Keeping the Flame: thank you, Doctor Who Magazine

Doctor Who: The Iron Legion by Pat Mills and John Wagner. Art by Dave Gibbons.

Doctor Who: The Iron Legion by Pat Mills and John Wagner. Art by Dave Gibbons.

While Doctor Who fans across the globe celebrate 50 years of their favourite TV drama this year, Robin Barnard pays tribute to the various media – and one media outlet in particular – that helped keep the Time Lord from oblivion during those ‘wilderness years’ when no new television stories were being made and it seemed unlikely it would ever return…

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, the excitement of thousands of fans, myself included – has almost taken on a life of its own, with most of the rest of the world along for the ride or at least aware of the recent anniversary story, The Day of The Doctor.

But while we celebrate, I think it only right and fair that we should acknowledge the tireless efforts of so many people who kept the flame of Doctor Who burning all those years it was not on TV at all…

For all the authors writing challenging, interesting and entertaining novels…

All the people making great audio plays and even some video spins offs starting well known cast members…

And of course for all the fans that supported the show with a passion and endurance that defies belief.

But the hub, the central point, the mission control if you prefer of all this activity has always been and always will be Doctor Who Magazine.

DWM has always been a very high quality publication, with in-depth and very considered articles and a fantastic comic strip.

One has to admire the ability to find so many avenues of approach and topics of discussion to keep the quality that high in all the years that Doctor Who was not on TV, with no new episodes to talk about, but it does help that the TV show was suited to this kind of approach, a slow burning multi character development masterpiece.

So I would like to propose that amongst everything else we celebrate the tenacity of everyone who helped to keep the flame of Doctor Who alive. Without that effort, without that tenacity, the show would have not remained in the public eye and chances of the show returning (as obviously it eventually did) would have been much lesser.

This is a clear and as positive statement that fandom can make a real difference and to bring something forward to even greater heights.

The current Doctor Who show is a celebration in part on the basis of how passionate the fans are, and the people who work on the show tend to be fans themselves, and all they normally have one thing in common… Doctor Who Magazine.

So let us thank everyone both behind and in front of the magazine, anyone who ever contributed Doctor Who Magazine to or ever brought a copy of Doctor Who Magazine in those “wilderness years” as all those people mean that we can all celebrate!

Doctor Who Magazine Official Site: www.doctorwhomagazine.com



Categories: British Comics, Classic British Comics, Doctor Who, Features, Television

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