Fan Scene Tardis77 Issues 5 & 6

Issue 5: The cover heralds the start of a new series called The Doctor’s Diary and inside another new feature called Debate Corner aims to iron out inconsistencies in the series. However it is printing problems that catch the eye when you turn the page as parts of this issue are barely readable due to fading print and large foggy splodges of something or other across them. It’s a shame for Geraldine Landen whose debut issue as editor this is. The first Debate Corner is actually only half a page and runs with a theory that the Meddling Monk is The Master even though no episode ever suggested he was! Secondly it asks how come `Evil of the Daleks` was not “the final end” of the metal meanies as the Doctor suggested it was. The trouble with this sort of thing is that fans are aware of both the fictional and factual background of stories so while speculation can be fun the real answer to such a conundrum is that different production teams had different ideas. Talking of fannish speculation there’s a particularly teeth clenching piece of fiction in this issue that lays out an alternative history of the Doctor and it’s not clear if this is a spoof or not but it is best flicked past.

The letters pages starts by talking about the Meddling Monk again (what is it about him in mid 1977?) and amongst the topics raised are why companions are never killed, Terry Nation’s series Survivors, and story titles. Yes, a quiet month. There’s a brief look at the big screen Dalek movies, and more History of the Time Lords. You can tell there’s a new editor- all of the attack that Gordon Blows brought to previous issues is missing and we are awash with trivia. There’s an intriguing Swap Shop entry - one Malcolm Hulke is offering a copy of his new book `The Siege` in exchange for `Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon` Target book. 

There are some views on the `Whose Doctor Who` documentary which had been shown since the last issue. It doesn’t seem to have gone down too well with one reviewer complaining that it didn’t go into any depth. People liked the clips and it looks as if newer fans preferred it to older ones.

The Doctor’s Diary is stuck at the end of what has been an underwhelming issue and proves to be uninspired re-hashing of bits of plot. Typical example; “In order to discover the Dalek’s secret plan I disguised myself as one of the representatives, the Master of Zephon, By doing so enabled me to steal the Taranium Core, a vital part of their plan. I only hope I can keep it from them.” Mind you perhaps the Doctor really did update his diary this way using a hidden recorder which is why he shouts loudly “I am now handing the Taranium Core to Mavic Chen” later on!

Issue 6:This is more like it! A great cover featuring the Blackpool and Longleat exhibitions and an issue that avoids any printing problems. Included in Jan Vincent- Rudzki’s column is both good and bad news. The good is that he and Jeremy Bentham recently visited the Stoke on Trent local group (the society’s first), the bad is the expulsion of a member after “a number of serious complaints” and the theft of pages from a library’s Radio Times. 

Inside, there’s a history of UNIT which ties together the organisation’s history from the various stories in which they appear. The Doctor’s Diary is still running, though it is hard to see the point of it even then as it simply takes bits from various adventures without any fictional insight. For example here it references the events of `Invasion of the Dinosaurs` and asks “Why is Mike doing this?” My question is why was Richard Landen doing this?

This issue’s letters includes a very detailed series of questions about the Cyberman which an Australian fan wants answered and I’m sure many Who fans of the time were also eager to know whether they need to eat or are their brains organic. A more intriguing theory suggests that the Morde Expedition when the Doctor first interfered with the `Face of Evil` computer occurred before we met the Doctor in 1963. This is based on the idea that the fourth Doctor is a “reversal of the Pertwee regeneration” or something. Do we think fans just had too much time on their hands in 1977?

The Exhibition reports are great for me as I recall vividly visits to the Blackpool one and the issue also covers Longleat which I never got to see. The issue was published after the first ever DWAS Convention which is acknowledged inside though it also says they can’t do a convention report because “all the funds were used up”. Does this mean people were paid to write for `Tardis` back then?

Publisher Gordon Blows has a column this issue in which he talks about potential copyright breaches that might have affected the DWAS and delayed the issue. It’s interesting how naively early DWAS was about such things and his list of issues highlights that sometimes the real world can encroach on what fans probably think is ok.

The CT section’s usual selection of swaps and pen pals now includes ads for prospective local groups. That same Australian fan has a swap request where she wants articles on the Cybermen! Its amazing what turns up in this section; amongst the HAS entries this issue are a photo of Azal, a Stingray Annual and a Troughton Annual. Amongst the plethora of WANTS are Claws of Axos (how? This is before home video!), particular Ty Phoo cards and Space 1999 books.