story. Only the Doctor and the Brigadier had good likenesses. Some of the drawings of the Doctor seem to have been based on photos of Tom Baker out of costume. The inaccuracies also extended to the text, with one story, The Hospitality on Hankus, featuring seats and seatbelts in the TARDIS console room! A Dutch language edition of this annual was produced in Holland, published in September 1975 by Mulder & Zoon B.V., with a slightly different cover design, featuring a plain blue background with the title 'Dr Who' in a yellow circle, but featuring the same photo.
PDF version on DVD: Genesis of the Daleks

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1977
Published: September 1976 (MCMLXXVI)
Page count: 80
Price: £1.25
Cover: painting of the Fourth Doctor with two faces in the background.
Text Stories: War on Aquatica, Cyclone Terror, The Time Snatch, The Eye Spiders of Pergross, Detour to Diamedes, Double Trouble!, Secret of the Bald Planet
Comic Strips: The Body Snatcher, Menace on Metalupiter
Notes: This annual quite literally stood out from the rest in that its pages measured 22cm by 29cm rather than the usual 20cm by 27cm. Many other World Distributors annuals dated 1977 also had these same increased dimensions. The page count was restored to 80 pages, though like the increased page size, this was to be a one-off event. For the first time in five years the cover was a piece of artwork rather than predominantly photographic. Paul Crompton painted a background featuring a skull behind the Doctor's head, which gave the impression of a horror annual. World's art director Ron Smethurst disapproved of this and painted a new background, which annoyed Crompton at the time. This was the first annual on which World artist Glenn Rix worked when he assisted Paul Crompton in completing some of the text story artwork to meet a deadline. The companions were again Sarah and Harry, though the latter did not appear in three stories. The Brigadier makes a brief appearance in one. The likenesses of Sarah and Harry were again very bad - it would appear that as much as possible Crompton avoided depicting the companions and concentrated on the Doctor himself, whose likeness was much stronger. The two comic strips, both by Crompton, featured different art styles, as he was experimenting with various techniques. Page 67 featured an illlustration with a large white circle in the middle of it as Crompton didn't like the look of one of the faces he drew so decided to cover it up; oddly enough the editors let it through. Crompton blames his bizarre artwork on his discovery at the time of real ale!
PDF version on DVD: The Hand of Fear

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1978
Published: September 1977 (MCMLXXVII)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.35
Cover: painting of the Fourth Doctor's head, the Doctor running, a helicopter and the TARDIS, against a blue background.
Text Stories: The Sleeping Beast, The Sands of Tymus, A New Life, The Sea of Faces
Comic Strips: The Rival Robots, The Traitor
Notes: The page count dropped back to 64. Sarah was again the Doctor's companion, though it is not possible to tell from the illustrations alone. Two separate stories (The Sleeping Beast and The Rival Robots) both feature similar-looking aliens with very large noses! The artwork was again mainly by Paul Crompton. A New Life bore no relation to the story of the same name in the 1976 annual. The Sleeping Beast was remarkable in that it features a reference back to the Doctor's Second incarnation. Almost half of this annual was taken up with puzzles, games and stock features about science and mythology.

THE DR WHO ANNUAL 1979
Published: September 1978 (MCMLXXVIII)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.50
Cover: large painting of the Fourth Doctor plus a smaller blue illustration of the Doctor, the TARDIS and two other characters against a white background.
Text Stories: Famine on Planet X, The Planet of Dust, Terror on Tantalogus, Flashback, The Crocodiles from the Mist
Comic Strips: The Power, Emsone's Castle
Notes: Paul Crompton was credited as the illustrator. The book saw a dramatic change in the style of Crompton's artwork for the better, which he jokingly puts down to being 'probably on the wagon at the time', after blaming his earlier illustrative excesses on the influence of alcohol. The Doctor's companion was Leela, but whilst the Doctor was well-drawn, Leela was unrecognisable. A number of images from other television shows and films cropped up in this annual; page 29 featured a character from Village of the Damned, the story Flashback had characters and sets from Space 1999, and the character Emsone in the story Emsone's Castle was dressed in a costume from the film Things to Come. Paul Crompton took over some of the writing on this annual. He penned both comic strip stories, and by doing so was able to create his images then write a story around them, the reverse of the normal process of comic strip creation. The games and features content were considerably lower this year, with only 11 pages occupied by this material.
PDF version on DVD: The Armageddon Factor

