DWM 629

I know a lot of people have given up on DWM but if you are one of those people who still buy the occasional one because there's something specific in it, then I'd recommend the latest issue. Too late to be included in last month's, other than a small news item, this one has a major amount of material about the return of the two missing episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan. 39 pages of it as a matter of fact. As well as the story behind the recovery, and the work done to conserve the episodes, we have an interview with Peter Purves as well as a piece about how he came to see them again recently - tricked, in a nice way, into thinking he was going to be discussing something else - and reviews of the episodes. A number of Doctor Who figures also give their reactions. Quite a few screengrabs from the episodes illustrate the articles, as well as images we may have seen before - though a number of these have been colourised.

If you're a fan of the classic era in general, and the monochrome years in particular, then I'd certainly seek this one out.

DWM Chronicles - update

I recently posted that the next edition of DWM's 'Chronicles' was going to cover 1966, to be released some time in May. Having received a copy of the latest Special Edition - the 2026 Yearbook - I can now confirm that the next one will actually cover 1984, and it will be in shops from 12th February. It does now seem that these are being released to coincide with Blu-ray Collection season box-sets, assuming that those years haven't already been Chronicled (we've had issues covering 1963-65, and 1967).

Update / DWM

A few odds and ends from whilst I was away before the blog gets back underway later this week.

First of all, there's been a lot of publicity regarding The War Between The Land And The Sea - and we now have episode titles: Homo Aqua, Plastic Apocalypse, The Deep, The Witch and the Waterfall and The End of the War.

For those outside the UK, I will be reviewing the episodes as they come along - so beware spoilers. I'll post the reviews on the Tuesday evening following broadcast - just so I have enough time to watch them myself.

On the night of the first two episodes, there will be a new omnibus version of The Sea Devils made available on the i-player. Unfortunately it comes from the team behind the colourisation stories, so if you have the Season 9 Blu-ray box-set then probably best ignore this and stick to the original 1970's omnibus.

The new spin-off features UNIT prominently, and this week (Thursday 4th) sees DWM publish their latest bookazine which dedicated to the organisation. Above is the cover exclusive to Panini themselves, whilst the shop-bought cover is below, though the previous quartet of bookazines had blue / white cardboard slipcases:

Lastly, if you haven't already got it then I'd recommend the latest DWM Special Edition, which is dedicated to Terry Nation and is the first of a "Doctor Who: Legends" series. There's a look at each of his TV stories, as well as his non-Doctor Who work.

I'll be taking a look at 73 Yards on Thursday, and then we cover the opening instalment of The Enemy of the World on Sunday.

DWM Terry Nation Special

 

According to the Cultbox site, the next DWM special edition is dedicated to Dalek and Blake's 7 creator Terry Nation.

It is due out on Thursday 6th November. 

That "Legends" subheading suggests this might be the first of a series. They are running out of more general subjects to cover after all, which the bookazines seem to have taken over.

I have read elsewhere that the next bookazine will be dedicated to UNIT, but nothing confirmed so far.

DWM Gothic Horror Special Edition

The latest Special Edition of DWM is based around the forthcoming Blu-ray release of Season 13, and the majority of features relate directly to those six stories. However, we also get a general introduction to the Gothic in the series, which goes up to more recent stuff like the Weeping Angels and episodes like The Haunting of the Villa Diodati.

There's an article on the old movies which inspired Season 13, from Forbidden Planet via The Mummy and Frankenstein to The Thing From Another World, and this extends to later stories of the genre such as The Hand of Fear (disembodied hand films) and The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Fu Manchu films).

Image of the Fendahl gets a article to itself - costume design - and naturally there's a piece on Robert Holmes. 

(We also have one on his nemesis Mary Whitehouse). 

A feature on the new model shots of the Skarasen provides an image from the Blu-ray optional replacement sequence where the creature emerges from the Thames. Looks a bit plasticky to me, but we'll have to see it in action.

There's another item on the restoration of the unused TARDIS arrival sequence from Terror of the Zygons.

Louis Marks is profiled, as are a number of the actors who were heard but not seen in the series around this time - Martin Friend (Styggron), Michael Spice (Morbius and Magnus Greel), Gabriel Woolf (Sutekh) and Peter Pratt (the Master).

Some fans revisit the village of Devesham to see if it's still full of androids (spoiler: it isn't) and we delve into the personal archive of director Christopher Barry and the production of The Brain of Morbius. (He really, really didn't want to do it...).

There's loads more, and the magazine is rounded off by some original fiction from Louise Jameson.

