Great Unreleased Doctor Who Merchandise of the 20th Century - part one

THE DOCTOR WHO 5th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Published by BBC Publication/Enterprises - 1968 - Original Price 9d

Most collectors are aware of the special magazines created for the tenth and twentieth anniversaries of Doctor Who by the BBC’s TV listings magazine Radio Times. It may come as a surprise to many of them that one was published to celebrate the fledgling show’s fifth year. For various reasons, lost in the mists of time, the magazine was only available in the south of England. The content appeared to have been put together by the regular Radio Times editorial team – there’s no credit for writers or editors – with little or no input from the Doctor Who production office. The text offers little insight into the series other than general synopses of the series so far up to and including “The Return of the Cybermen” – the then working title of “The Invasion”. There are many black and white pictures but given the usual quality of the Radio Times’ then printing on newsprint, some of them remain a mystery. Ironically, one showing the identities of the alien ambassadors from ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ is undermined by the fact that the caption is apparently for a collection of grey tones and a black smudge. Of most interest to modern Who historians though is the short story that sees the ‘original’ Doctor Who meet the ‘rejuvenated’ one. It was allegedly written by Doctor Who’s ‘creator’, Terry Nation but since it doesn’t feature any characters called Tarrant, this is open to debate.”