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1980
Published: September 1979 (MCMLXXIX)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.75
Cover: photo of the Fourth Doctor in cloak and armour with candles in the background (from The Ribos Operation)
Text Stories: X-Rani and the Ugly Mutants, Light Fantastic, Reluctant Warriors, Return of the Electrids, The Sleeping Guardians
Comic Strips: Terror on Xaboi, The Weapon
Notes: Two variations on this annual were produced. One version displayed the year 1980 on the spine, front and back cover and title page; the other did not. The reason for this anomaly is unknown but it is possible that the undated version was produced for an overseas market, since the only other difference is that it did not have the price (in British money) printed on page 3. This was the first of only two annuals to use the late seventies series logo, and the series name underwent a slight change from The Dr Who Annual to Doctor Who Annual. The companions were the First Romana and K9. The first story featured a female villain called X-Rani, years before Kate O'Mara's character appeared in the TV series. A quarter of the book was taken up with puzzles and stock features. Paul Crompton left World towards the end of 1979, after completing work on this annual, which featured his best work. Romana actually looked like Mary Tamm in most instances. Although Crompton did not get credited on this annual, some of his artwork was signed. The Weapon was a particularly graphically violent comic strip, featuring blood gushing from an arm wound. The story was Crompton's personal favourite and was inspired by the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Crompton got a lot of references for faces for this strip from the Sunday Times Magazine, and added the armour on afterwards. The other comic strip, Terror on Xaboi, was created by Mel Powell. The annual was published under the new World & Whitman logo and was printed in Italy; the first Doctor Who annual to be printed outside the UK since the 1974 annual.
PDF version on DVD: City of Death

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1981
Published: August 1980 (MCMLXXX)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.95
Cover: photo of the Fourth Doctor sitting down (from The Armageddon Factor) against a blue and purple painted background
Text Stories: Colony of Death, Alien Mind Games, A Midsummer's Nightmare, The Voton Terror, Sweet Flower of Uthe
Comic Strip: Every Dog Has His Day
Notes: Following Paul Crompton's departure from World, Glenn Rix was assigned to handle the artwork, though the one strip story was illustrated by Mel Powell. At this time the art studios at World were disbanded and the work was done freelance rather than in-house. The companions were the Second Romana and K9, but the only recognisable likeness of Lalla Ward appears in the story A Midsummer's Nightmare. On page 14, Romana looks remarkably like Sarah Jane, which is ironic considering that the illustrators had never managed to capture Sarah's features accurately! A Midsummer's Nightmare featured a direct reference to The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (considered by Romana to be a superior play to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream). Once again, a quarter of the book was taken up with puzzles and stock features. The company underwent a name change, becoming World International Publishing Ltd whereas previously it had been World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd. Some copies were released with the year '1981' removed from the spine, cover and title page. The book was printed in Italy, and around 61,800 copies were sold.