Plus, you get a free CD which features 15 extracts from audiobooks of TV stories, from The Daleks up to Rose.

The monthly magazine might not be up to much these days, but the Special Editions and the occasional bookazines remain well worth getting hold of.

Before I go, the Doctor Who official YouTube channel is going to be streaming the upscaled version of Terror of the Zygons tomorrow evening (Saturday 30th) to mark its 50th Anniversary.

PS: I've got some family birthday business to attend to this weekend which will inevitably mean that the next "Episodes" post will be delayed until Monday. See you then.

Cybermen: The Ultimate Guide

Just a reminder that the latest bookazine from Doctor Who Magazine is published on 22nd May (which means it might be in the shops by July - so order on-line) and we have an updated cover image. 

This one concentrates on the Cybermen, and looks like it has the same layout as the earlier Dalek publication: four pages on each story - the first about the development of the subject in terms of the story itself, the second a full page CG image relating to it, then two pages of behind the scenes stuff. Between each story piece is another feature on some other aspect of the subject - comic strips, audios, novels, writers, actors, artworks, design, etc.

They're not cheap, but if the Dalek guide was anything to go by then definitely recommended.

DWM Chronicles Return?

Just when it looked like DWM had discontinued the "Chronicles" publications, which take an in depth look at one particular year in the history of Doctor Who, they announce in the latest issue that 13th February sees the publication of the next edition. This one covers 1970 and Season 7 - Jon Pertwee's first year in the role and Caroline John's year as companion, as well as the arrival of Barry Letts as producer.

Presumably this ties in with the imminent release of Season 7 on Blu-ray.

This is the second consecutive Chronicle covering the Pertwee era, and we've had a very long wait since the 1971 one.

Daleks- The Ultimate Guide

DWM have been producing a new range of bookazines since the 60th Anniversary. They have a uniform format and design - smaller than A4, with blue text on a white background for their covers, and coming in a cardboard slipcase. They are substantial volumes, with 224 glossy colour pages.

We had a long wait for the second release - "Into The Vortex" - which had a lengthy gap between publishing date and appearances in shops. However, this was quickly followed up with another release which I mentioned a few weeks back- "Daleks - The Ultimate Guide".

This volume runs through each Dalek story from The Daleks in 1963/4 to Eve of the Daleks in 2022, giving each a four page spread. 

The first page gives some background information about the making of the story, whilst the second features a full page CG image of a Dalek from that particular story - either the basic model or one unique to that particular adventure.

The other two pages outline the development of the creatures over time in narrative terms, highlighting how each story has added to their mythos.

The accompanying photographs are a mix of publicity stills and telesnaps.

The two 1960's Dalek movies have a couple of pages each to themselves, one of which is a big CG image (the Red Dalek from the first, and the Black Dalek from the second).

Stories in which Daleks cameo - from The Space Museum to Flux - get a smaller box-out to themselves.

In between each story feature we have a Dalek-related documentary item, of 2 - 4 pages, depending on the subject. Everything is covered from the spin-off items like toys, comics, audios, novels, action figures / figurines, comic strips and annuals to behind the scenes material - actors who have portrayed Davros, Dalek voice artistes, or how different directors have handled the props over the years. Naturally we have items on Terry Nation and Ray Cusick, and the Mechonoids get a feature to themselves as well. There are a few miscellaneous features as well, such as the story of how one particular movie prop was recently refurbished, or an item on the new CGI VFX on the recent Season 25 Blu-ray special edition of Remembrance of the Daleks.

Hopefully we will see more of them in the coming months. Obvious candidates for a bookazine include the subjects already covered by the previous range which began to appear from the 50th Anniversary onwards (Cybermen, Companions etc).

Sadly, it looks like the "Chronicles" range has been discontinued (perhaps due to a lack of Nu-Who, whereas these new publications can cover the full 60-odd years and therefore please fans of either era).

You may find it hard to spot these in the shops, but they can be ordered directly from Panini or an online retailer. 

I would highly recommend.

"Into the Vortex" Bookazine

DWM is publishing a new bookazine (magazook?) titled Into the Vortex. It had a publishing date of 26th September, but you'll be hard pushed to actually find it in a shop - so probably best order from Panini or some other on-line seller. (It's on e-bay already).

Still waiting for mine to arrive but it appears to act as very good beginners guide to the series. There's a brief word about every single story up to the S14 finale.

Other chapters consider the popular monsters, whilst others cover genres of story - making recommendations as to where you might want to dip in if new to Doctor Who. 

