Doctor Who Magazine 525
RUSSELL T DAVIES AND STEVEN MOFFAT: THE INTERVIEW
To celebrate last month’s publication of four new novelisations of Doctor Who television episodes in the style of the classic ‘Target’ books, Russell (who’s novelised his 2005 TV episode Rose) and Steven (who’s adapted his 2013 episode The Day of the Doctor) sat down with journalist Tom Spilsbury to discuss million-pound bestsellers, Lego massacres, resurrecting Doctor Who at the wrong moment, and a “ridiculous romance with Elizabeth I” – and the interview (video below) is everything we could have hoped for, complete with some good-natured teasing.
Explaining how he delivered his novel on time, Russell tells Steven:
“For once, I started months before it was due, which is very rare. Do you know that can happen? Have you ever, ever done that in your life?!”
But the two showrunners have a lot of love for each another too. Of Steven’s The Day of the Doctor novel, Russell says:
“There’s so much that’s new in yours. It’s brilliant. It’s like three novels in one! I love it… It’s a movie-sized idea… It’s very, very clever… It’s like Tristram Shandy… Part of the reason I envied Steven’s book so much is that you can get into the Doctor’s head.”
Russell has penned a Doctor Who novel once before (1996 Damaged Goods). However, The Day of the Doctor is Steven’s first. He says:
“I had a whale of a time. I quite like the fact that loads of the heavy-lifting is done… It was my very, very first go, and I was incredibly happy with it – up until the exact moment I read Russell’s! When I read it, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s how you do it. Oh, look, it’s got your funny backstories, character, [and] not 17 twists a page!'”
And Russell reveals that JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels reminded him to flesh out his character’s backstories:
“I think Harry Potter was a great lesson in this: that people love backstory. You’re kind of brought up to think, ‘Oh, don’t have backstory. It’s very off-putting. Science fiction’s very dense. People don’t like a lot of that.’ Rubbish! We now live in a world where the richer the text – the denser the text – the more there is to grab hold of in it.”
The full interview with Russell and Steven is 16 minutes long. Tom Spilsbury tells us:
“What a lovely day it was, interviewing two of my very favourite people… well, I say interviewing, I didn’t need to do very much. Russell and Steven were so relaxed and on such good form, I couldn’t go far wrong!”
Watch the full interview with Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat:
Russell’s Rose (and Steven’s The Day of the Doctor are two of the first-ever novelisations of 21st-century Doctor Who episodes. Released alongside them last month were Jenny T Colgan’s novel of Russell’s 2005 episode The Christmas Invasion and Paul Cornell’s adaptation of Steven’s 2017 Christmas Special, Twice Upon a Time.
TOMORROW, WE’LL SEE THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR’S FIRST APPEARANCE IN A COMIC
A new day dawns for the Doctor! Titan Comics 2018’s epic journey starts with Free Comic Book Day’s Doctor Who comic!
Join the Doctor on May 5 for a free and new-reader-friendly tour through the Doctor’s many incarnations, packed with action, heart, and adventure, and tales that tease 2018’s epic journey!
Perfect for new readers and long-term fans alike, this is the ultimate jumping on point and tease for the future, including the first appearance of the Thirteenth Doctor in comics!
CATCH A FALLING STAR Artist and dreamer Gabby Gonzalez has long travelled with the Tenth Doctor, but her latest adventure may be her last – unless the Doctor can break every law of time!
THE ARMAGEDDON GAMBIT The Seventh Doctor and Ace test their mettle against a planetary invasion! Leads into the new Seventh Doctor series, “Operation Volcano,” launching in June!
MIDNIGHT FEAST The Eleventh Doctor follows his Time Lord tastebuds into an all-night diner, for madcap meals and unorthodox diplomacy!
Plus: A complete reader’s guide to the Doctor Who comics collections! The first appearance in Titan Comics by the Thirteenth Doctor, written and drawn by her new creative team!
Pick up this FREE comic at your local comic store on Saturday, May 5.
To find your nearest store visit
‘Doctor Who castle’ near Cowbridge goes on the market
A castle which dates back to the 12th Century and featured in an episode of Doctor Who has been put up for sale.
Penllyn Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, which is not open to the public, is on the market for £1m.
As well as castle ruins dating back to 1135, it also features a Grade II-listed mansion house containing eight bedrooms.
The 72-acre country estate near Cowbridge contains sprawling lawns, paddocks and a woodland.
Anthony Clay, from estate agents Knight Frank, said: “Penllyn Castle is one of the most important houses, if not the most important house, in the Vale of Glamorgan.
“It is too good a place not to be returned back to its former glory.”
The original castle was built for Earl Robert of Gloucester’s Sheriff Robert Norris.
Parts of the original Norman castle, a courtyard, stables, coach houses, unused cottage and a water tower all remain.
The property featured in a 2005 episode of the Doctor Who called Tooth and Claw.
It saw the Timelord, then played by David Tennant, encounter Queen Victoria, a werewolf and warrior monks.