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL (1982)
Published: August 1981 (MCMLXXXI)
Page count: 64
Price: £2.25
Cover: photo of the Fourth Doctor in a forest beside the TARDIS (from Full Circle) and a circular inset photo of the Fifth Doctor (actually Peter Davison from All Creatures Great and Small).
Text Stories: Inter-Galactic Cat, Conundrum, Planet of Paradise, Just a Small Problem..., The Key of Vaga, Planet of Fear
Comic Strip: Plague World
Notes: The year 1982 is not displayed anywhere on the book. The annual is unusual in that it features both the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. Davison's Doctor appears in the stories The Key of Vaga and Planet of Fear, though as the Fifth Doctor's television debut occurred after this annual was published, artist Glenn Rix had to illustrate these stories based on reference stills of Peter Davison from All Creatures Great and Small, avoiding depicting any more than just his head, since the new Doctor's costume had not yet been revealed. The companion for both the Fourth and Fifth Doctors was Adric, and K9 appeared in all of the Fourth Doctor's stories. Only in his last story, Just a Small Problem... was the Fourth Doctor depicted wearing his Season 18 costume. Rix lacked photographic reference material of Adric, and had to work from a video recording of one of his episodes. The comic strip story Plague World was illustrated by Mel Powell. This was the first annual to use the neon logo. The logo was used on all subsequent annuals with the same colours: red lettering on a yellow background. A quarter of the book was once again taken up with puzzles and features, but one of those features, Secrets of the TARDIS, was about Doctor Who, which had previously been published in The Amazing World of Doctor Who (1976). The annual was edited by Brenda Apsley. Around 44,500 copies were sold.
PDF version on DVD: New Beginnings (The Keeper of Traken - Logopolis - Castrovalva)

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL (1983)
Published: August 1982 (MCMLXXXII)
Page count: 64
Price: £2.50
Cover: photo montage of the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and the TARDIS.
Text Stories: Danger Down Below, The God Machine, The Armageddon Chrysalis, The Haven, The Penalty, Night Flight to Nowhere
Comic Strip: On the Planet Isopterus
Behind the Scenes: The Visual Effects Department (interview with BBC Visual Effects designer Simon Macdonald), Enter Peter Davison as Doctor Who (Colin Lavers' design for the Fifth Doctor's costume), The Producer (a profile of John Nathan-Turner's role), Set Design and Costume (interview with Janet Budden and Odile Dicks-Mireaux about working on Castrovalva)
Notes: The year '1983' does not appear anywhere in the book. This was the first full-length Davison annual, and featured the comic strip On the Planet Isoterus, which was the last of its kind to appear in the annuals. Glenn Rix was again the main artist, but got to illustrate the comic strip as well this time. Although 14 pages were taken up with features, almost half of these were articles about the series itself. Titled Behind the Scenes at Doctor Who these items delved into such aspects as set and costume design, often very well illustrated with photos and drawings by the designers themselves. Articles of this nature appeared in all of the last four annuals. The companions were Tegan and Nyssa. Adric only appeared only in the strip story, which suggests that the strip was created before the rest of the annual's contents. The Master appeared in Night Flight to Nowhere, which shares some plot similarities with Time-Flight. This annual was printed in Belgium. Around 46,000 copies were sold.
PDF version on DVD: Time Flight, Arc of Infinity

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL (1984)
Published: August 1983 (MCMLXXXIII)
Page count: 64
Price: £2.75
Cover: photo of the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough at the TARDIS console (from Terminus) and a second photo of the Doctor against a blue and purple background.
Text Stories: The Oxaqua Incident, Winter on Mesique, The Creation of Camelot, Class 4 Renegade, The Volcanis Deal, The Nemertines, Fungus
Behind the Scenes: The Designers by Brenda Apsley (costume designers Amy Roberts and Dee Robson profiled, featuring designs from The Keeper of Traken, Arc of Infinity, Mawdryn Undead and Terminus).
Notes: The year '1984' is not displayed anywhere on the book. Glenn Rix illustrated some of this annual, but a picture of the Fifth Doctor's face he'd painted for page 3 was replaced by a photograph. The Doctor's companions were Tegan and Turlough, although he was companionless in Fungus, and each companion was absent from one additional story. The Brigadier and UNIT appeared in The Nemertines. The Master appeared in The Creation of Camelot in which he was revealed to be Merlin, years before the Doctor himself assumed this identity in Battlefield. For this annual and those that followed, the features unrelated to Doctor Who were dropped, though The Nemertines included a diagram explaining osmosis in relation to the story. In acknowledgment of the twentieth anniversary of the show, a three page, well-illustrated article profiling the five Doctors and a Doctor Who quiz were included. The annual was printed in Italy.

