Site Menu

March 1st, 2024 29 comments

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 601


Inside this issue!

  • Costume designer Pam Downe discusses dressing our stylish new Doctor, as well as how she created looks for the Toymaker and the Goblin army.
  • Script to screen: An in-depth look at how the Goblin army developed, from the original concept to the finished product – blending masks and animatronics with digital effects.
  • We pay tribute to Michael Jayston who played the Doctor’s evil alter-ego the Valeyard.
  • Louise Jameson is among the interviewees in a special preview of the Season 15 Blu-ray collection.
  • Abdoul Ceesay – director’s assistant on Doctor Who – talks to DWM about his role and future aspirations!
  • Get cooking! A deep dive into the part food has played in the series over the years, with some recipes you can try at home!
  • We look at how other TV shows have found their way into episodes of Doctor Who.
  • Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies sings in praise of companions of yesteryear as he recalls a week making Tales of the TARDIS!
  • Time-Space Visualiser – learn how fandom went mad for the Sixth Doctor! Rightly so!
  • The Fact of Fiction – we examine the closing episodes of 1973’s Planet of the Daleks.
  • The adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday continue in the comic strip!

PLUS!

  • Gallifrey Guardian – new cast and directors revealed and an update on the Christmas ratings.
  • Reviews – covering books, audio dramas and the Fugitive Doctor action figure!
  • Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.
  • Win Season 17 on Blu-ray, plus books and CDs!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 601 is on sale Thursday 29 February from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.


Categorised under: Doctor Who Magazine, Magazine

Adverts/Affiliates

29 comments

  • Cully’s Pal

    March 7th, 2024 - 10:57pm

    Id have thought Michael Jaystons passing would have warranted a full cover.

    Reply
    • Rex F

      March 8th, 2024 - 8:22am

      What’s going to sell more?

    • Anon

      March 8th, 2024 - 9:04am

      Jayston played a fairly minor character 38 years ago in 14 episodes that aren’t that good. He was good but trial was awful.

    • Dave

      March 8th, 2024 - 11:50am

      minor character ?? he played The Doctor lol

    • Anon

      March 8th, 2024 - 12:52pm

      The valeyard isn’t the doctor. He is an amalgamation of the doctor’s dark side. He comes into being between the 12th and 13th regeneration. (So that would be the metacrisis doctor technically!) He isn’t a regeneration of the doctor, he is a seperated part of the doctor. I do get what anon means though. The valeyard is a minor character in the first 12 episodes of trial. He only takes centre stage in episodes 13-14. The character only appears in one story (trial) 38 years ago. So yes, I get the minor status but he was the best thing about trial in terms of the acting. As a character though the valeyard always left me cold, I just never felt he was an effective villain. But then trial wasn’t a good story.

    • WhoCollector

      March 8th, 2024 - 1:04pm

      Correction bud, “12th and final”. You’ve assumed final means 13th, but as we know… thats not his final. People interpret it differently, but i tend to think it means between 12th-potentially any number afterwards.

    • Anon

      March 8th, 2024 - 2:04pm

      In 1986 it meant final

    • Cully’s Pal

      March 9th, 2024 - 8:03pm

      The Valyard is the Doctor even the Doctor confirmed it in the episode. The character was in more episodes and got more air time than John Hurt’s ‘Doctor’ and that awful female Dr they just released the figure of.

    • WhoCollector

      March 10th, 2024 - 9:30am

      Anon, we aren’t in 1986… in 1963 the Doctor wasn’t a TimeLord and Susan invented the name Tardis, In 1985 The next planned season opener was set in Blackpool with the Toymaker – hence the cut off ending, In 1989 The Doctor wasnt half human on his mothers side – 1996, he was, in 2005 that got changed back again. In 2006, Donna was a one off companion, In 2012, The Eighth Doctor regenerated into the Ninth Doctor – but in 2013, we discovered that was not all it seemed to be. The list goes on and on and on, ifs buts and maybes.

      Im not talking Expanded media because with all franchises, thats more of a bonus.

      My point? If you are looking at what things mean there and then, at that exact time period. Good luck with understanding the show up till the tenth planet.

    • The Unlicensed Physician

      March 10th, 2024 - 3:03pm

      So, about Spock’s never before mentioned adoptive human sister…

  • Boodleoo

    March 3rd, 2024 - 11:37pm

    Complete speculation but I can’t help but think what with the push of the series that there are probably a lot of articles they’re holding onto and maybe even quite short turnarounds for these current pieces. No complaints from me, I don’t always pick up a copy but enjoy when I do. Can’t wait to see what’s to come.

    Reply
  • Liam

    March 2nd, 2024 - 4:06pm

    Did anyone notice in the letters page, someone asked about graphic novel/ compendiums of the old TV Action and Countdowns comic strips(even printing small pix of two covers). the sensible chap even commented, on which would be the most important thing to Panini, in that they would be great money spinners. Strangely, no reply comment from the magazine…..so do we think it could happen?
    It would be am ideal time as, such publications are very popular at this time (or as media types say “on trend”) with recent, excellent books of strips from Space 1999, Robin of Sherwood, UFO, Terrahawks, The Tomorrow People and a rumoured sapphire & Steel one on the way…..

