A few unofficial 60s Doctor Who LPs...

Someone brought up the subject of Russ Conway on Twitter last week and it reminded me of the LP we had when I was a toddler. "Russ Conway's Family Favourites" on which the popular pianist hammered out renditions of such standard melodies as "Keep Right On Till The End Of The Road", "MacNamara's Band" and other 'lost' delights from a bygone era. I seem to recall a scratch on the record during "MacNamara's Band" resulting in the last few notes repeating endlessly. That's what "MacNamara's Band" means to be... 

Anyhow, here's Russ Conway's collection of Doctor Who music what he recorded and released back in the late 60s. Like everything else on this blog, it's unavailable. 

As are the other two LPs...

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Doctor Who series 11 Target Books - part one

Well, the new series of TV's Dr Who is well underway and Jodie Whittaker is now a fully fledged Time Lord. The reaction seems to be overwhelmingly positive and certainly the ratings are very good. 

The series certainly needed a proper reboot (not just a new Doctor) and Chris Chibnall has given it a shot in the arm with a 'back-to-basics' approach to both the show's look and its storytelling. To me it feels fresh and stylish whilst at the same time holding on to those quintessential elements that makes the series unique amongst its peers. 

Change is good. Much as I loved Peter Capaldi's final run as the Doctor, the series itself was starting to become repetitive and formulaic. I might be 54 years old but I still have the attention-span of a teenager and get bored easily. 

I had planned to stop doing my Target book covers with Capaldi's final turn as the Doctor, and concentrate on more unique designs and stuffs. They had started to become a bit of a chore and repetitive. But for some reason, watching Jodie Whittaker's first episode fired up my creative juices and I decided (very much at the last minute) to carry on and do some more. 

There's also the challenge of the lack of pre-broadcast images and information which I actually like. It's like working under the same pressures as some of the artists on the original target covers worked under. (Remember The Five Doctors and Destiny of the Daleks covers?).

Here are the first four:

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The Official Public Eye Enquiry Agent Playset!

Public Eye is back on British television thanks to those nice people at the Talking Pictures television channel. Quite probably one of the best detective series to come out of the telly box ever, Public Eye debuted in 1965 on ITV and chronicled the exploits of one Frank Marker - a rather grubby looking enquiry agent in a dirty mac three years before Columbo purchased his... 

Obviously its broadcast cannot go without celebration so I've dug up this little gem from the golden age of TV tie-in toys. Devotees of The Man from UNCLE may recognise the product as a thinly disguised version of the UNCLE toy trenchcoat that is now much sought after at collectors fairs and online auction sites. Back in those days, it was almost a tradition that toy manufacturers would merely adapt existing products to suit current trends and licences. And this was no exception. 

Mint versions of the Public Eye Detective Outfit Playset can go for literally tens of pounds these days and are rarely seen intact (if at all). I certainly haven't seen one on sale. 

Ever. 

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10/10/2018: Edited to add this spoof modern Radio Times cover I knocked up for the series and posted on Twitter. 

Four Doctor Whos... One Radio Times Cover!

Here's the first four Doctor Whos on the cover of the current Whittaker-flavoured Radio Times. 

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The New (Old) Radio Times...

The new Radio Times is out with Jodie Whittaker adorning the cover. Kudos to their designer for not cluttering it with any headlines, straplines and other lettering things - other than the masthead, date and the bar code. Very striking.

Anyhow, I put the cover through a time distortion field and came up with this little effort...

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