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1985
Published: August 1984 (MCMLXXXIV)
Page count: 64
Price: £2.99
Cover: photo of the Sixth Doctor against a black background
Text Stories: Battle Planet, Day of the Dragon, The Real Hereward, The Deadly Weed, Vorton's Revenge, The Time Savers, The Mystery of the Rings
Behind the Scenes: The Designer by Brenda Apsley (interview with Tony Burrough), Special Effects by Brenda Apsley.
Notes: The year '1985' only appears on the spine. A front cover banner identifies the annual as the '21st Year Anniversary Issue'. Mel Powell replaced Glenn Rix as the resident artist. The cover for this annual was originally to have been a photographic montage of the six Doctors put together by Ron Smethurst. The Doctor's companion was Peri, and the Master appeared in The Time Savers.
PDF version on DVD: The Mark of the Rani

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL 1986
Published: August 1985 (MCMLXXXV)
Page count: 64
Price: £3.25
Cover: three photos of the Sixth Doctor
Text Stories: The Fellowship of Quan, Time Wake, Interface, Beauty and the Beast, Retribution, Darvarrk's Experiment, The Radio Waves
Behind the Scenes: Make up by Brenda Apsley (interview with Dorka Nieradzik)
Notes: The Doctor's companion was again Peri, and the Master appeared in two stories, The Fellowship of Quan and The Radio Waves.
The Doctor Who annuals were discontinued following this volume. World had encountered problems in dealing with the BBC and the Doctor Who production office, and due to unsuccessful sales of the 1985 annual and the postponement of Season 23, they decided to end the range. Ron Smethurst left World shortly after completing work on this book.

TERRY NATION'S DALEK ANNUAL 1976
Published: September 1975 (MCMLXXV)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.00
Cover: painting of soldiers fighting and spacecraft exploding with a photo of a Dalek in the foreground (from Day of the Daleks)
Text Stories: Terror Task Force, Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!, Nightmare, Timechase
Comic Strips: Planet of Serpents, Flood!!!
Notes: This was the first of four Dalek annuals published by World between 1976 and 1979. All four annuals featured the regular characters Joel Shaw and Reb Shavron, as well as a humanoid android called Mark Seven who had first appeared in the 1966 Dalek Outer Space Book. These characters were members of a group called the Anti-Dalek-Force, or ADF for short, which was set up in the first story of this annual. Edgar Hodges almost single-handedly drew the entire book, including the cover and the two comic strips. In addition to the stories, the book contained the usual mix of features and puzzles, most of which were actually related to the Daleks and/or the ADF. This annual was printed in Italy.

TERRY NATION'S DALEK ANNUAL 1977
Published: September 1976 (MCMLXXVI)
Page count: 80
Price: £1.10
Cover: painting of gold-coloured Daleks attacking humans and a waterfall
Text Stories: The Doomsday Machine, Report from an Unknown Planet, The Fugitive
Comic Strips: The Envoys of Evil, The Menace of the Monstrons, The Quest
Notes: The 1977 Dalek annual, printed in Spain, also featured Edgar Hodges' work, but the comic strips were reprints from the TV Century 21 strip The Daleks, issues 25-32, 40-46 and 52-58. This was for purely financial reasons, as buying the rights to existing comic strips was considerably cheaper than creating new ones. The increased page count may have been due to cost saving through using so many pages of reprinted comic strip, though it should also be noted that the Dr Who Annual for 1977 also had an increased page count.

TERRY NATION'S DALEK ANNUAL 1978
Published: September 1977 (MCMLXXVII)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.35
Cover: montage of comic strip images with an illustration of a Dalek imposed over the top.
Text Stories: The Castaway, The Seeds of Destruction, Assassination Squad
Comic Strips: The Rogue Planet, The Rogue Planet Part 2: Collision Course!
Notes: The two strip stories were reprinted from TV Century 21's The Daleks strip, sourced from issues 59 to 69. The features and puzzles were either astronomy-related or about the Daleks or the ADF. A couple of illustrations for Assassination Squad were clearly based on pictures of Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford from the film All The President's Men. This annual was printed in Italy.

