Fan Scene- CT 1979 Apr- Jun

 

April

`Monsters` declares the lead story in the rather thin April issue declaring “the prolonged absence of monsters from Doctor Who will soon come to an end.” This comes from the mouth of new script editor Douglas Adams who is quoted as saying “I think we’ve shied away from the monsters for long enough so I hope to bring them back.” This story suggests that Adams approached the script editor job with considerable energy at first. Meanwhile its revealed that the first story of the season will be titled `Destiny of the Daleks`. John Leeson’s departure from voicing K9 is also confirmed though the rumour is a new actor will be taking on the tin dog’s distinctive vocals next year. It is also time once again to vote in the Season Poll with Season 16’s stories comprising the Key to Time Season up for you votes. Last year’s winner was `Invasion of Time`.

Fan Scene CT 1980 Oct- Dec

 

October

“The latest Doctor Who news supplied by the production office and society members” it says under an Update headline. I wonder if there was some issue with news in CT or perhaps the notoriously finnicky JNT just wanted credit. Anyway, the subsequent story does have a whiff of press release about it with the plucked from thin air suggestion that the new season “looks like being the biggest success for some time”. “The brilliant, imaginative Leisure Hive,” it continues and later on we’re told “we are being treated to one of Emrys James’ performances.” Why you can almost hear John Nathan Turner’s voice! Romana is going – “but K9 will go on.”  You can buy the theme music too with a b side called `Astronauts` though it’ll never match the legendary b side `Reg`.  Chris Dunk rather cheekily prints a picture of a press review of `Leisure Hive` underneath all this sunny promotional banter and its not a favourable one referring to “very cheap camera effects” and concluding “no-one seems to have any faith in this geriatric juvenilia”. Hardly “brilliant, imaginative.” Other news includes a Madame Tussaud’s display and a Doctor Who war game called `The Key of Kronos` in which players take on the character of one of the Doctors to search for a key that is in six segments. Sounds familiar. It doesn’t say if they have to dangle from the ceiling dressed as Kronos though.

Fan Scene- CT 1980 Jul - Sep

 July

`Decay in Studio` is the headline this month though rather than a story of dry rot it’s actually referring to the news that the unmade story formerly known as `The Vampire Mutations` or `The Witch Lords` and more recently dubbed `The Wasting` is now to be titled `State of Decay` and broadcast fourth in the new season. The news item reminds us that this Terrance Dicks tale was originally penned three years back but pulled due to the series being instructed not to `send up` a lavish BBC2 version of Dracula. At the time this raised hopes that `Shada` might also be resurrected but it was not to be. The issue also reveals the title of the second story as `The Last Zolphathoron` and that Jacqueline Hill is returning to the series. Of course we all thought this meant Barbara was going to appear.

Fan Scene CT82 #4

With a different photo cover based on the Radio Times cover that promoted `The Three Doctors` the September issue reveals plans for an anniversary story next year. Jon Pertwee will definitely be in it and Gary hopes Pat and Tom will be too. He does suggest an anniversary special publication is unlikely though. The issue also has the first mention for a planned BBC anniversary event next year. Other news includes the return to the series of the Brigadier as well as actor David Collings. Rumours of the Daleks returning as well though appear to be false. Nyssa is departing and her last story will appropriately be called `Terminus`. 

There have been more thefts reported, this time from the Central Westminster Reference Library with Radio Times cuttings from `The Time Warrior` to `Brain of Morbius` swiped. There’s a clipping of a local newspaper report about Panopticon though it’s been written by a DWAS member David Guest (no, not that one) who turns in an intelligently penned and sometimes amusing account. If only all professional press about fandom were like this. “It never was ascertained how members got home but the sound of unnatural mechanical grindings and the disappearance of all the police boxes in Birmingham give a clue,” he concludes.

 

Fan Scene CT82 #3

With salmon coloured front pages the June issue announces more details of next season including the title of the opening story- `Arc of Infinity`. Sounds great doesn’t it?  Also the worst kept secret of the time was that Janet Fielding hadn’t really left at the end of `Time Flight` and here we learn she will indeed be back next season. Under the heading `Crisis` the issue reveals that someone called Sarah who dealt with fan mail in the programme’s production office has left; possibly the second fact being a reaction to the first!. Additionally because of the World Cup there probably won’t be any repeats this summer. So is this what constituted a Crisis back in 1982? If only that was all we had to concern us now!! The front page also reports the death of Harold Goldblatt who was in `Frontier In Space` and that the marriage between Tom Baker and Lalla Ward has ended after sixteen months. 

 

Fan Scene CT 1983 #4

October introduces us to The Sixth Doctor, 40 year old Colin Baker and the lead story has a brief resume noting he’s the first actor to play the Doctor who had previously had a role in the series. There’s nothing especially unusual in this announcement which comes accompanied by a shot from the official photocall though it’s impossible not to think of what happened next. As often is the case, the actor looks Doctorly enough in what he was wearing that day but, oh no, someone had to conjure up a costume! That’s all in the future in October 1983 though. Other news this month includes news of the theft of an art display from the Blackpool exhibition with over £1,000 and guest star news for the forthcoming `Resurrection of the Daleks`. The DWAS’ 20^th anniversary party event which had barely been mentioned in CT has now happened as well and it seems was successful. 