As a bookazine, rather than one of the occasional Special Editions, it is more expensive - RRP £19.99 - but it has more than 200 pages. 

Expect all the best stuff to be crammed into the first 100 pages, with far too much emphasis on more recent material. Sadly, that's what we get from officially sanctioned publications these days. Was horrified to see that the 2025 Official Calendar forces Hartnell / Troughton and Davison / C Baker to share months, whilst the Fourteenth gets a whole one to himself, despite only appearing in three episodes.

DWM Novelisations Bookazine

There's a new bookazine from DWM out this week - primarily an in-depth look at the novelisations of all of the televised stories from An Unearthly Child to The Church on Ruby Road. 

This means mainly the Target range, but we also get the various foreign versions plus some spin-off material like Downtime, Scream of the Shalka and The Pescatons.

Novels of The Sarah Jane Adventures episodes which were televised are also included.

It goes right up to date with the recent novelisations of the 60th Anniversary Specials and Ncuti Gatwa's Christmas debut.

The main focus, however, are the books of the classic era, as everyone of these was published - often more than once.

Each story is covered, with the different reissue covers. Some of the newer authors give their favourites of the classic releases.

We also have larger features on a few of the main writers for the Target range - David Whitaker, Donald Cotton, Gerry Davis, Terrance Dicks, Malcolm Hulke, Ian Marter, Philip Hinchcliffe, Eric Saward, Chris Bidmead, Peter Grimwade and Pip & Jane Baker.

Towards the back there's a brief look at the audiobooks as well.

If you have The Target Book, you'll love this. Unlike that tome, this covers non-Target versions of the novels. It's certainly a visual treat, with some larger versions of the cover art (including some unused covers).

As a bookazine, it isn't covered by any subscription so you'll have to order it separately like the yearly Chronicles. RRP is £11.99.

The publication comes with a free audiobook. Bizarrely, mine was a non-televised adventure, and not even one of the semi-canonical spin-offs - so nothing to do with the content of the bookazine. 

It's a Thirteenth Doctor story - presumably one which failed miserably to sell - which will be headed, unopened, straight to a local charity shop.

DWM 600

The 600th issue of Doctor Who Magazine arrives on Thursday. Mainly looking at recent episodes, it will also have a tribute to Richard Franklin, as well as Planet of the Daleks in the Fact of Fiction.

PS: the recent DWM Yearbook let slip that the next Chronicles special edition might be covering 1971.

Whilst I'm here, we now know that the DVD of The Church on Ruby Road is released on 12th February, and The Daleks in Colour follows two weeks later.

The US Amazon claims the animated The Celestial Toymaker is due 26th March - which if true means the UK gets it before then.

Lastly, Feb 4th sees the screening of Horror of Fang Rock at the BFI in London. These screenings always herald the imminent releases of the Collection box sets, so shouldn't be very long to wait for the Season 15 set.

DWM Yearbook 2024

The latest Special Edition of DWM is the annual Yearbook, which is published this week (25th Jan). Naturally the trio of anniversary episodes plus the Christmas instalment dominate, but it will cover the Series across all media over the last 12 months. 

The colourised The Daleks, Tales from the TARDIS and other 60th offerings will feature.

One feature I always look forward to, not wishing to sound morbid, is the In Memoriam section, remembering everyone front of camera and behind the scenes who have passed.

New Year, New Doctor, New Series, New DWM

By way of wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, here is an interesting link to a breakdown of the Series 14 trailer. 

No spoilers, but it does also provide a rundown of the expected shape and content of the 2024 season.

Doctor Who: 2024 series trailer breakdown (cultbox.co.uk)

Thanks to the Unleashed show, we know that the next series will debut in May - presumably the Bank Holiday weekend at the start of the month.

I'll state this now, but as far as this blog is concerned it will be Series 14. I am not in the least interested in RTD2's desire to kowtow to Disney by titling this Season One. Moffat tried these games back in 2010 and no-one then took a blind bit of notice, and I suspect that other than the producers no-one will take notice again this time.

Above is the cover for the next issue of DWM, out on Thursday.

Doctor Who Covers - RT and DWM

The latest issue of DWM is out on Thursday. On the same day Radio Times previews The Church on Ruby Road, and features Ncuti on the cover (likely a different image for non- subscribers).

RT has for a number of years covered the festive episode in the final issue before the double one which covers Christmas itself, usually with a Doctor Who cover.

