November 1st, 2025
51 comments
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Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition Doctor Who: Legends
The next DWM Special Edition begins a new series called Doctor Who: Legends. “Terry Nation is the first member of what is essentially DWM’s hall of fame,” says editor Marcus Hearn. “We think a tribute to Nation is long overdue, because he’s probably the show’s most influential and underrated writer. Everyone knows he gave us the Daleks, but he doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being the first person to unleash the full potential of Doctor Who. He devised the format for the most successful stories, and it’s still the blueprint, more than 60 years later.”
The all-new content includes previously unpublished interviews, deep dives into all of Nation’s Doctor Who stories, and extracts from scripts that never made it to the screen. The issue is lavishly illustrated with rare and unseen images, including pictures from the Nation family’s collection.
Highlights include:
- Terry Nation reflects on Doctor Who, Survivors and Blake’s 7 in a previously unpublished interview conducted in 1991.
- An exclusive interview with Rebecca and Joel Nation, in which they remember growing up with their famous father.
- Doctor Who writer and former showrunner Steven Moffat pays tribute to Terry Nation and revisits an overlooked Dalek story.
- Lost scenes from some of Terry Nation’s greatest scripts are brought to life with fresh analysis and new artwork.
- Kevin Jon Davies describes childhood meetings with Terry Nation in the 1970s.
- The story of Nation’s entire career from the 1950s to the 80s, including details of his contributions to Out of the Unknown, The Saint, The Avengers and other classics.
- Every Terry Nation film, television and radio credit, compiled for the first time.
- A previously unpublished interview with Nation’s friend and former agent, Beryl Vertue.
- The script-to-screen development of every Terry Nation Doctor Who story, including details from newly discovered notes and drafts.
AND MORE!
Doctor Who: Legends – Terry Nation will be available at panini.co.uk and good news retailers from Thursday 6 November, price £9.99. It will also be available digitally from pocketmags.com price £8.99.
Categorised under: Doctor Who Magazine, Magazine
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atl
November 8th, 2025 - 4:27pmi had a quick look through it it good but i cant find any mention of the dalek films was he involved with them or did i miss something
David Goldberg
November 10th, 2025 - 9:55pm@atl – he wasn’t involved in the Dalek films. They were based on his storylines but he didn’t rewrite them for the films and had no role in their creation other than collecting payments from the sale of the option to Amicus to produce three Dalek films.
atl
November 11th, 2025 - 10:39amso money for old rope …. good for him………….. i know it is a DOCTOR ?WHO magazine but i wish they had a bit more about Blakes 7 and survivors in it
Peter C
November 7th, 2025 - 12:58pmLooking forward to this one.
Timelord1963
November 7th, 2025 - 8:05amAnybody actually seen this out in the wild yet? Not actually managed to get hold of a copy where I am.
ItsOutThereNow
November 7th, 2025 - 6:13pmTheres tons of them in Harrogates TG Jones along with the regular issue
The Toymaker
November 6th, 2025 - 11:28pmDoes anyone know if the Years Bookazines (1965, 1983 etc) are still coming out? They are wonderful.
anthony fagn
November 6th, 2025 - 8:12pmits frustrating where its only Smiths actually sell every mag and special whereas the supermarkets etc only stock the regular monthly mag. Please display this issue alongside the regular magazine they say on the covers. Yeah i expect they would if they bothered to stock them….
SmithsNoMore
November 7th, 2025 - 6:15pmSainsburys normally have both
Michael parsons
November 4th, 2025 - 6:17pmmight be unrelated to this publication but will panini stop putting the regular issues when they are a little more than 7.99 because of art cards and a cd or book in packaging that you cant open with out breaking it
FangRockLighthouse
November 5th, 2025 - 2:33pm@comicshopsdontstand
It depends whether or not you have a fan working in whichever shop! Fortunately in the TG Jones/Smith’s where I work we do know the difference between a regular issue and a special! As do most stores!!
F D R
November 3rd, 2025 - 3:05pmanyone know if DWM 623 is still coming out on the 6th ?
COMICshopsDontStand
November 4th, 2025 - 10:28amUnknown at the moment hopefully dwm will update soon
Gordon
November 4th, 2025 - 6:20pmYes it is. The cover is on twitter/x
WhoRu
November 4th, 2025 - 6:46pm@gordon -seems silly releasing two magazines at once
£9.99 and £6.99
Peter
November 5th, 2025 - 9:47amWhy is it silly releasing the standard monthly magazine (which has been going that way since what, 1980/81?) and a special edition on a specific topic on the same day? Consumers and retailers alike can tell the difference.
Comicshopsdontstand
November 5th, 2025 - 1:19pm@peter – you must be new to the UK. Wh Smiths ( when it was Wh smiths ) used to ALWAYS get confused and send the regular issue back on sale or return.
Or put the regular magazine out and the special would sit in the stock room for months,
David
November 6th, 2025 - 11:22amYes it is out today.
Alan Silvester
November 6th, 2025 - 11:29amHave any subscribers received issue 623 today? I normally receive it the day before publication, but nothing yesterday or today. Also, not a fan of the flimsy envelopes used nowadays – magazines end up getting folded and creased during delivery process.
Kevin225
November 6th, 2025 - 2:10pmNo sign of anything subscriber related at the moment, although our local postal deliveries are majorly up the creek again (as they were a couple of years back).
