On 23 November 1963, the world met the Doctor for the first time, when An Unearthly Child hit British television screens. Now 45 years and nine more incarnations of the Time Lord later, SFX is set to celebrate the anniversary of Doctor Who's launch in truly cosmic style.
Issue 176 of Earth’s leading science fiction magazine will offer readers a choice of no less than ten variant covers, one for each incarnation of the legendary Doctor.
Yes, every face of the Doctor will be materialising at the newsstand, from original 1960s star William Hartnell to the wildly popular David Tennant. Patrick Troughton! Jon Pertwee! Tom Baker! Peter Davison! Colin Baker! Sylvester McCoy! Paul McGann! Christopher Eccleston! Choose your favourite – or hunt down every collector’s item cover!
Click here to view all ten exclusive Doctor Who covers in full!
SFX 176 will also deliver a spectacular celebratory feature, with all the access and insight you demand. Russell T Davies gives us the first, exclusive word on this year’s hotly anticipated Christmas special (teasingly titled "The Next Doctor"). It sees a rematch between our time-travelling hero and emotionless enemies the Cybermen. "We needed a familiar enemy," shares Davies, who then tells us: "All our Christmas specials have been very different. It’s time to do a smaller, more intimate story – though having said that, the ending is ferociously huge..."
Check out the full interview in SFX 176 for more insights into future instalments of the series. In the issue Davies also shares his favourite memories of the series, plus we also hear from new Doctor Who guv'nor Steven Moffat. Elsewhere, Greatest Living Englishman Stephen Fry, premier horror writer Clive Barker, The League of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss and popular Doctor Who scriptwriter Paul Cornell all write exclusively for SFX in a nostalgic look back at the show’s golden years.
"The week before we moved house, the BBC started a new drama, starring William Hartnell," explains Stephen Fry. "An old man had a police phone box of the kind we saw in the street all the time. It turned out to be a magical and unimaginably wonderful time machine. I had never been so excited in all my life."
Plus there’s a rundown of Doctor Who’s 45 greatest, most iconic monsters, as decided by the SFX experts. Who will win – the Ice Warriors? The Ood? Or will the Daleks exterminate all opposition to claim their place as the supreme beings in the universe? There may be a surprise in store...
Celebrate 45 years in the time-space vortex with SFX 176, on sale from Wednesday 22 October in ten different Who flavours . The subscribers version will be an exclusive coverline-free David Tennant issue.