DWM will also be previewing the Christmas Special as well as The Giggle, and reviewing the first two anniversary episodes with behind the scenes features. There's a piece on Bernard Cribbins and the "Fact of Fiction" looks at Hell Bent. We're also promised a Christmas quiz.

"60 Moments in Time"

In the absence of a Radio Times special edition (yet again), I would heartily recommend the latest bookazine from DWM - 60 Moments in Time.

It's the thickest volume they've ever produced, running to 224 pages (only 100 less than the lacklustre Whotopia book which is the official BBC Books contribution to the anniversary), and comprises a collection of 60 essays on different aspects of the programme.

Some are about the production of the series, some about its internal narrative, some about fans, some about merchandise. It's a real mix of material, with the essays varying from 2 - 4 pages each.

It is lavishly illustrated throughout with images from Hartnell to Whittaker stories, but the best stuff is the rare peripheral stuff (comedy spoofs, adverts, publicity images, fan photos etc).

The layout eschews the conventional chronological order, leaping instead from one subject to the next.

For example, the first three pieces are: Is Doctor Who actually a Sci-Fi series?; Doctor Who on Blue Peter; and a look at the DVD / Blu-ray Collections. The last three cover fluctuations in audience viewing figures; prop and costume auctions; and the role of continuity - and fan reaction to it - in the series.

The only chronological narrative is a small box-out for each essay which looks at a particular moment when the series attracted wider attention.

If you already love the DWM yearly "Chronicles", you'll be familiar with the visual style / content here - though this has to embrace all eras under each essay.

A bit pricey at a penny under £20, but well worth it in my opinion.

DWM: Colourful Daleks and the 60th Poll

I was going to take some pictures from the latest DWM which arrived a day early chez moi, but someone on FB had already taken a pic of the spread above. Our first glimpse of the colourised version of The Daleks, due to be screened along with a repeat of An Adventure in Space and Time on BBC Four on the evening of 23rd November. Not sure about Barbara's bright pink blouse, but the Daleks themselves look okay.

We really need to see what it looks like in video however, to really see if this has been a successful experiment. How they will condense seven episodes down to 75 minutes is the other unknown.

There had been rumours that the first story was to be colourised for the anniversary, but that's out of bounds at present.

You'll note that they have given the Daleks new CGI weapon effects. Interesting to note that if successful they may colourise other 60's material.

The other thing to say about the new DWM, which deals mainly with the forthcoming specials, is that it prints the final results of the anniversary poll.

You'll recall that the top two stories for each Doctor went into a further draw to pick the overall Top 10.

There are four stories from the classic era, two of which are from Tom Baker's tenure. Five are written by Steven Moffat.

The results are:

1. Heaven Sent

2. World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls

3. Genesis of the Daleks

4. The Caves of Androzani

5. The Day of the Doctor

6. Blink

7. Human Nature / The Family of Blood

8. City of Death

9. Remembrance of the Daleks

10. Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

I'd agree with most of this, but the way the poll was designed has meant a lot of Hinchcliffe-Holmes material didn't get a chance. I would have placed a number of their stories above three of these.

For my views on Heaven Sent, I'd point you towards the Countdown to 60 piece I posted on 4th November: TARDIS Musings: Countdown to 60: Heaven and Hell

DWM 597

DWM 597 is due in the shops this week. As well as previews of the first two Specials, and a couple of posters, it includes the final 60th Anniversary poll results, and the Fact of Fiction covers Heaven Sent. 

The "60 Objects in 60 Years" feature reaches 2018 - 2022, and the long-running comic strip finally concludes.

There will also be pieces on Tales from the TARDIS and the forthcoming colourised version of The Daleks.

Out the same day (9th November) is the magazine's 60th Anniversary Special Edition, which was delayed from last week.

New DWM

Beep the Meep is back where it started (DWM being the latest incarnation of what began life as Doctor Who Weekly, which gave us the original Star Beast comic strip).

The latest comic strip - the interminable Dalek one - does not come to an end this month. It was originally billed as 13 episodes long, but now they're saying it's 14.

DWM 60th Anniversary Poll (6)

The last of the individual Doctor heats - covering the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors - has been published in the latest DWM. Both of these Doctors arrived after the last big poll, so we have nothing significant to compare back to. (There will be differences between this and the season polls - but those are rarely reliable. People have a kneejerk reaction, one way or the other, but quickly change their minds after thinking about it later).