TERRY NATION'S DALEK ANNUAL 1979
Published: September 1978 (MCMLXXVIII)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.50
Cover: illustration of Daleks and humans attacking each other and inset illustration of Daleks under attack from a giant snake.
Text Stories: Blockade, The Solution, The Planet That Cried 'Wolf!'
Comic Strips: The Human Bombs, Island of Horror
Notes: Walter Howarth returned to World in the late Seventies, and drew the comic strips The Human Bombs and Island of Horror. The majority of the rest of the artwork was the work of artist Paul Mark Tamms, a member of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society who acknowledged the organisation by incorporating the initials 'DWAS' into a spaceship illustration on page 4. Tamms' drawings on pages 7 and 11 look remarkably like William Hartnell. The features and puzzles were again closely linked with the Dalek and ADF themes. The book was printed in Italy.

K9 ANNUAL 1983
Published: September 1982 (MCMLXXXII)
Page count: 64
Price: £2.50
Cover: photo of K9 (from The Leisure Hive), a photo of a stone circle, and a painting of a building and a couple of hooded figures
Text Stories: Powerstone, The Shroud of Azaroth, Hound of Hell, The Monster of Loch Crag, Horror Hotel, The Curse of Kanbo-Ala
Notes: This annual was intended to tie in with the intended spin-off television series K9 and Company. The pilot episode had been screened in Britain at Christmas, 1981, and this annual, printed in Belgium, was available less than a year later. As the series didn't eventuate - and the annual didn't sell very well - World never produced a second K9 annual. The stories were all written by Mike Wilde, and revolved around tales of the supernatural, reflecting the subject matter of the pilot episode. The story The Shroud of Azaroth featured a film maker called George Spielberg. Alongside the standard science and mythology-related features were a couple of articles specifically related to the subject matter of the annual. The first, Introducing K9, gave a run-down of K9's past and his abilities, and even noted that there had been three K9s. The second article, Meet Sarah Jane Smith, gave an account of Sarah's background, including her time with the Doctor. Both items were illustrated with photographs, mainly from K9 and Company. Glenn Rix did the artwork, including painting the backgrounds for the cover. The illustrations of K9 and Sarah were remarkably accurate, however the schoolboy Brendan (from K9 and Company) didn't fare so well - in the first story he is depicted with a moustache and beard!
PDF version on DVD: K9 and Company

THE AMAZING WORLD OF DOCTOR WHO
Published: 1976 (MCMLXXVI)
Page count: 64
Price: £1.00
Cover: painting of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah surrounded by a Dalek, Cyberman, Zygon, Sea Devil and the TARDIS.
Text Stories: The Sinister Sponge (1976), The Vampires of Crellium, On the Slippery Trail, The Mission (1976)
Comic Strips: The Psychic Jungle, The Daleks in a Fresh Start, Neuronic Nightmare
Notes: The title page identifies this book as published by 'P.B.S. Limited, Victoria Mills', in Manchester. In fact it was produced for the Sales Promotion Triangle by World Distributors, and printed in Italy. The book was initially only available by mail order from the Ty-Phoo Tea company, whose special promotion launched in July 1976 also involved giving away a selection of 12 Doctor Who photographic cards in packets of tea, and was also subsequently available in WH Smiths stores in the UK. The striking book cover painting by Chris Achilleos was also available as a poster. Unusually for World, the Doctor Who series logo was used on the cover (it didn't appear on a regular Doctor Who annual until 1980). The strip The Daleks in a Fresh Start was a reprint of material from the TV Century 21 strip The Daleks, issues 47 to 51. Four of the stories were reprinted from The Dr Who Annual 1976, and only two of the stories in this collection were original: The Vampires of Crellium and On the Slippery Trail. The book contained a number of puzzles and features, but unlike the standard annuals, these were all related directly to Doctor Who. Who's the Doctor? was a brief on-screen history of the series; Time Travel? Try a TARDIS! was a brief summary of facts about the TARDIS; The Doctor Who Music and Radiophonic Workshop was about exactly what the title suggests, and there were also articles profiling such creatures as the Sea Devils, the Giant Robot, the Ice Warriors, Davros, Alpha Centauri, the Draconians and the Cybermen - all accompanied by relevant photos from the series.

