Target: Capaldi - series ten - part one

The first three episodes of Peter Capaldi's final complete series as TV's DrWHO have now aired.

It's another revamp for the covers as well...

A Trio of Old Target Book Covers Given a Make-over...

I was asked by @Greebobek on Twitter if I'd ever considered reconstructing some of the old Doctor Who Target book covers using the original photographic references used by the artist.  

I hadn't. 

So I did these...

Revisiting the Eccleston Target Book Covers...

Christopher Eccleston's first series as the Doctor was my starting point at producing 'new' Target book covers. I should point out that it wasn't my original intention to do one for EVERY televised story. I was off work on extended sick leave and needed something to do instead of mindlessly devouring the BBC's daily pescription of Homes Under The Hammer and Bargain Hunt. So I started this blog - originally with the aim of reproducing some of the funny stuff what I wrote for some Doctor Who fanzines back in the 90s which I still considered a bit amusing. I had also dabbled in Photoshop during 2013 - producing a selection of six or so fake pieces of vintage DrWHO merchandise - including William Hartnell's Book of Outer Space and a DrWHO promotional box of Kellogg's Porky Pops. These were all cobbled together and posted intermitantly on the blog that I'd decided to call "Andydrewz's Pages" for no other reason than I quickly needed a name and a varient on my ancient email address seemed like a quick solution. 

I'd always admired the early Target book covers - especially the ones that marked the introduction of the gate logo (that's the diamond logo without the diamond). These were the more cartoony and dynamic covers that were done originally by Chris Achilleos and later Peter Brookes.  The first one I did was one for the Matt Smith story Cold War. I've no idea why I picked that one. It was crap anyway... and has not seen the light of day ever since it was consigned to a file on my old mac. Crude is too kind a word for it. (The one on the blog currently is NOT that version.) Anyhow, I decided to do the Eccleston adventures. There was 13 of them and I had access to all the press stills from them.

The results were variable and can still be seen here. The End of the World was a parody of Achilleos' Revenge of the Cybermen whilst The Unquiet Dead was plain risible and was changed several times before it was finally posted on the blog. I still hate that cover. I also condensed the two-parters into single volumes which, in hindsight, was a mistake. 

I received some nice feedback about them via the blog and decided to embark on the following series... taking breaks now and then to produce some silly might-have-been merchandise. The blog blossomed...

Flip forward to today or rather last Monday. Someone asked me to do a new cover for one of the Eccleston stories. I had offered them my old cover from three years ago but, looking at it, I realised how crude it looked. So I redid it... And it came out quite well. 

So I've spent this week going back to 2005 and completely re-doing the Eccleston covers. Some of them are similar to the originals (well, the one for Rose is at least!) whilst others are completely new. And I've taken the opportunity to do covers for ALL thirteen episodes as opposed to doubling up the two-parters into single volumes. 

They're all here now. I hope you like them. If nothing else, the whole exercise has reminded me of how awful the publicity stills for series one were - especially The Empty Child.

Say "Hello" to JNTeddy!

Yes, announcing JNTeddy - a special very limited edition teddy bear from Stiffe celebrating the former 80s Doctor Who producer who was known as JNT to all his friends and colleagues.

Doctor Who Ice Lollies - Direct from 1982!

With the weather improving and spring finally taking root, thoughts turn to ice cream and the wonderful range of ice lollies available for Doctor Who fans of all ages - especially those growing up in the 1980s...

That Incredibly Rare Follow-up to Dr WHO and the Pescatons!

Yes, it's Record Store Day again. And yet, again the classic Doctor Who LP "Dr Who and the Pescations" is being re-re-re-re-released in its traditional twelve inch format. 

I thought I might jump on the band wagon and present the rarely heard follow-up to the LP...

The Return of the Men from U.N.I.T.

One of the first silly merchandise mash-ups I did was a selection of paperback book covers for a UNIT spin-off series based on the design of the UK Man from UNCLE paperbacks that once littered the shelves of second hand bookshops in my youth. You can see them here

I had always intended to go back to them and create fuller covers with proper blurb, better photos and more accurate fonts. I finally got the urge a few days ago. 

However, in searching the internet for source material, I came across the US covers for the original UNCLE novels which, arguably were more on-brand than their UK counterparts. They looked more hip as well..

So I diverted my original intention into creating new covers based on these for Doctor Who's seventh season. I hope you find them at least vaguely amusing. 

 

Celebrate the Return of TV's Dr Who with this Collectorers's Music Box!

TV Dr Who is back and it's about music boxes. 

In particular, this charming collectable now available via download from your local music box app. 

The Other Denys Fisher Dr Who Action Figures From the 70s!

We all recall that Tom Baker action figure from 1970s and the (now debunked) story of how his head was actually that of Gareth Hunt's following an accident at the plastic factory where they were made. The manufacturer Denys Fisher also produced pretty good representations of K-9 and the Giant Robot and less acceptable ones of Leela and a nosey Cybermen.

But were there any others? Did we actually WANT any others given their variable quality. 

Let's find out... 

The Seventh Dr. Who's Inappropriate Target Book Covers

Publicity photographs from any television series usually fall into three categories. There are those that legitimately depict an actual scene from the show. Soap operas get through loads of these and their stars have become adept at freezing in dramatic positions - usually mid-punch during a fight - so that their photographers can capture that all important moment for the many TV guides and soap mags that feed off them. There are also behind the scenes shots either depicting directors and cameramen on set pointing at things or rehearsal shots showing actors in various states of dress. In Doctor Who's case, who can forget the sight of Jon Pertwee's colourful trousers worn to rehearse Inferno back in 1970 and subsequently in almost every studio photo from said serial.

Then there's the actual bona fide publicity still. The shot, usually taken by a member of the press and not necessarily on set, where the cast are posing for pictures that will hopefully make the papers. You know the short. Three genuine Doctors, a replacement and a wax dummy standing on and around Bessie to promote The Five Doctors back in 1983 is a classic example.

It's these photographs that are celebrated here. Ones that should never have been let loose near a designer let alone actually used on the cover of the story they were originally designed to promote in the press. 

These covers all hail from the Sylvester McCoy years - a vintage time for the press shot. Some of them bend the rules a bit but all of these covers are wholly inappropriate in their own way despite using genuine stills from the usually vast library from their respective productions. 

Announcing the Keller Machine Teasmaid!

Yes, TV's DrWHO is still coming back this Saturday... and what better way to celebrate than with a cup of tea made by one of the DrWHO's greatest mind parasites ever! 

Doctor Who Easter Eggs from the 70s!

Yes, as can be worked out from both my previous post and the date on the calendar, it's only a few days until the Easter holiday (and the start of a new series of TV's DrWHO!). 

To get everyone into a chocolate eggy mood, here's a few Easter eggs that didn't quite make it onto the shelves during Jon Pertwee's stint as the errant Time Lord. 

Don't eat them all at once...