Top of the poll for the Peter Capaldi stories is the Series 10 finale - World Enough And Time / The Doctor Falls. The return of the Mondasian Cybermen, and the John Simm Master. Missy and the departures of Bill and Nardole. The actual "killing" of the Twelfth Doctor. (It was supposed to be Capaldi's swansong - until Moffat discovered that Chibnall was abandoning the prestigious Christmas Day slot and was far from ready to produce his first episode).

These episodes could have been called "Genesis of the Cybermen", or "The Two Masters".

In second place is Heaven Sent - the remarkable one-hander episode which sees the Doctor trapped in his own personal torture chamber, hunted by a monster from his childhood fears. It's a remarkable piece of television, with an amazing central performance.

In third place we have a more conventional monster of the week / base under siege set-up in Mummy on the Orient Express.

Just outside the top three were Flatline, and Oxygen. 

At the other end of the poll we have, propping up the bottom, In the Forest of the Night in 35th position. A very unconventional story - fairy-tale like, it's the sort of thing you would either love or hate - and most people seem to have hated. It has some of the stupidest science ever seen in the series (trees wilfully growing overnight because they know that a solar flare is approaching - which they have the power to deflect. Then, once the threat is over, the plants and trees vanish as rapidly as they came). At least in the Hartnell / Troughton days they attempted to explain their dodgy science.

Talking of bad science, just above the bottom spot is Kill The Moon. I don't know what is worse about this - the terrible science, or the fact that it promised so much then went downhill so quickly. You know a story is bad when even the Doctor bales out halfway through.

Third from bottom is the dull and derivative Sleep No More. To do a found-footage story when they were already more than a decade out of fashion, and have it used in a story which made little sense, was an idiotic move. All of Mark Gatiss' Twelfth Doctor stories sit in the bottom third of the poll.

Just outside the bottom three are The Caretaker (31) and The Woman Who Lived (32).

A couple of points of interest: whilst Extremis managed a respectable 10th place, its other two episodes - supposedly part of the same overall story - managed only 22nd and 28th positions. (And yes, it was The Lie of the Land which was 28th).

The Husbands of River Song was the most popular Christmas Special, coming in at 9th place overall. The Return of Doctor Mysterio was least favourite special (26th).

In the same way that a recently seen anniversary special topped the DWM poll in 2014, so the BBC Centenary Special The Power of the Doctor tops the Thirteenth Doctor poll this year.

It was Jodie Whittaker's swansong (and Chris Chibnall's) and - as I mentioned in my review at the time - it would be remembered for three things in particular. They being: the old companions, the old Doctors, and the return of David Tennant as a new Doctor, who looks, sounds, and seemingly acts like the popular Tenth one.

Apart from the nostalgia factors, it has a few good points of its own - such as Sacha Dhawan's manic Master and his allying with both Cybermen and Daleks. At the same time it demonstrates a few of the Chibnall problems - like having the Doctor multiplied to resolve the different story strands - a straight steal of the cheat from Flux.

In second place is The Haunting of Villa Diodati. In its review I mentioned that I would like to have seen this as a stand-alone story, rather than as part of a three-part finale. It is certainly strong enough to stand by itself.

In third we have Fugitive of the Judoon. I suspect that this is down to just two things - the return of Captain Jack, and the surprise reveal of a hitherto unknown incarnation of the Doctor. It's really a rather dull story when you take these out.

Just outside the top three are the Series 11 historicals - Rosa and Demons of the Punjab. perfectly fine stories - apart from the fact that the Doctor needn't have bothered turning up for either. They are not good Doctor Who stories.

To the bottom now, and we have Orphan 55 quite rightly bringing up the rear. A dreadful story in every way possible - be it preachy messaging, a stupid squirrel alien, undercooked characters, and that annoying "Benni!" woman. Cheap and unoriginal. The Dregs were good, design-wise, so totally wasted here.

Just above sits The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos. To call it this then have everyone turn up after the battle has already ended, and have this a series finale, were just two of the missteps here. Ripping off The Pirate Planet, bringing back an alien no-one actually wanted to see again, and having a religious pair thousands of years old renounce their entire faith system just because the Doctor tells them to, were others.

Third from last is Legend of the Sea Devils. On paper this should have been great. You ignore continuity at your peril, and whoever edited this down to 45 minutes should have been shot. (And if you tell me this was always supposed to be this length, then it's an even worse story than I thought).

Just missing the bottom three was a story I really loathe - The Tsuranga Conundrum.

A couple of points of note here: Flux ended up sitting squarely in the middle of the poll in 12th place. I suspect that had it not been for the Angel episode it wouldn't have fared so well.