William Hartnell’s first-ever Doctor Who script sells for £7,500
William Hartnell’s original script from the very first episode of Doctor Who has been sold at auction for £6,200 plus fees, taking the total to £7,500. Anthony Coburn’s An Unearthly Child, billed as episode one of the story Doctor Who and the Tribe of Gum, runs to 43 pages.
The script still includes blue pencil annotations by Hartnell himself, who took on the role of Doctor Who in 1963, having previously starred in sitcom The Army Game and in Carry On Sergeant, the first in the long-running series of Carry On movies.
Mirroring the fate of many early episodes of the show itself, the script was nearly lost: a builder fortunately found the script among rubbish that was to be thrown out while renovating Hartnell’s former home in East Sussex in the 1960s. He in turn gave it to his grandson, who was a huge Doctor Who fan, and kept hold of it until today’s sale at Aston’s Auctioneers in Dudley
https://youtu.be/aXBmQz2r2M8
The script was shown on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in December 2017, where Chris Yeo said: “This is the very first Doctor Who story. It’s the DNA of Doctor Who, the genesis of the programme, which makes it very important.”
The seller, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was eight and went to see my grandfather in the summer. He gave me it because I was a Doctor Who fan. I read it. There was some technical stuff in there that I didn’t understand but it stayed with me when I moved around the country.”
An Unearthly Child introduced viewers to the character of the Doctor when school teachers Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) follow one of their pupils, Susan (Carole Ann Ford), home from school, to discover that she lived in the Tardis with her grandfather.
Also on sale in the auction was a full set of camera scripts for Patrick Troughton’s Doctor Who adventure Fury From the Deep, one of the stories that is missing from the BBC’s archive.
NEW COMIC ADVENTURES OF OLIVE HAWTHORNE – FREE!!! FREE COMICS BOOK DAY 5TH MAY!
OK everyone. Here’s the cover of Lucky Comics upcoming “Devil’s End” FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) Issue! It’s FREE! Download a Brand New adventure of Olive Hawthorne from the Classic Era of BBC TV’s Doctor Who! Download your free comic on Saturday May 5th at: www.luckycomics.com
Eric Roberts will play Doctor Who villain The Master again after 22 years
More than two decades since he last played the part, Eric Roberts is returning to the world of Doctor Who as The Master.
Roberts played the Doctor’s arch-nemesis in the 1996 TV movie opposite Paul McGann and is finally reprising the character in a new release from Big Finish.
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, Michelle Gomez will also appear as Missy, having made her exit from the television series last year.
Roberts and Gomez will star alongside Alex Kingston in audio drama box-set The Diary of River Song: Series 5, out in January 2019.
Kingston’s River will actually be facing off against four incarnations of The Master – with Derek Jacobi (who played the character on TV in 2007) and Geoffrey Beevers (who battled Tom Baker in the 1980s).
The Diary of River Song: Series 5 will be comprised of four stories: ‘The Bekdel Test’ by Jonathan Morris, ‘Animal Instinct’ by Roy Gill, ‘The Lifeboat and the Deathboat’ by Eddie Robson and ‘Concealed Weapon’ by Scott Handcock.
“It‘s a medley of Masters!” said producer David Richardson. “In previous box sets, River has been travelling back through the Doctor‘s incarnations. This time around she is meeting some of the Masters – and we have some amazing firsts in this box set!
“Yes, it‘s the first time Eric Roberts has returned to the role since the TV movie in 1996, and the first appearance of Michelle Gomez as Missy in a Big Finish production. With Derek Jacobi as the War Master and Geoffrey Beevers as the decayed Master, it‘s an unmissable line-up!“
The Diary of River Song: Series 5 is available for pre-order now at £23 on CD or £20 on download from bigfinish.com.
Genesis Of The Daleks is heading to cinemas (but not in the UK yet)
The classic Doctor Who adventure Genesis Of the Daleks regularly – and rightly – bubbles to the top end of lists of the show’s finest ever stories. Headlined by Tom Baker of course, it’s an astoundingly ambitious, challenging slice of Who, with Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter on top form. It first debuted back in March 1975.
And, as Tom Baker’s first series as the Doctor gets ready for a Blu-ray release, it’s been announced that a special 90-minute director’s cut of the story is to premiere in US cinemas for a one-night-only special showing.
It’ll be screening at 750 cinemas across the US on June 11th, along with an exclusive interview with Tom Baker.
There’s no word yet on whether a UK distributor will be doing the same over here, but we cross our fingers. For now, you can get more details over at the Fathom Events website, here…
Doctor Who Magazine 525 also includes:
• An interview with Will Oswald, an editor on Doctor Who from 2007 to 2017
• DWM chats to Michelle Ryan about the return of her character Lady Christina de Souza
• The Time Team returns – and they’ve regenerated!
• Out of the TARDIS with Janet Fielding, who played 80s companion Tegan
• A look back at the ways new Doctors have been introduced to the public
• Jamie Lenman’s cosplay quest to recreate the Fourth Doctor’s scarf
• Part Two of The Clockwise War, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Doctor and Bill
• The Fact of Fiction delves into the 2009 Tenth Doctor story Planet of the Dead
• Previews, book and audio reviews, news, The Blogs of Doom, prize-winning competitions and much, much more!