Fan Scene CT 1983 #3

CT's 1983 editor Gordon Roxburgh did not have a way with headlines. Or perhaps he just didn’t have a lot of letraset. The July edition has the headline `Return`. A big picture of a Dalek sort of gives away what is returning but couldn’t he have at least managed something a bit more dynamic than `Return`. He does go on to describe `Destiny of the Daleks` as “dreadful” too which it isn’t. Tucked away deep inside the issue are the results of the 1983 season poll. It seems an oddly quiet way to declare them especially as the editor has said on the cover it is a slow news month. He probably didn’t have enough Letraset to add the story `Mawdryn Triumphs in Season Poll`. Yep by a margin of almost a thousand votes it is spaghetti head’s deserved victory in a poll I remember was the easiest to vote in for years given the varying qualities of the stories. Despite some peoples’ griping over the dating, `Mawdryn` struck me as the season’s only classic, a rich mixture of nostalgia and ideas. “Brigadier was superb” is the write up it gets in a tiny summary of some views below. In second place was `Enlightenment` whose visual extravagance masked a rather slow story but the surprise for me was seeing `Snakedance` coming fifth beaten by both `The Kings Demons` and- gasp- `Arc of Infinity`. The latter which I have always seen as the real turkey romps in third though if you re-ran this poll today I bet it would trail last. You only have to see it a second time to remember just how bad the Ergon is and how little sense the story makes. All of which means `Terminus` is bottom proving that disrobing companions and a giant cuddly bear are not certain to win people’s hearts!

Fan Scene CT 1983 #2

Well actually April and June as for some reason my copy of the May issue is nowhere to be found. It probably turned out to be the most newsworthy month of the year unlike April which apart from further additions to the ever growing cast of the anniversary special is scant on news. And still nothing about the enigmatic Tacecon! One of the more interesting things that CT always did was include press clippings and its surprising how much coverage Doctor Who got from the nationals in those days. You’d imagine a fair proportion of it came from the production office pro-actively pushing stories as the guest casts often included well known names of the time. For example Lynda Baron’s turn in `Enlightenment ` is the topic of a Daily Mirror piece reprinted this issue in which the actor discusses what real female pirates were like. Elsewhere there’s a piece about Mark Strickson joining the series and one concerning the Longleat Celebration event in which Lord Bath is seen signing the contract under duress from a Cyberman. 

Fan Scene - CT 1983 #1

Things had changed a lot in the DWAS by the time the anniversary year of 1983 began. The Society was now nearly seven years old and its newsletter CT had moved on from the fannish enthusiasm which earlier editors had deployed. It was now very much a factual newsletter albeit one that showed just how much activity there was in fandom at the time. Edited by Gordon Roxburgh, the 1983 CT maintained the same look throughout the year and was home mostly to news, longer departmental columns, shorter headlines and zillions of fanzine adverts. Averaging 6- 8 pages per issue ensured each was packed with material. The January issue was Gordon’s first as editor and means both the DWAS’ publications were helmed by Scotsmen. The year started with some bad news as the last story of season 20 was cancelled due to yet another industrial dispute at the BBC. At that moment there was no certainty even that `The Kings Demons` would be able to be completed (don’t say anything….). 

Fan Scene CT 1981 Part 4

October

Some of the best bits of CT were the copies of press clippings and this issue features one about Verity Lambert taking over as Chairman of the BFI Production Board. Meanwhile Gary Russell is not pleased with the scheduling of repeats which are to be shown at 5.40 against the news and we can apparently all breathe a sigh of relief at the news that John Nathan Turner is staying on for the twentieth season. 

Fan Scene- CT 1981 Part 2

April

Positive Feedback is the main title as the letters page moves to the front in a clearly light news month. However most of the letters are not that positive. “I dislike CT’s new title and logo”, “There is little to be pleased with about the new bulletin”, “don’t bring up the topic of DWApathy again”, “What is wrong with our dear BBC.” Oh dear the members are not happy though you have to admire Gordon B printing so much stuff that criticises what he’s doing even if you sense he likes a good argument. Also there seems to be a missing issue of the DWAS fanzine `Tardis`. “the parcels bringing it from Edinburgh to London for distribution having gone astray.” There’s a story here that would never be followed up possibly involving a fiendish alien plan!

Fan Scene - CT 1981 Part 1

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society’s monthly newsletter Celestial Toyroom – or CT as everyone called it- was the Whofan’s main news source in the pre Internet days and we can see how the news broke and what else was going on. So lets’ travel back to 1981 to the world of Doctor Who and its fandom…

January

The front page reports the wedding of Tom Baker and Lalla Ward which had taken place on 13 December 1980 and says, slightly surprisingly, that “the couple are still intent on remaining in acting profession.” The DWAS sent a telegram of congratulation to the couple. CT also reported their interest in working on a project together…

Meanwhile “some good news and some bad news”. John Nathan –Turner will be staying on as producer (I think this is the good news) however the 19th season (yes, they were called Seasons and not Series in those days) will return to just 26 episodes, the previous one having had an extra 2 episodes. Actual news for the then current season told us that `The Keeper of Traken` includes one Anthony Ainley playing Tremas. Did anyone spot the anagram? Probably not.