By 1975/ 76 Doctor Who on tv had become more
sophisticated in its storytelling yet the Annuals continued to run stories that
more often than not lacked the then current approach of the series. Some of
them feel generic as if they might be lifted from a pool that could be applied
to any Doctor. The 1976 Annual does at least sometimes have the Doctor, Sarah
and Harry sounding (though rarely looking) like they do on screen while there
is one story so packed with great ideas it seems too good for this format. Annuals
were always dated for the following year and this edition was actually
published in September 1975 so the makers would presumably only have seen some of
Tom Baker’s first season. Tom’s Doctor stares out from the cover
looking somewhat unimpressed. Has he just read the stories?