DOCTOR WHO - ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE
Published: 1981 (MCMLXXXI)
Page count: 196
Price: £2.25
Cover: montage painting of the faces of the first five Doctors
Text Stories: Ten Fathom Pirates (1966), Peril in Mechanistria (1966), Death to Mufl (1969), Mastermind of Space (1969), Hunt to the Death (1973), Fugitives from Chance (1975), The Claw (1973) Saucer of Fate (1973), The Sleeping Beast (1978), A New Life (1976), Double Trouble! (1977), The Time Snatch (1977), War on Aquatica (1977), The Sinister Sponge (1976), The Vampires of Crellium (The Amazing World of Doctor Who), On the Slippery Trail (The Amazing World of Doctor Who), A New Life (1978), Flashback (1979), The Planet of Dust (1979)
Comic Strips: Mission for Duh (1967), The Vampire Plants (1970), Dead on Arrival (1975), Menace on Metalupiter (1977), The Traitor (1978), The Power (1979), Emsone's Castle (1979)
Notes: This appears to have been an attempt to cash in on the impending debut of Peter Davison's Doctor; however despite featuring his likeness on the cover, the Fifth Doctor does not appear in either the stories or features inside. Paul Crompton's painting for the 1979 annual cover was reused with the faces of the other Doctors painted around the Fourth Doctor by Mel Powell. The endpapers were reprinted from the 1980 annual, and the book was printed in Czechoslovakia. The twenty-six stories originated in annuals ranging from 1966 to 1979 and including The Amazing World of Doctor Who, but the annuals for 1968, 1971 and 1974 were not represented, and the book was dominated by material from the 1977, 1978 and 1979 annuals. Amongst the features included in the book were three articles (with accompanying photos), reprinted from The Amazing World of Doctor Who: Who is the Doctor?, The Ice Warriors and The Cybermen, although the first item, an onscreen history of the series, was rather out of date by 1981.

DOCTOR WHO SPECIAL - JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Published: 1985 (MCMLXXXV)
Page count: 192
Price: £7.95
Cover: photo of the Sixth Doctor against a black background.
Text Stories: Death to Mufl (1969), The Vampires of Crellium (The Amazing World of Doctor Who), Flashback (1979), War on Aquatica (1977), On the Slippery Trail (The Amazing World of Doctor Who), A New Life (1978), The Planet of Dust (1979), Danger Down Below (1983), The Penalty (1983), The God Machine (1983), The Armageddon Chrysalis (1983), The Haven (1983), Night Flight to Nowhere (1983), The Oxaqua Incident (1984), Winter on Mesique (1984), The Creation of Camelot (1984), Class 4 Renegade (1984), The Volcanis Deal (1984), The Nemertines (1984), Day of the Dragon (1985), The Real Hereward (1985), The Deadly Weed (1985), Vorton's Revenge (1985), The Time Savers (1985), The Mystery of the Rings (1985)
Comic Strips: Mission for Duh (1967), Dead on Arrival (1975), The Power (1979), Emsone's Castle (1979), On the Planet Isopterus (1983)
Notes: Published by Cliveden Press, which appears to be World International under a different name, as the address given in the publishing details is the same. Eight of the stories were also reprinted in the 1981 Adventures in Time and Space compendium and the remaining stories were all sourced from the 1983, 1984 and 1985 annuals. Every story was reprinted from the 1983 annual and all but one story from both the 1984 and 1985 annuals. This book was printed in Czechoslovakia, and the cover was adapted from the 1985 annual.

Sources: Timeframe, Doctor Who - The Sixties, Doctor Who - The Seventies, 'The Annuals of History' (DWM 211-215), DWM Winter Special 1982, DWM Summer Special 1984, CMS Space and Time: The Black and White of Doctor Who Parts 1 & 2, Howe's Transcendental Toybox

With grateful thanks to Rochelle Thickpenny and Jon Preddle for research and assistance.