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Doctor Who Magazine Issue 538
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NEW COMPOSER SEGUN AKINOLA – ONLY IN DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 538!
This issue also includes:
- A candid interview with Eric Saward, Doctor Who’s longest-serving script editor.
- Former showrunner Steven Moffat discusses Eric’s legacy.
- Robert Allsopp describes his unusual contributions to Doctor Who’s prop and costume departments – from the Sylvester McCoy episodes to the present day.
- Alex Mercer describes what it’s like to be one of the current producers of Doctor Who.
- Storyboard artist James Iles talks us through some of his stunning illustrations.
- Jacqueline King – aka Sylvia Noble – answers questions from the TARDIS tin.
- A tribute to Shane Rimmer, who guest starred in The Gunfighters in 1966.
- Part Four of Herald of Madness, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
- How one cosplayer became the War Doctor’s companion.
- The Fact of Fiction explores the 1979 story Nightmare of Eden.
- The Blogs of Doom, audio reviews, previews, news, prize-winning competitions and much, much more!
DWM 538 is on sale from 2 May April, priced £5.99.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2019 - 4:10pmLots of really big shows both in the UK and USA don’t release spoilers. Game of thrones for instance doesn’t release information. The show isn’t on for another 8-10 months. Just wait and there will be plenty of info to publicise it’s return.
The Flying Shark
May 2nd, 2019 - 12:04pmI have to say, this is quite a poor issue and one of the few I regret buying. I’ve only just got it and had a flick through, so I might be proved wrong, but there’s little that interests me. The Fact of Fiction doesn’t look like it brings anything new, no Time Team, the Cosplay is about a character I’ve barely heard of and even the competition prize isn’t that impressive. The thing that annoys me most about DWM these days is that it’s for the older fan. Marcus Hearn is writing for himself, i.e. the Shane Rimmer article mainly talking about Thunderbirds, but he’s also trying to write for the younger reader, i.e. the Time Team, resulting in an awkward hybrid. There’s actually too much in it. About five interviews this time, but the most is six pages, and I’ll bet I won’t get much out of it, or it’ll end when things get interesting. Let features run longer! What’s the word limit, 1,000? And why is the next issue a £10 special? It’s oversaturation for the money, with all these specials and bookazines. Pretty soon, people are going to get sick of them and they’ll be in real trouble. I don’t want to be a negative fan, but I love DWM and would hate it to go down the pan because of a poor editor and the greedy corporation behind it.
Badwolf359
May 3rd, 2019 - 1:10amNext issue is £5.99. You,ve misread that last page page mate. It’s the bookazine that is £9.99. Look again.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2019 - 7:19amNo he hasnt, the next issue will be released in two different formats: the regular version is priced £5.99, but it will be released as a ‘Deluxe Edition’ including lots of extras for £9.99 exclusive to WHSmiths. They did the same thing last year for the issue that previewed The Woman Who Fell To Earth. You can see the full details on the News pages earlier on in the issue.
Anonymous
May 3rd, 2019 - 10:10amI stopped buying them and just cut up all the issues i had (about 150) and made a huge wall collage chronicling every episode/monster/companion of the first 50 years.
Badwolf359
May 3rd, 2019 - 3:07pmHe has misread it if he thought that the next issue wasn’t available in the usual £5.99 version which is what his post inferred.
Clare McDonagh
May 1st, 2019 - 12:11amAll I wanna know is why on the front of the cover it’s saying that David Tennant is coming back or is he doing something else completely different like a brand new Audiobook or is he and Billie Piper actually reprising their roles as The Meta Crisis Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler fro that bbc spin off that the bbc announced as a April Fools earlier this month which is coming back with 6 times 60 minute for each episode or WHAT because I am running out of being curious because I just gotta know right NOW
Anonymous
May 1st, 2019 - 12:16amNew audios, meta crisis was a joke
Prof Horner
April 30th, 2019 - 1:04pmThe return of Cybermen in Earthshock was no surprise to me . As a few months earlier are local newspaper had an interview with Bradford born actor Steve Morley who said he had just done a Doctor Who with the Cybermen in it. So things have a way of getting out.
Anonymous
April 30th, 2019 - 2:18pmBut that doesn’t mean that everything has to be revealed now! Which is what many fans want these days. Probably so they can go on social media and complain about why that character shouldn’t have come back or why their favourite monster should have been in. My favourite post a friend showed me was someone who said they should bring the original master actor back! You know, roger Delgado, who died in 1972! They were completely serious as well. Less is more as far as I’m concerned. I enjoyed watching Jodie’s series simply because I knew nothing beyond which guest actors were in and what the trailers gave away. Mate of mine is a huge game of thrones fan but he spends a worrying amount of time trying to find out what’s going to happen in each episode instead of just waiting and finding out by watching the actual episode. I don’t mind finding out things, for instance when the ice warriors were teased for 2013 I was so happy and really looked forward to seeing them again. But equally when davros played by julian bleech returned in the magician’s apprentice I knew nothing about his return so was very pleased to see him back. The series is at least 8 months off, maybe between 9 and ten months away so it’s far to soon to reveal anything.