    Reply
    • MJS

      March 3rd, 2024 - 11:41am

      I still have all the old Classic Comics collections. However, it’d be nice to have them all in one publication

    • Anon

      March 3rd, 2024 - 7:01pm

      It all depends on whether panini still hold the rights to reprint those strips. Remember they were not originally panini creations. They negotiated to print them 30 years ago but those rights will have lapsed by now. It means a full new deal would have to be struck.

    • Liam

      March 3rd, 2024 - 10:50pm

      John Freeman confirms on his down the tubes website that when working at Marvel, as DWM editor, he negotiated and acquired the rights to the whole of Polystyle’s Doctor Who strips (TV Comic, Countdown and TV Action including annuals and specials). These rights are now held by Panini UK, who acquired them as part of their ownership of the assets of Marvel UK in the late 1990s. Finally, Polystyle went into liquidation in 1998.

    • Gareth Pugh

      March 4th, 2024 - 11:14am

      Yeah, I’m pretty sure Panini have outright bought the rights all the old pre-Marvel strips when they acquired Marvel UK so AFAIK there is no danger of a licence window running out. What I have read the DWM team saying the past is that they want to get them out there, but that there are two challenges to be got around: (i) the master artworks have yellowed a lot and need a lot of cleaning up and freshening (Rebellion’s recent Robin of Sherwood collection of Look In strips did an excellent job of this and the supporting essay in the book shows the before-and-after and the work that went into it). And (ii) and I get the feeling this is the main one – they said a lot of the old strips ran right across double-page spreads; not a problem in a saddle-stitched publication (= folded and stapled) like TV Action and Countdown were; but that you’d lose art literally going into the ‘gutter’ of a perfect-bound (spined) book – and that Panini really didn’t want to shrink these double page spreads down to fit across one landscape page of A4 – which would get around that problem – but weren’t keen on creating folded-and-stapled books either…

    • Jason Z

      March 4th, 2024 - 12:41pm

      Ooh, I’d be keen on the Sapphire & Steel. Is there a way to be notified if that does happen? I can see myself missing it if it does come out. I remember those from Look In.

    • Liam

      March 4th, 2024 - 5:33pm

      Yes the landscape spreads will be the problem. And there are 47 of them….also i dont think much, (if any), original artwork exists.

  • Liam

    March 2nd, 2024 - 4:05pm

    Did anyone notice in the letters page, someone asked about graphic novel/ compendiums of the old TV Action and Countdowns comic strips(even printing small pix of two covers). the sensible chap even commented, on which would be the most important thing to Panini, in that they would be great money spinners. Strangely, no reply comment from the magazine…..so do we think it could happen?
    It would be am ideal time as, such publications are very popular at this time (or as media types say “on trend”) with recent, excellent books of strips from Space 1999, Robin of Sherwood, UFO, Terrahawks, The Tomorrow People and a rumoured sapphire & Steel one on the way…..

    Reply
    • atl

      March 3rd, 2024 - 6:11pm

      i would like to see reprints of the old TV Action and Countdowns strips and also to see reprints of the old doctor who annuals too

  • Charlie

    March 2nd, 2024 - 9:07am

    I haven’t bought a copy of DWM in a long time but it’s crazy to see how much the cover designs have changed, back in 2005 the mag looked so classy.

    Reply
  • Kevin225

    March 1st, 2024 - 8:36pm

    I’m a ‘since Issue 1’ reader and a long time subscriber. When first flicking through this issue for the first time when it arrived (normally a highlight of the month for me). I’m generally struggling to find much of interest to me to read. I can’t say that I have ever said that before!

    Reply
    • Callum

      March 1st, 2024 - 10:55pm

      Since the last few i have felt the same, it getting hard to justify the price tag now.

    • Darren

      March 2nd, 2024 - 9:22am

      It’s a shame, more of a shame that DWM don’t want to hear it. They’ve started deleting such comments made on social media.

    • Alan Silvester

      March 5th, 2024 - 10:35am

      I’m a long time subscriber too (though not as long as you, Kevin) and totally agree with your comment. Over the last few months I’ve been struggling to find things of interest in the magazine, which – for the first time – has made me think about cancelling my subscription. The “free” gifts that keep bumping up the price are lacklustre and who wants cookery in a sci-fi mag – bit desperate for an article. Sad to say, as with Big Finish, I think I will parting company with DWM too.

  • atl

    March 1st, 2024 - 6:21pm

    not a bad magazine this month but not that much in it its a bit fallow in the doctor who world right now understandably

    Reply
  • Andy R

    March 1st, 2024 - 4:48pm

    I think this issue will be equally as decisive in terms of content as 600 was based on the flip through i did in Smiths today.

    Reply
  • Andrew

    March 1st, 2024 - 4:37pm

    Review of box set on page 52 to 54. No breakdown on discs in this month magazine.

    Reply
  • Anon

    March 1st, 2024 - 3:37pm

    I didnt see the preview page or any disc breakdown when i quickly skipped through the pages yesterday.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get your own avatar.
By clicking submit you agree to our terms and conditions (below), we reserve the right to edit or delete inappropriate messages.

Comment rules

The Doctor Who site welcomes constuctive comments related to the news article in question. Links posted in comments may not be displayed. We reserve the right to delete or edit any post entirely at our discretion. If you leave unacceptable comments your IP address will be banned and reported

Click here to read full comments terms and conditions

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Twitter

Facebook