Peter C
November 7th, 2025 - 12:58pmI just got mine today. Expected it yesterday, thought they’d mucked up my subscription like they seem to do every year around this time. I’ve had to ring twice separately to get it reinstated. Arrived today, but sometimes I get it the day of release or the day before, it’s quite random. ‘Who nose?’ when it’ll turn up next….
not RTD
November 2nd, 2025 - 9:32pmwith no announcement they don’t give much time to find the extra money out of the weekly budget but i will cope it will be good to read something about Survivors and Blake’s 7 i do hope this brings an end to the bookazines they were to expensive for not enough content
Kevin225
November 2nd, 2025 - 3:48pmDoes anyone know if this is covered within the DWM Subscription that includes the Special Editions or if it is treated separately (i.e. like the Bookazines are)?
Andy
November 2nd, 2025 - 4:59pmI’d like to know too
Paul Hassall
November 2nd, 2025 - 8:05pmNo
Adrian
November 3rd, 2025 - 9:03am@Paul Hassall – are you saying you don’t know or that it’s not included?
booboo
November 3rd, 2025 - 9:32amit’s listed as a special edition so should be included
Adrian
November 3rd, 2025 - 10:16amThanks booboo
bob hellier
November 2nd, 2025 - 10:38amhave bought the terry Nation bookazine thank you for the daleks terry he also wrote the android invasion with the kraals stygron and androids didnt he i wonder if it is mentioned in the bookzine maybe DWM delayed because of latest news about dr who coming back xmas 2026 and next series.
David Goldberg
November 2nd, 2025 - 9:59pm@Bob Hellier – it literally says that all Terry Nation’s Doctor Who stories are included but just his Dalek stories in the information above!
COMICshopsDontStand
November 2nd, 2025 - 9:34amLol same day as the regular issue
Thats just silly
And may hurt sales and retailers will get co fused
Ellen Murphy
November 2nd, 2025 - 8:12amI love the Daleks! Great baddies. Thank you to Terry for them. Fun fact there is a Kit Kat commercial from the 70s where 2 Daleks ask people for hugs. I dont think his estate appreciated it but its cute.
Rex F
November 2nd, 2025 - 1:26pmIt’s much more recent than that (early 2000s) and they had permission from the estate – they’d have received a cease and desist otherwise, and probably needed to make a substantial payout. The reports at the time stated that they by-passed the agent (scary Hancock) and went straight to the family (his wife, Kate, who died earlier this year).
beef
November 2nd, 2025 - 3:04amTerry Nation was…not a very good writer lol.
the daleks are successful because of all the elements that he didn’t have anything to do with (the look, the voice). Nation’s actual dalek scripts were usually bad to mediocre. Yet he gets all the credit for their creation, even when he tried to poach them from doctor who and make his own spinoff for them.
Jason Z
November 2nd, 2025 - 7:58pmI tried to comment on this but it emdedup in the wrong place: “And I heard recently – apparently it’s in the biography- that even the concept of the Daleks was something that Hancock worked on with him, originally for a comedy sketch. It’s not solely Nation’s idea.”
Rex F
November 3rd, 2025 - 5:01pmAlleged Tony Hancock quote: “That […], he stole my robots!”
There are a few plagiarism accusations against Nation – Brian Clemens bore a grudge over Survivors for many years. No proven allegations, mind.
bryan
November 1st, 2025 - 9:08pmI take issue with this :Marcus Hearn. “We think a tribute to Nation is long overdue, because he’s probably the show’s most influential and underrated writer. Everyone knows he gave us the Daleks, but he doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
I think he gets and has gotten much credit. Where David Whitaker is the real unsung hero, but has less magazine pizzazz.
Still sound like a great range. Verity Lambert might need two issues, I think a deep dive into Andrew Cartmel’s contributions would be good.
Bellal
November 2nd, 2025 - 12:50amI’d only really be I interested in Andrew Cartmell issue tbf. Feel the early years have been extensively covered by the magazine over the years
David
November 1st, 2025 - 8:19pmIsn’t the regular edition of DWM out next week aswell.
COMICshopsDontStand
November 2nd, 2025 - 9:40amIndeed it should be caroline ann ford cover on regular mag this week
Rex F
November 1st, 2025 - 7:13pmI’m seriously tempted by this one. I just hope that, with family involvement, it isn’t a hagiography – we can’t deny his frequent reuse and underwriting (not just in Who), and I’d like to see that addressed. I always wonder what Nation’s scripts for Genesis were like before the script editing.
bryan
November 1st, 2025 - 9:11pmBig Finish did Them as part full cast and part Readings.
7.2. Doctor Who: Daleks! Genesis of Terror
Rex F
November 1st, 2025 - 11:39pmThanks for that, I’ll have a look.
Alberto Frog
November 1st, 2025 - 5:46pmShould it not be a regular issue next week? They don’t usually release two issues on the same day.
Duncan
November 1st, 2025 - 4:13pmThis looks great. Hoping Marinus and The Android Invasion don’t get forgotten and end up being buried by Daleks !
Fred
November 1st, 2025 - 3:25pmWhy can’t the regular magazine have covers (not to mention) subjects as great as this?
DeliveryRus
November 2nd, 2025 - 9:37amBecause they save the for the 20 or so specials they do a year
And a lot a reprints of old articles or longer versions
Snowman
November 1st, 2025 - 2:26pmAnother Very Eye Catching Cover. Impressive Most Impressive.
Bill Silver
November 1st, 2025 - 1:30pmThis looks brilliant and that cover is just amazing!
Jason Z
November 2nd, 2025 - 7:56pmAnd I heard recently – apparently it’s in the biography- that even the concept of the Daleks was something that Hancock worked on with him, originally for a comedy sketch. It’s not solely Nation’s idea.
Jason Z
November 2nd, 2025 - 7:59pmSorry I was trying to reply to beef above!