The ergon
April 30th, 2019 - 2:32pmIts unfortunate for you that you had that reveal spoiled. It came so left field to me and my schoolmates who viewed it on original transmission whyllst on a school holiday, and we whooped with joy when the cybermen were revealed. One of my most treasured memories from 1982.
Martin
April 29th, 2019 - 11:20amThere have always been spoilers to hook viewers, teaser trailers or what have you. I remember back before the internet, a DW magazine featuring a glossy full page Imperial Dalek months before Remembrance aired. Sixth Form college was rife with speculation! Can’t really get excited about nothing.
Davis salkeld
April 29th, 2019 - 11:19amI thought season 11 was a bit dull but loved the fact that I knew nothing about the series at all
bryan
April 29th, 2019 - 10:39amGreat Cover, Nice to see some love, for the Thirteenth Doctor, in the Magazine. Looks like a packed ,issue,covering a lot of the Newer series, with Segun on music, Tennant on audio, Steven Moffat on Doctor 11 (storyboards ?)
I agree its nice to know as little as possible for season 12,but i thought some more indepth series 11 might have escaped,into the light.
AT
April 29th, 2019 - 10:28amGreat cover and I like the fact we know nothing about Series 12 yet, its refreshing in age when almost everything about a TV show is known before it has aired.
Sean Bassett
April 29th, 2019 - 3:53pmThere’s a reason why other shows release information. Because it generates publicity. Chibnall’s just keeping things that don’t need to be secret a secret for no reason.
AT
April 30th, 2019 - 11:23am“Fans” need to stop demanding things of those in charge! Your reply to my above comment is very patronising ! I understand all to well that shows need to generate publicity but far to many give so much away which makes watching the show less enjoyable and almost pointless.
Sean Bassett
April 30th, 2019 - 11:04pmHow is it patronising? It’s just logic.
Sean Bassett
April 29th, 2019 - 9:14amChibnall really needs to stop this iron grip on spoilers. This month’s issue should have been a Series 12 exclusive as speculated on Twitter, and not the interview with Segun Akinola as the main feature.
Anonymous
April 29th, 2019 - 9:29am….why should it be a Series 12 exclusive?
Anonymous
April 29th, 2019 - 9:43amI think it’s brilliant he won’t reveal anything. Never understood the need some fans have to know everything beforehand. Plus it’s probably going to be January before the show comes back on. I’m thinking new years day special possibly followed by the series.
The Outcast
April 29th, 2019 - 10:41amI LOVE the secrecy behind these new Series. It’s one of the things I think Chibnall is doing really well with. Before, we’d have had tons of spoilers, but now, we have nothing, which I think will add to the surprise that we’ll get if there are returning villains in Series 12 that weren’t spoiled by DWSR in advance.
Also, it’s far, far to early for any promotion. Series 12 is atleast 8 months away, they are still filming it. Expecting it to be Series 12 info is just foolish. We won’t get a trailer till atleast September/October time, and probably won’t get anything much at SDCC (if Doctor Who is even going to be there).
J45ON96
April 29th, 2019 - 2:59pmRemember Earthshock? Not knowing is better and more effective. Nothing fuels the hype train like speculation over the unknown.
Badwolf359
April 29th, 2019 - 3:44pmThe lack of spoilers for the last season was a bit pointless because there was no returning monsters or twists to the existing canon. If there had been spoilers for what we did get people would have been like “is that it?” Speculation for what the season finale was going to be was far more interesting than what we got which was a massive anti-climax and the weakest finale for years.
Sean Bassett
April 29th, 2019 - 3:48pm@Anonymous So Doctor Who doesn’t disappear from the public eye. I’m not saying reveal anything substantial, but a set report or revealing the writers/directors would be fine.
Sean Bassett
April 29th, 2019 - 3:51pm@The Outcast Publicity the one thing Chibnall isn’t doing well. He’s too afraid of spoilers – he wouldn’t even let the Dalek return be promoted in the first Resolution trailer – and needs to loosen up a bit. RTD in comparison new exactly how to publicise the series. He revealed monsters, episode titles, writers, directors, episode synopsises that gave you an idea of the plot without revealing too much.
The Flying Shark
May 2nd, 2019 - 11:59amI agree Sean-Doctor Who is dead again in the public eye simply because there’s nothing to keep interest up between series. And before anyone gets on at me about the Collection, Big Finish, etc.-those are for hardcore fans, who know everything about the show inside and out. What about the 2009 gap year, when we had spin-offs and an animated special to keep us happy, not to mention more of a public image of the show.
Anonymous
April 29th, 2019 - 8:17amLove this cover!