Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #407
Unsurprisingly focused on Planet of the Dead... as is next issue... Hopefully they'll give it up then, otherwise they'll be going on about one special all the way to November.

Being so close to one special naturally means there's little news on the future, with only some minor casting for the excellent-sounding Waters of Mars and some reheated quotes about the end of Tennant's tenure to tide us over new-series-wise. In past-terms, Big Finish's forthcoming 'Lost Stories'/'Season 23' strand sound promising, and the hint at possibly doing something similar with Season 27 is very tantalising for a McCoy fan like myself. A preview of the just-released novel Prisoner of the Daleks also makes it sound brilliant -- I may have to begin buying the books again, and perhaps even read them.

Commentary on this issue can't avoid the already infamous Christopher H Bidmead interview. Except I haven't read it yet. But one particular pull-quote is probably rather telling: "This is a good interview. You're asking all the right questions, and I'm offering some brilliant answers!" Oh my.

Finally, for the first time in 11 years DWM is conducting a Best Story Ever poll of its readership, nicely timed for the 200th story. (It is it is it is, whatever else you want to argue.) The deadline isn't 'til June so Lord knows when the results will be published (to coincide with story #201, maybe? Or Tennant's departure?) With 40 adventures now in consideration that weren't last time, it'll be interesting to see if Tennant and/or Eccleston storm the Top 50, or if there'll be enough classic series fans to help combat the over-enthusiastic new-series-only newcomers.