50 Years in Space & Time (Part 7)

Here's the next part of my look back at the Best of the Bunch from Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary:

• The November DVD release of The Tenth Planet
• The November 50th Anniversary edition of Doctor Who Magazine

3. The Tenth Planet

In third place, it's the November DVD release of The Tenth Planet. I've been waiting to see this one for a long, long time, and it didn't disappoint. I'd never actually been lucky enough to own the VHS video release, and had only seen the few surviving clips on the Lost in Time DVD box set. So, finally being able to watch the whole story after all these years was really exciting.

The missing Episode 4 is expertly recreated here in animated form by the same people who did such sterling work animating the missing episodes on the recent Reign of Terror, The Ice Warriors and The Invasion DVD releases. And the excellent Telesnaps reconstruction of Episode 4 which had featured on the VHS video release is also here, in among the plentiful features on this top-notch and long-awaited double-DVD release.

4. Doctor Who Magazine 50th Anniversary Edition

In fourth place, it's the November 50th Anniversary edition of Doctor Who Magazine, the biggest and one of the best ever editions of the magazine. There was so much good stuff in this one, simply choc a bloc with 50th Anniversary goodness, that it's difficult to know where to start. But if I had my arm twisted up my back and was forced to choose, my two favourites would have to be Ghosts in the Machine, a behind the scenes feature on the excellent An Adventure in Space and Time, and An Unearthly Beginning, which features never-before-seen drafts of An Unearthly Child. Great stuff!

To Be Continued...

50 Years in Space & Time (Part 4)

In my last post, I discussed the Doctor Who contents of the 50th Anniversary editions of both the Radio Times and the TV Times, and both magazines have pulled out all the stops for the 50th Anniversary. But when it comes to the magazines, nothing beats Doctor Who Magazine.

The November 50th Anniversary edition of Doctor Who Magazine is an extra-special bumper 116-page souvenir special issue, and comes inside a lovely hard-card "envelope", with lots of nice stuff both on back and front. The magazine itself is full of tasty anniversary articles and interviews, including:

• A massive preview of the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor
• Ghosts in the Machine, a behind the scenes feature on the prestigious An Adventure in Space and Time drama
• An Unearthly Beginning, featuring never-before-seen drafts of An Unearthly Child
• The Wonder of Who - what is the secret of Doctor Who's appeal?
• Who Was Anthony Coburn? Part 1
• The Fact of Fiction - The Five Doctors a detailed examination of the 20th Anniversary adventure
• The Watcher's Guide to Anniversaries
• The Watcher's 50th Anniversary Quiz
• Interviews with Matt Smith and David Tennant, Jenna-Louise Coleman (on how Clara coped with three Doctors) and Mary Peach (Enemy of the World)
• Reviews of Enemy of the World, The Web of Fear, The Complete Seventh Series, and various new releases on the books and audio drama front
• A nice comic strip John Smith and the Common Men
• Plus all the usual regular stuff that DWM gives us each and every month.

There are also some nice extras inside, in addition to the magazine. There's a very nice twelve-card series of collectable art cards featuring all twelve Doctors (Peter Capaldi is in there as well). And we've also got a special mini-magazine, a gorgeous little A5 1960s-themed "mini issue" of Doctor Who Magazine (dated November 1964. Only 2d!), with a really nice "Dalek on Westminster Bridge" cover.

This November 50th Anniversary issue of DWM is a real cracker, one of the best, ever. I'd advise all Doctor Who fans to snap up a copy while they still can.

To Be Continued...