Chris Achilleos

 

Growing up in the Seventies we only got to see each episode of Doctor Who once (or maybe twice if it was repeated) so the Target novelisations were our equivalent of how you can now watch any existing episode whenever you want. Crucial to those books were the covers especially the earlier ones which were the work of Chris Achilleos who sadly died this week. His artwork created a heightened, stylised version of Doctor Who with a grander and more exciting visual aesthetic than the reality of the series. Yet he was also able to home in on the elements that made each story tick. Finding a new book and a new cover was like discovering new treasure and those covers somehow became synonymous with the stories they depicted.

 

Terrance Dicks 1935- 2019

Terrance Dicks was the last of the big beasts of classic Doctor Who and his place in the pantheon of its writers is legendary. Not only did he oversee one of the most popular periods of the programme’s history but he also penned many Target novels which kept us close to the series when it wasn’t on. Later on his genial yet open responses in countless interviews earned him the kindly sobriquet `Uncle Terrance` though he had claws when he wanted to notably his reaction to the 1996 TV Movie or calling John Nathan-Turner “not fit for purpose” or in reference to 70s campaigner Mary Whitehouse- “If there’s one thing she hated more than sex, its Doctor Who”. More than anything- in fiction and in life- he told it how it was.

Fan Scene- Tardis77 Issues 2 & 3

Issue 2 is fronted by artwork depicting a Voord and a triple chinned Doctor and suddenly I’m thinking- hang on a mo- it was published in late February 1977 with the now acclaimed 1976-77 season in full flow. And they chose to illustrate the official fanzine with something from an old story again for the second issue running? If anything shows the agenda of the people running the DWAS at that time it is this. Editor Gordon is asking members to vote in the season poll for stories they found enjoyable. I wonder if the editorial team would even be able to do that?  News-wise what’s happening in the world of Doctor Who right now is that the documentary producers have apparently found a lot of material related to the show some of which will be included. Transmission date is said to be April 1977.