I don’t know about you, but in my house it’s formal wear only for a Doctor Who watch party, so I’ve dusted off my tux, and been practicing a paradiddle or two to accompany the opening theme. It was a tough choice between the white tux or the tails for the first of the Specials, but after flipping a coin, I went for this and decided to leave the tails for Spesh 3.
Now those of you who read these editorials, rather than skipping on to the juicy bits, will have already come to the conclusion that I’m a hopeless gusher, but by all that’s holy, there’s soooo much to gush about this month. No sooner had DWM recovered from its 44th birthday bash (44 years? Really? How?) than we began gearing up for Doctor Who’s 60th. Began gearing up? As if we haven’t been gearing up for months. We’ve got a whole treasure trove of vintage Who on iPlayer! We’ve got the Doctor popping up all over the place. We’ve got so much to celebrate that I feel like a kid who’s stuffed himself with too much candy. Can I say candy? Or will I be accused of being too mid-Atlantic, like a super-cheesy radio deejay? I was going to say ‘sweets’ but then some people might think I meant cakes, and I’d never do that. But enough about my taste in treats and nibbles, nobody cares. Although I might just grab another handful of Twigl… No! Enough!
Deep breaths! Deep breaths! That’s better. Now where was I? Ah, yes… this month. We’re all like debutantes getting ready for the most fizzing party season ever. The magazine you’re holding, or looking at, or having read to you is just the appetizer, a pappadam with chutney. By the time you’ve digested this issue you’ll be ready for the main event. The Specials! They’re here at last! The Specials followed by Doctor Who Unleashed! But before that we've got a brand spanking new colourised edit of The Daleks, the return of some great Doctors and companions in Tales of the TARDIS, and loads more. For more details on all this, just keep on reading! It’s like we’ve gone back in time, or entered an alternate universe. Doctor Who is everywhere… and not only is it everywhere, it’s just as good as it ever was… no. I tell a lie. Sorry. How shame-making. It’s not just as good as it ever was. It’s better. Bigger! Better! Bolder! It’s funny but I was never bothered by dodgy costumes or special effects. They never mattered. What mattered was story, always story. And sometimes, in fact more often than not, I’ll find myself watching something that looks great, but just fails to engage story-wise. Not this time, pally! This time we’re being spoilt rotten. This time we’ve got our cakes and we’re gonna scoff them down too. It’s got it all! Heaven without the harp music or hi-energy beats, depending on your own version of heaven. This is like going to the circus, where the clowns are funny, no animals are badly treated, and the tightrope makes you dizzy just looking at it.