Ascension of the Cybermen / The Timeless Children came in at No.16. I would say that the first half was dragged down by the second - or the second only did so well because of the first.

Top New Year / Dalek Special was Eve of the Daleks (7th), with Resolution 9th and Revolution 14th. The top New Year story was the only one not to have Daleks - Spyfall - which managed 6th place.

The final stage of the polling process is now to pick your favourite 5 stories from the top three for each Doctor (plus the 1996 Movie) - so a choice of 37 stories overall.

This has flagged up the stupidity of the polling format this time - designed so that certain individuals would not be offended. You can select The Two Doctors and the aforementioned McGann nonsense, but you can't select The Ark in Space, The Talons of Weng-Chiang or Terror of the Zygons, or the first Dalek story or Evil of the Daleks.

The Top Five stories, to be published later this year, will be nothing of the kind.

DWM 60th Anniversary Poll (5)

The latest poll results cover the tenures of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. For Matt Smith stories, we only have the 2014 poll to compare with, whilst the majority of the David Tennant ones are covered by the 2009 poll as well (only his last two stories missed the cut-off for this).

Unlike the last few polls, which showed a great deal of consistency in voting over the years (mainly due to there being so few stories per Doctor), we have 36 and 39 stories respectively for Ten and Eleven. There is a lot more movement, up and down the poll.

Of the David Tennant era, only 4 of the 36 have retained their last poll position - but this includes the first, second and last placed stories.

The top rated Tennant is Blink. It has held this position in every poll. Of the top three for both these Doctors, Steven Moffat wrote the first and third placed story for each.

In second place, where it has always been, is Paul Cornell's adaptation of his Virgin novel Human Nature (Human Nature / Family of Blood). Only his second story for the TV series - and he's never written for it again since.

In third place we have another two-parter - Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. It has moved slowly up from 7th to 3rd.

Propping up the bottom, as it always has done, is Fear Her, in 36th position. Just above is The Lazarus Experiment, and the marmite Love & Monsters is in 34th place.

Some items of interest - all of the Christmas Specials lie in the bottom half of the poll, as do all but one of the series openers. All of the series finales, on the other hand, sit in the upper half.

When it comes to movement over time, Partners in Crime is the biggest winner, having risen from 22nd in 2009 to 14th this time out.

Biggest losers are the celebrity historicals Tooth and Claw and The Shakespeare Code, which both drop 11 places (13th to 24th and 15th to 26th respectively).

Only three of the Matt Smith stories maintain their poll position, though we now only have the 2014 poll to compare results with. One of these is the top scorer - The Day of the Doctor.

In second place we have Richard Curtis' Vincent and the Doctor, and in third is Smith's debut The Eleventh Hour. These two stories have basically swapped places since 2014. 

Just outside the top three are The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang and The Doctor's Wife.

Neil Gaiman's other story - Nightmare in Silver - sits squarely in the bottom three.

It is second from bottom. Beneath it lies The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, and just above it is The Curse of the Black Spot.

Despite getting the bottom spot with his 2011 Christmas Special, Moffat can console himself by having the majority of his self-penned stories in the top half of the poll. Let's Kill Hitler is his next worst, in 29th place.

The previous lowest ranked Smith story was The Rings of Akhaten, but it has been re-evaluated upwards by a good 5 places, to 34th.

Other lower ranked stories include Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Closing Time and a couple of Mark Gatiss scripts - Night Terrors and Victory of the Daleks. Gatiss' The Idiot's Lantern was fourth from bottom in the Tenth poll, so between them these represent a poor opinion of him as a writer. Even the one he guested in as an actor (Lazarus) is poorly regarded.

Perhaps it's a reaction to what he did with the series when he got hold of it, but Chris Chibnall stories languish in the lower quarter of both polls.

Movement over time isn't as pronounced as with the Tennant poll. Stories have mostly moved up or down by only four or five places. Biggest winner is A Christmas Carol, which rises from 17th to 8th place. Biggest loser is Asylum of the Daleks which drops ten places to 17th place.

The final pair of poll results come next month. Unfortunately, they won't have any previous poll to compare them with, so it will simply be a case of which Capaldi / Whittaker stories were liked, and which weren't. The next stage of the process is then to have the top three for each Doctor voted on again, to determine overall winners.

Apparently they aren't going to produce an integrated list of all the polls combined. Scared to annoy Colin Baker again - or is it fear of showing the Chibnall era to be more unpopular than DWM (famous for reviews devoid of criticism) has ever cared to admit?